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Chris Miller joins the show to preview the Wizards season with Washington's campaign starting tonight!
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00:00C-Mill, you've done this a long time, both in the sideline capacity
00:04and now it's play-by-play.
00:06You've been there for some good times.
00:07You've been there for some rough times.
00:09How excited are you for this Wizards season to start?
00:13This is the most excited I've been in J.P. and Doc
00:15since probably the 2016-17 season.
00:18I think that was Scott Brooks' first year.
00:20That team won 49 games.
00:22John Wall was probably at his superpower best.
00:26I haven't been this excited since then.
00:28I've understood what the last three years have been about.
00:32The patience of this fan base, I think, should be celebrated
00:36throughout the course of this year and moving forward
00:38that they stayed loyal to it.
00:40They understood what the front office was trying to do
00:43the last three years of getting these kids leveled up
00:46in terms of their development.
00:48Now it's time to level them up from a competitive standpoint.
00:51I think that's why you add a Trey Young and Anthony Davis
00:54and then you get the number one overall pick in A.J. Devonta.
00:57It's on.
00:58It's on now.
00:59Finally, I'm ready to see this team go out starting tonight
01:02against Milwaukee and show what they've been waiting,
01:05what they've been working on really during what Will Dawkins calls
01:09like the jump season.
01:10And I can just tell you from having a courtside view
01:12the first four preseason games, all of these kids have improved
01:16in some shape, form, or fashion.
01:19And the defensive emphasis is what's got me on board.
01:25So also I think A.D. is legit.
01:27It's a legitimate buy-in.
01:28Of course, he's a fortune at the end of this.
01:31But he realizes the better the team, the more it will be a result on him
01:36being that dude.
01:38And he's going to be filthy rich.
01:41What I love most about A.D. being able to watch him every day, Doc,
01:44is as much as we talk about Trey Young kind of being an offensive engine,
01:49Anthony Davis is a defensive engine.
01:51And I noticed the first day in training camp, he has championship communication.
01:56What do I mean by that?
01:57He's talking on every possession.
01:59And as you know, we're old school over here, Doc.
02:02These kids today don't like talking.
02:04They'd rather be on their phone.
02:06And I think what Anthony Davis is doing is making the young people understand
02:09that they can only be as good as their communication on the defensive end
02:13because these athletes in this league is way too good to try to go one-on-one.
02:17So there's got to be some weak side help.
02:19There's got to be a lot of talk to try to build a wall with some of these great
02:22And they're responding to him.
02:24And they are totally responding to what he is doing.
02:27And that's the real key.
02:28Now, with all that being said, Doc, again, J.P.,
02:31you said I've been doing this a long time.
02:33This is my 20th year covering the Wizards.
02:35It doesn't look like it, though.
02:37It doesn't.
02:37You look great.
02:38You look great.
02:38You really do.
02:39I appreciate it.
02:39I appreciate that.
02:40I'm going to shave this.
02:41I'm going to shave this beard tonight.
02:42We'll get you ready for the game.
02:43But the one thing that I have heard over the years a lot is defense.
02:47I've heard it from different administrations, different coaches.
02:50But I really do feel like this team is at least equipped
02:54to give honest effort on the defensive end every night.
02:56Talking with our friend Chris Miller.
02:59You can watch him tonight on Monumental Sports Network
03:02as the Wizards kick off their season.
03:04You can give Chris a follow at C-Mills PXP.
03:07Appreciate Chris making himself available on camera as well
03:10on the radio here.
03:12Chris, Trae Young, there was a lot of things said
03:15when he signed that big contract over the summer.
03:18It's my understanding that they did not give him the true max
03:21they could have.
03:22They just matched what he could have gotten in free agency.
03:26Regardless, Trae Young is now making a lot of money.
03:29That's a guy that showed real promise and potential with the Hawks.
03:33And then it went sideways.
03:35What should we be expected from Ice Trae tonight?
03:39You know, I think every player on this roster, which is really unique,
03:43they're all motivated by something.
03:46Some people are trying to get the bag.
03:48Some people got the bag and trying to prove they're worth the bag.
03:52And I think that's with Trae Young.
03:54He, to me, seems like somebody that takes the littlest slight
03:59and uses it as motivation.
04:02So if the narrative out there nationally is, wow, that's a big contract,
04:06I think he's going to use that as motivation.
