The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Going Commando]

McGee knew he ****ed up the second he did it and he paid the price for his mistake. I thought Whitman made a statement in benching him and did the right thing. This isn't like benching him for a backboard self alley-oop, which didn't actually do any harm. This is benching him for a stupid, correctable lapse in focus. A simple mistake that needs to be addressed.

However, I do think Whittman's refusal to let McGee play at the end of the game came back to bite us when Ilyasova cleaned up on Singleton for the game winning put back. That's an equally stupid and harmful lapse in focus. It would have been nice to have a big defender in the paint on that play.

McGee plays too free and lose on the whole and the only way you can break those bad habits is for him to feel some pain each time he does something really bad like that. Aggressiveness can be good but not when it lacks discipline and focus.

I don't agree that these kinds of habits are a reason to completely write him off though, which is what a lot of his detractors have done, especially considering how much better he is than our alternatives at center.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 10:59 AM ----------

Lol, I can't get over how dumb that foul to end the half was by McGee. I mean that's as selfish as you can get. Going for the block stat. That's all that is. But hey, I'm sure in year FIVE he'll pull his head out of his ass and finally get it. Resign baby!!!

GACOLB, I like you. But you're getting intolerable to read concerning JaVale. You're a straight up hater who enjoys McGee's failures and would rather be right about him being unsuccessful than see this team benefit from him becoming a success.

[Warhead36]

I know we want to lose for "teh tank" and all but damn to come back like that and not win is definitely heartbreaking.

[Going Commando]

I know we want to lose for "teh tank" and all but damn to come back like that and not win is definitely heartbreaking.

That one hurt worse than the blowouts. To feel a last minute comeback win with John Wall hitting that go ahead shot. That's the best feeling. Man I wanted that one so bad.

And then to have that initial stop and for a split second think it's really going to happen only to lose on a put back. Such is our luck. Defeat ripped from the jaws of victory.

[Gator Bait]

I wonder how Ted/Ernie feel about him killing the "we're a young team" excuse.

I thought about that as well. I think it is a very poor excuse and all of you know by now how I feel about "building through the draft"

Although I a proponent of trading the lotto pick for a vet....I wont lose my mind if we use the lottery pick in the draft......I will however lose my mind if we totally ignore free agency again this year and don't get some quality players that can help us win.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 11:14 AM ----------

That one hurt worse than the blowouts. To feel a last minute comeback win with John Wall hitting that go ahead shot. That's the best feeling. Man I wanted that one so bad.

And then to have that initial stop and for a split second think it's really going to happen only to lose on a put back. Such is our luck. Defeat ripped from the jaws of victory.

it was a mistake to take that shot so early....on the road with the situation we were in, he should have made sure that was the last shot taken. No excuse for Singleton not boxing out his man on the put back though.

[Destino]

I'm starting to think Wittman and McGee just simply don't get along. McGee had 1 foul and yeah it was ugly but the Bucks shot 37 foul shots that night and McGee wasn't even the only player to foul a three point shooter behind the three line that night. If you want to talk ugly let's talk about our tremendous athletes that couldn't seem to stay with Mike Dunleavy, who scored a season high.

The difference in the game came down to who was hitting open jumpers and free throws. Note the third quarter when they went cold and we hit everything from mid range to the three ball. Note the increased shots made in the paint during that same quarter (by the Bucks).

Edited February 29, 2012 by Destino

[SiCkSoULjA]

I'm starting to think Wittman and McGee just simply don't get along. McGee had 1 foul and yeah it was ugly but the Bucks shot 37 foul shots that night and McGee wasn't even the only player to foul a three point shooter behind the three line that night. If you want to talk ugly let's talk about our tremendous athletes that couldn't seem to stay with Mike Dunleavy, who scored a season high last night.

The difference in the game last night came down to who was hitting open jumpers and free throws. Note the third quarter when they went cold and we hit everything from mid range to the three ball. Note the increased shots made in the paint during that same quarter.

