The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[Going Commando]

Dang.  Well that was the game.

 

Ves with 11 rebounds. Didn't think he had it in him. He had 4 when he got his 5th foul.

 

Ves is the main takeaway from this game for me.  I definitely didn't think he had this kind of rebounding game in him against a front line as big and intimidating as this one.

 

I was surprised he got the start and then looked like he belonged on the floor with that group.  His body language looks much better.  It looks like he's leading the second unit down the stretch here and he's been in the middle of everything.  Very active.  Hopefully he carries this attitude over into the season.

How are you going to call basket interference on that!!!?!?!?!

[Going Commando]

GRIII is a gamer!  That was an awesome play.

 

I like this kid.

[StillUnknown]

One hell of a play by GRJ, should be going into OT.

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

Good to see my boy showing up.

[Going Commando]

This summer league-eqsue lineup is surprisingly fun to watch.

Temple can't get the finish in transition.  He should have gotten that call.

But the lesson for Maynor should probably be, give it to Ves and not Temple when you've got numbers on the break.

 

But Ves wasn't really calling for the ball in that situation.  You know he didn't want to have to shoot FTs.

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

Btw, make sure you all catch the ABA/Spirits of St Louis 30 for 30 documentary that just aired. Damn I wish I had been alive to catch that. I know my dad stayed driving down to Norfolk for Squire games. Been hearing about it my whole life. And the Silna Brothers are freaking geniuses (got the NBA to give them 1/7th of the TV money for the 4 teams that merged...forever. That was back when they were still airing the NBA Finals on tape delay at midnight--there was no TV money then. They've only made $250 million since and are suing the NBA for hundreds of millions more.)

[Going Commando]

I remember watching Pops Mensah Bonsu when he was at GW and they'd come to play at Richmond.  I heckled the **** out of him.  

 

We took a bus up to DC my freshman year for the game @ GW and drank jungle juice from a big ass gatorade cooler on the ride up.  It was supposed to be for the whole bus, but for some reason only me, my two roommates, and our degenerate friend Goose drank it.  Goose had a boom box sitting on his shoulder 80's style, blasting Zombie Nation while we sang along like idiots.  I remember being barely able to stand when we passed the Jefferson Memorial.  Wolf Blitzer was there at the game.  It's a fairly small gym and it was almost all students and you could see Wolf's face pretty clearly.  I went outside to smoke a cigarette early in the first half and was too drunk to get up and go back in.

 

I spent much of a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in DC chain-smoking and lying in the road by the curb outside GW's arena.  My roommates high fived me when I finally came back in at the end of the second half and said they thought I had died.  This confused me at the time, as I thought my behavior perfectly natural.  Pretty sure we lost the game but I think it was close.  I do remember crowing so hard when Mensah Bonsu missed a ridiculous dunk.

 

Thank you Pops Mensah Bonsu for being a part of one of my fondest basketball memories.  Sort-of-memories.

[Destino]

I was just asked not to use the term hater over on bullets forever. 

 

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/10/8/4818518/nets-vs-wizards-score-final-nba-preseason-2013#comments

 

I know people are sensitive but damn, hater is now to heavy?  Good lord.  :lol:  That's what I get for defending Vesely. 

Edited October 9, 2013 by Destino

[skinfan2k]

went to the game today and sat about 10 rows behind the basket for $3 dollars.   Beal stroke is just so fluid.  Wall if he can make those stop and pop mid range jumpers will be nasty. 

 

 

Hate to say but this team need Emeka back so Al Harrington can be the first Big off the bench.  Seraphin, Vesely look like trash and they seem they haven't developed at all in the offseason.

 

I really like what i saw from Pops-Mensah Bonsu and Glen Rice Jr.  Bonsu better make the team over Seraphin, Vesley or Booker

[Destino]

Bonsu is being over rated because both of his memorable plays were physical.  A put back dunk and a block (that wasn't a block because it was called a foul).  I wasn't that impressed with him overall.  Al Harrington didn't impress me at all.  Other than pulling the chair out from under Blatche, which was awesome, his defense was crap and he didn't seem interested in rebounding at all.  He's good for spacing the floor and not much else.  This team definitely needs Okafor back or they need to find a way to get Gortat or Asik here.  Vesely is not a starting center and Seraphin... he did so many things I didn't like that it just isn't worth the effort to go over it. 

