The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Fergasun]

Oubre with more min than Porter?  And Jason Smith with 12 points? 

[CBass1724]

That ending was so Wizards. That ball was halfway down. Thought for sure we'd blow it. Such horrible officiating down the stretch. Wall should have had an and one vs zeller in the final minute. 

[TradeTheBeal!]

Bench only got outscored by 13 tonight.  That's good enough for us to steal it.

[Destino]

4 minutes ago, Fergasun said:

Oubre with more min than Porter?  And Jason Smith with 12 points? 

Otto was playing in place of Morris, meaning he was wrestling much bigger players all night.  He's going to wear out if he keep playing so many minutes at the 4, but I think that's our best lineup. 
 

Smith played like a man possessed tonight.  He was all hustle tonight, knocking guys to the floor and getting steals from behind the play. 

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

Good game and win for you guys.

[Going Commando]

Jason Smith's best game as a Wizard.  For the first time, I saw how he can be useful.

Haywoode "Jablowme" Workman is ****ing dirty man.  He has it out for Wall.  His crew is terrible and we always get **** from him.

He's a point shaver.

[“Misdirection”]

1 hour ago, Renegade7 said:

Wtf? the arena team is in bmore? you'really killing me ted, your killing me

Yes and no

 

The first AFL team he bought is the Washington Valor, playing at Verizon Center.

 

2nd team he bought, is the Baltimore TBD,  playing in Baltimore.

[Destino]

 

Saw this on bullets forever, notice the sign.   

[CRobi21]

2 hours ago, Destino said:

Saw this on bullets forever, notice the sign.   

 

A closer look..

 

 

Edited December 15, 2016 by STBonecrusher21

[Long n Left]

7 hours ago, Destino said:

 

Saw this on bullets forever, notice the sign.   

****ing classic! 

 

Guy should move move to the front of the line of prospective new GMs

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Quote

Besides the win, Wall had reasons to be excited. He finished with seven steals and set the franchise mark for a career (764). Earlier this season, Wall also revised the Wizards/Bullets’ history books by becoming the all-time assists leader, breaking Wes Unseld’s record.

 

“That guy is incredible, but I’m coming for that,” Oubre said playfully about Wall’s steals record. “No, but he’s a hard player. He’s a hard worker. I’m happy for him. Every accomplishment that he reaches in this building is well earned, well deserved because he is John Wall. He is the point guard of D.C. I love him as a teammate and as a brother, but I’m coming for that.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/wizards-hold-off-hornets-behind-john-wall-bradley-beal/2016/12/14/bf0f8638-c231-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?utm_term=.a712a13baefc

 

 

[Going Commando]

I love Oubre.  It's been building since summer league, and now it's at full on man crush status.  I'm going to be enraged if Ernie deals him in a midseason attempt to save his job.

[Rocky21]

First off.  Great defense by the Hornets in the last 30 seconds or so.  You saw it.  So did I.  The last shot was in the rim and somehow came out. 

It was a game of runs but in the end it was too much John Wall. (25 / 10 / 7)   

You know it's your night when Jason Smith throws up a 12 / 7.     

[Popeman38]

As much as the Wiz have sucked, they are 2 games out of the 8 seed and 3 games out of the 3 seed! If that can't motivate this team....

[Going Commando]

Yeah the East is wide open.  A bunch of teams I thought would be good, including the Wizards, have been ho hum.  I thought for sure Atlanta and Boston would be better than they have been.  Thought Indy would be better too.  Indy's got many of the same problems we do and Boston hasn't figured it out yet.  Atlanta is in freefall for some reason, I can't explain it.  I think Boston is going to go on a midseason run though, they're too well balanced to keep playing .500 ball.

 

But I don't believe in the Knicks, Bulls, Pistons, or Hornets at all.  I think the Bulls are going to hit a wall when Wade and Butler wear down like they always do.  The Knicks have a worse defense than we do.  The Pistons can't score.  And Charlotte only has one guy that can create shots off the dribble and they are totally reliant on hot perimeter jump shooting and they can't rebound or defend the rim.

