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Riding the Bullets Bench October
1996


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27 October-??? 1996

Top News Items between 27 October and ??? 1996:

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27 October 1996. Boston Celtics 109, Washington Bullets 103 (preseason record: 3-5)
Game leaders: Cheaney (19 points), Wallace (17 rebounds), Whitney (10 assists)

Let's just say that this was not the version of the Washington Bullets that should start the season. This time, it was Rod Strickland being added to the MIA list, as he is battling a case of the flu. The Bullets had 9 players in uniform, of whom only 3 had guaranteed contracts. And the Bullets nearly came back.

The Bullets had a 13 point lead late in the first quarter, but gave it away by halftime and were down by 17 early in the fourth quarter. But with a team of Jaren Jackson, Bernard Blunt, Dwayne Morton, Richard Petruska, and Matt Fish on the court, the Bullets climbed within 6 points. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

Webber vs. the GS Warriors
According to David Aldridge at ESPNet Sportszone, Chris Webber is looking forward to the matchup with the Golden State Warriors in December. The build-up for this one should be good.
Now comes the wait for many of these players. Jackson has virtually guaranteed himself a spot on the team, although Morton has played well at times. The problem area may come down to a decision of size (Matt Fish) versus talent (Ben Wallace). Wallace has been a monster on the boards. Fish has the size. According to reports I'm seeing, it looks like they are considering putting Williams on IR (which will keep him out for a minimum of 5 games) to keep both Fish and Wallace for the time being.

Unfortunately, there's no word yet about Murray's wrist. But Webber, Howard, Amaya and Strickland all returned to practice on Monday. And Gheorghe Muresan has started running, although he's taking things very slow. The Bullets think that some overzealous workouts he had while rehabilitating from knee surgery (which he injured last April) may have resulted in the hip flexor injury over the summer. Onward to the regular season.

wtf 29 October 1996
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Well, the NBA league office released its list of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time, and 5 Bullets were on the list: Dave Bing (1975-77), Elvin "the Big E" Hayes (1973-81), Moses Malone (1986-88), Earl "the Pearl" Monroe (1967-71), and Wes Unseld (1968-81). Those are some great players, and it represents, in many ways, the glory years of the Bullets.

They are making a big deal out of it, including providing a site highlighting the NBA At 50 years. Included at this site is a feature on Wes Unseld, who has been a member of the Bullets organization since 1968. Pay attention and you'll learn much about the early years of the league. They are planning a cable TV movie/documentary talking about the first 50 years. It's going to be broadcast in November, I believe. I know I'm learning a lot and reinforcing a lot from my younger days.

And if you lived through much of this era, good for you. And please educate us about it, because some of us young whippersnappers barely remember the 70s.

wtf 30 October 1996
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An interesting side story was in the Washington Post about Ben Wallace, who seems virtually guaranteed of making the team. Here's an undrafted guy who didn't stick with the Celtics after their summer camp, couldn't get offered a contract in Italy, is only 6'9" when the Bullets were looking for centers because of the Muresan injury, and now he's probably going to make the team.

This man is self-made, and make sure you read about him. What I find most impressive is that he has a 42" chest but a 33" waist. That's cut (heck, my chest is larger than that, but so is my gut/waist, and I'm 3" shorter). I guess doing 500 push-ups and 500 crunches each night for 3 years will do that to you (I definitely don't have the self-discipline to do that).

And lastly, to those San Antonio Spurs fans and coaches out there, stop crying. There was an AP story that quoted Spurs coach Bob Hill saying, "The injuries are unbelievable. We are snakebitten." He's talking about the fact that David Robinson has a sore back, Will Perdue has a fractured thumb, Chuck Person is out for the season with a bad back, Charles Smith has knee inflamation, and Monty Williams has a nerve contusion in his forearm.

To that I say: SO WHAT? TRY BEING THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS, OR WASHINGTON BULLETS, who have these types of injuries year after year. And here we have somebody whining because a few players are hurt. Shut up already and deal with it, just like almost every other team would. No more excuses for your team, who can't even make the NBA Finals, despite great regular seasons (this is from a Houston Rocket fan, too - sorry).

wtf 30 October 1996
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Well, the countdown to the regular season is just 2 days away, and there are several news bits that need to be considered before the Bullets kick-off against the Magic in Orlando on Friday:

Lastly, the NBA announced its initial 8 host teams for the Women's NBA (WNBA), which will start in June. The main reason Washington failed to secure a founding franchise was that the MCI Center would not be ready in time for the June start time. That means Washington will have to wait and reapply when the leauge gets ready to expand.

wtf 31 October 1996
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