The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Destino]

Anyone notice Nene's numbers this series?

11.8ppg .362fg% 4.3reb

Now there's the over priced big I know as Nene Hilario. I didn't recognize the guy in the Chicago series.

[pjfootballer]

I really thought it would be 2-2 after four. Sucks that the Pacers have come out of their shell just in time. We'll probably win game five, but lose game six. A lot to build on. I think we all got ahead if ourselves. 44 wins and a 2nd round series would have sounded ludicrous at the beginning of the season with this teams history. Oh well. I'm still rooting against the Heat. Indy doesn't piss me off like Miami.

[GOSKINS_08]

Man last night was one of the most depressing Wizards games I've been to since probably the LeBron crab dribble game in the playoffs. Just totally deflating. Saw a fight on my way out. **** reminding me of a Redskins game.

[JoeWolf990]

I may be in the minority, but I think Wall was great in the first series. Yeah he didnt shoot well, but he did everything else great, especially defense. This series I feel he is still playing well on defense but man, no offensive game, bad/ too many turnovers etc. I had a bad feeling that a good defensive team like the Pacers would exploit John's lack of ability to shoot consistently. Nene and Gortat are no where near what they were against the bulls. Thats our biggest issue IMO. But Game 4 was mainly on Wall.

I was angry last night, but as Ive come down I will agree with you. Wall had a great all around series against the Bulls.

But the best point guards in this league can put the ball in the basket when the team needs it. I havent seen any evidence of that from Wall.

And kill the noise for all this "young team" stuff. Nene is 30, Gortat is about to be 30, and Ariza been in the NBA for 10 years. This is not a young team.

Anyone notice Nene's numbers this series?

11.8ppg .362fg% 4.3reb

Now there's the over priced big I know as Nene Hilario. I didn't recognize the guy in the Chicago series.

straight up, Nene and Gortat have been terrible this series. Nene's numbers are bad, but Gortat's numbers are even worse. He is getting Boozer'd because he doesnt defend well enough and been a nonfactor offensively.

[Warhead36]

Yeah I don't really get this young team stuff. Wall and Beal are young, but only Wall has struggled. Beal has been pretty good for the most part. The older players have been hit or miss. Nene and Gortat have sucked, the bench guys have done well, Ariza has been okay, Webster has sucked.

 

We're down 3-1 because our #1 pick franchise player and supposed superstar has been for the majority of the series the worst player among the 10 starters and worst then some of the backups. When that happens, you will not win, period.

[Sticksboi05]

Harrington, Gooden and Miller should be seeing a lot of minutes the rest of this series however long it is.  They actually run an offense.  Wall is panicking.

[Slateman]

I don't understand why Wall wants to be a jump shooter. Speed and cutting is his game. He needs to get in the paint. The Wiz were quite successful when they put pressure on the paint. Hibbert should be getting in foul trouble all the time.

[skinswillwin06]

No, he didn't.

I've seen Wall have shooting slumps before....but I've never seen him run from the ball.

He was petrified to shoot.

Yes he did, he stood in the corner at the end of games.

I expect this series and the embarrassment that is going to come with it to light a fire in John's behind over the summer.

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

Glad I did not watch this meltdown but I can't say that it surprised me at all.

 

This is not a team that ready to run deep into the playoffs yet.  We need another complimentary player to go with Beal... Wall is just that until he literally follows his last name and disappears.  Beal is our best player to build around.

[Destino]

I don't understand why Wall wants to be a jump shooter. Speed and cutting is his game. He needs to get in the paint. The Wiz were quite successful when they put pressure on the paint. Hibbert should be getting in foul trouble all the time.

In the NBA the only guys that can score well without shooting at all are 6'8 or bigger. Even guys like DWade have a full compliment of floaters and other non standard shot releases to go to when they can't get to the rim, not to mention a post up game. Wall will never succeed simply running to the basket like a mad man and he's never shown a consistent floater, soft touch bank, or post up game. He's going to have to learn to shoot or he's going to struggle in the post season because I don't think shooting coaches exist that can teach the strange shots Curry, Wade, and Parker go to midway between the foul line and the rim.

Yes he did, he stood in the corner at the end of games.

I expect this series and the embarrassment that is going to come with it to light a fire in John's behind over the summer.

Yup. Back when he and Okafor had a shouting match about his pouting on the court.

