The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Sticksboi05]

Blatche is a joke. The faster he;s gone, the better.

[Chachie]

Blatche on twitter...

I may have had a bad game but that's cause I need the ball in the post not taking jump shots all game

Kris Humphries Kardashian owned him tonight. Honestly, dude looked like an all-star facing Blatche.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Chachie

[Reaper 21]

the two most important things in basketball that relates to wins are interior defense and free throws. you do those two things right and you should be competitive in most games. And I know nobody is perfect from the charity, but this was awful, these are professionals. I mean come on. And I think JaVale is a good defender but he can't do it by himself. THIS TEAM NEEDS A CHANGE FROM THE TOP TO BOTTOM. not talking players talking about Erne and Flip, could do without them. The reason we don't have the talent is not because they inherited this roster, they made it what they wanted. Not done yet but still this team does not look like a NBA team. I love the Wizards but I also have been a huge fan of the Spurs, they don't have the big market, the huge free agents, but they get it done. They have a top 5 player of all time yes, but their best player Manu was not, a first round pick. They just know what they are doing, Pop knows what he is doing. We should be looking to model after them, instead we do the opposite. They acquire guys like similar to MS strategy hard working good character guys. I don't see that here, I see dumb athletes who struggle to think about anyone other then themselves. Im frustrated so excuse the rant but when is enough enough. I see college teams that could beat us, and I hate when ppl say that, but when a college team plays like a team and plays for one another you see that, you see them care about each other play for each other. This team reminds me of the same crap the Redskins were before MS got here.

[No Excuses]

Blatche on twitter...

I may have had a bad game but that's cause I need the ball in the post not taking jump shots all game

There is not an athlete I hate more than this guy. He is a complete loser. God damnit Ernie, amnesty him or something. Get him away from this locker room.

I can't even enjoy our games because of him. To me he's worse than LeBron.

---------- Post added December-26th-2011 at 11:28 PM ----------

If this isn't the end of his career in DC, then Ernie is a big fat idiot.

[MonkFan8]

Wizards did nothing tonight to convince me my 15 win prediction won't come true. They'll win a few when the miraculously shoot a decent percentage, but other than that they're going to be awful.

Very disappointed in Wall. He's quick, but his jumping ability completely disappears if there is anyone between him and the basket. I don't even care that his jumper is awful, if he improved his handles and ability to finish at the basket he could be elite.

Just gotta hope for good luck in the lottery.

[Going Commando]

I know that GACOLB has already crowned John Wall. Wow, I am not seeing it. He looked like a rookie tonight. You have to have more game than wild drives to the net and wild ass passes.

If Wall had made his free throws, he would have had a fine game.

Wall played lock down defense for long stretches and came up with some really nice playmaking moments that fortell what the halfcourt offense will look like when our players blossom and start knocking down shots.

And most of all, Wall showed his shocking speed that will make him the most dangerous and unguardable PG in the league once he matures.

You're making a knee jerk reaction to one game, mostly to get under GACOLB's skin I bet, but you're farther from the truth about Wall than GACOLB is when he's emphatically positive about him. Wall had a historic rookie season.

I think a simple but important problem for the Wizards demonstrated tonight is their collective hands.

These guys aren't corralling passes properly and they are NOT capitalizing on their excellent defensive efforts steals/blocks/tips. It's not just one or two people, it's everyone.

They're doing an excellent job on the offensive glass. But they're giving up offensive rebounds to the other team because they're not catching the ball even though they get into the right position and boxing out more often than not.

On the whole, I felt the defense was a little slow to rotate all game long, but weren't really punished by it because NJ was missing a lot of lightly contested shots.

But despite all of that, we would have won this game handily if we'd just made our damn free throws.

I think we showed we clearly outclass a team like the Nets in terms of athleticism and talent. But we're not good yet. Too many poor shot choices from Wall and Crawford. Too many missed opportunities from bad hands. Too many points left on the court overall.

I was impressed with the man defense though and the zone wasn't that bad. Wall has an ability to assert his will on that end of the court which is special. Singleton looks like the gem we expected him to be. Booker looks better than last year on defense and he was good before. Turiaf is exactly what we needed. Blatche is hustling and making plays and showing off quick hands. Javale is showing a craftiness and savvy on defense that's new. The dominating length and athleticism was there last year, but he's making plays now, while playing within his role. He looks like he can become a major force on defense.

I think there were more positives than negatives to take away from a game like this.

[Slateman]

Lol, you guys waited the whole year for this?