Thats what I believe as well, this coaching staff with Saunders just doesn't like McGee or have the patients too deal with him. The moves Randy made definatly sparked the team but I think Saraphine was awful in replacing McGee. Too be fair Young got benched as well but he came in for at least 5 minutes in the second half though.

[StillUnknown]

Even when Flip was still here, Wittman was always the hardest on McGee.

[No Excuses]

They are effectively bringing down Javale's price tag by portraying him as a dumb, immature, idiot.

Only problem is that it might completely drive him away from this team.

Good luck with Seraphin (a D-League player), Turiaf (a scrub) and N'Diaye (another D-league player).

[Destino]

We have to find guys who know how to play fundamental basketball on both ends. If you have no clue on how to stop the ball or defend a pick&roll you should'nt play.

If that were true Vesely would have the most minutes.

[Skin'emAlive]

Lol, I can't get over how dumb that foul to end the half was by McGee. I mean that's as selfish as you can get. Going for the block stat. That's all that is. But hey, I'm sure in year FIVE he'll pull his head out of his ass and finally get it. Resign baby!!!

Dude i hate to say it, but you have now gotten more annoying to read than hands11. Its really getting intolerable around here. You act like no one on this team has ever gone for a block before. Or ever played bad defense. This team has not played defense in 10 years! Javale is the ONLY guy who has come into this season with any progress from last season. The only one. And yet as usual in DC, we are ready to run him out of town. Im just absolutely sick of it.

[Gator Bait]

They are effectively bringing down Javale's price tag by portraying him as a dumb, immature, idiot.

Only problem is that it might completely drive him away from this team.

Good luck with Seraphin (a D-League player), Turiaf (a scrub) and N'Diaye (another D-league player).

yeah...I never looked at it that way...driving down his price tag....funny and possible

Seraphin definitely belongs in the NBA...he is a solid backup on this ****ty team. I don't think he could get minutes on a good team right now, but he is a young big with potential that isn't hurting an already crap team anyway. I really don't get the hate he attracts on this board.

Turiaf is definitely not a scrub. He isn't a world beater and if he is getting more than 20 minutes per game, you have issues....but he is a nice big to round out a roster. He plays hard and makes hustle plays...I really like him.

N'Diaye isn't even on the team anymore....he got waived a few weeks ago.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 12:45 PM ----------

If that were true Vesely would have the most minutes.

I think Vesely has the highest basketball IQ on the team, but I definitely wouldn't call him fundamentally sound. He racks up even more stupid fouls than McGee and couldn't hit a jumper to save his life.

[milellie111]

Dude i hate to say it' date=' but you have now gotten more annoying to read than hands11. Its really getting intolerable around here. You act like no one on this team has ever gone for a block before. Or ever played bad defense. This team has not played defense in 10 years! [b']Javale is the ONLY guy who has come into this season with any progress from last season.[/b] The only one. And yet as usual in DC, we are ready to run him out of town. Im just absolutely sick of it.

Okay Pam Mcgee.

Progress from last season? Okay, yeah, i'll give it to you. Last year Mcgee was an idiot. This year he's slightly less of an idiot.

Last year Mcgee made 1 good play followed by 3 idiotic plays. This year Mcgee makes 1 good play followed by only 2 idiotic plays.

Don't you realize that Javale Mcgee would not start on any other team in the NBA?

Edited February 29, 2012 by milellie111

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Dude i hate to say it' date=' but you have now gotten more annoying to read than hands11. Its really getting intolerable around here. You act like no one on this team has ever gone for a block before. Or ever played bad defense. This team has not played defense in 10 years! Javale is the ONLY guy who has come into this season with any progress from last season. The only one. And yet as usual in DC, we are ready to run him out of town. Im just absolutely sick of it.[/quote']

I'm talking about a pattern of behavior/play. Over four years. There's a reason he was benched last night. It wasn't a one time thing.

