Social scientists introduced the concept of unintended consequences. When a change is introduced in a complex system, often unexpected outcomes, both positive and negative, will result. With that in mind, when the Wizards selected Jan Vesley, Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack in the 2011 NBA Draft, their selections will likely have a direct influence on any decisions the team makes to further reshape its roster.

The Wizards were able to select three players who addressed specific areas of need. It is expected that all three will make the team, so how will their selection affect the team's decision moving forward? How will their presence impact which existing players the Wizards keep and what players they target in free agency? Introducing these three players will have an immediate and direct impact on other players on the roster.

Let's take a look at the current state of the unofficial roster broken out by the primary position each player is expected to play:

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Every NBA team has a better winning percentage when they play at home versus on the road.  It appears to be natural for teams to struggle, comparatively speaking, when they are the road team.  Generally speaking, the road team will get the home team's best effort when its opponent is playing on its home floor and in front of a supportive crowd.

When you look at some of the high level team statistics, not so surprisingly they indicate what we know by watching this team.  They are not very good on the road.

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(Photo: CJ Hempfield)

The Wizards were playing at home against a mediocre team, so one might have expected another close win. A cold shooting night and a lack of energy helped the Wizards to get off to a slow start. One example of this was the Wizards had a better three-point percentage (37.5%) than field goal percentage (29.4%) through about the 6 minute mark in the 2^nd quarter. In many ways the Wizards were lucky to have a tied game at the half.

Early in the first quarter JaVale McGee picked up two quick fouls and left the game with nearly 8 minutes remaining in the quarter. Surprisingly, JaVale was able to remain clean the rest of the game and finished with only those two personal fouls. This was largely due to the Center minutes being spread among McGee, Armstrong and Blatche. Conversely, the Pacers Roy Hibbert nearly fouled out in nearly 15 minutes of play.

For much of the first half the Wizards appeared to be content playing at a pace that was much more comfortable for the Pacers. It is understandable if the Pacers were a bit tired. They were on the second game of a back-to-back and it was the third game in four nights. Even though they likely had tired legs, the Pacers Tyler Hansbrough often out-hustled the Wizards player he was matched up against.

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In a game that started very slowly for the Wizards, particularly as they shot the ball very poorly.  The team was able to heat up in the second half and increased its defensive intensity enough to seal a 14 point win against the struggling Pacers.  

More to come but in the meantime discuss.

For those of you who have not heard yet Flip will miss tonight's game due to a family emergency involving his mother.  Assistant Coach Randy Wittman will be the acting Head Coach for tonight's match-up with the Pacers.

Here is the pre-game interview with Randy Wittman:

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One of the popular topics during the post-game interview sessions focused on the night that Andray Blatche had against the Chicago Bulls. In many ways this was a night that Andray will want to quickly erase from his memory banks. But can he? Andray played a little over 36 minutes tonight but he finished with 7 points on 3-14 from the field, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 personal fouls and 4 turnovers.

Andray Blatche's night seemed to get off on the wrong foot from nearly the start of the game. With about 8:30 remaining in the 1^st quarter Andray picked off a pass and had what looked to be an easy two. However as he attempted to score the ball slipped from his hand, easily rebounding to Carlos Boozer who was trailing the play. The play itself was embarrassing enough, however the Verizon Center fans immediately began booing Blatche. More interestingly they continued to boo him throughout much of the game.

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Since the second half of the Nets game the Wizards have played with the energy and efforts that most fans crave. And this game was no different. The Wizards came out of the gate slowly, but then closed the first quarter with a four point lead that they were able to maintain through the half.

While the overall defensive effort was great - they held the Bulls about 13 points below their season scoring average. Offensively, the Wizards were not firing on all cylinders. Early in the game, Andray Blatche missed what would have been a routine dunk and from that point forward was not able to get himself back on track. And when you combine that with the Wizards tendency to play isolation basketball, which Flip Saunders readily admits is not a strength, folding in new players, a cold shooting night and Chicago's defensive effort and you easily have the recipe for a less than stellar offensive output. However, even with those obstacles the Wizards had an opportunity to tie the game late in the fourth quarter on a missed three-point shot by Rashard Lewis.

