Summer League 2015

Today is the final day of the 2015 Las Vegas Summer League. The championship game, which is the only game played today, pits the Phoenix Suns against the San Antonio Spurs in a tournament that means little more than pride. Last year my beloved Washington Wizards bowed out in the semi-finals of the event, a fairly impressive outing that saw an overall 5-1 record plus two all tournament selections in Otto Porter and Glen Rice, Jr., who also managed to snag the most valuable player honor for the entire league. Last year's trip to Vegas was all about those two second year players and the Wizards made pretty much the most of their summer trip to the desert.

This year promised to be completely different. And it was. With no returning summer leaguers whatsoever, the Wizards experience this year was all about Kelly Oubre, our first round and number 14 overall pick out of the University of Kansas, and to a much much lesser extent Aaron White, who we grabbed with our second round pick out of the University of Iowa. White has pretty much zero chance to make the team with our roster already filled with the offseason signings and trades of Jared Dudley, Gary Neal, Alan Anderson and Drew Gooden III. As I've done the past two years under the tournament style format, I made it out to Sin City for two of our three non-tournament games before heading back east with little tolerance for more than three nights in Vegas.

By all accounts (considering the Wizards won three of their last four), I made it to the wrong two games. Not only did the Wizards lose their first two games to the Phoenix Suns and the D-League Select team, they lost pretty handily, getting pushed around by the Suns' second year center Alex Len in game one and then getting out-worked, out-desired and out-experienced by a group of perennial NBDL players dying to make it to or back to the NBA in game two. Not like winning really matters too much in Summer League, but winning's better than losing under almost any circumstance and it's just nice to have it happen once now and again.

The Wizards 2015 Draft class: Aaron White (left) and Kelly Oubre (right).

I think Wizards fans sort of got what we expected in the first two Summer League games out of our draft picks this year. In Oubre, we got raw talent and most likely a project who if he pans out at the projected level of ability, is THE steal of the draft. But we'll likely have to wait and see what he can do in not many minutes on the floor this year. He'll likely be parked on the bench behind Otto Porter and likely Jared Dudley for much of at least the first half of the season.

In his first two games in Summer League he looked more often lost than found. It's not entirely surprising considering he's playing on a team that had been together less than a week but from my perspective in the fifth row or so, Kelly got more than he bargained with when he was going up against older, stronger players, some of whom were almost fighting for their basketball lives. It might not have helped at the beginning of the league that he was being cheered on by a number of visitors from nearby Findlay Prep where he finished out high school. He was one of the only guys I saw there with local and personal support. Sometimes those things can cut both ways.

I thought on the offensive end he was far more effective letting the game come to him than when he created on his own. I suppose every player is but the difference early on was striking; he got rejected several times going to the hoop in what looked like far too ambitious circumstances. When you are 19 years old and going to the basket guarded by two or three older players, you might expect to get blocked or miss. He settled down after the first half of game one but never looked fully comfortable to me unless he was putting back off a rebound or receiving a pass close to the hoop. I would have loved to have been there for his final game when he dropped 30 on the Oleksiy Pecherov-led Denver Nuggets. Just to see Pech and KO going at it would have been amazing.

In other parts of the game, I thought Kelly looked much better. He made a couple of nice defensive plays in the Phoenix game, including blocking a shot on a fast break and taking a charge. He got beat on some one on one match ups but is clearly both gifted and talented. There were a couple of rebounds that he got in traffic that showed how big his wingspan is relative to his height. That's a tantalizing skill if he can harness that.

Final score: D-League Select 94, Wizards 74.

Then there's Aaron White, who showed enough in games one and two where you could understand why he got drafted but also showed enough to validate him being a second round pick. Since draft night, the Wizards have unfortunately (for Aaron) signed enough players to have zero roster flexibility barring an unbalanced trade or waiving a player via the stretch provision (I wouldn't be surprised if we let someone like DeJuan Blair go this route). That means he's stuck in a spot where the Wizards have control of his rights but have no home for him. Barring the Wizards letting him go, Aaron's options appear to be overseas for  decent money or staying at home in the NBDL for very little money.

If there's one thing that impressed me about Aaron it was his ability to run the floor. This is a really athletic guy out on the court, not some stiff who can just shoot. He also had some impressive hops, especially on one offensive rebound putback for a dunk. But he clearly has tons of room to grow. Lack of obvious success seemed to discourage him out on the floor and any hope we had for him being a homegrown stretch four this coming year evaporated with his game two shooting performance where he started 0-8, including a number of bricked wide open three point shots. I know it's difficult to draw any conclusions from two two-hour games but there's more development required here.

Jordan Crawford defending Seth Curry (right).

The Wizards played two games within a span of about 24 hours, playing their first game vs. the Suns on Saturday at 3 p.m. and their second, a 20 point loss to the D-League Select, at 1 p.m. the following day which finished a couple of hours later. Just like that, my two Wizards games were done. I'm not sure I've had a quicker Summer League. Maybe I should stay longer next time. Maybe.

But one other thing I wanted to do with my few hours over at the Thomas and Mack Center was to catch up on a couple of former and almost Wizards since the schedule worked out just perfectly that way. I was not able to see any play from "I got buckets, son" Oleksiy Pecherov but I did catch up on a couple of old friends.

The Wizards played in the third game on the Saturday we arrived in Vegas. The first game that day featured the Dallas Mavericks taking on the New Orleans Pelicans. The starting two guard for the Mavs that day? Jordan Crawford, a guy traded three times in his first four years in the league who once denied ever playing for the Wizards, the team who really gave him the best shot to show the league what he had.

When we first traded Kirk Hinrich to the Atlanta Hawks for Jordan, we acquired our fourth first round selection from the 2010 draft and got a guy who was apparently instant offense and had once dunked on LeBron James and LeBron's own camp. How could we not love this guy? But the organization soon had Jordan playing deep in the rotation behind rookie Bradley Beal, who was younger and more talented and definitely was more interested in playing some defense. Last year Jordan played in China and then spent the tail end of the year playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBDL, ultimately failing to get picked up for a playoff run by a contender.

