The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[RonArtest15]

GRJr tore the D League up last season too. And I think Temple was one of the top scorers in the D League when we signed him. Its not too meaningful. But I like Seth Curry because he can play both guard positions.

Maynor is the main problem. If we had just an average back up PG, we'd be alright. He's just been so bad. We can't even get 10 quality minutes a night from Maynor.

Ves is settling into a role off the bench and Porter should hopefully give us a big boost off the bench when he's finally cleared.

I think Maynor has to play with a scorer at all times. Hopefully playing with Porter will improve his performances. Maynor's only strength is ball handling and passing. He can run PnRs with Gortat, so I think you need to find a way to stagger out his minutes to match up with Gortat's.

I wish Vesely was a better PnR finisher. But right now I don't trust him to catch the ball in the lane in traffic.

Also we still don't have a credible backup C either. Its time to try and trade Seraphin IMO. He's too flawed for us to use right now, his contract is expiring, and we seem to have run out of time to develop him. I'd try and trade him and Maynor for some sort of combo guard upgrade and then trade Ariza for a back up big. Someone like Ramon Sessions would be nice, but he's been playing too well for Charlotte right now to get him probably.

 

 

I think our bench had something like 6 points last night.  They CLEARLY need a spark.  Not sure what the timetable is on Al Harrington's and Ariza's return, but both guys (yes, Ariza should be on the bench) could help.  I'm really worried about the starters' minutes.  Wall/Beal have young legs and SHOULD be fine, but for guys like Gortat and ESPECIALLY Nene, neither will make it to the All-Star break due to all the wear and tear on their bodies.  I'd like to think the EG is smart enough to recognize this, but maybe that's giving him too much credit. 

[StillUnknown]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/11/23/5137868/otto-porter-injury-chris-singleton-wizards

 

 

Before yesterday's Raptors game, Randy Wittman was asked about the status of his injured players. Here's what he had to say about Porter, via Michael Lee of the Washington Post:

 

Chris Singleton has been out with late September with a broken left foot but Wittman said he could also be back practicing soon. Otto Porter Jr., who has also been out for nearly two months, is still slowly recovering from a strained right hip flexor. "Chris is probably a lot closer than Otto is," Wittman said, when asked for a timetable. But he couldn't get specific with Porter. "Again, it's still don't know much on that. It's just a matter of doctors giving him the clearance."

 

But we're now past month two on an injury that was initially seen as "day to day." Is it more severe than the Wizards are letting on? Is Porter babying it? Are the Wizards doctors babying it, as John Thompson III suggested recently? Was it misdiagnosed?

 

In the absence of information, this kind of speculation steps into the power vacuum and fills our brains. It doesn't really do Porter or the team any good to be so vague about this injury.

 

It should be remembered that before breaking his foot, Chris Singleton was last seen looking terrible in the summer league.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Also we still don't have a credible backup C either. Its time to try and trade Seraphin IMO. He's too flawed for us to use right now, his contract is expiring, and we seem to have run out of time to develop him. I'd try and trade him and Maynor for some sort of combo guard upgrade and then trade Ariza for a back up big. Someone like Ramon Sessions would be nice, but he's been playing too well for Charlotte right now to get him probably.

I don't know what our salary cap situation is but signing Kwame Brown had crossed my mind.

[Going Commando]

At this rate, I think John, Kyrie, Wade, and either Arron Afflalo or Jeff Teague will be the guards for the AS game.

SF is loaded, you might see four get in. LeBron, Paul George, and Carmelo will all certainly get in. Evan Turner might make it.

I could see PF going to Horford and Bosh and then Hibbert and Lopez getting in at C.

Indy will get two in. Miami will get at least two. Atlanta will probably get at least one.

The Raptors could be the 4 seed and not get any body in.

Beal has an outside shot at making the game but I don't think he gets in this year. Not without a monster stretch in December or January. I think Wall is our only representative, if we get one.

[skinfan2k]

Better shooter?  Klay Thompson or Bradley Beal?