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After a bit of a slow start, the Wizards jumped out to an early lead only to trail for much of the second half.  This was a game in which Andray Blatche was boo'd non-stop.

More to come.

As interesting as Gilbert Arenas may have been, sometimes the best way to summarize Arenas' topsy-turvey tenure in D.C. is through other people's words. We try to do that here as Gilbert Arenas Tribute Day rolls on. 

There has been a lot said about Gilbert during his nearly seven and a half year career in DC. As a result, it is very difficult to narrow down a list of the top 10 quotes about him. It is very likely that you will recall others that stick out in your mind.

However, here are the 10 that struck me as being funny, insightful and in some cases completely ridiculous. Please note that the following quotes are not listed in any particular order.

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For those who have never done it, covering a sports team is full of "excitement" - much of it is spent waiting. Well last night during one of those stretches, a few of us were in the Wizards locker room when an interesting discussion broke out. (Sorry, I will not mention the names of those involved in the discussion or who instigated the discussion.) The question being debated was - who is the best known (based on relative popularity), worst player in the NBA.

This seemed to me to be the perfect summertime discussion topic. However, once the idea was floated, I thought it would be a great topic for the faithful readers of BF to kick around.

So with that said, who are your candidates for this less than prestigious honor?

If the Wizards were fully healthy this would have been a difficult game for them to win. However, the Wizards are anything but healthy right now. The Wizards began the game without John Wall and Andray Blatche, but then they also lost Yi Jianlian early in the first quarter due to a knee injury - they hope to have more news on him tomorrow.

"It's tough, we've been hit by this injury bug for the last couple of years, but we'll keep fighting and keep pulling for each other," said Gilbert Arenas.

The Wizards 'thinness' at the Power Forward and Center positions meant that Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin and Hilton Armstrong saw additional playing time. In fact, Booker got the second half start and played significant minutes (34:29). When asked about his attitude going into the second half, Trevor Booker said, "I just wanted to bring a lot of energy, and play great defense and take what comes to me on the offensive end." He finished the game with 9 points and career best 9 rebounds.

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This was the type of game that you expected the Wizards to lose.  They began the game without John Wall and Andray Blatche, then lost Yi Jianlian to a knee injury early in the first quarter.  This Wizards team was over-matched from the opening tip.  And when you combine that with a cold shooting night and the team is lucky to have only lost by 14 points.

More later but let the discussion begin.

The problem with a team that returns only four players that finished last season, is that they appear to have forgotten lessons that they seemed to have learned last year.  When the Wizards play with energy and enthusiasm their effort will often mask any deficiencies in talent (see their win over Denver last year), but when they display no energy or enthusiasm their weaknesses are magnified.  Well they also had two players - Josh Howard (for four games) and James Singleton - who played with a feistiness that seems foreign to many players on this current roster.  But more on that later.

In the first half the Wizards seemed to be taking a page from Muhammad Ali's famed Rope-a-dope style, hoping that by letting the Raptors run that they may eventually tire out.  Well their inability to stop the Raptors from scoring at will lead to the Raptors scoring 72 first half points.  72 first half points!  This is the same Raptors team that in its previous game, an 18 point loss to the Atlanta Hawks, managed to score 78 points for the entire game.  Yes, nearly its full game point production in one half of basketball.  Shameful.

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"They out-played us tonight," said Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy.  He added, "You'll hear coaches say this but it could not have been more true tonight, we absolutely stole a game.  I thought they played with a lot more energy than we did in the second half."

Van Gundy is correct, however, the Wizards dug themselves a 12 point hole in the first half against the first place team in the Southeastern division - and arguably one of the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, currently.  The hole that the Wizards dug revolved more around their cold shooting and mistakes then it was about their effort.  The Wizards appeared to put forth the effort from the opening tip.  "In the first half Kirk didn't make any shots [and] Gil was 2 for 13," said Flip Saunders.  The Wizards, particularly when John Wall is not on the floor, do not get easy shots.  So when its shots aren't falling they must find a way to keep the game close with their defensive effort.  And that is a task that is easier said than done when you have one of the most physically imposing Centers on the floor, Dwight Howard - who is currently averaging 23 and 12.

