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The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc


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2 hours ago, No Excuses said:

Rui is so damn talented offensively. It’s only three games but he is not afraid of the NBA game and imposes his presence on the court. The anti-Otto Porter,

I was thinking the same thing.  You can't teach aggression and Rui has it in abundance.  He is always hunting for an opportunity when he's on the floor with or without the ball.  He's in his third NBA game and I've already seen him waiving angrily at his point guards for the ball.  I don't know if he'll end up being an all star or just a really good role player, but he's clearly a guy with a long NBA future ahead of him. 

 

If Otto had Hachimura's aggression he'd have been a star.  He'll have to settle for only being paid like a star which, as far as consolation prizes go, is pretty great. 

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Rui's a better athlete than I gave him credit for being. At the very minimum, he will be reliable moving forward. if over time he can extend his game out to be a credible 3pt shooter, he'll take his game to a different level. for where they were in the draft, its looking like they nailed the pick

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25 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

I am pleasantly suprised with the Wizards so far, watched the Spurs game the other day.  I'm not predicting playoffs, jus dsying I dont see them as historically bad anymore.

 

 

I don't know how long it will last, but that squad was playing defense, hustling for rebounds, and hitting clutch shots. They were fun to watch. I can see them losing close games to good teams all season.. and maybe even winning games that they're "supposed to win."

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I still see a bottom 5 record

 

barring Rui playing at an all-star like level early, there just isn't much talent on the team overall, especially on the defensive end. Getting this team to play consistently good defense would require a complete change in nature from players who have never been known for their work on defense

 

they will be more fun to watch this year no doubt, but I dont see that translating to more victories.

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1 minute ago, StillUnknown said:

I still see a bottom 5 record

 

barring Rui playing at an all-star like level early, there just isn't much talent on the team overall, especially on the defensive end. Getting this team to play consistently good defense would require a complete change in nature from players who have never been known for their work on defense

 

they will be more fun to watch this year no doubt, but I dont see that translating to more victories.

 

 

That's ridiculous, Still. I'm declaring one full victory above expectations. 

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39 minutes ago, Chachie said:

 

 

I don't know how long it will last, but that squad was playing defense, hustling for rebounds, and hitting clutch shots. They were fun to watch. I can see them losing close games to good teams all season.. and maybe even winning games that they're "supposed to win."

They need to hustle more for those rebounds.  They lost to San Antonio because they allowed the spurs to grab 21(!) offensive boards.  

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I don't think anyone on this team knows how to box out for a rebound so the defense will be extra bad this year as a result of it.

 

But I think they might just over-perform because of good floor spacing and surprisingly decent scorers. They will win some games they aren't supposed to and they will be competitive against the bottom feeders.

 

Fully possible they play themselves out of a chance for a top 3 lottery pick and end up in the 6-12 range.

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24 minutes ago, No Excuses said:

 

Fully possible they play themselves out of a chance for a top 3 lottery pick and end up in the 6-12 range.

 

They could try and still not get it.  If they use in a SF or trade for, I dont care, I trust them to do the right thing with for a change and jus enjoy these youngins give it what they got for something to build on.

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2 hours ago, Destino said:

They need to hustle more for those rebounds.  They lost to San Antonio because they allowed the spurs to grab 21(!) offensive boards.   

 

They have no rebounders.  No dogs in the front court on that end at all.  One of the hallmark weaknesses of the Grunfeld era was they didn't value rebounding and built soft front courts.  Trevor Booker was the only true glass cleaner we had and he was like 6'7 in shoes.  Those nine games of Dwight Howard were like the best rebounding we'd had since Moses Malone was on the team.  It's a lack of recognition of the value of rebounding and the talent and mentality required to do it at a high level.  And no defense can be elite without high end defensive rebounding full stop. 

 

You need someone(s) who can fulfill the role and Mo Wagner, Thomas Bryant, Davis Bertans, and Rui Hachimura ain't the answer.  They demonstrate that we emphasize big man shooting and offensive skill instead of rim protection and rebounding.  It's fine to have several of those guys in your front court rotation, but you've got to have at least one real big who is a rim protector and rebounder.  This is why I have this bad feeling that the team is behaving as if they think Thomas Bryant's ceiling is much higher than it really is.

 

I think our team is also too small in general to be good.  I like these no-shoes measurements because they expose how small the team is.  Excluding Mahinmi's walking expiring contract, one player who is 6'11, two who are 6'10, all of them finesse players.  After them, only two more guys over 6'6--Rui and Bonga.

 

We need like two more bigs/forwards 6'8 + who are defense and rebounding guys before I start feeling good about our future.  Wouldn't hurt to get bigger on the wing either, and I think we could use a good starting three because I get the feeling Troy Brown's best case scenario is sixth man on a contender.

 

If we get a high draft pick, we can pretty much take whoever the best available 3-5 is and get better.

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I’m intrigued by Isaac Bonga.  He’s only 19, very raw, he’s 6’9 listed as PG but should project as SF probably.  Obviously a lot to work on especially defensively.  Also, he obviously must bulk up a bit and become more physical.  But I like the fact they’re giving him 24 minutes a game so far.  Hopefully he develops.  Got him for nothing along with Wagner.  Good moves by Sheppard. 

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