Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins

The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc


BRAVEONAWARPATH

Recommended Posts

Wow.  House making it over Eddie is a major surprise to me.  House had been DNP'd most of the preseason and Eddie was getting run.  Eddie also had a guaranteed contract.

But Eddie hadn't shown well for himself this preseason.  He was just a guy out there on the court.  Far too content to blend into the crowd.  He had no impact on games when he wasn't catching and shooting threes.  Just kind of rambled around aimlessly away from the ball, not searching for shots or making himself available as an outlet.  The contrast between him and Oubre was stark.

I think the moves say Brooks is willing to take some risks on upside with the back end of the roster.  House definitely has more potential than Eddie, but Eddie was the obvious choice.  Ochefu has more potential than O'Bryant, but O'Bryant looked more ready to contribute right now.  Maybe it's some devil you don't know mentality, but I like that we took a chance on those two guys.  I don't think I would have had the guts to do the same thing if I had been in charge of cuts.

I'm feeling bullish on Scott Brooks.  Felt like everything Randy said and did pissed me off.  But I like the way Brooks thinks.  He is a much more aggressive and ambitious personality and decision maker than Randy was.  He's an overachiever and I think he can coax that quality out of his teams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

I'm buying in.  50+ wins and the three seed.  ECF loss to the Cavs.

Wall and Beal make the AS game and Wall gets second team All NBA.  Beal gets votes for MIP.

If this happens I will eat my socks. No way this team is winning 50+ games and making it to the ECF. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Gamebreaker said:

If this happens I will eat my socks. No way this team is winning 50+ games and making it to the ECF. 

It's going to happen.  This is the monkeys off our backs year.  The Redskins are going to the NFC championship game and the Wizards going to the ECF.

I was skeptical too after that tumultuous offseason where there was all that drama about Wall and Beal.  But actually seeing the team play together again, it's clear these guys are good now.  The starters just beat the **** out of the starting units of the top two teams in the East last season.  They've come into their own and reached that point of familiarity where they're covering for each other on a regular basis.  Doing the little things that are essential to cohesive team play.  Moving to the basket or the open spot on the court when they know they need to.  All five whipping the ball around fast and with confidence.  Helping out on D when one of them gets beat.  Boxing out and the guy in position aggressively cleans the glass.  They just destroyed Toronto on the glass and we didn't make any changes to add a dominant individual rebounder.  The performance was all about rebounding well as a unit.  These are really important signs of improvement because it shows the unit is reaching a point of maturation.

Also Wall has looked dominant in limited action.  That's an extremely positive sign.  I was expecting him to be out of shape and rusty coming off his surgeries but he looks better than he was last year.  He's feeling good for the first time in a while.

And Beal has looked good too.  He's gotten better and more confident handling the ball.  That friggin drive where he beat two defenders with the step through was nice.  That's the kind of advanced footwork that would have done Paul Pierce proud.

The starting five is going to carry this team to a really fast start.  The bench will be rough at first but coalesce eventually once all of the new faces get settled.

Buy dirt cheap on Wall and Beal for your fantasy teams.  My prediction is they reach new heights in individual performance and we see just how much coaching matters by going from Randy to Brooks.  52 wins and the three seed.  ECF loss to Cleveland in 7.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

They just destroyed Toronto on the glass and we didn't make any changes to add a dominant individual rebounder.  

 

Toronto will get killed on the glass this year without biyombo. I will withhold my enthusiasm until we play a team with a real interior presence. 

Hypothetical: if/when Bosh becomes available. Should we try to bring him in? I say absolutely yes. Miami is trying to rebuild and are exploiting a loophole to get out of his contract. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2016/10/21/13364442/wizards-finalize-2016-17-opening-day-roster

 

And here are some takeaways now that we know what the roster looks like:

The Wizards have an infusion of youth this year - In the last three seasons, the Wizards added many veterans to fill out the roster. This season's roster will feature three rookies in House, McClellan, and Ochefu. In total seven players will be 25 or younger by the end of the calendar year. It's not just bench players who are on the "right side" of 25. Beal and Porter are still just 23 right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Skin'emAlive said:

Toronto will get killed on the glass this year without biyombo. I will withhold my enthusiasm until we play a team with a real interior presence. 

They do have an interior presence.  Valanciunas was very aggressive, especially on the offensive glass.  Gortat did a heck of a job keeping him boxed out and ineffective and Otto did a particularly good job fighting through the bodies to clean the glass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, Dont Taze Me Bro said:

39 when Beal and Wall get injured....

#bestbackcourtintheNBA

Get out : )

4958b14d-f559-4a54-b54e-8d5ac14fd998_1.4

I'm not sold on 50 wins, either.  Better then last year, yes.  Playoff team, yes.  A lot to prove on consistency, offensive play calling, and defensive effort, yes yes and yes.

Edited by Renegade7
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...