[Sticksboi05]

Blatche is a cancer to this roster.

[Destino]

Blaming Blatche and company is a waste of time when Wall plays like crap. We know that the role players aren't good but we think Wall is. The only chance the Wizards have is if Wall grows into the star we think he can be. Last year was great for a rookie, he'll need to improve by a wide margain to stand out in a league with a lot of point guard talent.

He isn't the first good player to find himself on a bsd team. His numbers have to match his hype and there is no getting sround that.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Destino

[Warhead36]

I have no doubt Wall will improve. I think he's much better with Young as a starter though as that's the one guy on the team who can shoot with reasonable consistency.

Singleton will be starting by midseason. Lewis is basically useless and should have been amnestied if what was said about amnestied salaries still contributing to the salary floor is true.

[Chachie]

Lol, you guys waited the whole year for this?

F you, man. F you.

[abdcskins]

Reading this thread just makes me understand how bad this team is.

It's like, there is some talent on this team, I don't think anyone can disagree with that. But is it compatible? Are any of them really that good? Sadly I don't think so. Wall is our best player but even he lacks discipline and I've already stated the reasons I don't think he ever will truly be a superstar.

Blatche is like....I don't really know what to say about him. I get to watch a fair amount of games out here in LA and sometimes he looks like a great scorer. But his defense is horrid and he goes cold as a icicle. I think it's time to get rid of him, when does his contract expire anyway? Crawford is a nice scorer. Turiaf is probably our best big guy I hate to say, he plays smart and bangs hard. Is Rashard Lewis like dead or something? I don't know where he was tonight.

I'll be watching Wednesday against Atlanta. Sadly I think we will get owned.

Also, I pray that Vesely is actually good. Because we spent the #6 overall pick on him, he better bring something to the table. Yet, in typical Wizards fashion I'm sure he will be the next Kwame Brown.

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

Just got home from the game. A bunch of thoughts.

-- Much thanks and mad props to Gator Bait. He really hooked me up tonight. After I got faked on hard, and ****ed out of going to the game (at essentially the last minute), Ryan (Gator Bait) gave me a call to see if I was coming. I hadn't planned on it (really don't like riding by myself) but thankfully I was already in the area for something else. So Ryan grabbed a ticket for me and left it at Will Call. Upper section but I quickly snuck down to the lower level where Ryan and his boy were at. Very nice to meet both of them.

-- Also nice to meet ACW, who, through blind luck, was sitting EXACTLY behind me in my upper level seat. He snuck down to the lower level with me and it was nice to meet him (finally) as well.

-- So with that said, I apologize for the loss. When I got there--about halfway through the 2nd, the squad was up 20+. As soon as I took my seat, it quickly went downhill. Clearly my presence is some bad ****ing luck.

-- I'm watching the game on TV now. So I'll have comments on 1st half/good Wizards later.

-- Crowd: Great crowd. Placed was PACKED. And classic DC with the amazing diversity: race, sex, age, social class, etc. Everyone was there. (And God bless the Nats and Skins, but they don't come close to pulling in the hot chicks like the Wizards do for whatever reason. (Nats >>> Skins though).)

-- John Wall: I can't deny it. Not even me. I'm the biggest homer and have the largest mancrush (and still think he's LEGIT) but this loss is on Wall. Just from the free throw line alone. Absolutely killer. He seems more comfortable shooting the ball, so hopefully (and probably is) just a matter of time until that comes.

But the thing that bothers me the most: finishing at the rim, or his INABILITY to do so. It drives me crazy. I've been noting it since last year. I'm not sure I've ever seen a player struggle so much at just finishing. A foot from the basket and he can't get it to go down. He can almost get there at will and with ease, but he's not making that count.

I've been giving it a lot of thought on the way home, and I think it's gotta be a strength thing. Everyone knows his speed, but he plays a very physical game as well. He doesn't shy away from contact at all, and actually pushes himself into it. I think, after contact is initiated, he just ins't strong enough to finish the play. I hope it's that, because that can be fixed. It's very disconcerting though.

Someone said something in this thread a few days ago about him playing street ball so much this summer ****ing him up. I can see that.

A positive? From what I saw, i thought he played decent enough D on Williams.

