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BRAVEONAWARPATH

By BRAVEONAWARPATH
in The Tailgate

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Destino

Destino

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Posted

Porter could make our decision easier if he gains weight and becomes a combo forward/small ball stretch 4. Then you could keep both Ariza and Webster too.

What am I reading?! Did Grunfeld put you up to this man? No wizards fan could possibly advocate another SF draft pick moved to the 4.

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Destino

Destino

Posted
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Porter doesnt necessarily need to gain that much weight. There are many long (somewhat*) thin players in this league that have been quite effective. Garnett, Livingston, Prince, Durant, etc. He will never gain the weight to be able to play as a 4, ever. Nor should we ever want him to gain that much weight. He's great at rebounding, pretty decent at defense, has high basketball iq, and has a great mid-range shot. Honestly, the most important thing for him is to practice his permiter shooting all summer.

3&D are the min requirements for him. The team says a lot of stuff about his handles but he showed none of that. If he can get strong enough not to get pushed around, hit the three ball at a decent rate from more than one spot on the floor, defend, and rebound then he's a player in this league. It's sad to say that because at his draft spot you'd want more but he's got no explosiveness or speed. If he can be a poor mans Ariza, then he's good enough.

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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What am I reading?! Did Grunfeld put you up to this man? No wizards fan could possibly advocate another SF draft pick moved to the 4.

He's not going to be a true PF. But I can see him being a perimeter oriented combo forward interchangeable at the 3 and 4 like Ersan Ilyasova or Pat Patterson. He played the 4 at Georgetown and he's got the length and rebounding ability to do it.

The difference between Porter and Singleton/Vesely is that he's got the offensive skill to actually play multiple positions. He's already got a high post game and he can shoot and he's a better inside finisher than than they were.

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Posted

3&D are the min requirements for him. The team says a lot of stuff about his handles but he showed none of that. If he can get strong enough not to get pushed around, hit the three ball at a decent rate from more than one spot on the floor, defend, and rebound then he's a player in this league. It's sad to say that because at his draft spot you'd want more but he's got no explosiveness or speed. If he can be a poor mans Ariza, then he's good enough.

He's faster and more explosive than his reputation. He actually had good combine numbers, better than most SFs to come out lately. For being "slow," he beats people down the floor in transition and the way he was going up for lobs when he came in is an indication of length and explosiveness.

I think pegging his ceiling at a poor man's Ariza is very pessimistic. Porter should be a lot better than Ariza. Ariza has nowhere near Porter's natural offensive ability and Porter should be able to become the defender and rebounder that Ariza is in time. The only thing is the three ball. But that's not something Ariza himself had over the first 2/3rds of his career.

Once Porter gets his man strength and hones his three ball and his trail game, he'll be good. That's pretty much it for him to be a quality starting forward. And the potential for much more is there. The potential for a really really valuable off ball offensive player is there. Someone who can create from the high post and run some point through him in the half court like he did at Georgetown.

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Kosher Ham

Kosher Ham

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Playing the 4 in college is not the same as the 4 in the NBA. Many guys who played 5 at the NCAA level move into a 4 spot if they have a little range or are great on the boards. 4 guys in college these days transition to the 3 spot better or simply end up as a misplaced spot on the court.

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Dan T.

Dan T.

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I am admittedly a Wizards bandwaggoner this year.  I following them only casually during the regular season, but Bullet Fever is back and I've been watching this team in the playoffs.

 

So can someone explain why Otto Porter was so buried on the bench this year? I know he was hurt early on, but he never seemed to get any significant playing time at all even when healthy.  His PT was so scarce I wondered whether he was written off by management as a draft mistake ala Jan Vesely.

 

What gives?

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Destino

Destino

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The Wizards were in playoffs or bust mode with the jobs of both GM Ernie "TheyHateMe" Grunfeld and Head Coach Randy Wittman hanging in the balance. The team, because of this pressure to win immediately, had no interest in letting a rookie onto the court when they had Ariza and Webster available. The team went the other direction, choosing age over youth, with the AARP bench featuring Miller, Gooden, and Harrington.