I heard the same thing about Blatche for years as well. And what do you know, I was right there too. I'm not trying to be annoying though so I'll cut it out. And when I'm inevitably proven correct, I won't even rub it in. So that's that.

Edited February 29, 2012 by G.A.C.O.L.B.
grammar

[StillUnknown]

Dude i hate to say it' date=' but you have now gotten more annoying to read than hands11. Its really getting intolerable around here. You act like no one on this team has ever gone for a block before. Or ever played bad defense. This team has not played defense in 10 years! Javale is the ONLY guy who has come into this season with any progress from last season. The only one. And yet as usual in DC, we are ready to run him out of town. Im just absolutely sick of it.[/quote']

Booker has improved more than JaVale IMO, to say JaVale is the only guy who has progressed is not accurate.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

GACOLB, I like you. But you're getting intolerable to read concerning JaVale. You're a straight up hater who enjoys McGee's failures and would rather be right about him being unsuccessful than see this team benefit from him becoming a success.

It's not about me wanting him to be successful or unsuccessful, it's about reality. I do enjoy it. Because every blatant dumbass bull**** he does, it just means he's that much closer to being gone and we can move on to players that will actually contribute to us being a winning and successful franchise.

And now I'm done with him and this topic.

Edited February 29, 2012 by G.A.C.O.L.B.

[Destino]

Seraphin definitely belongs in the NBA...he is a solid backup on this ****ty team. I don't think he could get minutes on a good team right now, but he is a young big with potential that isn't hurting an already crap team anyway. I really don't get the hate he attracts on this board.

I would say he has potential but he doesn't have the game yet to make use of it. He should have spent time in the D-League working on his game. He excels at guarding his man down low but his help defense doesn't intimidate anyone and the wings start driving the lane almost immediately and rarely think to pass when he rotates over to them. On offense he's got less game than Vesely. He needs to be put in a position to succeed and I think the D-League would have helped him more than what they are doing now. He's essentially learning to be a limited minutes big and nothing more.

Turiaf is definitely not a scrub. He isn't a world beater and if he is getting more than 20 minutes per game, you have issues....but he is a nice big to round out a roster. He plays hard and makes hustle plays...I really like him.

His absence has also been greatly missed on this team. Blatche and Turiaf being out has forced some strange player rotations at PF and C. He's not a starter but he's a good role player off the bench.

I think Vesely has the highest basketball IQ on the team, but I definitely wouldn't call him fundamentally sound. He racks up even more stupid fouls than McGee and couldn't hit a jumper to save his life.

He isn't he only player on this team that can't shoot well but he is the only player on this team that consistently defends well. Also to say pick and roll defense is a must... that would essentially leave Vesely on the floor alone.

[milellie111]

[quote name=Gator Bait;8858299

Turiaf is definitely not a scrub. He isn't a world beater and if he is getting more than 20 minutes per game' date=' you have issues....but he is a nice big to round out a roster. He plays hard and makes hustle plays...I really like him.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 12:45 PM ----------

[/color]

I think Vesely has the highest basketball IQ on the team, but I definitely wouldn't call him fundamentally sound. He racks up even more stupid fouls than McGee and couldn't hit a jumper to save his life.

Sorry, but this is just a nice way of calling him a scrub. You can find a guy off the street in your local gym that "plays hard and make hustle plays".

Vesely can't hit jumpers? But Ernie said he could be the next Dirk Nowitzki!

[Gator Bait]

Okay Pam Mcgee.

Progress from last season? Okay, yeah, i'll give it to you. Last year Mcgee was an idiot. This year he's slightly less of an idiot.

Last year Mcgee made 1 good play followed by 3 idiotic plays. This year Mcgee makes 1 good play followed by only 2 idiotic plays.

Don't you realize that Javale Mcgee would not start on any other team in the NBA?

ok....so I'm trying my best not to commit anymore personal attacks on here and keep it friendly (Stevemcqueen and sicksolja...or whatever his name is are right) but you are making it very hard.

