The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[StillUnknown]

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.

Funny to see the stats, when just watching on a nightly basis, the improvements of Booker seem more obvious.

[Gator Bait]

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.

I wouldn't say Wall regressed this year. At the beginning of the year he started slow and wasn't playing that great, but looking at the last month...I think that is the best basketball John has played in the NBA....his jump shot has definitely improved over the course of the year and he seems to drive into the lane like a kamikaze a bit less as of late as well.

People tried and tried to tell me the past year than Nick Young sucks (I think you might have been one of them) and I would refuse to see it....but he plain and simple doesn't get it. He is what he is....an inefficient shot jacking scorer..and that's it. Is there a place in the NBA for Nick Young? Sure, but it needs to be on a well established team that just uses him for scoring off the bench and has other options so when Nick misses his first couple shots they can bury him on the bench for the rest of the game.

As for Blatche, he has been regressing the past two years. I tried to point out to you in a different argument how bad he was last year. Any time your PF (who you run offense through) shoots 42% from the field (and he isn't primarily shooting 3s like Kevin Love).....you are in HUGE trouble. Blatche was absolutely awful last year and he continued that trend this year.

Seraphin definitely got better, although it has been marginal. I thought Crawford had regressed judging by the first couple months of this season...but he has been on an absolute tear lately. I doubt he keeps it up, but we will see.

I have a hard time seeing Vesely not improve on offense, but only time will tell. It's easier for a player to improve their jump shot in the NBA rather than their basketball IQ and instincts.

[Destino]

Funny to see the stats, when just watching on a nightly basis, the improvements of Booker seem more obvious.

I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we are simply seeing more of Booker. His minutes are up this season with Blatche and Turiaf out. He averaged 29.2 minutes in February and his minutes over the entire season are up. I'd like to see him get more shot attempts personally.

[Gator Bait]

Funny to see the stats, when just watching on a nightly basis, the improvements of Booker seem more obvious.

now do you understand my frustrations? I definitely have been less classy in expressing this and admit I need to quite attacking people personally....but this board is full of people who flat out don't watch the games....they are box score watchers.

Even though I defend McGee and his post moves and his improvement on defense....Booker has clearly improved much more than anyone on the team. If you are trying to find it in the stats, you are gonna come up empty, but if you watch the games you'll see he is the biggest hustler on the team when it comes to rebounding; he consistently knocks down the mid-range jumper; and he rarely gets abused by a player on defense.

I think Booker puts forth more effort than anyone else on this team.

[Destino]

now do you understand my frustrations? I definitely have been less classy in expressing this and admit I need to quite attacking people personally....but this board is full of people who flat out don't watch the games....they are box score watchers.

Even though I defend McGee and his post moves and his improvement on defense....Booker has clearly improved much more than anyone on the team. If you are trying to find it in the stats, you are gonna come up empty, but if you watch the games you'll see he is the biggest hustler on the team when it comes to rebounding; he consistently knocks down the mid-range jumper; and he rarely gets abused by a player on defense.

I think Booker puts forth more effort than anyone else on this team.

Your frustrations, in this instance, are misplaced. I watch the vast majority of Wizards games (just ask my wife lol). The reason I hesitate to say that he's vastly improved is that we saw this from him last March when he got a ton of minutes. He's been a solid player but because this team felt compelled to play Blatche as much as possible we haven't seen him as much as we should. I think he had the ability to do most of what he's done this year in the second half of last season. Now I'd like to see him get the ball more and see if what he can do if asked to take more shots.

The one area of improvement that stats will never show is defense which for bigs means can he stop the opposing big from imposing his will. McGee struggles in that regard and I think Booker shines. I'm just not sure this is all new and not simply something that was hidden behind the big Spin Move that ate up all the minutes last season.

[Going Commando]

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's too weak right now. He can't keep opponents from getting to their spots so he has to foul a lot to try and disrupt good shots. His fouls should go down once he adds some strength to his base.

Defending the paint is going to be a painful exercise for him this year. His best use is going to be using his quickness, anticipation, and length to defend the perimeter and disrupt those passing lanes.

But your point stands that he's too raw to see the floor a whole bunch right now.

[CrypticVillain]

The biggest reason I am so press for us to hold on to Javale, because I know once he leaves here, the dude will start killing. You can laugh all you want, but we all know that I am right. :doh:

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

No one beats age and years in the league, Kobe's cliff is fast approaching.

Steve Nash is 39 and not slowing down.

I'm not even sure Kobe is out of his "prime" yet. I think he plays at an All Star level until he is 37 or 38. And I can see him in MJ on the Wizards mode until he is, Christ, 43? 44?