-- Andray Blatche: Dude should run for president. He really brings the people together. No lie. From the upper levels to the lower, from men, women and children, all stand as one: they ****ing HATE him. ;I heard people trashing him all game, How much of a bum he is. How lazy he is. How he's the only big man in the league who moves AWAY from the basket when he has the ball. And why in the hell did they have him give the opening speech? Just saw that right now, never heard a crowd less hyped by something like that. It was like they weren't booing out of respect to the rest of the team. I wasn't paying too much attention to him, so I'll have more after I watch it here. I will say, when I did have reason to pay attention to him during game, I can't recall it once being for something positive. Hey Blatche, GRAB THE BALL WITH TWO ****ING HANDS YOU IDIOT. And was he supposed to be the one guarding Humphries? Holy ****.

Question: shortly after Nick Young went off to the locker room, why did Blatche follow him? Did they say anything on TV? Didn't seem like he was hurt. And he came back out a few minutes later.

-- Javale McGee: So split on him. He's clearly so athletically gifted. And, unlike Blatche, people want him to succeed so bad. But I think people miss something about him: his attitude. It's like he throws passive-aggressive tempter tantrums. When things don't go his way, when he misses a shot or a call goes against him, you can, if you pay attention, just see his entire body language change. His teammates know this. You can catch them looking at him like he's stupid or even bark at him. I'm not sure this is something you can see on TV. So I think the big thing for him going forward: grow the **** up. I still have hope.

-- NY: I've quickly fallen in love with this guy. You know how people always talk about "True Redskins"? I think NY is the Wizards version of that. He's just so smooth on offense and his D is really underrated. I thought for sure his season was DOA when he went down. He was in some serious pain. I was right next to the tunnel back to the locker room so I got a great look at him coming off the floor. There might have been some tears in his eyes. He was ****ed. But then 10 minutes later, there he is, back on the floor. And not just back on the floor, but contributing. Dude is a warrior and a true Wizard. We NEED to resign him.

-- Rashard Lewis: I actually thought he looked decent here and there. He can definitely contribute.

-- Jordan Crawford: Didn't notice him doing anything. But again, I'm watching/will watch the game on TV and come back.

-- Ronny Turiaf: What a GREAT pickup. Pure hustle guy. Tough, gritty, hard nosed. Good D. And a leader. You can tell he raises his teammates around him. Really nice move by Ernie.

-- Shelvin Mack: Yawn. Ditto Roger Mason, Booker and Seraphin (did he get any burn?)

-- Jan Vesely: Really disappointed I didn't get to see him. Hopefully he'll be ready to rock next Sunday vs the Celts (and fully expect KG to act like a ***** toward him)

-- Chris Singleton: Saved him for last for a reason. LOVE this pick. Love everything about him. I think we got a real steal in this guy. Wouldn't be shocked at all if he turns out to be a much better pro than Vesely. Great, relentless defender. Never backs down, is always in peoples faces, always hustling, Always should be his nickname. But the one thing that surprised me PLESANTLY was on offense. Dude has a nice shot and it's just going to get better. Was shocked when he drilled a three pointer and then a long-2 back to back. Can't say enough about the guy.

-- Flip: Borrowed time. Not worth the effort.

Some other thoughts

-- Kris Humphries: I don't think people were booing him because they're defending Kim Kardashian. Or anything remotely like that. Hell, I think the boos would've blown the lid off Phone Booth if she was there. I think they booed him because people are just ****ing tired of no-talent reality TV "stars". That he sold out, sold his soul to the devil and **** him. That's why I booed for anyway, and listening to people talk around me, I got the sense they were booing for the same reason.

-- Deron Williams: Eh. Look, I think Williams is a top 5 PG, for sure. He's the definition of solid. He does everything very good. But I really don't think he's elite like a Derrick Rose or Chris Paul. I don't think he's THE #1 guy on a winning, legit-contender club.

-- The Refs: **** off. You suck. A couple of calls were just mind-blowingly bad. Especially the one where they said it went off of Singleton or Turiaf's leg. I mean dude was standing right there. I don't know how everyone in the lower levels clearly saw it and he didn't. Also, Wall gets no respect. I think that might be more him selling it better though. Something to work on.

-- 616 E Street: Never, NEVER park there. That is all.

After I watch the game, tonight or early tomorrow, I'll post some more. These were just my thoughts driving home after the game.

---------- Post added December-27th-2011 at 02:37 AM ----------

Ooooh, yeah, that tech on Blatche? PUSSSSSSSY ****. Punk ass, look at me, I'm a tough guy bull****. Saw that thing go down all the way. Humphries didn't do ****. Seriously, that **** was absurd. **** Blatche.

---------- Post added December-27th-2011 at 03:12 AM ----------

You know, Crawford is going to be a beast if he ever gets his shot down. There's gonna be some hiccups early in his career and it's gonna be ugly at times, but I think we gotta be patient with him. Dude gets his shot off so quick, can get it from anywere, has good handles and athleticism, is very active, I really like him as a prospect. I think he's a keeper.