The few minutes Jordan played in the one Summer League game I saw were pretty unremarkable but he still gets lost on defense pretty easily, especially when circumstances require him to do something different than just cover his own man. I typically hold grudges against guys who badmouth our franchise after leaving but I don't with Jordan; I just think he's too much of a character. Maybe he can work on his defensive liabilities and be a bit of a spark plug for someone in the next couple of years. If not, I think he's got to be resigned to playing somewhere else other than the NBA.

Glen Rice, Jr., hands on knees, vs. the Phoenix Suns.

Speaking of offensive minded guards who play questionable defense and have perhaps a higher opinion of themselves than they should…

Last November I headed to Toronto to watch the Wizards take on the Toronto Raptors in an early season matchup that didn't go very well at all for my team. There was little positive for the Wizards to take away from that game but ultimately they managed to fix most things about their on court performance which ultimately culminated with a 4-0 sweep of Toronto in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

But one thing we didn't fix about that game was an on court encounter between head coach Randy Wittman and Glen Rice, Jr. which apparently led to another verbal altercation between the two the next day. I noted Glen had some words for Sam Cassell last year during Summer League so this had sort of become a pattern. A couple of weeks after Toronto, Rice was in the D-League. Two months later, he was no longer a Wizard.

I got to see maybe five minutes of Glen Rice on the court during last week's Summer League action. In those five minutes he scored ten points, including two three pointers, one of which beat the buzzer at the end of a quarter. As far as Summer League and scoring go, Rice has that down pat. He led the tournament last year with a  25.0 points per game average and he finished this year with a 19.0 points per game average.

But I have to say as soon as I sat down at the Suns-Rockets game on Sunday afternoon, I saw Rice yelling at the official for some perceived non-call while the play was going on and his man had the ball. While he was focused on the referee, the Suns scored. A minute later on the next Suns trip downcourt, Rice was still upset, lazily kicking his leg out while defending an inbound pass for what should have been a layup (the Suns just blew it) instead of getting his head back in the game and playing some D. Maybe this is super unfair to write this based on five minutes, but he's clearly got some issues to overcome here. No matter how good he is at putting the ball through the hoop, he's not good enough to overcome attitude like this. If he won't outgrow this, I don't see him back in the league anytime soon.

The packed packed packed Thomas and Mack Center.

Finally just a few words about Jordan Clarkson and the popularity of Summer League in general. Jordan Clarkson was the Wizards 2014 second round pick whom we parted with for cash from the Los Angeles Lakers which one could argue we spent on multiple attempts to find a quality bench point guard to back up John Wall. Clarkson's a point guard who made the All-Rookie first team last year. We had him and we let him go.

I've often opined about the Draft being a total crap shoot when you get outside of the top few picks and I get that nobody could have seen an All-Rookie selection out of the 46 pick in the draft but this kid is electric. You could see it in some games the Lakers played last year (especially January 27 when the Wizards visited Los Angeles) and you could see it in Summer League this year. Ernie Grunfled was on our flight out to Vegas this year and I thought about asking him about the draft but ultimately decided against it; every time I talk to Ernie I get very little information because he plays things so close to the vest.

I watched Clarkson last week in the game the Lakers played against the Philadelphia 76ers, a game which featured the Lakers' D'Angelo Russell (number two overall pick) and the Sixers' Jahlil Okafor (number three overall pick). After the Wizards succumbed to the D-League, we figured it would be a good game to watch in a relaxed atmosphere over in the main arena at the Thomas and Mack. Not so much.

I've been coming to Vegas for Summer League since 2008 and I have never ever ever seen the big arena filled the way it was for this game. I get that part of it was the Lakers contingent being so close to Los Angeles but the upper deck was open (never seen that before) and it was genuinely difficult to find a seat in the place. It was insane.

When I first started coming to this event, nobody knew about it. If you got in a cab on the strip and asked to be taken to the Thomas and Mack Center the cab driver usually asked what was going on over there. Getting a cab home was honestly touch and go; the only way you usually got one was if someone was getting dropped off. I have in past years walked to either the Hard Rock Hotel about a half a mile away or all the way to the Strip, which is about a mile and a half. There was never a line for tickets and seats were plentiful inside the arena, with the exception of John Wall's first game in 2010 when the Cox Pavilion was packed solid.

Two years ago, we had difficulty getting tickets and immediately entering the arena so the couple two years, I have bought the first day in advance, incurring hated Ticketmaster service fees. That same year, I finally saw some cabs waiting outside the arena. Vegas was clearly catching on.

This year when we arrived for the Wizards' game one, we saw guys directing traffic and cones set up to define lanes for the expected flood of cabs which were coming. We also stood in line to get into the building all the way down the main steps to the arena. Every year we see Summer League founder Warren LeGarie stalking the sidelines of both the Thomas and Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion and he has to be absolutely ecstatic with the way things are going. This thing is huge business now. I hate complaining about success but this event is no longer the intimate experience it was the first year I went in 2008. It's now Vegas sized and it's different. Might be time for a year off for me. Or I just need to go all in mid-week maybe. Anyway, that's all from Vegas this year. Next up: two months of thumb twiddling before training camp. Ugh!

Waiting in line to get in, Saturday afternoon. Are you kidding me?

Looking Forward To Summer League

It's been a week since the 2014-2015 Washington Wizards season ended in stunning fashion. Last Friday night I stood in the upper deck of Verizon Center and went nuts as Paul Pierce hit his miracle game tying shot to send game six against the Atlanta Hawks into overtime and preserve the Wizards' season at least for five more game minutes. Not wanting to miss even a second of the extra session, I rushed to the bathroom so I'd be back to see the opening tip and every other moment of overtime ball.