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2013/11/24/5139158/has-john-wall-taken-the-next-step

 

 

 

The Wizards score 105.4 points per 100 possessions when Wall on the court , meaning that they score as well as almost any team in the league with Wall running the show. When he sits, that number plummets to an atrocious 82. Despite his poor individual shooting, Wall's presence this season has essentially meant the difference between Washington having one of the best offenses in the NBA and one that would be lucky to crack 80 points on a nightly basis.

 

[Going Commando]

I saw some homer Cavs fan arguing with someone about Cleveland's drafting. It strikes me that their drafting has been even worse than ours. They had two #1 overall picks and two #4 overall picks in a span of three years and came away with basically Kyrie. We had a #1, a #6, and two #3s in four years and at least we came away with Wall and Beal.

But Cleveland's drafting gets worse when you look at how big a reach Waiters, Bennett, and Thompson each were, and who they passed over to get those guys. With the exception of maybe Vesely, each of our picks was the guy everyone in the world thought we should and would take.

Cleveland has basically had a chance at every top big man to come out the past three years except for Anthony Davis. They passed over Jonas Valanciunas for Thompson, Andre Drummond for Waiters, and Len and Noel for Bennett.

Waiters at 4 was particularly egregious IMO. At least Bennett and Thompson were seen as solid lotto picks. 2012 was a loaded class and Waiters was seen as a late lotto pick at best by a lot of places. He didn't start for his college team. And he wasn't a natural fit with Kyrie Irving. He's been terrible this year. At least Thompson has been passable and Bennett still has time to turn it around before that pick gets stamped as terrible.

I'm wondering if a #1 pick has ever had a worse start to his career than Bennett though?

You really haven't needed hindsight to tell Cleveland was drafting poorly either. Everyone knew they were reaching.

Imagine how much better Cleveland's situation would be if they picked Valanciunas 4th in 2011, Drummond or Barnes 4th in 2012, and then maybe Oladipo first this past year. Glad they didn't.

It almost makes me glad that we've seen neither hide nor hair of Porter. I'll take no start at all over the kind of brutal start most of the class has had.

[JoeWolf990]

If you take a step back and see the team Cleveland could of had versus what they do have, its staggering.

Ernie deserves his grilling, but Chris Grant flat out blew it. Jonas Valančiūnas will be a better player than Tristan Thompson and Waiters was just shocking. Even if they dont take Jonas, Klay Thompson was available, albeit a reach at 4.

Waiters over Drummond was unforgivable for many reasons. One is that Waiters needs the ball which is why he gave Kyrie a shiner. Second, Drummond is already a better and more productive player than Waiters while still being raw.

Even still, I think a lot of people are starting to realize that Kyrie is more Westbrook than CP3 at point guard.

Edited November 24, 2013 by JoeWolf990

[RonArtest15]

In regards to Waiters, you don't draft a 6th man 4th overall. 

 

Kyrie Irving reminds me very much of Gilbert Arenas. 

[Going Commando]

And just about everyone thought Waiters was a stupid pick at the time too. That was really unjustifiable. Most places had Waiters behind Jeremy Lamb and Austin Rivers too (though neither of them would have been worth #4 either). He better end up being good or else that pick will haunt them forever.

The most common thing people say about the Cleveland FO is how they are so numbers-minded and on the cutting edge of sabremetric style analysis. Well if this is the team it got them, then their method sucks. Maybe they should just focus on, you know, watching these guys play first. And maybe they should pay a modicum of attention to things like defense and size.

I think the playoff mandate from the owner was a bad thing too in hindsight. That team wasn't close to being ready and Wizards fans know, you can't just skip ahead to being good. Their FO has been even more shortsighted than ours in some ways. One of the reasons the Cavs homer said they didn't pick Valanciunas was because he was going to stay in Europe for a year. That's just asinine.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Click on the link to read the rest.

http://www.wizardsxtra.com/2013/11/24/otto-porter-injury-analysis-when-will-he-be-back

 

 

 

OTTO PORTER INJURY ANALYSIS: WHEN WILL HE BE BACK?

 

Washington Wizards Otto Porter's injury continues to remain a mystery. The team has yet to release a statement on Porter's MRI results from last month and all we really know is that he suffered a hip flexor injury in mid-September. For non-athletes, an MRI report is usually generated within 24 hours. We can only speculate that Porter's hip joint is intact and that the condition is indeed just a soft tissue injury.