04:08He finished the preseason, I think, second in assists.
04:11Now, the turnovers were high.
04:13I want to see that cleaned up right away.
04:15That has to be addressed right away from my perspective.
04:18But in terms of his leadership, I don't think he has to go out
04:22and be Atlanta Hawks Trae Young.
04:24What do I mean by that?
04:25I don't think he has to have these offensive explosions
04:29where he's going for 30 and 40 or having 15 assist nights.
04:33They want to play him off the ball a little bit this year.
04:36So I think just having him out there, he's a threat.
04:40And regardless of who brings the ball up, yes, he might be the primary ball handler.
04:45But what Washington's front office has done a great job of
04:48is getting two-way players and getting players that can actually get a rebound and push.
04:54I've actually seen Anthony Davis get a rebound and push during the preseason.
04:58That is going to make everybody a viable option on the offensive end
05:02where you can't just target one or two guys.
05:05I think the league of just one point guard, one guy with the basketball in his hands,
05:12the John Walls, the Jason Kidds, the Rondos of the world,
05:16I think that league is done with.
05:18The more ball handlers you have make you more of a threat of the five people that are on the
05:23floor.
05:25Absolutely.
05:25And Chris, listen, we are fired up.
05:28Doc and I opened the show talking about how excited we are.
05:31One, just for the Wiz season to start.
05:33I'm a Wizards fan.
05:34That's the reason I'm a Bullets fan.
05:36I go deep with this team, and I watch the game, right?
05:40It does feel a little dimmer not getting to see A.J. come out tonight.
05:45Because I think back to John Wall getting introduced, doing the Dougie.
05:49I don't know if you agree, maybe you don't think not having A.J. tonight will impact things.
05:55Can you just get us up to speed on the injury, kind of when it happened, what the situation is?
05:59Because it's not expected to be long-term, right?
06:02Yeah, he rolled his ankle with a minute and 14 seconds left in the second quarter,
06:06so like right before halftime, which was really kind of like a gut punch.
06:09And it didn't land on anyone, just rolled his ankle going up for a jump shot.
06:14But I think the team is being cautious and smart.
06:17Chris Miller, the fan, would love to see him tonight.
06:21Chris Miller, who's calling the games and kind of just understand big picture,
06:25take as much time as possible.
06:26This kid's going to have probably a 15-year career, a potential Hall of Fame career.
06:31I'm not tripping off him not playing tonight.
06:33But I do understand from a fan perspective, you want to see it.
06:37It's like Christmas, right?
06:38It's like your mama telling you, listen, I got you the best Christmas gift you've had in years.
06:43But you can't open it until like two weeks from then.
06:47And you're like, I can't wait that long.
06:50But the older you get, the more you kind of understand big picture what this is all about.
06:57But he is everything that people told me about him before he got to this team, guys.
07:05He is a serious competitor.
07:08He is older than 19 in terms of how he approaches the game.
07:14He's serious.
07:15He is as good as getting from point A to point B than any rookie I have ever covered in
07:22this league.
07:23And I am super excited for when he does play.
07:27But Doc and JP, I want him 100% because I want everyone to get the full AJ,
07:34or I might call him by his government.
07:36I want the world to see Anitza DeBonsa Jr. at his best.
07:40Because when he's at his best, the league's in trouble.
07:43I totally agree, Chris.
07:45And if this was the first weekend of December and you told me AJ rolled his ankle and he's going
07:50to miss a couple,
07:51I wouldn't even blink.
07:52It's just because it's the opener.
07:54I totally understand that.
07:55Yeah, I understand it.
07:56We spend so much bandwidth on Trey and AD and AJ.
08:02They got a lot of other talented players.
08:05I feel like Trey Johnson is still the same shooter we were so excited about.
08:10I want to ask you about Saur, but what about all these other guys?
08:12Will Riley, Keyshawn George?
08:14There's dudes to be excited about.
08:15Stop with that last name you said.
08:18Keyshawn George, to me, I think is going to have a quantum leap in his third year.
08:24His shooting splits in the preseason were ridiculous.
08:29He shot over 60% from both the field in three and shot 94% from the free throw line.
08:35He got the steals, and Doc, you'll appreciate this.
08:38He cut the fouls down.
08:41The only issue Keyshawn has had his first two years is maybe a little too handsy on the defensive end.