By the time I got back to my seat, the replay had been studied and restudied and the officials determined Pierce's shot was still in his hand as time expired. Game over. Season over! What a crushing blow. I'm not sure there's been an end to a Wizards season quite like this. Half the crowd filed out; the other half lingered like their feet were glued to the floor in front of their seats. I couldn't move for about two or three minutes. Then I left.

I think the statutory mourning period for the Wizards season is probably over. Over the past six days, I haven't watched a single whole game of either the Eastern or Western Conference Finals and I've done my best to stay off Twitter, although let's face it there are few things more difficult in life than staying off Twitter. That site has changed my life for the better in so many ways, especially when it comes to my favorite basketball team.

In the last week, we've not only had both conference finals start but we've also seen (I actually did see this although honestly I almost missed it) the Minnesota Timberwolves snag the number one overall pick in next month's NBA Draft via the annual Draft Lottery show, which is probably the least exciting NBA event outside of a Knicks-Sixers game last year. The Wizards were mercifully absent from the Lottery this year for the second consecutive year. So for the Wizards, the Draft is next on June 25 and then it's time for Summer League.

2013 with Wizards forward Chris Singleton.

Can I get a "Woot! Woot!" for Summer League? God I love this event. Las Vegas. Mid-July. NBA games featuring most of the 2015 Draft class and a bunch of folks who will likely never make an NBA team. How does life get any better than this, at least for the three nights maximum that I seem to be able to stand Vegas for on any single trip? The Wizards have been going to the desert each July since the event was founded in 2004. I've been there every year since I found out about it in 2008. Every year I say I'm not going to Summer League and every year I go back. I can't possibly miss this event. It's too good. There is absolutely no place else you can get up close interactions with general managers, coaches and players from around the league. It's essential for the die hard, no-life-outside-of-basketball, NBA fan.

Summer League this year starts Friday, July 10. I'll be on a plane out there the very next morning in time for tip-off that afternoon if the Wizards are playing that day. While I'm out there I know I'm going to run into some of the same Wizards fans I see every year, familiar faces from past years. I also know I'm going to get a chance to possibly check in with Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Randy Wittman. My favorite moment from last year's Summer League was when I congratulated Ernie on the Paul Pierce signing as he walked past my seat and got a pat on the shoulder in return. Where else could that happen?

I don't know how many Wizards season ticket holders head to Vegas for Summer League but I'm sure there's someone there besides me. It would be great if we could get a core base of fans each year out there in the desert, at least for a few days. So if there are any Wizards fans headed out there, find me on Twitter and we can spend a few minutes maybe talking about our favorite hoops team. And for the Wizards organization, I'd love it if they would host an event each year for season ticket holders. For me, that would be a small gesture that could add a ton of value for this 15 year season ticket holder. Heck, Wizards season ticket holder Jose Andres has a couple of places out there now, maybe there's a deal in there somewhere. Can't wait for July 11!!!

Where else would a Wizards fan stay except in a castle? Excalibur is cheap, convenient and reliable. I assume I'm staying here again, but you never know.

Summer League Side Trip: In-N-Out Burger

My quick trip to Las Vegas this month was my sixth consecutive NBA Summer League pilgrimage to the desert to watch basketball. During each of the past two trips (or as long as I have had a blog about the Washington Wizards), I have made a deliberate side trip, a quest for something beyond the basketball action which is the reason for me being there in the first place. I have to fill this thing up after all, right?

Two years ago, I visited the Neon Museum's Boneyard, a back lot full of old neon signs near downtown Las Vegas along Fremont Street; last year, I tracked down some Deschutes beer that I hadn't been able to find since I was in Portland in 2011 on a two week cross country trip that still stands as one of the best vacations I have ever taken. This year? Sort of a mixed bag; I might have tried to pick off too many things.

I took a trip down to the Hoover Dam on the Wizards' preliminary round day off but I can only get so excited about that place. I mean, it's a big concrete mass that retains water and has equipment inside that I don't quite understand. I also spent some time waaaay off strip at the Railroad Pass Casino in Henderson, Nevada playing quarter roulette $2 at a time for a couple of hours while knocking back a few Budweisers and taking the casino's money. Definitely the best time I have ever had playing roulette. But I think if I were to pick the signature side trip of this trip, it would be a visit to see an old friend I hadn't sat down with since 2008.

If you look west on a clear day when crossing the bridge between the Excalibur and New York, New York casinos, you can see all the way to the mountains. As an aside, I have pretty much settled on Excalibur as my hotel of choice in Vegas (cheap and convenient is the logic here); and after all, where else would a Wizards fan stay. Even if it's not clear, you can see all the way beyond I-15 about a half mile down the road day or night easily. But at night, just on the north side of Tropicana Avenue, you can see something else, a wonderful red and yellow neon sign that taunts and teases vacationers and locals alike: In-N-Out Burger. This was my 2014 Summer League side trip.

I was first introduced to In-N-Out Burger about a decade ago, either on a 2005 trip to Southern California or maybe just a few years before that to visit my friend Jim, my former college roommate. I'd heard about how good In-N-Out Burger was somehow (I had a tendency to track fast food news at that time in my life) and so I asked Jim to take me one day when we were hanging out doing pretty much about nothing. That first trip was really really good, way better than the fast food burgers we could get on the east coast and despite Jim's insistence on the supremacy of Carl's Jr. burgers, In-N-Out Burger rocketed to the top of my fast food hamburger list where it has stayed ever since.

After that first taste, I made sure to make a detour for some In-N-Out Burger goodness each time I visited close to one anywhere out west, which mostly meant California or Vegas. Why no east coast franchises you ask? Well ever since they were founded in 1948, In-N-Out Burger has refused to allow distribution to anywhere that will require them to freeze their meat in transit so they've stayed close to their California headquarters. My trips to In-N-Out Burger when on the west coast became an essential rite of passage and I brought other friends with me to hear the gospel. Good times.

