Wizards hardly disappointed in season finale loss

JaVale McGee pulled out his iPad2, tapped the screen, leaned back in front of his locker room stall and started laughing.

“Kevin,” McGee said, calling over rookie Kevin Seraphin, who made the blooper reel during the Wizards’ 100-93 season finale loss in Cleveland. Late in the first period, Jordan Crawford spotted Seraphin cutting to the basket and made a beautiful no-look pass. Problem was, Seraphin wasn’t looking either and the ball popped him in the face before going out of bounds.

“Yeah,” McGee said with a laugh, as he showed the replay to Seraphin.

Seraphin stared blankly at the screen and quietly walked away as McGee continued to laugh.
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The Wizards were unable to finish their best month in more than three years with win, but there was little disappointment in the locker room afterward. There was a sense of accomplishment, based on how the team competed in the final weeks, and there was also some comfort in knowing that they probably could’ve easily dominated the Cavaliers had Coach Flip Saunders decided to play his starters their regular minutes.

Before the game, I informed Larry Owens and Othyus Jeffers that they were both named to the NBA Developmental League second team. Owens was happy to hear the news, but Jeffers responded by asking, “Second team?” Saunders gave the D-League all-stars an opportunity to close out the game with Seraphin, Yi and Mustafa Shakur. They were handed a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but were unable to hold on.

“My personal performance, I didn’t want to end it like that,” said Owens, who finished with just three points on 1 for 6 shooting. “I guess I can’t dwell on that, just look at the overall picture. It was tough loss, because I know as a group, we could’ve pulled it out.”

Jeffers was grateful to have an opportunity to end the season in NBA, and on the court at the conclusion. “That was a great experience,” he said. “I worked hard to get to that point. I felt good with the confidence of the coaches to let us do that. I feel blessed. I started a game. I played significant minutes. I went through every stage that a person wish they could do. I’m going to cherish everything.”

Wall found it hard to believe that his rookie season was actually over. “It seems like it just started,” he said. “I’m kind of glad it’s over, so I can take some time off to rest and just study the game more, study what people did to me, study what I can learn from other guys and just getting back healthy next year and just know what I’ve got to do. But it’s tough. I still want to play.”