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The Wizards should celebrate this hard fought win, at least for one night. This is the type of win that a young team can use as building blocks for future success.

And while one can make the argument that this is the type of win that the Wizards should get - playing a nearly equally young team, with a poorer record, and at home - and in a sense they are right. However, this Wizards team came into the game with its starting point guard coming off the bench after missing 4 games due to injury, another starter, Josh Howard, who has not yet played this season, one of its key bench players, Yi Jianlian, is still injured and it lost its current starting Small Forward, Al Thornton, after about 8 minutes of play. However, to be fair Philadelphia was without Craig Brackens and Jason Kapono due to injury and Andre Iguodala played while not being fully 100%. The reality is that both teams, like many in the NBA, are dealing with injury.

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JaVale McGee is often criticized for his play on defense and the defensive boards. Well the game against the Grizzlies brought with it a chance for him to matchup with one of the better young Centers in the league, Marc Gasol. And in this game, not only did the Wizards pull out a tough win, but JaVale also held his own. One could easily argue that McGee had the greater impact on the game when comparing to the two young Centers.

As is the case in most games, stats don't tell the full story. Even though they do show that the two Centers played fairly evenly, statistically speaking. McGee played just over 38 minutes and finished with the following line: 10 Points, 4-7 (.571) FG, 2-2 FT, 12 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 3 Steals, 3 Blocked Shots and 1 Turnover.  Gasol played just over 36 minutes and had the following line: 16 points, 7-9 (.778) FG, 2-3 FT, 8 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Blocked Shot and 2 Turnovers. It is also important to note that the Wizards appeared to be more effective offensively when McGee was on the floor, a evidence by his higher plus/minus ratio of +7 versus Gasol's -9.

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Entering the game against the Rockets it had the feel of a bad match up for the Wizards.  Yes, the Rockets were without Aaron Brooks, and Kyle Lowery was limited to coming off the bench, as both have been struggling with injuries.  And as a result the Rockets were forced to start, Ishmail Smith, an undrafted rookie free agent.  But the Rockets, due in large part to the improved play of Luis Scola and Kevin Martin are averaging 112 points per game - and the Wizards have struggled on defense, giving up 109 PPG on .501 FG%.  When you combine one team that can score with another that does not defend very well, it seemed like the recipe for a disappointing basketball game.

Well almost immediately you had the sense that this game might be different.  Before the game, Flip Saunders pointed out that "we are beating ourselves" averaging 18 or 19 turnovers.  During the first quarter, the Wizards had only four turnovers and none by John Wall, who finished the game with only one.  The Wizards also out-rebounded the Rockets early holding a 14 to six advantage.  However, the biggest blow to the Rockets came when after only 6:14 of play; Yao Ming left the floor with what was first reported by Chris Miller to be a pulled tendon in his left ankle.  The Rockets injury troubles, with the injury to the oft injured Yao, just took a turn for the worse.

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The Wizards finished a short, yet eventful first week to the season. While nearly every team in the league has played either four or five games, the Wizards are tied for the fewest games played so far (3) with Orlando. Tonight Chicago and New York played each other for their respective fourth game tonight. However, if not for an asbestos scare Orlando would have played its fourth game against New York earlier in the week.

After one week, what do we know about this group of Wizards?

First let me say that it is much too early to draw any significant conclusions about this team - its only been three games. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's talk about a few items. For nearly the entire Orlando game and for stretches during the Atlanta game, the sloppiness of the Wizards play made it feel like the preseason was extended by a couple of games. However, it is also fair to point out that Orlando was a very bad match-up for this young Wizards team. On opening night they were facing a veteran Orlando team that had a chip on its shoulders, playing at home, while they were opening their brand new building and on national TV. This game had disaster written all over it.