But then in 2007, I found out I had gout. After reviewing what exactly that meant, I pretty much determined that ground beef was my Achilles heel that would cause my knees, ankles or toes (or any combination thereof) to swell and hurt really really badly so I had to give up hamburgers made out of beef, which meant no more In-N-Out Burger. I tempted fate in 2008 in San Francisco and paid for it the next week. From there, I swore off hamburgers. Done. Fini. No more.

The 2008 Double Double I had in San Francisco was the last fast food hamburger I allowed myself for a while. In the meantime, I decided (or maybe somebody decided for me) my gout had become so bad that it needed medicating and so for the past couple of years I have been mostly pain free. So in a perhaps uncharacteristic YOLO move, I decided on this trip that I could make one more trip out beyond I-15 to sample something that I used to think about every time I considered going to Vegas. Sunday night after the Wizards-Timberwolves, I made the journey.

In-N-Out Burger essentially makes three things: burgers, fries and shakes. No chicken sandwiches, no breakfast, no burritos, no salads, no pies, no pork sandwiches pressed into the shape of pork ribs with bones. Just burgers, fries and shakes. That's the first beauty of In-N-Out Burger; they are totally and utterly dedicated to making three things really well. No need to diversify; no need to ruin perfection. According to their website, they do actually make other things but I've never seen it, other than the kids' grilled cheese, which is selectively omitted here.

When it comes to burgers, you actually do have options at In-N-Out Burger: single hamburger, single cheeseburger or double cheeseburger (the famous and fabulous Double Double). For the sake of tradition and utter deliciousness, I opted for the Double Double with fries (also known as a number one!). Then I waited (for two reasons). One, In-N-Out Burger makes everything fresh. There's no microwaving or burgers sitting around waiting to be ordered. Secondly, the place is always packed. I mean, always. We got there at about 10 pm and there was a line several people deep, a full drive through and about 10-12 orders inside waiting to be filled. Lines after years in business mean the place is good.

All gone!

I don't understand what makes In-N-Out Burger so good. I mean it's just freshly cooked beef patties with cheese on a fresh roll with lettuce, tomato, secret sauce and onion (always get the onion). But whatever they do to it, it works. There is something so amazing about biting into a Double Double and getting a taste of that rich premium beef with fatty, delicious melted American cheese. The crunch of the lettuce and onion, the sharpness and freshness of the onion and the sweetness of the tomato just complement the perfect bite so well, especially when offset with their secret sauce (which In-N-Out Burger just refers to as "spread"). Regardless of the reason, it's so much better than a Big Mac, Whopper or even a Wendy's triple burger (and yes, Jim, even better than Carl's Jr.) it's impossible to resist.

In 2008 in San Francisco, I paid the price for my In-N-Out Burger indiscretion in the form of knee or ankle pain. My 2014 experience was totally different and totally consequence-free. Looks like I'm back in the saddle again. And I will be. Just as soon as I can get back out west.

Otto knows...

Summer League 2014

As of this posting, the Washington Wizards are undefeated in the 2014 Las Vegas Summer League, a perfect 3-0 in their first three games. While winning at Summer League doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things (it's not like they are going to hang a banner in Verizon Center if we win the whole thing), it's nice to be winning instead of perpetually losing. As I have done every year since 2008, I made my way out to Vegas this past weekend to see the Wizards play in the middle of July. This was my sixth trip to Summer League; at this point I have been going to Vegas for basketball longer than some NBA teams have been. Sort of crazy.

For the second year in a row, the Las Vegas Summer League is a tournament style format. I guess this sort of event appeals to the public in that one team actually wins it all, but for me it limits my ability to see the maximum amount of Wizards basketball. The tournament format actually spreads the games out. Back in the day (two years ago), a typical schedule for a team would be to play three days in a row, followed by two days off and then games on two consecutive days before heading back out of town. Any sort of supremacy bragging rights a few years ago consisted of finishing first with a perfect 5-0 record, likely the same record as four or so other teams. There was no definitive winner, which I guess in the United States just won't fly.

While I'm all for winning it all (even though my teams don't), the old format was nice because I could find the three days in a row that the Wizards were playing and just go out  to the desert for those days. I've spent more than a month and a half of my life in Las Vegas but I've only ever stayed in town for more than three nights once and I can't see myself doing it again. It's just too much for that long. With the tournament format, no team will ever play three consecutive days unless it's in the elimination portion of the tournament and let's face it, there's way too much risk of me not seeing my team at all when the words "elimination" is in play.

So instead of seeing three games in Vegas this year, I only got to see two. I hopped on a plane first thing Saturday morning at National Airport to arrive in time for game one's 1:30 pm tipoff and took in game two the next day. The third and final game of the preliminary stage of the tournament was going on while I flew home, a way too long one stop journey that the weather in the D.C. area turned into a two stopper with a semi-emergency landing in Pittsburgh. Nothing like sitting in coach for a couple of hours on a runway in western Pennsylvania.

Summer League this year is all about Rice and Porter.

With the Wizards having no first round draft pick this year and having sold its second round pick to the Lakers for a couple of million bucks or so, this year's Summer League was all about our two draft picks from the 2013 draft, Otto Porter and Glen Rice, Jr. Both of these guys had disappointing to so-so Summer League debuts last year followed up by a rookie year that saw neither on the court in much meaningful game time so this year's Summer League was a chance for redemption and to show the NBA that they had actually progressed in their first year in the league.

If Vegas was a coming out party for Otto and Glen, I'll be very pleased with their contributions this year. In both game one against the Atlanta Hawks and game two against the Minnesota Timberwolves, these two for me were clearly the best two players on the court. The Wizards offense and defense excelled while the two were in the game and it definitely suffered when they were on the bench. It started right off the opening tip of game one against the Hawks, with Otto scoring the first basket and assisting on the next two. The Wizards rolled to a 16 point victory behind a game high 25 from Otto. He shot at a high percentage, hit one from beyond the arc and recorded seven rebounds and three assists. 