Edited December 27, 2011 by G.A.C.O.L.B.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Blatche is going to take heat (as usual) for this statement but I think there MIGHT be some validity to what he's saying

I'm going to try and find an analysis from a few years ago about this very issue.

It goes in-depth about how the big man in Flip's offenses are basically just jumpshooters.

Edit: It still doesn't excuse Dray's laziness.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/post/andray-blatche-unhappy-with-role-in-loss-to-nets/2011/12/26/gIQAJFelJP_blog.html

Blatche finished with 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting, taking mostly jumpers. That didn’t sit well with the team captain who addressed the announced crowd of 17,102 before tip-off.

A reporter asked Blatche to address Coach Flip Saunders’ comments that players were relying too much on individual production once the Wizards went comfortably ahead early in the second quarter, 37-17.

“He probably was talking about me for the simple fact that I said I need the ball in the paint to be effective,” Blatche said. “You can’t keep having me pick and pop and shooting jumpshots. Gimme the ball in the paint. That’s where I’m most effiective at. I’ve been saying that since training camp. I need the ball in the paint. I don’t wand to be the pick-and-pop guy I used to be because it’s not working for me.”

Edited December 27, 2011 by BRAVEONAWARPATH

[@DCGoldPants]

this was a loss that they can all share. From not being able to hold on to a big lead, to some really stupid passes, to some really awful coaches moves. When the lead was gone I thought "draft position!", kidding.

Wall at the end.....ugh.

[Rocky21]

I wish......

Wall learned to play in control more.

McGee and Wall could make their free throws.

Blatche didn’t think playing defense was optional.

We could run a few more half court sets effectively and rely less on the fastbreak.

But....holy **** I get the feeling we are going to love Singleton. That guy can play man defense on anybody. Turiaf looked good too (scrappy D, taking charges, hustle, setting picks) but I have a Singleton boner right now.

You’re not going to win too many games where you get outrebounded by 20.

[Going Commando]

Just because he was a reality star doesnt mean he is awful...he's not a 20/15 guy a game but he's okay..jeez

He's one of the best rebounders in the league.

---------- Post added December-27th-2011 at 09:02 AM ----------

I have no doubt Wall will improve. I think he's much better with Young as a starter though as that's the one guy on the team who can shoot with reasonable consistency.

Singleton will be starting by midseason. Lewis is basically useless and should have been amnestied if what was said about amnestied salaries still contributing to the salary floor is true.

- I thought it was interesting how much Wall was playing off the ball when Crawford was in the game. Wall's role is a little different than what we think it is.

- Young is the only guy who can consistently create shots for himself and actually nail them. Crawford is an amazingly confident shooter... but that's not a good thing always because often that confidence is actually foolhardiness. He'll make just enough amazing fricking shots to keep it up though (the 20+ foot turnaround fadeaway at the end of the game comes to mind), but his usage numbers and efficiency are bad.

- Rashard has a role in the locker room. You don't make a long term decision like using the amnesty trump card on him this season when there is no need to. We're not under cap pressure. We need to save the amnesty card for when it'll be useful to our window of contention. Rashard is a good locker room presence and a veteran on a team full of knuckleheaded young guys trying to find their way. He's not really stealing minutes from anyone since Booker still gets onto the floor about as much as he should. And Rashard can shoot. There's no downside to keeping him right now.

- Singleton isn't as tall as I thought he was. He looks more like a SG/SF type than SF/PF. He's so quick and fluid and did a fantastic job on Deron Williams considering it was his first game. I thought the combination of Wall and him on Deron was effective down the stretch. He just kept making those damn 3s.

Deron is a savvy veteran too and performs all parts of his position at a high level. It was going to be rough defending him, but there were times when Wall's length just got to him and frustrated him, timely turnovers. You could see it at the end of the game when he started chirping with Wall after he stole the ball.

- I also liked seeing Singleton drain those long jumpers. He'll be extremely valuable if he develops a reliable J.

To GACOLB: It wouldn't surprise me if Singleton ends up better than Vesely either because, from what we've seen, he's already much better than Vesely.

It wouldn't surprise me if Singleton ends up being one of the three best players from that draft class. Not saying much considering the class was crappy, but it's still a nice find.