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WhoRUSupposed2Be

WhoRUSupposed2Be

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I'm just proud to be a Bullets fan again regardless of the outcomes.  I don't watch all of the games but I still **** and moan when lose/ win and when such and such is not performing up their capabilities.


I am admittedly a Wizards bandwaggoner this year.  I following them only casually during the regular season, but Bullet Fever is back and I've been watching this team in the playoffs.

 

So can someone explain why Otto Porter was so buried on the bench this year? I know he was hurt early on, but he never seemed to get any significant playing time at all even when healthy.  His PT was so scarce I wondered whether he was written off by management as a draft mistake ala Jan Vesely.

 

What gives?

Wittman does have not have a propensity towards playing rookies... it was all in for Playoffs.

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No Excuses

No Excuses

Posted
Posted

Yet Beal seems to be a cornerstone of the team, and has grown into that role before our eyes. I guess they didn't see that potential in Porter - at least not yet - and had other options besides.

We had Zero talent at SG when we drafted Beal.

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Going Commando

Going Commando

Posted
Posted

I am admittedly a Wizards bandwaggoner this year.  I following them only casually during the regular season, but Bullet Fever is back and I've been watching this team in the playoffs.

 

So can someone explain why Otto Porter was so buried on the bench this year? I know he was hurt early on, but he never seemed to get any significant playing time at all even when healthy.  His PT was so scarce I wondered whether he was written off by management as a draft mistake ala Jan Vesely.

 

What gives?

Missed from Summer League through November, then came back to play behind two good vets for a team whose coach and GM were/are fighting for their jobs.

The only time Porter got run was when Webster or Ariza missed games from injury, and those two were healthy almost the whole year. The other time he got run was when Nene got hurt at the end of the year and we shuffled around our line ups to play small ball. This was about the time he started showing us something.

Randy wasn't messing with him unless he had to because of injury. Randy wasn't in a spot to develop a rookie or be patient with him, he stuck to his rotation of Wall & Beal + the vets because he knew he had to make the playoffs (and probably make a run) to get an extension.

He's not written off moving forward, the team says he's an important part of the future. Listening to the way the players talk about him, I think he plays next year, one way or the other. And I think it'll come from Porter forcing his way into the rotation ahead of Webster.

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Renegade7

Renegade7

Posted
Posted (edited)

Wizards need help tonight from the fans for homefield advantage. 5-1 on the road in the playoffs, and only 1-3 at home is nuts. I really did not want to go to game 7 against Indiana, but damn if that's actually an advantage to us because of the way that we play on the road.

And ML, don't be too hard on yourself, bro. : )

Edited by Renegade7
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Going Commando

Going Commando

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We had Zero talent at SG when we drafted Beal.

Yeah, that's basically it. Beal struggled a lot as a rookie but had a breakthrough during the second half when Wall returned. But there was basically no one to go to instead of Beal.

Also, Beal was a better prospect than Porter.

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Always A Commander Never A Captain

Always A Commander Never A Captain

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Porter should be able to become the defender and rebounder that Ariza is in time.

 

Statistically speaking, Porter's already the rebounder Ariza is.  Ariza grabs 10.1% of the available rebounds when he's on the court, and Porter grabs 10.4%.  They go about it slightly differently, as Porter grabs a higher rate of offensive rebounds. 

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No Excuses

No Excuses

Posted
Posted

Yeah, that's basically it. Beal struggled a lot as a rookie but had a breakthrough during the second half when Wall returned. But there was basically no one to go to instead of Beal.

Also, Beal was a better prospect than Porter.

 

Interestingly, Beal's second half breakout started a few games before Wall came back. Having Wall definitely helped but for Beal the biggest issue had at the beginning was shot selection.

 

I think Porter has a lot of upside in context to what this team needs from him. He needs to defend, hit 3s and also be able to put the ball on the floor. He is skilled at all 3, but just needs adjustment to NBA speed. I'm fairly excited to see what he can do next year. Ariza is good at hitting the 3 ball but he just offers so little offensively otherwise. Ariza is probably a Paul George clone if he knew how to drrible the ball. He came into the league with elite athleticism and still is fairly athletic.

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