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 03:57 PM ----------

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.

I stopped reading there.

No one goes to the D-league to get better. They go to the D-league as punishment and/or desperation.

[Going Commando]

I'd be open to trading or letting McGee walk if there was actually a decent plan for replacing him out there. But there isn't even a good veteran one much less a young seven footer that can keep developing--like McGee himself.

Ben Wallace, Nazr Mohammed, and Marcus Camby are all so old. They'd probably be one year band aids and couldn't see a ton of minutes. Jason Thompson and Marreese Speights maybe, but both are restricted, and neither are as good nor proven as JaVale. If we want low efficiency mid range shooting from a big, might as well stick with Blatche rather than Speights.

Would Chris Kaman sign here? He's making 14 million this season and is arguably worse than JaVale, plus he has no upside left.

The realistic options for replacing Javale already in the league all suck worse than JaVale and/or would likely require a bigger financial commitment. I don't think there are any realistic day one options at center in the draft. I like Patric Young but he's only 6'9 222 and probably a reserve at the next level. Tyler Zeller is so meh and doesn't have anywhere near the upside that JaVale still does.

Cody Zeller and Meyers Leonard maybe but with them, you're talking about two very long term projects and it will be a while before you get a good return from them. Ditto for Drummond, who is just as checkered as Leonard, if not more so.

Arnett Moultrie and Anthony Davis are simply too thin to play center full time in the NBA.

There's basically no one out there. I'd love a DeMarcus Cousins trade and think it could be mutually beneficial for us and the Kings. But that's unrealistic at this point, and Cousins comes with all kinds of problems on his own--numerous off the court issues, low shooting percentage shooting around the rim suggesting a lack of touch and skill on his finishes, too much willingness to pull up and settle for jumpers from mid range (which bogs down his efficiency numbers) despite his ability to post up and bull his way around the paint.

Why couldn't we have just landed Enes Kanter or Jonas Valanciunas this year? Why do the Jazz need him, Milsap, Jefferson, AND Derrick Favors? Why couldn't they have been cool and let us trade up for Kanter? We wouldn't be having this discussion if we had taken Kanter. And give me Kanter and Anthony Davis and eventually I'll have the perfect front court combination.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 03:26 PM ----------

Steve Nash is 39 and not slowing down.

I'm not even sure Kobe is out of his "prime" yet. I think he plays at an All Star level until he is 37 or 38. And I can see him in MJ on the Wizards mode until he is' date=' Christ, 43? 44?[/quote']

I bet Kobe guns for Kareem's points record.

I stopped reading there.

No one goes to the D-league to get better. They go to the D-league as punishment and/or desperation.

Smart franchises use the D-League as a teaching tool, like the Rockets, Spurs, etc. It's helped young bigs get PT in a nurturing environment in the past like Ed Davis and Patrick Patterson. The NBA should be better about physically maturing their bigs more before they take the floor and the D League should be a place for them to fill out and gain strength a bit before they get abused by NBA guys.

[Gator Bait]

Your frustrations, in this instance, are misplaced. I watch the vast majority of Wizards games (just ask my wife lol). The reason I hesitate to say that he's vastly improved is that we saw this from him last March when he got a ton of minutes. He's been a solid player but because this team felt compelled to play Blatche as much as possible we haven't seen him as much as we should. I think he had the ability to do most of what he's done this year in the second half of last season. Now I'd like to see him get the ball more and see if what he can do if asked to take more shots.

The one area of improvement that stats will never show is defense which for bigs means can he stop the opposing big from imposing his will. McGee struggles in that regard and I think Booker shines. I'm just not sure this is all new and not simply something that was hidden behind the big Spin Move that ate up all the minutes last season.

Although i can definitely see why you took this as a shot on you, it actually wasn't. You post in this thread during the game all the time (actually more than I do...because I typically don't like posting during games....I get distracted, which is sometimes good during a wizards game....anyway) I agree with everything you've just said. Spot on.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 03:45 PM ----------

He's too weak right now. He can't keep opponents from getting to their spots so he has to foul a lot to try and disrupt good shots. His fouls should go down once he adds some strength to his base.

Defending the paint is going to be a painful exercise for him this year. His best use is going to be using his quickness, anticipation, and length to defend the perimeter and disrupt those passing lanes.

But your point stands that he's too raw to see the floor a whole bunch right now.