 

Wizards fans should not push the 'panic button' yet. It is possible for a hip flexor injury to take as long as it has to recover for Porter. That's right, almost 8 weeks. Porter suffered a hamstring injury to the same side earlier this year, which leads me to believe that the hip flexor injury recovery has been prolonged. The muscles that move the hips and knees work as a unit. When injury to one area has ocurred, other muscles compensate to maintain normal movement patterns.

 

Edited November 25, 2013 by BRAVEONAWARPATH

[Skin'emAlive]

Fun Fact(s):

 

#1: Atlanta is 3rd in the conference at 8-6

 

#2: Washington is tied for the last spot in the playoffs with a 5-8 record.

 

This division is tanking extremely hard.

[Going Commando]

Our division isn't really tanking. You've got four potential playoff teams in it.

[JoeWolf990]

bad teams dont tank, they just bad.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Imagine how much better Cleveland's situation would be if they picked Valanciunas 4th in 2011, Drummond or Barnes 4th in 2012, and then maybe Oladipo first this past year. Glad they didn't.

It almost makes me glad that we've seen neither hide nor hair of Porter. I'll take no start at all over the kind of brutal start most of the class has had.

 

I may not have posted this, but I thought last year's draft was very similar to 2001 (which in retrospect was not a terrible draft). In 2001, I thought the Wizards should have taken Battier with the top pick, because you knew that - at the absolute worst - Battier was going to be a solid starter somewhere for at least decade. You knew his basketball IQ was off the charts, that he loved to play defense, that he had at least one real offensive skill, and that he would work his ass off.

 

The top four (Brown, Chandler, Gasol, and Curry) had all kinds of raw talent (well, Gasol was more refined, but that was not the era where you could take a 20-year-old Spaniard #1 overall) but there was huge bust potential with all of them. Brown and Curry did bust big time and it took Chandler seven years to become a double/double guy and about a decade to become an impact player.

 

The #1 overall pick last year should have been Oladipo. He's not exactly been setting the world on fire right now, but it would be shocking if he did not have a very good, long-term pro career.

 

Completely tanking on a #1 overall pick just destroys franchises. You can miss on a #2 or #3, but missing on a #1 is a wound that never goes away. You just can't take flyers there.

 

The fact that they thought they had the 2-guard spot locked up with Waiters is really troubling. And it makes no sense, you don't want Oladipo because he needs the ball like Irving and Waiters need the ball.....and then you spend big money on Jarret Jack?  Explain that one.

 

Thompson has actually developed into a serviceable NBA player...which makes the Bynum signing weird.

 

They are just badly put together. And Mike Brown is a bad coach for nearly any roster but is particularly bad for this one. You can't have a team of chuckers and run the Kobe/Lebron "Oh just do what you want" offense with them.

[RonArtest15]

Mike Brown's deficiences as a coach were masked by having Lebron, and exposed when he went to LA. 

 

Not sure what the direction is of the Cavs franchise, but you can argue that their future is much more bleak than ours.  

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Mike Brown's deficiences as a coach were masked by having Lebron, and exposed when he went to LA. 

 

Not sure what the direction is of the Cavs franchise, but you can argue that their future is much more bleak than ours.  

 

Eh....I think both teams are about the same in terms of raw talent and assets. I like Irving more than Wall (though not as much as I used to), but like Wall/Beal more than Irving/anything on the Cavs. I actually think the Cavs have a fair amount of good young talent - that if nothing else would be a trade asset. I would be far more interested in dealing for Thompson than Vesley. Neither team has the right coach. I don't trust either GM. The one thing Cleveland does have is the remote chance that Lebron will return, but I think that becomes less and less likely the more they lose games with this management team. Lebron is not coming back to trade off iso plays with Kyrie Irving - which is all Mike Brown knows how to do.

 

This Bennett fiasco is going to haunt them though. The Wizards have nothing like that on the roster. Porter and Vesley can be the two worst players in NBA history, and it won't match that disaster.

 

The Wizards biggest issue might be screwing themselves by sneaking into the 7th seed in an awful conference, getting annihilated by Miami in Round 1, and finding themselves stuck in limbo with their roster. Would Ted fire Whitman and Ernie after "making the playoffs."