08:48He corrects that with everything that he has worked on in the summer.
08:51He is going to have a dynamic third year in the NBA, to which I think people in the league
08:58will go,
08:59hey, man, this guy, A.T., man, he came out of nowhere.
09:02Actually, he didn't.
09:02He is literally just – I think he's improved every year, but I think what we saw last year,
09:08early in the season at Dallas, he absolutely was the best player on the floor.
09:14And remember, the Mavericks had Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg on that team.
09:19So I'm super excited about him.
09:22Trey Johnson is a shooter, but he has put on some muscle.
09:26And he said something that really stuck with me a couple of weeks ago.
09:29He says, I can't be the best version of me if I don't guard.
09:32I probably won't get on the floor.
09:34So he understood that he's got to play some defense, too, to go along with his world-class shooting ability.
09:41And I think of a guy like Bub Carrington, who's just an Iron Man.
09:44He don't miss games.
09:45Doc, he's a throwback.
09:46The kid has never missed a game in the NBA.
09:49And he shot 41% from three last year.
09:52And I just love his competitiveness, Baltimore Bub.
09:55And then Alex Saar is now going to get to play with a guy like Anthony Davis.
09:59I think that's only going to make him better in terms of his rim protection.
10:03Shooting the ball, I want to see him improve in that aspect.
10:06So, yeah, all these kids.
10:07And then Will Riley is just – he's janky, as Drew likes to call it.
10:12He's just unorthodox, but he can get to the cup.
10:15He has a signature spin move that nobody can guard.
10:18So, yeah, all of these kids have improved.
10:20It's just now time to see them in a competitive environment and what that looks like to go along with
10:26the Youngs and the ADs.
10:29And I would be remiss if I didn't mention having Chris Middleton back, a real veteran stalwart who can still
10:34score.
10:35Think about this, guys.
10:35I looked this up today.
10:37The Wizards have had three – Trey Young, Anthony Davis, and Chris Middleton have all scored at least 50 in
10:45a game in their career.
10:47And Middleton scored his 50 against the Wizards a couple years back.
10:50So, they've got guys that can put the ball in the hoop.
10:52Who gets credit for this?
10:54We've been on this road before.
10:56This seems different.
10:58And I say because of the defensive buy-in.
11:02Guys are in the gym.
11:03They're all gym rats.
11:05Who gets credit?
11:08That is a great question, Doc.
11:12I think the coach gets dismissed far more than he should be dismissed.
11:17Yeah, I'm going to start with ownership and work my way down.
11:20Okay.
11:21For Ted to do the research and identify people that have done the labor to get to championship success,
11:33I want to give him credit for bringing in a guy like Michael Winger and Will Dawkins.
11:37They've done these rebuilds, these teardowns, and these buildups before.
11:41I want to give Winger and Dawkins credit for bringing in a culture in which they're very serious about the
11:48game of basketball.
11:49And they understand kind of the joy of the game and all the tenets and principles that they have.
11:55But at the end of the day, it's about putting a product on the floor that's representative of what this
12:00community wants.
12:01I want to give the coaching staff a ton of credit.
12:03Brian Keith, the last two and a half years has really gone through it.
12:07But he was head down.
12:09It's the work.
12:11The players, clearly, Doc, you don't win games without players.
12:14This is a player-driven league.
12:17I think if you're doing a pie chart, I can't give one more than the other.
12:22I don't think you slice it that way.
12:24I think for this Wizards team to be championship caliber down the road,
12:28everybody has to kind of do their job and do their part,
12:31which will lead to one day, JP, and call me a sucker, man.
12:37I watched the Knicks parade last year, and I watched the whole thing.
12:42And all I thought about was, what would it look like when we have ours on Constitution Avenue?
12:48That's all I thought about.
12:49And the whole summer, I was just thinking, damn, that's going to be a vibe.
12:55And I'm willing to wait for it because it's not going to happen this year.
12:58But when it does happen, I think we'll appreciate this more than any kind of Avengers being kind of put
13:08together
13:08where we can look at ours and be like, no, we did it really through homegrown talent
13:13and making smart off-season acquisitions to bring in guys that can teach these kids how to win games.
13:20See, Mel, I can't even imagine.
13:23I mean, I remember rooting for Calvert Chaney in Landover.
13:27You know what I'm saying?
