ZardCast

Schwink, Malcolm and Duncan discuss the Wizards’ 1-6 skid after surging into the All-Star break, losing to the nets, Duncan’s history with cats, if Rui Hachimura can bring it every night, Davis Bertans’ calf injury, the next six games making or breaking the rest of the season, why beating the Jazz was actually frustrating, the Hall of Fame Prediction Game and Pop Culture Detour. ZardCast 2.0 is a bi-weekly podcast. Follow us on Twitter Listen & subscribe on Spotify Intro beats by The Passion HiFi

Schwink, Malcolm and Mike discuss if they're buying into the Wizards after the team’s recent success, Russell Westbrook’s health, a frustrating loss to the Celtics, competent lineup combinations, uncharacteristically taking care of business against the Timberwolves, a season sweep of the Nuggets paired with a wacky ending, Rui Hachimura’s emergence, if Deni Avdija is in Scott Brooks’ doghouse, the overtime victory over the Lakers, under-the-hood positives from a win over Portland and Drew Goodisms. This podcast was recorded before a loss to the Grizzlies but that game sucked anyway so who cares? ZardCast 2.0 is a bi-weekly podcast. Follow us on Twitter Listen & subscribe on Spotify Intro beats by The Passion HiFi

Schwink, Duncan and Mike discuss the Wizards' three-game winning streak, the team appearing competent after going 5-5 in the last 10, new rules for Russell Westbrook to start possessions, nearly blowing it against the Nuggets, John Wall's return to D.C., demoralizing Boston, Duncan encountering a heckler at a movie theater, Miami's hangover and the upcoming West Coast road trip. Plus, Drew Goodisms and the guys review the first four episodes of the CW's Walker for Pop Culture Detour. ZardCast 2.0 is a bi-weekly podcast. Follow us on Twitter Listen & subscribe on Spotify Intro beats by The Passion HiFi

Schwink, Duncan, Mike and Malcolm discuss an improbable victory over the Nets in the waning moments of the contest, Russell Westbrook’s 41 points, a big game from Moe Wagner, a new statement from Kyrie Irving, the Wizards visiting and losing to John Wall in Houston, why any “rift” between Wall and Bradley Beal was always overblown, if too much is made of Beal’s body language, what has to happen the rest of the season for it to be considered a success, Beal trade rumblings and a fresh batch of Drew Goodisms. Plus, the guys settle on the new show Walker to recap for Pop Culture Detour. ZardCast 2.0 is a bi-weekly podcast. Follow us on Twitter Listen & subscribe on Spotify Intro beats by The Passion HiFi

Schwink, Duncan and Mike discuss the trauma haunting Duncan’s cat, the Wizards as possible COVID-19 super spreaders in the league, Thomas Bryant partially tearing his ACL, Russell Westbrook’s quad injury, Bradley Beal’s nightly brilliance, if Scott Brooks’ seat is as hot as Chipotle tomatillo red-chili salsa or leather chairs baking in the sun, Drew Gooden’s Insight, if John Wall’s Rockets’ roster is better than any he had in D.C., and Pop Culture Detour.

Schwink, Duncan and Mike discuss the first two weeks of the Washington Wizards season, including initial impressions of Russell Westbrook, Davis Bertans slowly ramping up, Scott Brooks’ dreaded three-guard lineup, defensive woes and two wins to start the New Year. Later, Kyrie Irving sends a statement to the podcast, Thomas Bryant gets some love, Drew Gooden’s insights, This Week in John Wall and Pop Culture Detour.

It’s time to preview the 2020-2021 Washington Wizards season. Schwink, Duncan, Mike and Malcolm answer a number of questions about this year’s team, tackling if Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook are All-NBA worthy, if we’ll see bubble or non-bubble Thomas Bryant, the wing depth, deficiencies with the backup guards and bigs, why they’re down on Scott Brooks in the last year of his contract and what constitutes a successful campaign. Plus, Pop Culture Detour holiday edition.