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

bad teams dont tank, they just bad.

 

The East is such a disaster right now. The Nets are awful....but are only 3 games back from the 4 seed. I mean, it's possible that they put together a 4 game win streak at some point and steal that division, right?

 

Chicago has nowhere to go but down. I don't think they want to fight and claw for a 7th seed again, do they?

 

No one really believes that Philly, Detroit, and Charlotte are going to make the playoffs, do they? 

 

But someone has to make the playoffs, you could convince me that every team not Indy and Miami are going to miss the playoffs and that every team is going to make the playoffs.

 

And I'm not even sure that tanking is a smart move in the East. You could tank and find yourself with the 6th or 7th pick, because there are so many awful teams. You could make the playoffs and find yourself in the 2nd round pretty darn easily. And who the hell knows? All it takes is for Lebron or Paul George to land on someone's ankle on a drive to the basket and the path to the Eastern Conference Finals becomes wide open for some mediocre team.

 

Atlanta might be in the best position right now. The Nets are basically tanking for them so they can actually focus on "winning games" and "getting better." They could be a 3rd seed and still get Wiggins, Parker, or Randle.

 

Anyway, this is the Wizards thread so I will focus on them. As bad as they are, I think they are still going to get the 6-seed because, someone has to. I think they have more potential to be better than the rest of the awful teams by quite a bit.

[StillUnknown]

Anyway, this is the Wizards thread so I will focus on them. As bad as they are, I think they are still going to get the 6-seed because, someone has to. I think they have more potential to be better than the rest of the awful teams by quite a bit.

 

Ted's gonna give Grunfeld a lifetime extension if we get the 6th seed. Even when we win, we lose.

[JoeWolf990]

Shane Battier woulda been a terrible #1 pick

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Okay...this works on the trade machine.

 

Deng for Ariza, Porter and Vesley. The Wizards are a little short on #1 picks right now but I think that gives each team something. Chicago gets rid of a never-ending discussion/distraction, gets to go into tank mode, still has about $10 million coming off its books next year, and gets the #3 pick in last year's draft.

 

The Wizards suddenly get a loaded and balanced starting five - though their bench is still a nightmare.

 

PG - Wall

SG - Beal

SF - Deng

PF - Nene

C - Gortat

 

Deng is a much worse 3 point shooter than you would think, but he knows how to score and he knows how to play off the ball. Giving Wall a 3 that knows how to put the ball in the basket is a massive upgrade. And he's a good defender. And they are basically in the same position going into next year, except they now - I think - have Deng's Bird rights. (I'm actually really bad at this part of the salary cap).

 

You still need a backup PG, but that's a starting five that could push for a 3 seed.

Shane Battier woulda been a terrible #1 pick

 

What were the good options in 2001? And don't say Gasol, because that is cheating. (Not that I can see Michael Jordan drafting a European #1 anyway).

Edited November 25, 2013 by Lombardi's_kid_brother

[SuperBash]

Otto Porter practiced today!

 

I REPEAT OTTO PORTER HAS PRACTICED TODAY. 

[StillUnknown]

I don't like that deal.

 

Deng impact will be limited by the fact that our starters will most likely be on dead legs a little after the all-star break from carrying the bench. I would rather flip Ariza for a 4 or 5. Seraphin is working his way off the roster every time Wittman lets him into the game. Vesely had a couple of decent games, decent by his standards anyway, but we still need upgrades.

 

Our starting five as currently constructed is good enough to make the playoffs in a terrible Eastern Conference. I'm not ready to give up on Porter. 

Edited November 25, 2013 by StillUnknown

[RonArtest15]

This season, Deng is giving you virtually the same production as Ariza.  TO ME, that would be a lateral move.  Although, you do get 14+ mil off the books when his contract expires at the end of the year. 

 

I'm actually OK with rolling w/ Martell and Ariza for the year.  If any trade is done for Ariza, it needs to be something to bolster our bench.  Starting 5 isn't a problem, IMO. 

[StillUnknown]

Otto Porter practiced today!

 

I REPEAT OTTO PORTER HAS PRACTICED TODAY.