Speeding Bullets: 'Crab dribble' edition

Coming off a surprising 80-77 victory over LeBron Almighty James and the Cleveland Traveliers, the Wizards pondered James’ “crab dribble” that James claims makes him immune to traveling calls. With mere seconds left in the game and the Wizards up by 2 points, James drove to the basket and collided with QF Dominic McGuire. James traveled on the play, as he often does, so that wasn’t surprising. What was shocking was that an official actually had the nerve to call The Almighty for traveling. James protested then and after the game that what he’d done, what he calls a ‘crab dribble,’ is not traveling even though anyone who looks at the tape can see that he traveled. 
James was upset after the game, insisting the call went the wrong way and instructing the league to adjust their traveling rules to accomodate his traveling “crab dribble.” You may be asking at this point: What the hell is a “crab dribble” and does such a thing actually exist outside the mind of LeBron James? 
Does Caron Butler know what a “crab dribble” is?

“Yeah, a crab dribble is when you travel,” Butler said with a grin yesterday.

What about Antawn Jamison, who was calling desperately for a traveling call to be made just milliseconds before the whistle was blown? Does he know what a “crab dribble” is?

“I don’t know, but I know what traveling is,” Jamison said. “He said he’s seen the play a couple of times and didn’t think he traveled, but we all know what traveling is. They got tape to prove the history of that signature move that he has, but it was a travel, hands down. When he beats us on end-of-game situations or finds a way to get it done, we give him credit, but it didn’t happen [Sunday] and the right call was called.”

This comment from Butler, I think, sums it up best.

“It’s a travel,” Butler said. “It was the exact same move two years ago in the playoffs.”

…

“I definitely knew he traveled, but I didn’t think they were gonna call it,” Caron said. “You know, two years ago, looking in hindsight, it was the same thing that happened in the playoffs. And we get that call, who knows what would have happened with everybody healthy. But that was one of them situations in which a great player made a move, good officiation, and they called the call. And I was just like, ‘Aw, man. There is a God. There is a God.’ “

I understand Lebron’s outrage about the traveling call. Yes, he did travel. But he’s been traveling like that for years, since his rookie year in the NBA, at the very least. And he almost always gets away with it. Now, all of the sudden, some random ref thinks he has the right to hold Lebron James to the same rules that govern other NBA players on the court? It must have been quite a shock to Lebron and the Cavaliers. It also makes Lebron’s post-game insistence that the NBA must adjust its rules to allow him to travel understandable. It certainly won’t help Lebron’s game or Cleveland’s championship hopes if the NBA decides to reverse course and begin enforcing the rules on King James. I’m shocked one ref did so. I’ll be even more shocked if the rest of the NBA continues to do the right thing.
My favorite quote in this whole affair goes to the ref who made the call, Bill Spooner. 

“Three steps to the basket. Basic travel call.”

Short, to the point, accurate. I’d have someone else start your car for the next few weeks, Bill. 
Before we let this go, permit me to point out that even Cavaliers Coach Mike James, who would literally take a bullet for his meal ticket star player, admitted that LeBron traveled on the play.
Mister Irrelevant gives us a photo of the hilarious suit [deemed "stuntastic" by Brendan Haywood] that Deshawn Stevenson wore to the Cavaliers game.

Will the 7-25 Wizards get a jolt of life later this season if Gilbert Arenas finally returns to action. He played a 2-on-2 game with some teammates yesterday, prompting a flurry of speculation about how close Arenas is to working out with the team, practicing and, eventually, playing in a real NBA game. The team and Arenas all say they plan to take it slow, which sounds right to me. In the meantime, Jamison accurately sums up what the Wizards are missing with Arenas in street clothes.

