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BRAVEONAWARPATH

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Its still so very early. But I do love this team. Even Paul Pierce who will forever be a Celtic.....looks like he is digging his role here. Hope they only improve and Randy keeps using that bench all year. Having guys get the work in for 3Qs and then rest is the best scenario unless you're the Spurs who can take games off.

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So, what do we think of Randy Whitman as a coach today?  I remember for a while (years) people wanted to ride him out on the rails.  Is he good, is it the talent, is it both or other variables?  More, is it something we need to keep in mind when assessing Jay Gruden?

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So, what do we think of Randy Whitman as a coach today?  I remember for a while (years) people wanted to ride him out on the rails.  Is he good, is it the talent, is it both or other variables?  More, is it something we need to keep in mind when assessing Jay Gruden?

 

Randy has been ruthless in the way he doghouses players that don't respond to what he's preaching.  Either they figure it out or they're gone.  He has improved the way he does rotaions, so that gives validity to being patient wtih Jay as he's learning to be a Head Coach.  Granted Randy isn't a first year head coach, but he stuck to his guns, has adapted, and the team is responding.  Talent absolutely makes a difference, but we've seen talented teams that tune out their coaches and the results that follow.

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Randy has been ruthless in the way he doghouses players that don't respond to what he's preaching.  Either they figure it out or they're gone.  He has improved the way he does rotaions, so that gives validity to being patient wtih Jay as he's learning to be a Head Coach.  Granted Randy isn't a first year head coach, but he stuck to his guns, has adapted, and the team is responding.  Talent absolutely makes a difference, but we've seen talented teams that tune out their coaches and the results that follow.

 

A coach has to have leader(s) in the locker room. Not to take anything away from Randy, but having Pierce & the Professor in the locker room has got to be helping Randy get his message through to the rest of the team. And, having guys with their experience probably has made it easier for Randy to listen to what they have to say (or suggestions from other players). 

 

The Skins are so devoid of locker room leadership no coach will succeed. Fletcher was kind of that guy the past several years, but there was very little talent around him. Now there's a severe lack of both. It's been such a mess for so long Gruden may suffer the same fate as his predecessors, sooner rather than later. 

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A coach has to have leader(s) in the locker room. Not to take anything away from Randy, but having Pierce & the Professor in the locker room has got to be helping Randy get his message through to the rest of the team. And, having guys with their experience probably has made it easier for Randy to listen to what they have to say (or suggestions from other players). 

 

The Skins are so devoid of locker room leadership no coach will succeed. Fletcher was kind of that guy the past several years, but there was very little talent around him. Now there's a severe lack of both. It's been such a mess for so long Gruden may suffer the same fate as his predecessors, sooner rather than later. 

 

Could not agree more. I've been hard on Witt, and there are still parts of his offense that bug me, but he absolutely knows how to reach his team. As you said, part of that is cleaning out the ones who weren't about basketball. It also helps that Witt has a strong assistant coach in Don Newman, plucked from the Popovich tree. Gruden is stuck with Haslett.

Edited by StillUnknown
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A coach has to have leader(s) in the locker room. Not to take anything away from Randy, but having Pierce & the Professor in the locker room has got to be helping Randy get his message through to the rest of the team. And, having guys with their experience probably has made it easier for Randy to listen to what they have to say (or suggestions from other players). 

 

The Skins are so devoid of locker room leadership no coach will succeed. Fletcher was kind of that guy the past several years, but there was very little talent around him. Now there's a severe lack of both. It's been such a mess for so long Gruden may suffer the same fate as his predecessors, sooner rather than later. 

 

At least there's a formula to look at in the National's capital (who'da thunk, huh?), going with your point on adding people to help preach that message.  It's a little harder in football considering how many more players there are, but you're right in that neither Wittman nor Gruden can do this by themselves.  I really hope that isn't lost in the Stadium, but I feel most people are just terrified we'll never get it right now because of how hard it is to get a QB. 

 

Back to Wizards before this starts melting too much and killing our good vibes : )

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Gruden is a long way from earning the trust and respect Randy has.

One thing, Randy didn't alienate his best and most important player right off the bat. Wall bought into him immediately and they have always had a great working relationship. Randy has always gotten the team to buy in and play hard for him. Even when we were losing and the games didn't mean anything. Even when there were so many problems with his offense that it couldn't really be called an offense. Gruden doesn't have this Redskins team buying into him.

