The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[WALL-LE]

who would u guys want as a new coach?

[No Excuses]

Ultimately basketball is a players sport and usually the quality of the coach won't have dramatic effects if the roster sucks.

Our team is still really bad but it's more and more obvious that Flip just can't communicate or relate with this team. He came here to coach Arenas, Butler, Jamison and Mike Miller. He really has no intentions of coaching John Wall, Nick Young, Blatche and McGee.

I'd like to see what Cassell can do. He'd at least be an energetic coach who can relate with the current team. Let him grow as a coach with the youth of this team.

Edited January 20, 2011 by No Excuses

[lovetoaster]

Well that was disappointing. What a terrible effort. And why was Wall out for so long to start the 4th? I assumed he was hurt and then Flip brings him back in with about 5:30 left with us down by 16? Flip has to go.

[Going Commando]

Two steps forward, one and a half steps back is to be expected with a rebuilding team. It's frustrating now but I'm not worried about it. This time two years from now we'll be watching a good team and the only thing we'll remember about this season is how it ended up getting us Harrison Barnes or Jared Sullinger .

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

^^^

nbadraft.net now has Derrick Williams, sophomore PF out of Arizona as the #1 pick in their mock draft. Now that site doesn't have the greatest reputation around the internet, but I thought that was really interesting. I had heard absolutely nothing about him or seen anything about him being anything but a borderline lottery pick. Here's his nbadraft.net profile:

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/derrick-williams

Anyway, just finished watching the game. Now I haven't been one to ***** about Flip so much, but man. What horrible game management tonight. He's a lame duck coach if there ever was one.

Some other notes, Yi is a great athlete and a HORRIBLE basketball player. Wall was on pace to have a monster game. I was actually thinking about calling Cowherd about his stat line until Flip swooped in and ****ed up the whole flow of the game. I thought Wall had a much better game on D than he has lately, but he still gives up way to many wide open looks trying to cheat on possible steals. McGee is McGee. Nick Young was eh. Rashard Lewis had his worst game as a Wizard. Al Thornton is a bum. Booker and particularly Seraphin both gave nice efforts, as always (shame they couldn't get on the floor for more than 5 minutes apiece.) And...drum roll please....I thought Blatche had a really solid game. You could see he was making a concerted effort to take it strong to the rim and not settle for that bull**** between the legs three times, Caron Butler-esque fadeaway crap. And he hustled his ass of on the defensive side of the ball. I missed the Jazz game so I can't comment, but on the games I've seen, this was his best of the year imo.

[Hubbs]

So what's the record for road losses?

[StillUnknown]

So what's the record for road losses?

29

we've got a serious shot at challenging that record

lately we haven't really been close to winning on the road

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

29

we've got a serious shot at challenging that record

lately we haven't really been close to winning on the road

I'd take the embarrassment of going 0-41 on the road in exchange for the #1 pick.

[dg28daman]

I'd take the embarrassment of going 0-41 on the road in exchange for the #1 pick.

Has any team ever gotten two number 1's in a row during the lottery era?

[FanboyOf91]

Has any team ever gotten two number 1's in a row during the lottery era?

Yup.

The Magic got Shaq and Webber (who was traded for Anfernee Hardaway).

[Rocky21]

I thought Blatche had a really solid game. You could see he was making a concerted effort to take it strong to the rim and not settle for that bull**** between the legs three times, Caron Butler-esque fadeaway crap. And he hustled his ass of on the defensive side of the ball.

This is absolutely true.

Lewis and Wall were both 3-11 from the field last night plus Lewis was 0-5 from 3 point range. Not good.

And the 29 game record mentioned above is consecutive road losses to start the season not consecutive road losses.

[StillUnknown]

I'd take the embarrassment of going 0-41 on the road in exchange for the #1 pick.

agreed, thats why the losses don't really upset me that much. As stevemcqueen said earlier in the thread, i'm rooting for competitive losses that leads to a top 3 pick

[No Excuses]

Our defensive improvement post Arenas trade has gone down the drain. We are back to being a bottom 5 defense in the league.