“The last couple of years you get accustomed to [Arenas] taking over in the last three or four minutes, him creating easy opportunities for myself and Caron [Butler],” forward Antawn Jamison said. “You get used to having that safety blanket and we don’t have that. It’s just been an adjustment. Now we have Mike [James], who is new, so that’s another adjustment. But Gilbert’s a special player and you get used to having Agent Zero or Hibachi or whatever you want to call him. He makes the game that much easier. Down the stretch, that’s the reason he is the kind of player he is. So we’re doing a little soul searching.”

While Gil’s teammates want him back as soon as he is healthy, Post columnist Mike Wise has other ideas about how Washington should get out of the cellar and take a shot at an NBA championship: Wait ’til next year.

The truth, the one Abe Pollin and friends can’t ever let on to their season ticket holders: Concede that this is a lost season. Now. Make every important decision today based on next year.

That means don’t take a chance on bringing back Gilbert Arenas or Brendan Haywood early from injury, if at all. Don’t clear either player to participate in full scrimmages until Arenas’s knee and Haywood’s wrist are completely rehabilitated. Even then, limit their minutes considerably.

Keep giving the youngsters big minutes. Let Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and Andray Blatche make every dumb, knucklehead mistake on the court until they either learn a better way or play themselves out of the league.

And if they haven’t already, start putting every amount of scouting effort into the five top players to be chosen in the June draft — envision how a Blake Griffin, James Harden, Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill or Brandon Jennings might fit into the rotation a year from now, who duplicates a need already met by another player and who can bring something unique to the lineup.

It’s simply too late for anything else.

Injured Wizards center Brendan Haywood agrees:

“If I’m playing GM, I’m not gambling on Gil,” said Brendan Haywood on Sunday when asked to play Ernie Grunfeld for a few minutes. “I wouldn’t even want him practicing until he was pain-free for three weeks. Then I wouldn’t play him any back-to-back games. Unless we were in the playoff hunt, it wouldn’t make any sense for his long-term health.

“That’s your $111 million investment. You don’t want to be penny-wise and dollar-foolish right now. It’s too much of a risk. If you’re the GM, you’ve basically tied your legacy to Gilbert Arenas. If it works out, you’re going to be a genius. If not, you might have to find something else to do.”

Haywood’s other reasoning for caution had to do with the future. “You bring me and Gil back healthy, put us on a starting five with Caron, Antawn, DeShawn or Nick,” Haywood began, “and add whoever comes out of the draft, Griffin or Harden or one of those guys. And you throw in some of the young guys who you don’t have concerns about anymore because they were battle-tested this year, that’s a solid, nine-, 10-man rotation that can beat a lot of teams in this league.

“I think that’s how you got to look at it from a bigger picture.”

Arenas has said similar things himself, so both injured players believe the team should focus on getting last year’s starters healthy for 2009-10 and developing for the future. I agree — at least to a certain degree. Haywood’s season is over and nobody should think more about it. As far as Arenas, I agree that the team should be patient and not put him on the court until he’s absolutely ready.
However…
The Wizards cannot build for the future until they know more about Gilbert Arenas. When he plays again, will he be like the old Gilbert, a superstar who can hand anyone 40 points and take over a game in the last 5 minutes? Or will he be a greatly reduced Gilbert, incapable of taking over games and dominating the scoreboard? The answer to that question will go a long way to determining how the Wizards manage their rebuilding project. If Gilbert is still a star next Summer, the Wizards can go one way in the draft. If Gilbert is an above-average, but hugely-overpaid guard next Summer, the Wizards will need to adjust their plan. 
In other words, the team cannot plan for the future until it knows what Gilbert will be in that future. The team does need to get Gilbert on the court this season. He doesn’t need to come back soon, but we do need to get a look at him for the last 15-20 games of the season. He doesn’t have to go 40 minutes a game in those contests, but we do need to see him average over 20 minutes. And we need to see if he’s still got that blazing first step that allowed him to get past any defender. We need to see if he’s got the same elevation that allowed him to shoot over anyone. We need to see if he’s Gilbert the Great or Gilbert the Gimpy. We can’t figure out the future until we know.

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