[abdcskins]

Didn't know we had signed Harrington. Haven't been paying much attention. He's way past his prime but he might have something left to give.

[Going Commando]

Bonsu is being over rated because both of his memorable plays were physical.  A put back dunk and a block (that wasn't a block because it was called a foul).  I wasn't that impressed with him overall.  Al Harrington didn't impress me at all.  Other than pulling the chair out from under Blatche, which was awesome, his defense was crap and he didn't seem interested in rebounding at all.  He's good for spacing the floor and not much else.  This team definitely needs Okafor back or they need to find a way to get Gortat or Asik here.  Vesely is not a starting center and Seraphin... he did so many things I didn't like that it just isn't worth the effort to go over it. 

 

Yeah Mensah-Bonsu is notable only for his unusual name and a curriculum vitae that means he could give Tony Massenburg traveling advice.

 

I thought Vesely was one of the better players last night, especially on the second line, despite his lack of scoring.  It's not even worth talking about Vesely on BF by the way.  It's apparently so ridden with haters that hater became a dirty word.  Ridiculous.  He was nice and active on D.  His haters whine about his D because he made a handful of mistakes, ignore his mostly active and impactful presence defending screens, closing out shooters, and when he moved to Center late in the game, protecting the rim inside.  And they'll say nothing of how abysmal Seraphin and Harrington were on D and continue talking about them like they're these useful players while Ves is trash.

 

I'm with you, Seraphin was pretty terrible last night.  We keep him around for his offense.  He's getting pretty effective around the low block with his back to the basket.  He's got a strong body and he's got a ridiculously soft touch on his shot.  I think you need his inside scoring presence for the second line.  Sucks that he's undersized, doesn't move his feet well, and doesn't anticipate the game well which effects his team defensive ability, passing ability (he's afraid to sit with the ball for a second or pass like Ves is afraid to shoot), and rebounding.  But as you said before, there are few complete players at the big man spots now.  Believe it or not, we could be doing worse than Seraphin and losing him could actually put us in a jam.  I think our only real course with him is to try and keep holding onto him for cheap and waiting for the lightbulb to come on unless something better falls into our lap.

 

Harrington also isn't particularly useful when his shot isn't falling.  He's cagey and tough and yeah, that was awesome pulling the chair out on Blatche.  He also got a little bit of ability to put the ball on the court and try and create a shot.  A tiny bit.  That was surprising.  But his rebounding and defense suck.  That's tough to work around with your lineups.  He pretty much has to be on the floor with Nene or Vesely at all times now just for us to have a chance defensively.  He's where losing Okafor really hurts IMO.

 

Back to Vesely, I think he actually ends up being a useful player a while down the road, provided we keep him on the team and don't find someone better in the short term.  I think the fundamental IQ and instincts are there and the footspeed is definitely there.  His issues are all about confidence and skill level, playing soft and tentative, avoiding the ball late in games and not being assertive enough on the glass.  These things can be fixed with time and experience.

 

With Ves I think you have to throw out the normal time line of development to lose the anxiety over his performances.  He's a very long term project that came into the league for a horrifically bad team during the lockout.  His first two years were basically a waste and he's now starting from about where you'd put square one for a #6 overall pick.  20 minutes a night of good, pesky defense and rebounding and timely hustle buckets plus nice passing would be a very successful year for Ves.

 

I also think that Ves's confidence and individual performance will raise now that the team is so much better and should be more successful.  He in particular will benefit from the rising tide because observers won't use him as the whipping boy that he's been when they're more satisfied with the team as a whole.

 

I would hang onto Vesely if I were in charge.  I'd listen to trade offers certainly, but I don't think anything interesting would come knocking on the door.  I don't think 4 million is too much for a project with Ves's remaining untapped upside.  And I think we're through the worst part of his development process already.  My hope would be that I'd eventually get a very impactful PnR and space defender and someone that could contribute on offense as a PnR finisher & transition finisher plus facilitate a bit of offense as a high post passer and a passer from the top of the key.  I think that's reasonable.

[Going Commando]

The Nets have a ton of bigs now.  If Mirza Teletovic stays buried on their bench, I wouldn't mind trying to trade for him so long as the Nets didn't ask too much.  He's nice and athletic and he's got 3 ball range.  He could have a much better opportunity for PT here and I think there is some upside with him.