[Sticksboi05]

I'd change the starting lineup for Game 5.

[No Excuses]

Glad I did not watch this meltdown but I can't say that it surprised me at all.

 

This is not a team that ready to run deep into the playoffs yet.  We need another complimentary player to go with Beal... Wall is just that until he literally follows his last name and disappears.  Beal is our best player to build around.

 

No he isn't. Beal can't even dribble effectively, how in the world are you going to build a team around a catch and shoot player?

 

Jeez, fan bases are so god damn fickle when it comes to youth. 

 

Wall and Beal are both equally important to the future success of this team and we should all be excited about having two of the best young building blocks in the league.

 

Where we should be critical is the 'veteran' presence on this team. Nene is an often injured overpaid big man who is having an absolutely putrid series. Gortat has now been benched in the crucial moments of two playoff games. Ariza is only good when he's hitting wide open shots. 

 

This team needs to cut ties with all three players moving forward because the worst thing we can do is heavily invest in overpaid veterans who are mediocre performers.

Edited May 12, 2014 by No Excuses

[JoeWolf990]

We're down 3-1 because our #1 pick franchise player and supposed superstar has been for the majority of the series the worst player among the 10 starters and worst then some of the backups.

Nene and Gortat been worse than Wall. Wall is probably #8 this series.

Beal is our best player to build around.

he's not. A lot of Beal's success is due to Wall.

What the Wizards need is a new coach. Shame that wont happen now.

[Taylor703]

Some of you guys need to chill, sheesh. Wall and Beal are very young, this is their first trip to the playoffs and they're playing the top seed in the East. The Pacers were great for the majority of the year and hit a rough patch and all of a sudden people thought they were garbage, not the case obviously.

I'm proud of the wizards. They played their asses off in the playoffs and a couple of better shots here and there, some proper officiating and this series probably swings in a different direction. The future is bright and I never thought that would be the case with Randy coaching and Ernie still running things.

[Sticksboi05]

Rest of the series we need to play small.  That's how you make Hibbert irrelevant and open up space for Wall in the paint.  Shouldn't have the same starting lineup in Game 5. 

 

Something like

 

Wall-Beal-Ariza-Harrington-(filler)

 

 

As long as Hibbert is chilling in the paint, Wall is going to be stymied offensively since he cannot shoot.  Nene-Gortat isn't going to beat Indy.

[bearrock]

After a night of cooling off, I'm in the mind set that this was pretty much the reasonable high ceiling of the season. Barring a historic come back, Wizards will get knocked out in round 2 (I still think it's important that they put up a fight and still make a series of it by bringing it back to DC).

I thought at the beginning of the playoff that we can beat Chicago if we play well and have a puncher's chance against Indy. When Indy started stinking up and we looked really good against Chicago, I had dreams of Miami, but this probably was the likely outcome all along. It takes playoff experience to go far and Wall and Beal are going to have to go through growing pains. Barring catastrophic injury (a la Gil), this is a solid young nucleus. I don't think we have the horses to be a championship team and I'm not sure how we will get the pieces at this point, but overall it's a solid start and a good playoff first showing.

Edited May 12, 2014 by bearrock

[RonArtest15]

Some of yall need to step off the ledge. 

 

As disappointed as I am at what the series is becoming, it was bound to happen at some point.  Whether it was vs. the Pacers (and they are seeming to flip the switch) or vs. the Heat, this outcome was going to be inevitable. 

 

Wall is 23, Beal is 20.  Future couldn't be brighter for DC basketball.  The absolutely NEED to take these lumps and learn what it takes to win in the playoffs.  Let's be real.  The NBA Finals is a pipe-dream at this point.  All we can hope is that our young guns on the team take it all in and use the eventual playoff ouster as motivation over the summer to take their games to the next level. 

 

As far as guys like Nene/Gortat, I am EXTREMELY let down by what's happening with them.  While we don't need "A" games out of our starting 5 to win every night, we do need better output than what they've been giving. 

 

I'm going to be very curious to see what direction this team goes in the offseason.  If he's serious about turning this team into an eventual contender, there need to be some hard decisions made about the roster.  Keeping things status quo is what got the Caps in trouble all those years.  Now, we're looking at a hockey team who's window is slowly closing.  The Wizards have a chance to be VERY special.  We just have to hope that the right decisions are made this summer to get this team over the hump. 