I hope Wall is keeping himself grounded after the string of good offensive games he's had. Coaches need to be in his ear about defense. Keeyon Dooling and Earl Boykins shouldn't be schooling us like they did last night.

[Rocky21]

Keeyon Dooling and Earl Boykins shouldn't be schooling us like they did last night.

This is also absolutely true.

[RonArtest15]

I just want two things to happen (well, actually 3)

1. Fire Flip...put RW or Sam Cassell in charge for the rest of the year and see what happens

2. Trade Blatche

3. Get Perry Jones.

[Going Commando]

agreed, thats why the losses don't really upset me that much. As stevemcqueen said earlier in the thread, i'm rooting for competitive losses that leads to a top 3 pick

Top 3 sounds good. We don't need to pick first overall in this class because there is no consensus top player.

From what I'm reading in this thread, everyone has a different player they life for us.

I mean, depending on how you feel about Blatche, we're pretty open at the 3 and 4 positions and it probably wouldn't hurt to find another quality 2 although I think Nick Young can be a good starting 2 on a Eastern Conference contender.

So given the fact that we need forwards and there are a lot of good ones in this class, everyone will probably have their own favorite.

I like Barnes and Sullinger personally. But I can see different cases being made for Perry Jones, Terrence Jones, Derrick Williams, or even a big like Kanter.

I also really like watching Josh Selby play and I think Brandon Knight could be an undersized 2.

[pjfootballer]

Maybe the Wizards should ask the next road opponent if they don't mind wearing their dark uniforms at home, so we can wear our white on the road, thinking we are at home.

[RonArtest15]

Harrison Barnes has been extremely underwhelming this year. Maybe his game will translate better to the pros, but at this point, I wouldn't want him on the team. Sullinger on the other hand....the kid is an absolute BEAST. Reminds me a little bit of Boozer.

[Going Commando]

Harrison Barnes has been extremely underwhelming this year. Maybe his game will translate better to the pros, but at this point, I wouldn't want him on the team. Sullinger on the other hand....the kid is an absolute BEAST. Reminds me a little bit of Boozer.

Barnes is a good player and he hasn't been bad. He plays on a pretty balanced UNC team where he doesn't need to score like Sullinger. He's averaging about 12 points per game for instance, and Perry Jones is averaging 13 and a half.

Sullinger is an offensive beast but I'd prefer Barnes honestly. Sullinger is like Luis Scola Or Paul Milsap. He's a gifted scorer with a powerful post presence but he's going to be a big liability on the defense. Net-net, Barnes and Blatche are better than just Sullinger or Sullinger and Thornton. Sullinger is basically like a bit slower version of Blatche with a better IQ and post game. He'll be a good NBA player no doubt and he's a great locker room guy whereas Blatche seems kind of ****ty. But I don't think he'll be an All Star down the road.

Barnes has that potential because he's a great athlete with a really high basketball IQ. And FWIW, I watched him go off on VT and came away extremely impressed. He's also the kind of player who's impact isn't measured in points and rebounds per game. He just makes a lot of great plays that aren't stat book types--the stop and good pass that leads to the pass that leads to the score for instance. And when he gets into a rhythm he'll drain his shot.

He'll take longer to develop than expected, but I see him as having the ability to become an excellent pro in a couple of seasons. He'd be a valuable starter and excellent offensive second wheel to Nick Young.

Edited January 20, 2011 by stevemcqueen1

[RonArtest15]

Barnes is a good player and he hasn't been bad. He plays on a pretty balanced UNC team where he doesn't need to score like Sullinger. He's averaging about 12 points per game for instance, and Perry Jones is averaging 13 and a half.