Another important distinction is in the higher ups. Much as we bag on Ernie, Ernie is a lot better GM than Bruce Allen. And Ted is a worlds better owner than Dan Snyder. Ted stuck with Ernie and Randy when they had zero support from the fan base. And it was the right call. There is no chance Dan Snyder will ever do that. He's the fundamental problem with the team.

Gruden is in way over his head. He's already run his QB out of town. He has zero chance of success in DC.

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Please no Redskins in my beloved Wizards thread!

 

 

Yeah, the Redskins are losers. They're not worth watching, following, or discussing.

Bah humbug

 

But this thread should be Wizardly... I just thought it an interesting question especially considering how much the majority of you wanted to run out both Ernie and Randy just last year.

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Another important distinction is in the higher ups. Much as we bag on Ernie, Ernie is a lot better GM than Bruce Allen. And Ted is a worlds better owner than Dan Snyder. Ted stuck with Ernie and Randy when they had zero support from the fan base. And it was the right call. There is no chance Dan Snyder will ever do that. He's the fundamental problem with the team.

lets not go too far. They kind of fell into this. There wasnt a clear plan and I am still not sure Wittman is the coach that will win us a title.

But even in that mess of a situation, the brain trust is still better than the joke team that resides in Ashburn, VA.

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lets not go too far. They kind of fell into this. There wasnt a clear plan and I am still not sure Wittman is the coach that will win us a title.

But even in that mess of a situation, the brain trust is still better than the joke team that resides in Ashburn, VA.

 

I agree. Wittman has a top 3/4 squad in the East. Anything short of winning 50 games and having a highly competitive 2nd round playoff series is a failure.

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Actually, there was a clear plan.

A plan which Ted laid out and has followed.

Yup.

And from tbe moment we won the Wall lottery I, and others, said we need to follow the Bad Boy Pistons blueprint as far as the talent and makeup of the team. They were the last team to win a title with a PG as the premier player on the team. And it's pretty remarkable how well we've done just that. Surround Wall with shooters and tough, high energy bigs. That's exactly what they've done.

Wall is Zeke, Beal is Joe Dumars. Gortat, Nene, Humphries and the bunch are Lambier, Rodman, Mahorn and Co. And Paul Pierce is Adrian Dantly--to be replaced by Kevin Durant's Mark Aguirre in 2 years (obviously better than Aguirre but you get the point).

And, as the cherry on top, they aren't complete assholes like those Pistons were (esp Wall vs Isiah Thomas)

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Goddamn it's ****ing brutal listening to Wizards talk on the local sports talk. They remind me of bandwagon fans getting to the party and onboard late but still talking like they know everything and have all the answers. It's sad when failed stand-up comedian Danny Rouhier, no offense to him, is the top Wizards radio analyst in the area.

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Bah humbug

 

But this thread should be Wizardly... I just thought it an interesting question especially considering how much the majority of you wanted to run out both Ernie and Randy just last year.

 

Things are pretty right now but that doesn't change the holistic picture with Ernie. I don't give much credit to Grunfeld because a lot of the players who are at our core, are the players he shoulda drafted. EG is mediocre in most trade situations, a + at finding vet min. rotational players and below average drafter. All in all EG is a mediocre GM, and I don't see much of that changing. 

 

Randy....eh....I still don't like his offensive philosophy of taking "open shots" regardless of the percentages, but he does preach two vital things to no end, ball movement and defense. What I don't like about the offense is the lack of movement off the ball, I don't know if the players prior to this win streak were just being lazy or they have changed some stuff. 

 

I think Randy is an average NBA coach, still is, but the one thing I'll give him, is that he does seem to improve in ways year to year. He stops bleeding better this season, which is something he was notorious for last season. It is RARE you see NBA coaches who have been around actually noticeable improve. To that end, I have to give Randy some props. I still think he is right now, an average NBA coach, but so long as he grows with Wall and Beal I can't be too upset. I would have, and still would take a lot of other coaches over him. But the ship is ok for now.

 

Hilarious that the Wizards might have the best head coach-FO duo in DC.

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Random stats:

 

The Wizards are currently 5th in shooting percentage at 47.1%

 

The Wizards are currently 4th in 3 point shooting at 37.7%

 

 

The Wizards are currently 3rd in opponent's field goal percentage allowing just 42.8%

 

The Wizards are currently 5th in opponent's points per game allowing just 95.5.

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