[Thinking Skins]

I think Harrington's going to have to be our starting 4 til Oak comes back. Vesely impressed my by lasting however long he lasted, but he still fouled out. I liked that he grabbed rebounds, but until he can effectively take those putbacks and be a threat on offense he's a liability.

[Going Commando]

Rough night for Garrett Temple also.  Looks like GRIII could snatch away his minutes as the backup SG.  And when Porter gets back, you're going to see Ariza or Webster playing some SG as well.  

 

I think Temple might end up as a decent player stuck at the end of the bench this season.  But actually that's kind of nice.  It must be nice to have a decent player there when you have to go to the end of the bench.

[Going Commando]

I think Harrington's going to have to be our starting 4 til Oak comes back. Vesely impressed my by lasting however long he lasted, but he still fouled out. I liked that he grabbed rebounds, but until he can effectively take those putbacks and be a threat on offense he's a liability.

 

He fouled out a little after halfway through the OT period I think.  He won't play the kind of minutes he did normally, even if he's the starter.  He probably won't be in for the closing stretch of a tight game during the 4th quarter and OT because of his FT shooting.

 

Vesely isn't a complete self check on offense because he can pass the ball effectively and he's very fast.  You have to guard him or else he can sprint to the basket and dunk it.  But when you guard him, if your teammates don't do their jobs, he'll find shooters in the corners or make those nifty backdoor cut/entry passes like he did with Seraphin last night on that nice dunk.  It'd be nice if he'd shoot the ball and it'd be really nice if he'd post up and give you an option inside when your set didn't work and you're running out of clock.  That wasn't about to happen last night against KG and Brook Lopez.  KG stole the ball from him the first time he tried to post up and then he never went back to that well.

[StillUnknown]

Vesely hurts his cause when he still shows weak hands catching the ball in traffic. With his lack of an offensive game, cutting to the basket would be a way to take advantage of his athleticism and get him some points close to the basket. It can't be done if he's 50/50 to actually control the pass. He bobbled one early in yesterday's game, but was able to corral it enough to get it out to Beal for a 3pt attempt, but it should have been a close range shot attempt for Vesely.

 

He shows great hands when he's getting rid of the ball, but has issues when its coming to him in any kind of traffic.

[RonArtest15]

Wizards brass needs to lock Jan Vesely in a room with nothing but videos of Joakim Noah. 

 

I still think he's a lost cause...and there really isn't any reason for the team to keep him on the roster past the trade deadline or this season (whichever comes first)

 

Not for nothing, but I'm higher on Glen Rice Jr. having a bigger impact in his rookie year than Otto Porter.  I believe that Otto has a higher upside, but Glen Rice is NBA-ready right now.  I hope Wittman can find a way to get him at least 10 minutes per night. 

[StillUnknown]

http://www.csnwashington.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/nene-hopes-play-fewer-minutes-even-brazil

 

 

Nene, however, isn't going to do anything extra that could jeopardize his health for the regular season. In fact, he wants to play fewer minutes than the 22 he played in Tuesday's preseason opener. 

 

"No, no no no," Nene said quickly to CSN Washington, though with a smile, about playing more Saturday when the Wizards face the Chicago Bulls in Rio de Janeiro. "I don't worry about minutes even in Brazil because I'm a pro. I don't want to get sore, get hurt. I still have a couple of issues. Just because I feel better, they think I feel great but they're wrong.  We need to reduce (it) a couple minutes.

 

"My knee is still sore. My foot still hurts a little bit. Just trying to push (through)," said Nene, who didn't play basketball during the off-season and opted for rehabilitation. "The therapy is making me feel better."

 

Wittman playing with fire keeping him in the 4th quarter of the first preseason game

[Destino]

In case you guys missed the game here it is, in it's entirety, as it was broadcast locally last night. 

 

 

You're welcome.  

[Going Commando]

Vesely hurts his cause when he still shows weak hands catching the ball in traffic. With his lack of an offensive game, cutting to the basket would be a way to take advantage of his athleticism and get him some points close to the basket. It can't be done if he's 50/50 to actually control the pass. He bobbled one early in yesterday's game, but was able to corral it enough to get it out to Beal for a 3pt attempt, but it should have been a close range shot attempt for Vesely.

 

He shows great hands when he's getting rid of the ball, but has issues when its coming to him in any kind of traffic.