13:28Man, like, I love the Bullets and the Wiz and have for some time.
13:33I remember when Gil blew out his knee, when that team had the best record in the East going into
13:38the All-Star break.
13:39I remember Eddie Jordan coaching the All-Star game, harvesting those nuts, as he liked to say.
13:43Like, I can't –
13:46Chicago Bulls playoff game?
13:48Dude, when Michael Jordan said that's the team of the future?
13:51Is there a picture about Weber and Strickland and Juwan – I mean, I just want playoff basketball, Chris.
13:57Do you think that's a realistic – and if that means play-in, I'll take it.
14:01I would love a six seed, so we're not in the play-in.
14:02But, like, is playoff basketball a realistic expectation?
14:07I think for me, and I've said this a thousand times, I've done this too long to forecast out because
14:15you just never know.
14:16Sure.
14:16Injuries.
14:16Injuries, yep.
14:17The East is a juggernaut.
14:20You saw it last night with the way Detroit played, the way Philly goes into the garden and just shows
14:26a tough-mindedness down the stretch.
14:28I don't want to put a number out there or an expectation like that, but I will say this.
14:35I sit in a chair where every night I get to narrate every possession.
14:41So my enjoyment level is tonight, Friday, Saturday in Chicago.
14:48I live that way, JP, so, like, I don't think about, like, April.
14:52I think about tonight, getting this done.
14:55Did they win?
14:55Okay, let's get ready for Kawhi and company coming Friday.
14:58And that's the most exciting part of it because I get to see these kids grow.
15:03It's like parents.
15:05I remember when Bilal first got here, and now he's going into his fourth year.
15:10You know, you see these kids that way, but it's going to be a daunting challenge this year, guys.
15:15The East is for real, and there's no more of this tanking.
15:20Everybody's got to compete now.
15:21There's no more of this, well, we might take this game on.
15:25No, everybody is playing at a high level, which can only help the league moving forward.
15:33I am so excited.
15:36Tanking's done.
15:36We're competing, and I think it'll be electric in there tonight.
15:40C-Mill, I guaranteed a 2-0 start for the Wizards.
15:43Now, when I did that, I didn't know AJ was going to roll his ankle, but I'm sticking with it.
15:47They're opening 2-0.
15:48They got enough weapons to get it done, JP.
15:50I like that a lot.
15:51One more thing before I get out of here.
15:53I am honored and blessed tonight to call the game with my best friend, Drew Gooden, and the five-time
16:03All-Star, John Wall, will make his monumental broadcasting debut.
16:08And it is a full-circle moment for me, Doc and JP, that 16 years ago, I was sitting on
16:15sidelines waiting for this peach fuzz kid from Raleigh, North Carolina, to come out of the starting lineup, doing the
16:22Dougie all the way through, all the way through the lineup.
16:25And now I'm going to sit next to him calling a game.
16:30Pinch me.
16:31This will be a real full-circle moment for me tonight, and I absolutely cannot wait.
16:37That's my Christmas gift.
16:38That's awesome.
16:39Chris, you're a great human.
16:40You're great on the call.
16:41I'm so excited you get to have that excitement this evening.
16:44I'll see you over there.
16:46I'm looking forward to it.
16:47Let's go Wiz, man.
16:49I appreciate it, guys.
16:50Doc, it's always good.
16:51Doc, I'm going to tell you this before I get out of here, man.
16:53You are radio gold.
16:56No matter if the commanders win or lose, I am on that radio listening to you.
17:02Be careful.
17:03It's been 20 years, my man, that I've been in this market, and I have been a Doc Walker fan.
17:09Every time you are on the microphone, so it's an honor for me just to talk to you.
17:14JP, whatever.
17:15I'll see you tonight.
17:16Oh, my goodness.
17:17All right, man.
17:18I mean, Chris, to your point, the fact that when I found out B was out today,
17:23and I got to do the show with Doc, I was so excited.
17:25Doc is a true legend in this town and across this country, so I appreciate it.
17:29He's a one-of-one.
17:30And I will see you tonight.
17:31You guys can lie with straight faces.
17:33Goodbye.
17:33Good luck tonight, brother.
17:35All right, man.
17:35Great to meet you guys.
17:36That's our guy, Chris Miller.
17:37You can watch him tonight, Monumental Sports Network.
17:40Give him a follow at C-Mills PXP.