I definitely think there was more positive than negative on display here for the long term prospects of this team. I think the reason we lost was simple and fixable. You can't miss half your free throws and cough up so many easy, unforced turnovers, especially in costly situations and win. Otherwise we dominated the Nets physically throughout most of the game.

- our length and athleticism looks dominating; we looked fantastic on the offensive glass.

- our team speed is tremendous.

- we looked urgent and opportunistic on defense in the second half. Not smart, we are still having trouble with the zone and our rotations. But we were flat out making plays in the one on one matchups down the stretch. Tons of blocks and tips and steals. The Nets were fortunate to come away with the ball so often in those situations and that won't be the case most days. We do need to hold onto the ball in those situations.

- Javale quietly had a very impressive game. His post moves are still nascent, but I love that he's actually trying to develop them. If he gets an assortment of go to moves around the basket he'll be monstrously expensive when it comes time to negotiate.

---------- Post added December-27th-2011 at 09:04 AM ----------

Also, we gave up waaaay to many second chance opportunities to the Nets by not rebounding well even though our positioning was pretty good in general. Why are we having so much trouble catching the ball? We're out of sync.

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

One thing I noticed...

Same coach and same ol' Wizards!

I love the Singleton pick though.

[Destino]

- Singleton isn't as tall as I thought he was. He looks more like a SG/SF type than SF/PF. He's so quick and fluid and did a fantastic job on Deron Williams considering it was his first game. I thought the combination of Wall and him on Deron was effective down the stretch. He just kept making those damn 3s.

He's 6'8 230 which puts him at the right size for a SF these days.

Durant 6'9 235 (I think he's taller then they list him)

Lebron 6'8 250

Carmelo 6'8 230

Josh Smith 6'9 225

Rudy Gay 6'8 230

Derrick Williams 6'8 241 was a PF in college and has been moved to SF in the NBA backing up Beasley. (speaking of which, that unprotected Minny pick may not be as great as expected. The Timberwolves don't look bad at all)

Edited December 27, 2011 by Destino

[skinsforlife101]

One thing I noticed...

Same coach and same ol' Wizards!

I love the Singleton pick though.

IMHO Flip is not the long term answer at head coach this is a young team and would benefit from a head coach like Mark Jackson (Golden State) or a Monty Williams (New Orleans).

[StillUnknown]

I don't think there is a single player, on this team or league wide, who takes Blatche as a "captain" seriously.

[No Excuses]

I don't think there is a single player, on this team or league wide, who takes Blatche as a "captain" seriously.

It's definitely a head scratcher. He's already called out the coach after one bad game.

Last year he said he was a finesse player, this year he says he's a post up guy. Get him of the team please.

[@DCGoldPants]

IMHO Flip is not the long term answer at head coach this is a young team and would benefit from a head coach like Mark Jackson (Golden State) or a Monty Williams (New Orleans).

Agreed. I'm concerned that he'll do more damage coaching these guys for another season. He doesn't seem able to teach younger players.

[Going Commando]

He's 6'8 230 which puts him at the right size for a SF these days.

I don't know about that 6'8 listing. He doesn't look much taller than Wall side by side. He's got long arms though.

Maybe Wall is taller than we think?

[RonArtest15]

You know who was running the point last night in a stark contrast to John Wall? Ricky Rubio. Just like I said with Wall, it was only one game. But, WOW. Dude was flat out amazing. His court vision was off the charts. Seeing things well before gaps opened and delivering passes w. pin-point accuracy. He was playing at a controlled pace...which is something Wall needs to work on. Letting the game come to him rather than flying up the court and trying to do everything on his own. As a team, the Wizards might have the lowest collective b-ball IQ in the NBA. Maybe Rubio's teammates/system is just better than what we have here...but he was making things SO easy for his comrades. We all know that off of talent alone, John Wall is 100x better than the next closest person on the roster. Again...slow things down and let them develop instead of trying to force a square peg in a round hole. We'll get there...there will be improvement. But there are going to be a lot of ups and downs as the season goes on. Blowing a 21 point lead is inexcusable. A lot of the blame obviously falls on the shoulders of the players, but Flip needs to have some of that blame as well. It might be drastic, but what harm would it be in starting Chris Singleton the next game and have Shard come off the bench? I'd like to keep Singleton on the floor as much as possible (reminds me of a much more athletic Bruce Bowen...with a WAY higher upside). Defensive pests like him need minutes. I don't care if he's a rookie. Let him learn and make his mistakes while in the flow of the game. The Wizards will be rewarded in due time because of trusting him so early in his career. If I'm flip, I'm putting Singleton on Joe Johnson for as long as possible.