Playing without Gilbert Arenas and Josh Howard, while Andray Blatche works himself back into game shape, this team is going to struggle offensively. This is particularly true in the closing minutes when the games are close and teams typically rely on their most talented players. This was felt very clearly against Atlanta, which relied heavily on Joe Johnson and Al Horford to help close out the win. And even though the Wizards finished with a win, Philadelphia relied on its two former All-Stars, Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand, down the stretch. It is clear that it will be difficult to get a full account of this team until both Arenas and Howard are back and playing at nearly 100%.

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After a blowout loss to the Magic on Thursday, it was hard to know what type of effort the Wizards would give against the Atlanta Hawks. While this was far from a perfect game, the Wizards effort was much better in this game. However, the Wizards inexperience, lack of bench production and a poor second quarter ultimately did them in.

Early in the game, largely behind strong performances by John Wall and Al Thornton, the Wizards were able to get out to an early 11 point lead. Poor shooting, lack of ball movement, poor shot selection and an incredible number of unforced turnovers all contributed to a second quarter that saw the Wizards lead evaporate as they managed to score only 13 points in the quarter (as Atlanta scored 26). The Wizards, who turned the ball over 18 times in the game, helped Atlanta's defense by committing 15 turnovers by traveling, setting moving screens or other offensive fouls.

And just when Atlanta stretched out to its largest lead of 9 points, Wall cranked it up a notch. John Wall had stretches during the 3^rd quarter in which he looked unstoppable. Not only was he blowing past people on 1-man breaks but he also began to blow by defenders in the half court as well as hit a jumpers. He began to show flashes of what he might become in the future and the prospects are awesome.

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Typically in a game like what the Wizards just had, both the organization and the fans want to erase it from its collective memory as quickly as possible.  Well if that is your goal this post will not allow you to do that... just not yet.  Here are your post-game links detailing the many aspects of the Wizards loss to the Orlando Magic:

• Michael Lee, Wizards Insider - John Wall is welcomed to the NBA with a walloping
• Frank Hanrahan of CSNWashington.com, says what many who watched thought, "That wasn't pretty"
• Chris Miller of CSN Washington provides a video recap of the game
• ESPN provides a video recap of the game [Daily Dime]
• Michael Lee of the Washington Post asks: Can John Wall become the face of the Wizards when its previous one, Gilbert Arenas, remains?
• Truth About It's Kyle Weidie focuses on the Wizards leading scorer, Cartier Martin
• Locker room notes from Orlando Pinstriped Post: Jameer Nelson said Wall is "the fastest point guard in the world. In the world."
• Foxsportsflorida.com: Magic give Wall a night to forget in NBA debut
• SLAM Online's Post Up blog on John Wall's debut
• Yahoo! Sports: A Magic opening: Orlando routs Wizards, 112-83
• CBSSports.com: Howard, Magic easily scale Wizards, Wall in opener
• NBCSports: Eager for Heat, Magic rout Wiz in Wall's debut
• NBA FanHouse: John Wall gets a dose of reality from Magic in NBA debut
• The SportingNews at least focuses on the positive days ahead for John Wall
• CBSSports.com Blog gives John Wall a "B-" in his debut, he compares favorably with past rookie PGs
• Magic deflates Wall, Wizards [Philly.com]
• For the Fabricio Oberto fans - he was picked up by the Trail Blazers and is trying to find a role

When your team has the number 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, it is natural for that selection to receive the bulk of the media attention.  However, out of the Wizards three first round selections, the least is known about the team's second first round pick (17th overall), Kevin Seraphin.  This is partly due to Kevin playing internationally, but it is also because Kevin's first language is French - although he is rapidly learning English.

So with the hope of learning more about Kevin Seraphin, we enlisted the help of friend and colleague Jerome Knoepffler of BasketUSA.com.  I supplied Jerome with a series of questions and he interviewed Kevin Seraphin in his most comfortable language, French.  Below you will find both the questions and Kevin's responses.

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Yesterday, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that David Stern would like to "cut player costs by $750 million to $800 million."  Probably more shockingly, Berger reported that the league would be "open to contraction" in order to reduce costs and increase profitability.  Well it did not take the National Basketball Players Association's Executive Director Billy Hunter long to respond.  Below are a series of tweets that were sent via the NBPA's official Twitter account (@TheNBPA):

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