 

Vesely hurts his cause when he still shows weak hands catching the ball in traffic. With his lack of an offensive game, cutting to the basket would be a way to take advantage of his athleticism and get him some points close to the basket. It can't be done if he's 50/50 to actually control the pass. He bobbled one early in yesterday's game, but was able to corral it enough to get it out to Beal for a 3pt attempt, but it should have been a close range shot attempt for Vesely.

 

He shows great hands when he's getting rid of the ball, but has issues when its coming to him in any kind of traffic.

 

I saw that play and noted it.  He saved himself because he actually got Beal a good shot but Vesely had a lane to the basket and maybe could have dunked it.  His hands aren't great, but they aren't terrible.  I'd say they are about average in general.  What you describe sounds like a clear issue of concentration.  He's thinking about something else, probably how he's going to finish the play and not controlling the ball.  The more he does it, the less this will be an issue IMO.

 

His hands looked good catching rebounds and getting those putback attempts.  He was aggressive on the glass and went out and got the ball.  I honestly didn't think he was that good a rebounder but he might surprise me.  With his length and speed, he could really be effective on the offensive glass.

 

All in all, the Nets had a huge advantage in the front court last night, superior starters and depth.  But I thought Nene was one of the best bigs on the court, despite his questionable effort.  And Ves acquitted himself well against a big boy opponent.

[Going Commando]

Wizards brass needs to lock Jan Vesely in a room with nothing but videos of Joakim Noah. 

 

I still think he's a lost cause...and there really isn't any reason for the team to keep him on the roster past the trade deadline or this season (whichever comes first)

 

Not for nothing, but I'm higher on Glen Rice Jr. having a bigger impact in his rookie year than Otto Porter.  I believe that Otto has a higher upside, but Glen Rice is NBA-ready right now.  I hope Wittman can find a way to get him at least 10 minutes per night. 

 

Wizards brass needs to lock Jan Vesely in a room with nothing but videos of Joakim Noah. 

 

I still think he's a lost cause...and there really isn't any reason for the team to keep him on the roster past the trade deadline or this season (whichever comes first)

 

Not for nothing, but I'm higher on Glen Rice Jr. having a bigger impact in his rookie year than Otto Porter.  I believe that Otto has a higher upside, but Glen Rice is NBA-ready right now.  I hope Wittman can find a way to get him at least 10 minutes per night. 

 

Rice Jr has more experience with the style of play coming from the D League, but he's still pretty rough.  He made some nice plays.  He's really active and aggressive.  He's athletic and lengthy for a SG, you saw him sky to get that putback in traffic.  He took some terrible shots though and missed badly and I don't think he's going to be better than Porter as a rookie.

 

If Rice was a better shooter, he'd probably have been a lotto pick.  But he doesn't strike me as a very good shooter so far.  Or if he is, he hasn't shown it yet in either SL or that game last night.  It's primarily an issue of shot selection so far.  I expected him to be a lot better shooter because of his dad.

 

I would hang onto Ves and I would probably start him at PF while Oak is out.  My reasoning is that he needs to play with Wall to be useful offensively because most of his scoring is going to have to come in transition.  And between Wall, Nene, Webster, and Beal, I think you have enough offense, but you're lacking in defense somewhat.  I'd use Ves to defend PnRs with Wall and I think that's an effective combo.  And I think he benefits from playing with Nene, who is powerful and can clear out space, plus finish plays inside and facilitate Vesely.  I think it would be good for Ves to start in Oak's absence and give him some continuity and some success to build on down the road.

 

I'd eventually like to see us deal Ariza as part of a package to bring in a respectable PF or C.  Asik and Gortat get thrown around on RealGM, they make sense.  Figure you're only getting 20-25 MPG or so from Ves, Seraphin, and Nene.  You need another big to play a significant amount of minutes.  I'm not crazy about that guy being Harrington, who doesn't play very much like a big.  Booker's already hurt, which doesn't really bode well.  We need someone from outside the organization IMO.

 

If it's someone as good as Gortat or Asik, then you can move Vesely back to the second line and go with this lineup: Maynor, Rice/Temple, Porter, Vesely, Seraphin/Booker.  I think that group could be effective once they played together enough.

[StillUnknown]

2nd preseason game live on NBA TV

 

No Rose or Noah for the Bulls.

[Going Commando]

Poor start.

[StillUnknown]

We're getting dominated inside early, Okafor presence as shot blocker is really going to be missed. We don't have anybody else who can fill that role.