ZardCast rides again! Spurred by the news of John Wall's trade to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook, Schwink and Duncan fire up the mics with new co-hosts Malcolm and Mike. The guys discuss their initial reactions to the trade, disappointment after not seeing Wall and Bradley Beal together one last time, why the Wizards chose to move on from Wall, what prevented Wall from taking Washington to the next level, whether the trade makes the Wizards better, what Westbrook brings to the team, and if the Wall era was a success. ZardCast 2.0 is a bi-weekly podcast. Follow us on Twitter Listen & subscribe on Spotify Intro beats by The Passion HiFi

Today on ZardCast, CT, Dave and Gary convene following a Wizards win over the Brooklyn Nets on the road. The guys start out by discussing ideas for a new podcast for whenever the season bottoms out – ideas they formulated while the Wizards were losing to the Nets. Later they get into tight losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, and how important the next few weeks are for turning the season around against Eastern Conference competition. Gary also brings up his gripes with NBA League Pass and the guys ponder if it’s incompetence, indifference or something slightly more sinister. The last 20 minutes or so is a full recap of the Westworld season finale (All the spoilers, FYI) and hype for The Young Pope.

Today on ZardCast, CT, Dave and Gary convene following a Thanksgiving break to discuss all of the Wizards action over the last week-plus, including wins over the Knicks, Suns, Magic and Kings, as well as losses to the Heat and Spurs. Plus, looking ahead to the next three games, Gary takes umbrage with how NBA teams take last second shots to avoid playing defense, what the guys did over Thanksgiving, Ian Mahinmi's return, Brad Beal dropping 30 multiple times, Russell Westbrook averaging a triple double, This Week in John Wall and Pop Culture Detour. 

Today on ZardCast, the guys convene following a brutal loss to the 76ers along with Adam McGinnis to sort through the wreckage and evaluate the Wizards 10 games into the season. Plus, Ted Leonsis needling the fans and a big four game stretch upcoming.

Today on ZardCast, the CT, Dave and Gary convene following a loss to the Houston Rockets, and ask, is it possible this team is worse than last year's? They examine, show their work and try to pull out some positives. Plus, the guys decide 76er trade options are more interesting than the Wiz, at least for a bit, they look back on a win over Atlanta and a loss against Orlando, discuss a harrowing lizard vs. snake clip from Planet Earth II and what they'll talk about on the show should the Wizards go belly up.

Today on ZardCast, CT and Dave are joined by Almighty Ballin’s Chris Axmann following the Washington Wizards loss to the Toronto Raptors. The guys sort through the game, the 0-3 start and Axmann’s thoughts on the Zards at this very young point in the season. Plus, Axmann shares his concerns for Russell Westbrook’s health, why he can’t wait for a Chicago Bulls shooting slump, if this is the year his Mavericks finally miss the playoffs and that time his dog KD foreshadowed a big move by Kevin Durant. Later, CT and Dave revisit the overtime loss to Memphis, discuss John Wall’s first solid game of the year and his interview with Andrew Sharp, and look ahead to a tough slate of games.

Today on ZardCast, the guys convene following a Wizards loss to the Hawks in the season opener. Bullets Forever boss Jake Whitacre joins the show later to discuss taking L's online, what went wrong against Atlanta, if he still believes the Wizards are just "fine" and the stewing beef between him and Gary. Plus, looking ahead to the next week of Wiz action, and CT and Dave are moving out of their apartment. They say goodbye to their apartment and an old couch.