 

Even Toronto is very beatable.  If the Wizards can finally play some defense and get the bench to work like they have the past couple of games, they can really climb the standings.  These next seven games are going to be critical.  Got a game against Detroit, two against Indy, two against Milwaukee, and one against Chicago.  We need to beat these teams to leapfrog them into a playoff position.

[TradeTheBeal!]

2 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

I love Oubre.  It's been building since summer league, and now it's at full on man crush status.  I'm going to be enraged if Ernie deals him in a midseason attempt to save his job.

 

Does Kelly's emergence give us more flexibility in putting Otto on the block?  Cause I think it does and I freaking love Otto.

[RonArtest15]

20 minutes ago, TryTheBeal! said:

 

Does Kelly's emergence give us more flexibility in putting Otto on the block?  Cause I think it does and I freaking love Otto.

 

Man, I go back and forth on this.  There are SO many things that Otto does well...but he's been invisible for the past couple of games.  There's something about Oubre.  Just has that "it" factor.  Aggressive, in-your-face defense...getting to the hoop, etc.  Real 3&D star emerging.  You can see the kid developing right before our eyes.  He clearly put in work over the summer and is listening to his coaches about what he needs to do to get better. 

 

All that being said, Oubre is still VERY green.  However, I do think he has a higher upside than Porter.  Is he ready for starters minutes?  He did well in Morris' place last night, but I need to see more. 

[Going Commando]

31 minutes ago, TryTheBeal! said:

 

Does Kelly's emergence give us more flexibility in putting Otto on the block?  Cause I think it does and I freaking love Otto.

 

I'd only move Porter if it was a clear trade up.  Like part of a block buster deal for DeMarcus Cousins or something.  I've been kicking around different Otto trades for a week or so and everything I've come up with hasn't been worth it.  Otto is going to be expensive, but he's worth extending and hanging onto.  It's a similar situation to the one we were in with Beal last summer.

 

Otto's true value is at PF.  He's a legit 6'9 and has the big wingspan.  If he gains some strength in his legs, he's got the potential to be a high end 4, worthy of a near max deal.  Our future probably lays in a Wall-Beal-Oubre-Porter-X (Mahinmi?) line up.

[Destino]

The Wizards lack scoring depth and defense, two things Otto does well, and without him we're short a SF and PF.  He's our starting SF in our base lineup, and the PF in our best small ball lineup.  He's a hard player to replace in the best of circumstances, let alone midseason.  

 

 

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

1 hour ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

But I don't believe in the Knicks, Bulls, Pistons, or Hornets at all.  I think the Bulls are going to hit a wall when Wade and Butler wear down like they always do.  The Knicks have a worse defense than we do.  The Pistons can't score.  And Charlotte only has one guy that can create shots off the dribble and they are totally reliant on hot perimeter jump shooting and they can't rebound or defend the rim.

 

 

 

Don't sell my Hornets short.  They play solid defense and get to the foul line more than every other team not the Clippers (26 attempts per game).  They usually out rebound their opponents too (#6 overall).  A lot of their success goes to great coaching, Clifford gets the best out of everyone and makes more with what talent he has than other coaches.

 

We are streaky at times on our perimeter shooting, no doubt, but even a bigger problem, imo, is that we leave a lot of points at the line (average of 6 or 7 points missed).  That matters since we are in a lot of close games.  I was skeptical about being a playoff team at the start of the year, but I think they will be in the playoffs.  I think it's going to be just like last year where there is a log jam from seeds 3-6 again, possibly seeds 3-8.  

 

This 5 game road trip had me worried when I first saw it on the schedule.  Having to go to Cleveland to start the trip this past Sat. after playing Friday, then to Indiana, Washington (not calling it a trap game because I think y'all are better than your record shows), then Boston, and Atlanta.  Knowing that the Cavs would roll us, the other 4 were must need wins, imo.  I don't want to end the year on a skid with the fear of another collapse in January like we had last year.

[RonArtest15]

Beal averaging 25ppg in the 14 games since he came back from injury. 

[Rocky21]

And 9 assists last night!