Sullinger is an offensive beast but I'd prefer Barnes honestly. Sullinger is like Luis Scola Or Paul Milsap. He's a gifted scorer with a powerful post presence but he's going to be a big liability on the defense. Net-net, Barnes and Blatche are better than just Sullinger or Sullinger and Thornton. Sullinger is basically like a bit slower version of Blatche with a better IQ and post game. He'll be a good NBA player no doubt and he's a great locker room guy whereas Blatche seems kind of ****ty. But I don't think he'll be an All Star down the road.

Barnes has that potential because he's a great athlete with a really high basketball IQ. And FWIW, I watched him go off on VT and came away extremely impressed. He's also the kind of player who's impact isn't measured in points and rebounds per game. He just makes a lot of great plays that aren't stat book types--the stop and good pass that leads to the pass that leads to the score for instance. And when he gets into a rhythm he'll drain his shot.

He'll take longer to develop than expected, but I see him as having the ability to become an excellent pro in a couple of seasons. He'd be a valuable starter and excellent offensive second wheel to Nick Young.

I dunno bro...I'm not seeing it w. Barnes. For a 5* recruit, he's been awful. For his pedigree, it's easy to make an argument that he's been one of if not THE biggest freshman bust this season. I'd like to see him get more agressive out there and have a better shot-selection. The fact that we are saying that the positives for the #1 recruit in the country are things that don't show up in the stat sheet is kinda alarming, no? Should he declare after this season he'll most likely go in the lottery...I just wouldn't want any parts of him if the Wizards are drafting in the top 3-5. I hope he stays in CH for at least one more year to work on his game...with the looming CBA problems, that may become a reality for him.

[StillUnknown]

i'm still undecided about who i want in the draft, although Perry Jones intrigues me the most right now

i'm not certain I trust Flip/Grunfeld to use him the right way though

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

A lot of the mocks I've seen lately have taken Barnes completely out. I think the general feeling is that he's not coming out this year after the poor showing he's had so far.

[Gator Bait]

The only two prospects who have impressed me much this year is Krye Irving and Perry Jones. At this point Jones is a lock for #1 overall and Kyre doesn't fill a need for us. I'd still rather draft him over any of the other projected top 5 (minus Perry). This is not a good year to be in the lottery.

---------- Post added January-21st-2011 at 08:26 AM ----------

i'm still undecided about who i want in the draft, although Perry Jones intrigues me the most right now

i'm not certain I trust Flip/Grunfeld to use him the right way though

Grunfeld doesn't have anything to do with how the players are used...that is all on the coach. I'm hoping Flip makes a post all-star exit from our team. I say give the team for Sam the rest of the year, If he impresses, keep him; If not, we need to find a new coach for 2011-2012.

How would you use Perry Jones? Would you put him on the wing, or put him down low and develop post moves. I personally, would put him down low at the 4 and try to turn him into KG.

[Going Commando]

I dunno bro...I'm not seeing it w. Barnes. For a 5* recruit, he's been awful. For his pedigree, it's easy to make an argument that he's been one of if not THE biggest freshman bust this season. I'd like to see him get more agressive out there and have a better shot-selection. The fact that we are saying that the positives for the #1 recruit in the country are things that don't show up in the stat sheet is kinda alarming, no? Should he declare after this season he'll most likely go in the lottery...I just wouldn't want any parts of him if the Wizards are drafting in the top 3-5. I hope he stays in CH for at least one more year to work on his game...with the looming CBA problems, that may become a reality for him.

He's not been that bad though. Perry Jones was a 5 star guy too and he's the one you said you want to draft. What's separated them this year? Jones is averaging a point and a half more in scoring and one more rebound per game? That's not a significant difference to me. Especially not since Jones plays 5 more minutes a game than Barnes, and in general, plays more than any of the other top freshmen in the country save Brandon Knight.

I've been watching UNC steadily this year and, after a rough first few games, Barnes settled down and has been steady. I'll watch a game and at no point think, this guy is awful. He actually looks really good now that his shot has been falling.