Overall in both games Otto's game looked under control. His jump shot fell nicely in both games I saw, including off glass, although his field goal percentage dipped in game two when he scored just 13. He ran the offense when he had to, played good defense and only turned the ball over once in each contest. For a guy who was advertised as the complete package who might take a while to develop, this might be an important step forward. Franchises don't draft players with the number three overall selection to sit on the bench; Otto needs way more time on the floor and needs to contribute to the cause when he's in the game. He's still thin, but has obviously benefited from some time in the weight room with Marcin Gortat.

Otto Porter: Year Two.

Glen Rice was similarly impressive. He scored 22 points in both games behind a mostly effective jump shot and a ton of time at the line. He managed to drive into the lane repeatedly and get fouled in both games, shooting an astonishing 16 free throws in the game against the Timberwolves. He showed a lot of aggressiveness and a pretty good stroke from the three point line just above the left elbow. His aggressiveness was almost out of control in both games; he hit some lucky off balance buckets in game one and took some bad leaning forward shots in game two where he wasn't so lucky. I'm not sure what was going on in game two but Glen was clearly upset in the second quarter which affected his game. I'm not sure if Alexey Shved hit one too many threes on him or if his teammates weren't getting the ball to him when he wanted but Al Harrington was clearly trying to calm him down at the end of the first half. I know Summer League can be a far cry from the NBA season but I couldn't really be any more encouraged by the first two games.

Other than Porter and Rice, there were a couple of other guys on our team that I thought would be worth writing a word or two about. The first is Daniel Orton, who spent the 2009-2010 collegiate basketball season as a teammate of John Wall at the University of Kentucky. I saw Orton play for the Maine Red Claws in Portland, Maine on my D-League trip this past spring. When I saw Orton in Maine he looked massive, clearly one of the largest players on the court. He seemed to be a skilled big man but he wore down that day playing on a team with only eight players; he just didn't seem to be in good shape. Four months later, I left the first game in Vegas thinking the same thing, although he looked a lot smaller next to players from the big leagues. Orton made some gorgeous passes in traffic and his bulk allowed him to rebound well. But he is clearly not in good shape; guys with guts don't last in the NBA. He's going to have to lose that if he wants to make it.

The second guy was Khem Birch, an undrafted UNLV prospect who showed some good defensive skills, especially in the shot blocking department. Sam Cassell indicated he wouldn't mind taking a change on Birch in training camp if he was still available. Birch to me seems like at worst a D-League call up this year and I expect that's where he'll land if he doesn't stick in the NBA.

Summer League is one of my favorite times of year. I can get way closer to the pulse of the NBA when I'm in Vegas for a couple of days than I can during an entire year at home during the regular season. The establishment surrounds you completely. I can't say hi to coach Randy Wittman during the regular season or listen in on conversations with former players or talk to broadcasters about the latest gossip flying around on Twitter. I can do all of that at Summer League. I managed to congratulate Ernie Grunfeld on the Paul Pierce signing and was rewarded with a pat on the shoulder. I also managed to offer my thoughts on video about the the Summer League experience. I love this stuff.

Getting big time! The Panini autograph pavilion with fans waiting for Julius Randle.

A lot happened off the court this year while I was at Summer League. Trevor Ariza bailed on the Wizards during Saturday's thrashing of the Hawks to sign (again) with the Houston Rockets. Ariza's a loss for us, especially on the defensive end, but I think Trevor is not going to be the same on offense without John Wall; I'm not sure the league appreciates how good John makes other people quite yet. The Ariza defection was followed by surprising news about the Wizards signing Paul Pierce and news of a potential sign and trade with Dallas for DeJuan Blair (who the Wizards famously passed on in the 2009 NBA Draft) the next night. By the time I got home on Tuesday night, the Wizards had added former Kardashian Kris Humphries and re-upped with Drew Gooden. The roster definitely filled out while I was gone.

Because it's Summer League, I got a chance to chat with CSN Washington's beat reporter J. Michael before the Timberwolves game just outside the arena. He claimed to have been all over the Paul Pierce news (not sure I'm believing that because it came out of nowhere); offered the opinion that Trevor Booker would not be back with the Wizards (he signed with the Utah Jazz yesterday); and let us know that the Wizards were capped out on Trevor Ariza at $8 million per year for four years or $9 million for three (Ariza took $8 million for four years with Houston). But the biggest surprise is that he seemed absolutely convinced of the possibility that the Wizards could land Kevin Durant in 2016 and that the organization was gearing everything financially towards that possibility. If LeBron James can go home, why not KD? I'll believe it when I see it.

While it's great to rub elbows with general managers and coaches and reporters that I follow on Twitter, I really look forward to talking with some of our current players in Las Vegas. Last year John Wall, Bradley Beal and Martell Webster sat courtside right in front of us. The year before I managed to talk with Chris Singleton for five minutes and shake hands with newly acquired Emeka Okafor. This year…nothing! That's right, for the two days I spent at UNLV watching basketball, the only Wizard I saw other than Porter and Rice was Al Harrington, and that was because he was working as a coach. Former Wizards Tracy Murray, Antawn Jamison, Roger Mason, Jr. and Michael Ruffin were there but none of our current guys were out there. Admittedly John Wall, Bradley Beal, Trevor Booker (not a Wizard any more, I realize) and Kris Humphries have been spotted since I left but not while I was there. I should have gone and sat next to Michael Ruffin and reminisced about the good days. Well, except for that one game against Toronto.

Two final thoughts about Summer League this year. First, Summer League games are played at two sides of the same arena: the Thomas and Mack Center (where the UNLV men's basketball team plays) and the Cox Pavilion (where the UNLV women's volleyball team play). Of the two, the Cox Pavilion is by far the smaller venue. The place is barely longer than a 94' long basketball court and the crowd sits right on top of the court, benches and announcers' table. You can walk within three feet of our current players or players-turned-announcer like Chris Webber or Walt Frazier. That closeness builds an intimacy you can't find in an NBA arena and makes Summer League that much more special. You can see everything on and off the court from no matter where you are sitting. 