First: JaVale Improved his post moves 100% from last year....yeah, I said 100%. He had zero post moves last year and now he actually has one or two pretty effective ones. Would I run my offense through him? No, but he has definitely improved....if you can't see that, I don't know what to tell you.

Second: JaVale has improved his defense all around. Is he Marcus Camby from 5 years ago? No, but he has definitely improved his help defense and doesn't get nearly as many goal tendings as he did the last couple years.

Third: Do you watch the NBA? There aren't too many quality centers out there. JaVale would start on almost half the teams in the NBA:

Portland, Dallas, Sac town, Charlotte, Golden State, Miami, Toronto, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit (Monroe is better suited at PF), New Orleans

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Sorry, but this is just a nice way of calling him a scrub. You can find a guy off the street in your local gym that "plays hard and make hustle plays".

Vesely can't hit jumpers? But Ernie said he could be the next Dirk Nowitzki!

Totally disagree with you about Vesely. He's a project for sure. But you don't find guys with his natural athleticism on the street. Combine that with his basketball IQ and you have the proper ingredients for a player that can be a contributor, a starter and who knows. Patience.

One last thing about McGee, it seems to me that people are only looking at his positives and not at his negatives. Has he improved his skillset? Sure. But it doesn't outweigh his dumbass bull****. And there's no reason to think that his dumbass bull**** will ever stop. Dude is a national joke. He's not some lost rookie finding his way. He's a vet. One of the longest tenured players on the team. And this is what we're still talking about. I'm sorry but you just can't win with players like that.

Edited February 29, 2012 by G.A.C.O.L.B.

[Gator Bait]

I would say he has potential but he doesn't have the game yet to make use of it. He should have spent time in the D-League working on his game. He excels at guarding his man down low but his help defense doesn't intimidate anyone and the wings start driving the lane almost immediately and rarely think to pass when he rotates over to them. On offense he's got less game than Vesely. He needs to be put in a position to succeed and I think the D-League would have helped him more than what they are doing now. He's essentially learning to be a limited minutes big and nothing more. .

That is somewhat fair of an argument....although i don't think the D-league is much of what it is supposed to be....I look at it more like a league that people go to when they aren't good enough to play in the NBA (and likely never will)....it isn't like it is a AAA baseball team or anything.

Seraphin definitely has more of an offensive game than Vesely. I've watched the majority of the games this year...and Seraphin has had quite a few games where he was hitting that short one handed (not really a hook) shot consistently. I've also seen him knock down a few mid-range jumpers. Vesely doesn't score unless it is a put back or a dunk.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 01:11 PM ----------

Sorry, but this is just a nice way of calling him a scrub. You can find a guy off the street in your local gym that "plays hard and make hustle plays".

Vesely can't hit jumpers? But Ernie said he could be the next Dirk Nowitzki!

no..not at all calling him a scrub. I'm saying he is a pretty good defensive roll player. Would you rather have a few big on your roster that are more well rounded than Turiaf? yeah, but he can definitely be that 4th big man on your team. He is definitely a top 12 player on just about any team in the NBA.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 01:13 PM ----------

One last thing about McGee, it seems to me that people are only looking at his positives and not at his negatives. Has he improved his skillset? Sure. But it doesn't outweigh his dumbass bull****. And there's no reason to think that his dumbass bull**** will ever stop. Dude is a national joke. He's not some lost rookie finding his way. He's a vet. One of the longest tenured players on the team. And this is what we're still talking about. I'm sorry but you just can't win with players like that.