I can't decide whether I want him to bulk up so he can defend the pain better and play 3/4 or if I'd just rather see him work on his jump shot and play strictly at the 3. he's really good on the perimeter...getting in the passing lanes. I guess bulking up wont hurt either way, although you don't have to be big and strong to play the 3 (Kevin Durant)....they have somewhat of a similar build...too bad Vesely can't shoot like KD

[Gator Bait]

I

I'd love a DeMarcus Cousins trade and think it could be mutually beneficial for us and the Kings

Please help me understand how you could say this, and then follow it up with this:

Cousins comes with all kinds of problems on his own--numerous off the court issues, low shooting percentage shooting around the rim suggesting a lack of touch and skill on his finishes, too much willingness to pull up and settle for jumpers from mid range (which bogs down his efficiency numbers)

Because I think your negative assessments with Cousins are spot on. I'd also add that he has a terrible attitude and is a lazy player.....he is actually a rich man's Andray Blatche. I'd really like to call him Blatche straight up, but he's a bit more skilled than 7 Day Dray

I bet Kobe guns for Kareem's points record.

and MJ's championship number

Smart franchises use the D-League as a teaching tool, like the Rockets, Spurs, etc. It's helped young bigs get PT in a nurturing environment in the past like Ed Davis and Patrick Patterson. The NBA should be better about physically maturing their bigs more before they take the floor and the D League should be a place for them to fill out and gain strength a bit before they get abused by NBA guys.

you give two examples in which the D-League benefited two players form two teams. I'm not disagreeing with these examples, but there are over 150 instances where this isn't the case. I agree with Lombardi's assessment of the D-League. It is a shame they haven't turned it into what it's name is (and I'm not sure why...maybe because lesser players who aren't good enough for the NBA go to Europe rather than the D-League)

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

I thought one of the conditions of Seraphin coming over from France was that he wouldn't be sent down to the D League? I seem to remember talk about that.

[SiCkSoULjA]

This year Blatche finally got too me took a while but I finally get it, his skill set is the best on the team but if you are going too continually come in out of shape then theres a problem.

Its good that Gator finally saw the light with Nick Young the guy has serious flaws in his game and he make no effort too change hes content with just shooting.

McGee People say he had no offensive game besides dunks- guess what he works on his post game and improving, People say hes too way too skinny - he goes and gains 10 pounds needs too gain another 10 but he can do it. He works on his defense, his offensive game and comes in inshape every year yes hes young and dumb but TRUST ME YOU CAN GET MUCH MUCH WORSE at center.

I like Booker but his ceiling is low he does a great job of taking advantage of weak match ups but he disappears vs solid too good players at his position. He isn't very physical and his size creates a problem for him but hes always welcome on my team.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 05:14 PM ----------

I thought one of the conditions of Seraphin coming over from France was that he wouldn't be sent down to the D League? I seem to remember talk about that.

At this point I'd send him back too France theres not many teams if any that would take him on there team.

[StillUnknown]

Crawford & Seraphin starting tonight.

[Samuels]

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).

He is doing that on his own.

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 11:37 PM ----------

If that were true Vesely would have the most minutes.

Honestly he seems to be about the only guy that does a good job with pick&rolls and understands rotations and team defense. The problem is they play him at PF and he can't hold the post. Wall can do it when he wants to but he has a on/off switch on defense.

[Destino]

Crawford & Seraphin starting tonight.

I was wondering when crawford would get the start, he's out played Young in February. As for Seraphin, I'm telling you temp coach and McGee have something personal going.

[Gator Bait]

for some reason I'm excited about this game...even though i know what is about to happen

[MonkFan8]

I was wondering when crawford would get the start, he's out played Young in February. As for Seraphin, I'm telling you temp coach and McGee have something personal going.

Well, McGee versus Dwight is always as one-sided as it can get. McGee hasn't helped his case at all lately, though. Can't blame Witt for either move.

[SuperBash]

‎5 min into each game and the Terps and Wizards have already lost.

[StillUnknown]

I was wondering when crawford would get the start, he's out played Young in February. As for Seraphin, I'm telling you temp coach and McGee have something personal going.

Crawford has earned his start, Seraphin is in as a lesson to McGee. You may be right about him an Wittman. If Wittman had any other options, McGee might only see 10minutes a game. :ols;

[Destino]

Wall is doing a Nick Young impression.

LoL McGee hits the J.

Edited March 1, 2012 by Destino

[SuperBash]

haha classic mcgee, twice in seconds.

[Destino]

haha classic mcgee, twice in seconds.

That was strange though no one else on the team moved. It looked like they were running the Kobe rule.

[Gator Bait]

smart pass by Jan

---------- Post added February-29th-2012 at 07:37 PM ----------

good finish to the quarter....wish we could have capitalized on that last turnover.

JaVale is responding to the benching

[Destino]

Well McGee is motivated. Leads in scoring with 7 points on 3/6 shooting. Leads both teams in rebounding (4).