The thing about UNC is that nobody on that team is going to put up big scoring numbers. Look at their typical box score and nobody ever breaks 20, but they'll have five or six guys put up double digits. I think Barnes' lack of scoring is more about the system than anything else. And in any regard, he's a good shooter with a versatile offensive game, plus he does everything else quite well. Anyone who rules Barnes out because of mediocre scoring numbers this season is ruling themselves out of a damn good player.

---------- Post added January-21st-2011 at 09:38 AM ----------

The only two prospects who have impressed me much this year is Krye Irving and Perry Jones. At this point Jones is a lock for #1 overall and Kyre doesn't fill a need for us. I'd still rather draft him over any of the other projected top 5 (minus Perry). This is not a good year to be in the lottery.

Grunfeld doesn't have anything to do with how the players are used...that is all on the coach. I'm hoping Flip makes a post all-star exit from our team. I say give the team for Sam the rest of the year, If he impresses, keep him; If not, we need to find a new coach for 2011-2012.

How would you use Perry Jones? Would you put him on the wing, or put him down low and develop post moves. I personally, would put him down low at the 4 and try to turn him into KG.

Jones certainly is no lock to be taken first overall. For one thing, he hasn't even been the best at his position this year. Terrence Jones, Derrick Williams, and Jarred Sullinger have all been better and far more consistent. If you put Irving on the list of impressive freshmen, Brandon Knight and Josh Selby should be on there too.

Also, Perry Jones is tall but he's definitely not an NBA 4 and playing him there would waste his best talents. Sometimes he looks lost playing that position for Baylor. He's a great shooter and ball handler, he needs to play the wing at the next level.

Edited January 21, 2011 by stevemcqueen1

[Gator Bait]

He's not been that bad though. Perry Jones was a 5 star guy too and he's the one you said you want to draft. What's separated them this year? Jones is averaging a point and a half more in scoring and one more rebound per game? That's not a significant difference to me. Especially not since Jones plays 5 more minutes a game than Barnes, and in general, plays more than any of the other top freshmen in the country save Brandon Knight.

I've been watching UNC steadily this year and, after a rough first few games, Barnes settled down and has been steady. I'll watch a game and at no point think, this guy is awful. He actually looks really good now that his shot has been falling.

The thing about UNC is that nobody on that team is going to put up big scoring numbers. Look at their typical box score and nobody ever breaks 20, but they'll have five or six guys put up double digits. I think Barnes' lack of scoring is more about the system than anything else. And in any regard, he's a good shooter with a versatile offensive game, plus he does everything else quite well. Anyone who rules Barnes out because of mediocre scoring numbers this season is ruling themselves out of a damn good player.

---------- Post added January-21st-2011 at 09:38 AM ----------

Jones certainly is no lock to be taken first overall. For one thing, he hasn't even been the best at his position this year. Terrence Jones, Derrick Williams, and Jarred Sullinger have all been better and far more consistent. If you put Irving on the list of impressive freshmen, Brandon Knight and Josh Selby should be on there too.

Also, Perry Jones is tall but he's definitely not an NBA 4 and playing him there would waste his best talents. Sometimes he looks lost playing that position for Baylor. He's a great shooter and ball handler, he needs to play the wing at the next level.

I couldn't disagree more with anything you've said.

1) You can't judge players on stats and box scores. Pointing out that Perry Jones is only averaging 1/2 point more than Barnes and 5 more minutes means absolutely nothing to me. You can't judge basketball players by stats.

2) You say that Jones isn't a lock because he isn't the best at his position this year...which has nothing to do with where he will be drafted this year. Kemba Walker is arguably the best player in the NCAA this year and he likely wont sniff the lottery

3) Perry Jones is definitely a 4 at the next level. You can't teach size. You need to go look at tape of KG when he came out....he didn't have the "size" of a 4 either...you are acting like this guy isn't going to grow anymore...like he isn't going to put on weight. PFs need to be able to shoot in today's NBA to be elite...look at Gasol and TD.