He is a 23 year old big man (who don't typically hit their prime till they are in their late 20s) who was drafted onto a team with Gilbert Arenas as their "leader"......had crappy coaches and then is expected to be a vet presence on a young team with a rookie captain (last year)

This organization has failed JaVale and all the other young guys on this team the past 5 years. I still think their is hope for him to be a good NBA player with the right coaches and players.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

no..not at all calling him a scrub. I'm saying he is a pretty good defensive roll player. Would you rather have a few big on your roster that are more well rounded than Turiaf? yeah, but he can definitely be that 4th big man on your team. He is definitely a top 12 player on just about any team in the NBA.

Wait, is he talking about Vesely or Turiaf?

[Gator Bait]

Wait, is he talking about Vesely or Turiaf?

I believe he was talking about turiaf.....either way, he is wrong.

[Destino]

Booker has improved more than JaVale IMO, to say JaVale is the only guy who has progressed is not accurate.

They've both improved their production per game but if you look at the per 48 Booker's improvements have been smaller than McGee's.

Per 48 minutes Booker

This season: 16.5points .561fg% 11.9rebounds 2.0blocks

Last season: 15.6points .549fg% 11.3rebounds 1.9blocks

Per 48 minutes McGee

This season: 20.1points .532fg% 15.1rebounds 4.5blocks

Last season: 17.5points .550fg% 13.9rebounds 4.2blocks

They'll both see less minutes when Turiaf and Blatche return because Witless loves benching both of them.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 01:25 PM ----------

One last thing about McGee, it seems to me that people are only looking at his positives and not at his negatives. Has he improved his skillset? Sure. But it doesn't outweigh his dumbass bull****. And there's no reason to think that his dumbass bull**** will ever stop. Dude is a national joke. He's not some lost rookie finding his way. He's a vet. One of the longest tenured players on the team. And this is what we're still talking about. I'm sorry but you just can't win with players like that.

You sound like a member of the media. That "dumbass bull****" is a handful of plays over several games that makes for a funny youtube. This is far less damaging than players that simply aren't very good consistently but never make a spectacularly dumb plays that get media attention. Yesterdays game is a great example. McGee jumps and draws a stupid foul and everyone is talking about it. Meanwhile the 37 fouls shots and the complete inability to guard Mike friggin Dunleavy are without question what lost the wizards the game. Look at the 4th qtr shot chart I post earlier and explain to me how the Bucks managed to even stay in the game. Answer: Free throw line.

The Bucks attempted 15 free throws in the 4th quarter. The Wizards attempted 4.

But hey, who cares about that, did you see McGee jump like an idiot? OMG WOW HAHAHAHA

Edited February 29, 2012 by Destino

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I believe he was talking about turiaf.....either way, he is wrong.

Agreed.

And I'm done talking about McGee. Time will tell.

[SiCkSoULjA]

First: JaVale Improved his post moves 100% from last year....yeah, I said 100%. He had zero post moves last year and now he actually has one or two pretty effective ones. Would I run my offense through him? No, but he has definitely improved....if you can't see that, I don't know what to tell you.

Second: JaVale has improved his defense all around. Is he Marcus Camby from 5 years ago? No, but he has definitely improved his help defense and doesn't get nearly as many goal tendings as he did the last couple years.

Third: Do you watch the NBA? There aren't too many quality centers out there. JaVale would start on almost half the teams in the NBA:

Portland, Dallas, Sac town, Charlotte, Golden State, Miami, Toronto, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit (Monroe is better suited at PF), New Orleans

I hate too say it but man you have been making some solid points lately! and truthful, McGee is a work in progress, he developed some post moves, Last year he couldnt stay off the ground and jumps at everything this year so this year hes not picking up as many stupid fouls even though he has had a few flash backs this year.

Wall, Young, Blatche, Saraphin and everyone else from last year besides McGee regressed from last year, Wall not really regressed but he is just such a great talent, he has too learn too shoot any kind of shot and play more in control and stop the turnovers.

Vessly I am not sold on him I like his defense but his offensive game is awful can't even make free throws and I can't even see him get better. Not a bad pick the draft was horrible we got what would could and that was him.

Edited February 29, 2012 by SiCkSoULjA