The Thomas and Mack side of the arena is still smaller than an NBA arena by far, but the way you can experience a basketball game is just way different. Unfortunately, all the Wizards' games this year were over at the Thomas and Mack so I felt a little cheated out of an experience I have come to love so much. I still loved Summer League, but it's just not the same on the other side of the building as it is in the Cox Pavilion. I had some crazy notion about them putting the Wizards in the larger side of the building based on a growing fan base but the Wizards faithful seemed less visible this year than I have seen in years. I'm hoping we'll be back at Cox next time I come out.

The beloved Cox Pavilion.

The Thomas and Mack Center. NOT the Cox Pavilion.

Lastly, Summer League is now HUGE! As recently as two years ago, you would have to educate cab drivers that the event was even taking place. Now they have a corporate sponsor (it's now the Samsung Summer League), an autograph pavilion sponsored by Panini (rather than a cheap folding table), advertising on twenty foot high billboards on the strip and there are no shortage of cabs clustered outside the arena. Admittedly, I went on the first Saturday and Sunday; I'm assuming weekday attendance might be a bit lower. But the event has exploded and that's both a good thing and a bad thing. Gone are the days when the place is half empty and you can sit where you want but I want this thing to stick around and succeed and the folks that have put a ton of work into this event deserve it. I'm thinking it won't be long until we see all 30 NBA teams out here and I'll have to buy tickets in advance. I'm hoping for weekday games next year, I guess.

Oh…the odds of the Wizards winning the NBA title next year is 33-1. If it had been the Eastern Conference, I'd have laid some money down. Our first elimination game is tomorrow against the Clippers/Heat winner today. I'll try to watch on NBA TV. Until then, I'm looking forward to next year.

Summer League Side Trip: Rediscovering Deschutes

In 2011, I spent two weeks driving across the United States with my friends Mike and Bryan. I had wanted to see this country from the ground for a long time so the trip was literally years in the making. Eventually, I came to view it as almost a rite of passage of being an American. I've known other people who have taken similar journeys and I think everyone I know who has made the cross country trek took a few weeks after college before starting their first real job. I waited until I was 43. Oh well!

Our trip across the continent took us on a northern route to the Midwest cities of Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City; through the South Dakota badlands to the town of Deadwood in the Black Hills; on to Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies; and then over the Cascade Mountains to Seattle before ending up in Portland, Oregon and flying home. It was truly one of the great trips I’ve taken. We saw so much that will stick with me for the rest of my life before we likely cheated by taking a plane back home. If I ever do anything like that again, maybe I’ll fly out to Oregon and drive east to D.C. through the south.

On our way across the country, we tried to sample local craft beers in each city we visited: Great Lakes and Thirsty Dog in Cleveland; Sun King in Indianapolis; Schafly in St. Louis; Boulevard in Kansas City; Moose Drool in Yellowstone; and Pike Place Brewing in Seattle. Despite all the great beer we had on our way across the nation, the trip’s real beer destination (because every good trip needs a beer destination) was our last stop of Portland. And the best beer we had in Portland, hands down, was at the Deschutes Brewing Company Pub on Northwest 11th Avenue. It was so good that in the two nights we were in town, we visited the place both nights.

Since we left Portland two years ago, I’ve been craving Deschutes’ Hop In The Dark and Chainbreaker White IPA beers weekly (ESPECIALLY the Chainbreaker). Both beers are what I would call hybrid beers, applying a hop character to beer varieties that are not traditionally heavily hopped. They are, in my experience, unique among beer varieties and it totally works. They are both absolutely delicious.

As of right now, Deschutes distributes as far east as Illinois, which means I can’t find their beer near my home in Washington, D.C. I noticed a Deschutes bar takeover here just a day late last year and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. But Las Vegas is west of Illinois, so while I was out there for NBA Summer League I decided to look for some of what I’ve been craving these last 24 months, with the help of the Find Our Beers section of Deschutes’ website.

So all these words I’ve written essentially amount to a love note to Chainbreaker White IPA. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m just saying, that's all. I found some in bottles at Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay a couple of hours after touchdown and had two with a make your own bison burger (American cheese, chopped jalapeños, jalapeño bacon and chipotle aioli if you must know) as soon as I sat down at the bar.

Chainbreaker was perhaps not the perfect pairing with my burger considering my choice of toppings but it was wonderful nonetheless. The beer is a Belgian style witbier which is hopped like an IPA. So where a typical witbier, which I don't drink that often, finishes a little weak and watery in my experience, leaving just a vague yeasty aftertaste, the hop finish on the Chainbreaker adds a finish which is robust and totally in contrast to the rest of the taste of the beer. I savored those two beers, knowing that I could always go back, if I had to, for more. I didn't, as it turned out, but I know where to find it. And next summer, I might just do that unless Deschutes finds a way to distribute to the east coast. I'm still looking for some more Hop In The Dark.

Summer League 2013

As of this post, NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is in full swing. It started last Friday and runs through next Monday. The Wizards first two games of the summer were this past Saturday and Sunday and I was able to get out to Vegas to see our guys play before heading back to D.C. and back to work. In case I haven't made it obvious in prior posts, let me state once again for the record that I love Summer League. Despite getting back from a European trip just five days before leaving for Vegas, there was no way I was missing this.

The Las Vegas Summer League this year is a tournament, with the championship game on the final day, and that format has completely affected the scheduling of games. In the four prior Summer Leagues I have attended, the Wizards usually completed all five of their games over a seven day span, playing three games and two games on consecutive days sandwiched around two days off. This year, every team plays three games in the first five days with anywhere from two to five additional games in tournament play. This new schedule had the Wizards playing Saturday and Sunday but not again until Tuesday, which didn't allow me to take in three games in the three night stay I typically allocate to a Vegas trip. I'm not going to get upset about missing the third game; it just is what it is. But I might change my philosophy in coming years.