 

[Destino]

4 hours ago, RonArtest15 said:

Beal averaging 25ppg in the 14 games since he came back from injury. 

And his passing and shot selection have improved dramatically.  Oubre has also suddenly stopped most of his bad plays on offense.  That sudden uptick in IQ from more than one player has coaching written all over it.  

[Going Commando]

5 minutes ago, Destino said:

And his passing and shot selection have improved dramatically.  Oubre has also suddenly stopped most of his bad plays on offense.  That sudden uptick in IQ from more than than one player has coaching written all over it.  

 

Agreed.  And Wall is having the best and most productive season on offense of his career.  This despite the fact that he's coming off surgery in both knees and didn't have a summer.

 

I knew we were underachieving with Randy and that he sucked at developing young players.  We brought in a coach whose reputation is based on working with point guards and developing young players and you can already see the progress he's made with them.  He's had a rough start, but Brooks is making a difference.  Wall, Beal, Oubre, and Porter have all made very solid strides.  Beal looks like he's finally taking that next step to being an All Star caliber 2.

 

I wish he'd been here for Vesely.  I suspect Randy had a big hand in breaking Vesely's confidence and ruining his career.  I remember Vesely was decent for the few months his rookie season when he played for Flip and then he just fell off the Earth as soon as Randy took over.  Randy didn't know what to do with him.  Didn't know how to develop him or put him in position to succeed.  Brooks is a much more patient and intuitive coach.  I would love to have a long, seven foot shotblocker and pick and roll finisher running the floor with Wall and Beal today.  Someone with a little AK-47 in him.  If he'd worked out then maybe we don't have to spend a first round pick on Markieff Morris or a bunch of money on Andrew Nicholson.  

 

C'est la vie...  I wonder if he'd ever think about returning?

[Weganator]

 

48 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

I wish he'd been here for Vesely.  I suspect Randy had a big hand in breaking Vesely's confidence and ruining his career.  I remember Vesely was decent for the few months his rookie season when he played for Flip and then he just fell off the Earth as soon as Randy took over.  Randy didn't know what to do with him.  Didn't know how to develop him or put him in position to succeed.  Brooks is a much more patient and intuitive coach.  I would love to have a long, seven foot shotblocker and pick and roll finisher running the floor with Wall and Beal today.  Someone with a little AK-47 in him.  If he'd worked out then maybe we don't have to spend a first round pick on Markieff Morris or a bunch of money on Andrew Nicholson.  

 

C'est la vie...  I wonder if he'd ever think about returning?

I almost replied last night when you were talking about the lack of depth for PF in the upcoming draft.

 

http://www.basketball-reference.com/euro/players/jan-vesely-1.html

 

FT percentage up to 65%. I don't get to see too much Fenerbahnce film outside of highlights, so idk if the FG% drop is from trying to post up more or trying to work on his mid range.

 

But just based on flashes you would see as a Wizard and in Europe, I think he would be a real asset now that the NBA has been consistently drifting to small lineups. As a small ball 5 he could switch and stay with players on the PnR out on the perimeter and his length was always disruptive in passing lanes as well. If teams go too small, he is a reliable lob threat on offense. If teams go too slow, he can be a poor mans Gortat running the floor. The only concern IMO is that he cannot rebound well for the position at all. He would need to be out there with a lineup of plus rebounders for their position (Porter, Oubre, Beal, Wall, Sato?), but can't be out there with another space clogging big.

 

Nicholson showed promise as a rebound gobbling stretch 4 in preseason, but that seems to have faded fast. Smith has moments where he could do it in a 'break glass in an emergency' kind of way, but that isn't something I would want to plan around. Keef would need a serious uptick in rebounding to be considered for long minutes unless you ran Otto at the 3 in full rebound gobbling mode.

 

Edit:

The big weakness with Vesely was he would get destroyed by any traditional post-up big, even if they were mediocre or terrible. That's why he gets trashed by Valanciunas, even the Jack Cooleys and Luke Harangodys of the world. But good positive coaching and using him in situations where he has the opportunity to look successful would have gone a long way for his confidence.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Weganator