Today on ZardCast, CT, Dave and Gary gather for the first show of the season to preview the 2016-17 Washington Wizards. Topics discussed include: The guys return from a long, hot offseason Wizards were perfectly average last year at 41-41, had a very active offseason. The guys give their 30,000 foot views on the team Randy Wittman was sacked, Scott Brooks is the new boss in D.C. Early takes on Brooks’ suit game John Wall has surgery on both knees during the offseason. Had the best statistical year of his career, but also had to carry the team for a lot of last season Dave is no longer friends with Wall, he’s now closer with Bradley Beal Wall was not efficient, true shooting percent last year was garbage. He can be better if his teammates are better. Gary makes a good LeBron James-Miami-Big Three comparison Wall was roasting people on Twitter over the Cowboy jersey flap, Dave is terrified of being owned online The guys revisit the “John Wall and Bradley Beal aren’t the best of friends” story from the summer Gary thinks Wall shouldn’t have used the word sidekick The Wizards signed Beal to the max, the weight of the franchise’s imminent future is kind of on his shoulders Dave thinks the Beal injury talk is a little overstated, Gary wishes he wasn’t quite a max player so he could avoid some of the flack that comes with that What’s the outlook for Otto Porter? What’s free agent Porter look like? He came on really strong after the All Star break, but he was also very much a one half player There’s talk of Porter playing more power forward, opens the door to a lot of interesting lineups. We’ve been seeing Markieff Morris at center, too Ian Mahinmi is the Wizards big free agent signing, but he’s out for the first 4-6 weeks of the season with a meniscus tear. Whenever he returns, he will be a big boost off the bench Tomas Satoransky finally joins the Wizards, looks good, very intriguing addition to the team The guys think Marcin Gortat will have a spring in his step with Wittman gone. Those two constantly clashed Why do people hate on Gortat so much? If Beal can stay healthy, it will be helpful for everyone’s offensive game, including Gortat’s Markieff Morris is the team’s draft pick. Everyone is excited to have him after a preseason with squad. Also nice to have a legit power forward. Haven’t had one in recent years. Got lost in last year’s attempt to make the playoffs Kelly Oubre is set to become a factor on this team. Dave likes his defense and that he’s learning not to jack up a bunch of shots Though the guys didn’t know who Andrew Nicholson when he was signed, they now they feel like he could be a useful backup to Morris. Gary isn’t confident in him, thinks he’ll have minimal impact Nobody likes Trey Burke Marcus Thornton didn’t even make the note sheet We’re going to see a lot of Jason Smith with Mahinmi out The Vegas win total is 42.5 – What’s everything think? Wizards have a tough 8 games to start the season Predicting end of season awards, Dave is still haunted by his selections last season Gary gushes about Joel Embiid Other thoughts on the Eastern Conference

Today on ZardCast, CT, Dave and Duncan discuss the ups and mostly downs of Washington Wizards free agency, including not getting a shot at Kevin Durant, just missing out on Al Horford, settling for plan-D in Ian Mahimni, not knowing who Andrew Nicholson is (#NicholasAnderson), Jason Smith looking like the generic white player in NBA 2K and much more. Subscribe on iTunes You can reach us at: ZardCast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter @ZardCast Topics discussed include: The guys are back to talk free agency Big announcement: ZardCast will now be known as GoldCast, covering the guys’ new favorite team the Golden State Warriors What mundane thing were you doing when Kevin Durant announced his decision The Wizards don’t get a meeting with Durant, when did the dream actually die? Was it ever realistic? Washington had a damn good shot at nabbing Al Horford, it hurts that he chose Boston a.k.a. EnTitled Town Reactions to Durant going to Golden State: Dave is pumped to watch, Duncan is disappointed because he believes there will be fewer intriguing NBA games on the schedule this year Ernie Grunfeld had to spend his money on a Plan D, paying $64 million for Ian Mahimni to play backup center Acquiring Mahimni and Jason Smith has fired up Marcin Gortat trade talks. Those will probably loom all the way to the trade deadline Who’s Andrew Nicholson? None of the guys knew at first glance. Duncan is a Sporkle quiz champion and has never heard of Nicholson. Dave plays a lot of NBA 2K and also never heard of him The Utah Jazz trade Trey Burke to the Wizards for a 14-year-old. It’s kind of interesting? Tomas Satoransky also provided some drama with initial reports saying he might not leave Barcelona It’s not a good thing when you’re adding more Orlando Magic players Jason Smith looks like the generic, NBA2K white player The guys take a look at the rest of the Eastern Conference and their big moves in free agency “We’re on a sinking ship talking about how there aren’t sharks in the water” Retiring Alan Anderson and Gary Neal’s sounds, adding an Ian Mahimni drop Dave’s proud of Dwayne Wade for spurning Pat Riley and going to Chicago, dramatically reads Riley’s drunken text Dwight Howard to the Hawks, Dave wants to trade for Paul Millsap Bulls, Knicks, Grizzlies and Mavericks talk Duncan gets 76 seconds to talk about the Philadelphia 76ers, the excitement around Ben Simmons, and finally seeing Joel Embiid play Durant to should be booed every time he comes to D.C. Pop Culture Detour: O.J. Made in America, Pokemon Go