One of the reasons I love Summer League is the opportunity to talk to players, coaches and general managers about the Wizards, the NBA or the game of basketball in general. Last year I was able to bend Wizards' general manager Ernie Grunfeld's ear for five minutes or so after a game and spent some time talking to Chris Singleton. Friday morning, I was sitting at the gate at National Airport when head coach Randy Wittman walked in to the boarding area. The team flew out a day earlier but Randy had another commitment so he ended up flying first class on the 9 a.m. direct flight that I happened to be on.

"Surveillance photo" of me grilling Randy Wittman about the Wizards.

I usually manage to only get a couple of words in with our head coach at Summer League over the aisle between the general admission seats and the roped off VIP coaches and players section so it was great to get a few questions in uninterrupted while we waited to board. And I actually had stuff I wanted to know this year. I always claim that this blog is not about the game of basketball (and it's not) but I have learned a thing or two about our team here and there while writing this and it definitely prepared me to talk hoops with Randy.

We didn't talk long but I managed to ask about turnovers, the Ariza/Okafor for Rashard Lewis trade, the log jam of young players in the frontcourt and Jan Vesely's free throws. Not surprisingly, turnovers drive Randy nuts and the Wizards committed a lot of them last year. He acknowledged that the team is likely to have more turnovers than other teams because of the pace the team wants to play but also credited John Wall with improvement at the end of last year which he hopes (as we all do) will carry over to this year.

I next asked about the difference that Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor made to the team's success last year. Randy pointed out that a lot of people panned the trade to begin with because it added another year of salary cap burden which could have been used to sign free agents but that in the end the team needed veterans who can play. I admitted I was one of the trade's detractors at the beginning of the season and I thought the use of the term "veterans who can play" was interesting. There's no question Trevor and Emeka logged heavy minutes last year and were not just in the locker room for leadership alone. We need these guys to play and contribute in a big way.

On the subject of our young big men, Randy noted that either Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely or Chris Singleton has to start distinguishing themselves from the pack to get heavy minutes. He also acknowledged that there is probably only room for two of those four in the future. Finally, I asked about how Vesely can improve his free throw percentage. Randy confirmed for me that it's all mental, just as we heard from A.J. Price at the end of last season, and that Ves is seeking help from a sports psychologist to improve his performance at the line. What a great start to summer league; I hadn't even left Virginia yet and already had gained the kind of inside information you get sometimes when you hang around the right spot at the right time.

2013 first round draft pick Otto Porter during a timeout in game 1.

As far as the Wizards' play while I was in Las Vegas...well, big picture-wise, we lost both games. We managed to set a Las Vegas NBA Summer League all time record for fewest points scored in a game by both teams (108 points total) in Saturday's turnover filled game against the Golden State Warriors. We followed that effort on Sunday with a close-through-three-quarters affair against the New York Knicks before collapsing in the fourth quarter to the tune of 23-12 and ultimately losing by 13 points. I realize wins and losses don't mean much in Summer League but it's nice to win just the same, especially after traveling 2,000 miles for a game or two.

This year's Summer League team featured four players who are likely to be on the Wizards' 2013-2014 opening day roster and probably nobody else considering we theoretically only have one open roster spot unless we manage to make some adjustments via trade prior to the start of the season. 2011 first round draft picks Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton were back for their second Vegas stint and were joined by this year's draft picks Otto Porter and Glen Rice, Jr., so it was an opportunity to see if Ves and Singleton would fare better against Summer League opponents than they did in the regular season in addition to getting a first look at our two rookies.

Through our first two games, Chris Singleton had another uneven Summer League. He led the team in scoring with 13 points in our 52 point game against the Warriors on 4 of 9 shooting but fared far worse against the Knicks in the second game. It appears the team is once again experimenting with Chris bringing the ball up court just like he did last summer and it's just not working. I am much more nervous with Chris handing the ball in Summer League than I am having Trevor Ariza do it in the regular season and that's saying something. If there was somewhat of a bright spot for me in Chris' first two games, it's that he knocked down some open jump shots in game one after seeming highly reluctant to take those shots at first. No doubt he's still a work in progress. Chris has an uphill climb at the three spot this year so it seems like his best chance for significant playing time is at the power forward position. Knocking down open Js will help his court time.

In contrast to last year's Summer League, I thought Jan Vesely played very well this year. He was fairly aggressive offensively, testing out some post moves with limited success, and played some good defense deflecting passes and blocking some shots inside. While he had an errant pass or two, Ves continued to show in my opinion some strong passing skills, especially when starting the fast break. I also thought he rebounded fairly effectively. It's difficult to gauge the performance of an athletic power forward in Summer League. He needs someone to facilitate his offense too much to flourish in that type of atmosphere. The couple of alley oop attempts thrown Jan's way being clearly off the mark served as a perfect example of his need for quality point guard play for his game to succeed. One really bright spot: he looked very comfortable going two-for-two from the free throw line.



Me in my Jan Vesely t shirt with Vesely himself.

The first two games of Summer League were a mixed bag for number three overall draft pick Otto Porter, who started at shooting guard. I thought his first game was far more effective than his second game. He looked comfortable on the court, unlike Bradley Beal in his first game last year, but he was certainly not an offensive force. He showed his full game on Saturday defending, rebounding, scoring and hustling for loose balls. He played some heads up ball and managed to get out and run on some fast break attempts, finishing efficiently at the rim.

Glen Rice, Jr. on the other hand showed some game. Of our four players likely to be on the roster on opening day, Glen's performance exceeded my expectations by a ton. His shooting was perhaps less than remarkable, making only five of his 15 shots over the first two games. What stood out to me though was the rest of his game, including his ability to rebound the ball and defend his opponent. He also managed the most impressive dunk of the first two days for the Wizards. Hopefully his Summer League performance can translate to the regular season, although I realize that's a lot to ask of a rookie second round draft pick. I noticed Glen looked down at his feet to make sure he was behind the three point line in each of the two games I watched. I wish he wouldn't do that; just catch and shoot in rhythm and learn where to place your feet over time. He missed both shots by the way.

