JaVale's One-Man Defense

We’ve tried not to add to the Wizards pile-on, but when JaVale McGee does things like this, it’s just hard to look the other way.

Unfortunately, JaVale has no problem looking the other way.

During Monday’s game against Toronto, JaVale sent up an ugly hook shot that missed its mark. JaVale, not realizing that his own team rebounded his errant shot, got his hustle on and headed back the other end of the court to set up on defense. Alone.

Then John Wall was all, “Hey guy, come back and join us,” and Trevor Booker was like “Good hustle Pierre JaVale, but the ball’s down here,” and we all giggled as we imagined JaVale’s internal dialogue.

“Gotta go. Gotta block a shot. Gotta go. Gotta block a shot.”

Take it out of the context of this awful Wizards season and it’s a little funny. Embarrassing, but no big deal.

But JaVale has been criticized for his lack of on-court awareness. We questioned his public campaign for All-Star votes while his mom was calling him the "future of the NBA." He was blasted for throwing himself an ally-oop while his team struggled at 1-11.

It’s hard to defend stuff like this in all of that noise.

But we suppose we can appreciate the hustle and hope that JaVale isn’t googling himself today.

Questions, comments or tips? Email Sarah at sarahskogod@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Twitter (@sarahschorno).

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