Today on ZardCast, the guys convene following the end of a disappointing season and on the heels of the news that head coach Randy Wittman will not return next year. The pod dives into all manners of dysfunction with the Wizards, running through potential coaching candidates, collectively shaking their heads over the retention of Ernie Grunfeld and defending John Wall. 

Today on ZardCast, CT, Dave and Malcolm Johnson convene to discuss the Wizards season basically coming to an end with a loss to the Kings. Malcolm poses the question, how much differently would we really view Washington if they made the playoffs? Plus: High pitched screams over the ghastly loss to the Timberwolves, not caring about Kobe Bryant retiring, Randy Wittman’s sports bar being the most Randy Wittman thing ever, a deep dive on Bradley Beal’s comments after the Sacramento game, and finally a bit of Pop Culture Detour with The Walking Dead and The People vs. OJ Simpson coming to an end this next week. Topics discussed include: Malcolm joins the pod over the phone So it's all over, right? Malcolm says who cares about making the playoffs? Would we really view them in that different of a light? Would it really be good for the team? The guys sold themselves on the hype before the season. How naive they were Randy Wittman has to go. Will Ernie Grunfeld survive? He doesn’t deserve to Does either Ernie or a potential-new general manager keep Bradley Beal? The guys agree there’s no choice but to sign him What’s Bradley Beal’s and John Wall’s relationship like? We don’t really hear about the team’s interactions day-to-day Malcolm’s really enjoyed watching Wall’s continued maturation as a player Wall isn’t the vocal leader and he really doesn’t have to be. There is a huge void in the leadership role without Paul Pierce this year The guys talk about player leadership, but they need new leadership at the coaching position Dave screams in horror before talking about last week’s Minnesota Timberwolves game Return of the fun game: What were you doing instead of watching the Wizards shit themselves? CT doesn’t care about Kobe Bryant retiring. Dave thinks he’s made a mockery of himself this season Not the worst showing against a team that's aiming to be the best ever in the regular season. Unfortunately it was at the worst possible point in the season Randy Wittman owning a sports bar with Craig Segar and Doc Rivers called Jocks and Jills has to be the best thing about Randy Wittman The Wizards look dysfunctional and lose to one of the most dysfunctional teams in league in the Sacramento Kings The guys do a deep dive on Beal’s post-game comments, Marcin Gortat’s tweet at Hoop District and Beal’s brother sounding off on the whole thing as well Were his criticisms fair? Did he really own those criticisms or was he putting them more on his teammates? Can he say this stuff considering how much he’s been injured this year? Why does Gortat always get shit on? Dave compares turning off the Kings game and giving up on the season like dropping a class in college This Week in John Wall The guys are glad no one’s turned on John this year. A lot of times fans turn on the best player of a team when things are going bad Pop Culture Detour: The Walking Dead and The People vs. OJ Simpson finales are this week