This brief all too short trip to Las Vegas was my fifth Summer League excursion. If there's one thing that's obvious from this past weekend, it's that the event is clearly picking up some momentum. I realize I showed up on the first Saturday in the smaller Cox Pavilion when both the Warriors and Sacramento Kings were playing, but the place was packed. I've only seen it more full than it was Saturday afternoon once and that was during John Wall's first game three years ago. It's great to see people packing the arena even if it was kind of nice to watch hoops in a mostly empty arena in years past.

I also noticed increased visibility in talking with cab drivers. I think every cab driver I've had before this year had no idea what was happening over at the Thomas and Mack Center and getting rides back to the strip was a complete crap shoot. You just had to be there when someone else was dropped off. But this year on both days I exited the arena there was a cab line outside the arena, which is great to see. I've been back only one day and I wish I was still out there. The Wizards' final game of group play is tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

Oh...by the way, the odds of the Wizards finishing with the best record in the NBA: 100 to 1. I didn't place a bet.

Finally! A cab line outside the Thomas and Mack Center.

Summer League Side Trip: The Boneyard

Neon Museum Sign: N from the original Golden Nugget; E from Caesar's Palace; O from Binion's Horseshoe and N from the Desert Inn.

For years, I have been insisting that the only reason I have left to visit Las Vegas is to see the Neon Museum's Boneyard. While this isn't really completely true, since I'll probably go back to Vegas as long as the NBA Summer League is held there, I have wanted to visit the Boneyard for years and decided 2012 was the year. In case you haven't heard of it, the Neon Museum was established in 1996 to collect and display neon signs which they describe as the classic Las Vegas art form. The museum doesn't yet have a traditional museum building but instead displays its signs in three locations: an open gallery at the Fremont Street Experience; a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard between Sahara Avenue and Washington Avenue; and the Boneyard, an open lot littered with about 150 old signs. My Saturday morning in Vegas was spent at the latter.

Sassy Sally's: While the casino is gone, Sassy Sally remains in place on Fremont Street.

When I go on vacation, I usually get to know as much as possible about my destination. I research history before departing; visit significant historical and architectural sites; learn about the local cuisine and music; and generally understand where I am going in depth so I can fully appreciate all that the place has to offer in the little time I am choosing to stay there. 2012 represented my 14th trip to Las Vegas and I have never, EVER done any of that. I typically just show up, wander around, gamble a little, maybe go to a show, eat and then leave. I suppose in a way that is what Vegas is all about but I've always felt a little guilty about not understanding more of the history of Las Vegas. I think my visit to the Boneyard starts to scratch that itch a little.

The original Binion's Horseshoe sign with some goofy guy in front of it.

If you are ever in Vegas and looking for something different to do, I'd recommend taking the trip up to the Boneyard. It's about a half a mile north of Fremont Street and takes an hour to tour and hear stories about the signs and the history of Las Vegas in general. It should be no surprise that the history is full of colorful characters. The tour guide will fill you in on Benny Binion, Howard Hughes and everyone else who had a hand in the early days of Las Vegas. The collection features some fairly significant signs from historic casinos in Vegas including the Desert Inn, Binion's Horseshoe and the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge was the first racially integrated casino in Vegas. Apparently other casinos used to spy on patrons in the Moulin Rouge and would terminate their own employees if caught in the place. Sad how the history of segregation affects even a place like Las Vegas.

The tour includes some great stories about casinos. I think my favorites were about the Stardust and the MGM Grand, probably because I have spent time in both those places over the prior 11 years since I first visited Las Vegas. The MGM Grand apparently used to have a theme park in the rear of the casino and featured a Wizard of Oz theme to the casino, which totally makes sense considering the shade of green (emerald?) which emanates from the hotel at night. The Stardust, though, had a more bizarre story. The casino name and sign was apparently inspired by the nuclear bomb testings that were being conducted in Nevada during the 1950s. The original sign was shaped like a mushroom cloud which you can see if you look closely at the picture at the bottom of this post. That's not the bizarre part. As one of their promotional packages, the hotel used to take guests on bus trips to watch the atomic bomb testings. I guess in those days you just washed away the fallout in the shower when you got back to the hotel??? I imagine that's one idea someone was regretting with the benefit of hindsight.



The way the neon is crafted to represent the flower in the yucca plant is a lost art.

There are other signs in the collection besides casino signs. Dry cleaners, restaurants, motels, trailer parks and wedding chapels are all featured at the Boneyard. Each one is bold, distinctive and for the most part instantly memorable, which is something I have always loved about commercial graphic art and signage in particular. I love things with clear content which are both simple and complex in their design.

The Stardust T with a series of other signs.

The artform displayed at the Boneyard is uniquely American in origin, which is something else about signs and neon signs that appeals to me. I remember emigrating to the United States as a kid and being struck by the neon signs that announced seemingly every business and storefront. We just didn't have that same kind of blatant and obvious commercialism in England in the 1970s. I've always loved how over the top America has been with its approach to commercialism and advertising.

LOVE the duck!

The Neon Museum hopes to move into a permanent facility later this year. They relocated the concrete shell from the old La Concha motel lobby to serve as their museum entrance. I'd love to go back when they open it. In the meantime, the Boneyard and the signs displayed in the median of Las Vegas Boulevard just south of the museum serve as the exhibits. The signs on Las Vegas Boulevard are fully illuminated and must look incredible at night. I imagine their display collection will grow as funding comes in. They told us it takes about $100,000 to restore a typical sign and get it ready for display.

Barbary Coast, Desert Inn, some Sahara letters and the Stardust cloud.

If you go, go early. There were several tour groups in the Boneyard by the time we finished our tour but as the first group, we had the place to ourselves initially, which made for some great pictures (I think) without having to deal with people in the way.



The original Stardust letters. Had to get a picture of me with these.