[pjfootballer]

No he isn't. Beal can't even dribble effectively, how in the world are you going to build a team around a catch and shoot player?

 

Jeez, fan bases are so god damn fickle when it comes to youth. 

 

Wall and Beal are both equally important to the future success of this team and we should all be excited about having two of the best young building blocks in the league.

 

Where we should be critical is the 'veteran' presence on this team. Nene is an often injured overpaid big man who is having an absolutely putrid series. Gortat has now been benched in the crucial moments of two playoff games. Ariza is only good when he's hitting wide open shots. 

 

This team needs to cut ties with all three players moving forward because the worst thing we can do is heavily invest in overpaid veterans who are mediocre performers.

 

I'd let Ariza go.  He wants to go back west.

 

I'd exhaust all resources to trade Nene.  Always injured and high priced.

 

I'd keep Miller.  Solid vet backup PG until we can find his replacement.

 

I'd like to bring back Gooden.

 

Let Harrington go.

 

Disagree with Gortat.  He's stunk in the playoffs, but he's solid and we need some size.  But I'd definately not sign him to as big a dollars as he's looking for.  He'd have to come back for less money than he probably wants.

[RonArtest15]

I'd let Ariza go.  He wants to go back west.

 

I'd exhaust all resources to trade Nene.  Always injured and high priced.

 

I'd keep Miller.  Solid vet backup PG until we can find his replacement.

 

I'd like to bring back Gooden.

 

Let Harrington go.

 

Disagree with Gortat.  He's stunk in the playoffs, but he's solid and we need some size.  But I'd definately not sign him to as big a dollars as he's looking for.  He'd have to come back for less money than he probably wants.

 

Agreed w/ all of your points....especially the last one. 

[SiCkSoULjA]

Without Ariza this team is doesn't make the playoffs, I would keep Ariza and Gortat and try to move Nene he showcased himself this playoffs so somebody will bite. Wouldnt mind keeping Miller the guy is so old looks like a old man but schooling dudes but you have to draft or pick up a backup point, Miller won't last forever and can break down anytime now.

[Chachie]

Man you guys are amazing. One week everybody's awesome. Then we play the #1 seed and now everyone sucks.

 

We knew going in that this team was not championship material. I think making the 2nd round has us all looking at the Wiz as better than they are.

[skinswillwin06]

Man you guys are amazing. One week everybody's awesome. Then we play the #1 seed and now everyone sucks.

We knew going in that this team was not championship material. I think making the 2nd round has us all looking at the Wiz as better than they are.

Ok, but it could easily be 3 1 wizards right now. That's where some of this is coming from.

[Chachie]

Ok, but it could easily be 3 1 wizards right now. That's where some of this is coming from.

 

I get that and believe me- my frustration level is high.

 

The Pacers are SO much better than they showed the last 2 weeks of the season and the 1st round. They are essentially a top 5 NBA squad when their motivation is up. I just think we're finding out where we truly fit right now.

 

Chicago was a rotten scoring team. Putrid. Indiana plays defense even better than the Bulls did but they can also score. We're not there yet. I love the fact that we're making things tough on the Pacers but last night's game where indy overcame TWO double digit deficits to win just shows you how far we have to go.

[Duckus]

Man you guys are amazing. One week everybody's awesome. Then we play the #1 seed and now everyone sucks.

 

We knew going in that this team was not championship material. I think making the 2nd round has us all looking at the Wiz as better than they are.

 

It is hard to keep everything in prospective. This season was an overwhelming success - we should all be proud.

 

I have come to grips that the series is over. We might push it to 6 or 7, but we are not beating the Pacers 3 games in a row. Now all I want is for this team to come out and play with passion and have fun. 

[Sticksboi05]

I get that and believe me- my frustration level is high.

 

The Pacers are SO much better than they showed the last 2 weeks of the season and the 1st round. They are essentially a top 5 NBA squad when their motivation is up. I just think we're finding out where we truly fit right now.

 

Chicago was a rotten scoring team. Putrid. Indiana plays defense even better than the Bulls did but they can also score. We're not there yet. I love the fact that we're making things tough on the Pacers but last night's game where indy overcame TWO double digit deficits to win just shows you how far we have to go.

Competent coaching and we win last night.