Today on ZardCast, the guys convene to discuss the Washington Wizards five-game winning streak, including a solid win over the Atlanta Hawks on the road. Later, Stuart from Long Island calls in to complain about the New York Knicks. Topics discussed include: Things are looking up, Wizards are winners are winners of five straight Duncan projects the Wizards to go 10-2 over their final 12, looking at the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls schedules Vacuum basketball league, the guys would like to have their friend’s baby on the podcast to talk Wizards ASAP Wizards beat the New York Knicks, Markieff Morris shuts down Carmelo Anthony in the second half Morris looking great overall, could be a bigger part of the offense next season Stuart from Plainview calls in to discuss the state of the Knicks, praises Randy Wittman for putting Morris on Melo Kristaps Porzingis is the main attraction for him, thinks Kurt Rambis’ idea for him to play under the basket is preposterous. Stuart says if Phil Jackson coaches home games he’ll renounce his fandom Stuart reviews his partial-season ticket experience at the Verizon Center, says Saturday’s Knicks game was 70% New York fans Washington beats the Atlanta Hawks, best team the Wizards have taken down this side of the All Star break – the big victory over the Pistons was the best win John Wall and Bradley Beal go bananas, Otto Porter has a huge first half Atlanta’s system is weird, kind of like playing a European team CT loves the Wizards more than Fall Out Boy Duncan cops to using Stickum while podcasting, Dave gets upset “This Week in John Wall” Dave drinks 70 margaritas, misses the San Antonio Spurs-Golden State Warriors game Duncan and CT’s brackets are in terrible shape, so is Duncan’s mom The guys predict the Wizards will go 4-1 Pop Culture Detour on Batman v. Superman

Today on ZardCast, the guys are joined by Conor Dirks from Truth About It to discuss the Wizards playoff hopes, Randy Wittman’s lack of awareness and the most #SoWizards moment of the season. Plus, a collapse out west, smashing the Bulls and Pistons at home, Wall’s back-to-back triple doubles and Seamus the leprechaun. Topics discussed include: CT and Dave hold down the pod tonight Getting into the second half collapse against the Philadelphia The guys discuss the Wizards as a frog in a gradually heating pot, CT is confused as to why the frog wouldn’t hop out Wizards look hopeless against Utah and Denver, super demoralizing Conor Dirks from TruthAboutIt.net joins the pod, tying his Pixel and Roll appearances The Wizards technically won, but the guys don’t feel good Conor has an issue with playoff percentages that get published every day, but doesn’t think they’ll be in anyway Randy Wittman vs. Ernie Grunfeld – who is more terrible? It’s gotta be Wittman. He recently blamed the players for not telling him they were getting torched by the pick and roll It’s insane how much of a dick Wittman is to Marcin Gortat The Wizards are most likely going to give Bradley Beal the max, a lot of people thought John Wall wasn’t worth it before the Wizards gave him a new contract. Washington should wait, either, otherwise he might spend all next season pissed off Not protecting the first round draft pick in the Markieff Morris trade is Conor’s top #SoWizards moment of the season One of the worst scoring teams in the Utah Jazz put up 114 on the Wizards Fortunately CT and Dave had other things to do over the weekend than watch these awful basketball games The Wizards blow the Nuggets game in the fourth quarter against a bunch of no names not trying to win games The guys had a raucous Saturday night, glad they both woke up and everything was cool “You’re Being a Real Roy Hibbert” D.C. able to mash the Detroit Pistons at home. The Wizards should run the John Wall pick and roll every play for a quarter and just see what happens Always fun to beat the Chicago Bulls. Nene is the matador in the sense that he stabs the bull in the neck, not so much the dancing around, poor defense kind Duncan had to duck down to Puerto Rico to check on his businesses, will return next week The guys call their leprechaun friend Seamus, he highlights the plight of the modern day leprechaun RIP to the Wizards’ seventh seed hopes “This Week in John Wall” Ted Leonsis teams up with Gene Simmons to bring arena league football to D.C.