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The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc


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7 hours ago, StillUnknown said:

 

now that the Nationals have finished the job, I'll devote my attention to this iteration of the Wizards. They may not be good, but the compete is there

 

 

 

I watched the Wiz all the way to the end, then switched over to Nats. I'm not keeping hope alive but I sure do love watching this squad. Two words: BENCH SCORING! 

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7 hours ago, No Excuses said:

Get a front court grinder and another top 3 pick, this team is going to be legit next year. There is so much offensive talent.

No doubt.  Good thing Mahinmi’s contract coming off the books after the season.  But with Wall/Beal plus gonna have to pay Bertans I’d think.  Any $ leftover to bring in a tough front court player?  A top 3 pick would be huge. 

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7 minutes ago, StillUnknown said:

the next draft seems rather thin on frontcourt players. scouting reports & mocks only have James Wiseman in the top 3-5. Its a wing/guard heavy draft

 

 

Last night I dreamt that the Pistons traded Andre Drummond to DC for Mahinmi, straight up. I woke up wet.

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Lost in all the scoring is that Rui had another excellent game.  Had some iso possessions in which he showed off a new shot, a silky smooth turn around baseline jump shot.  He also hit three threes.
 

so far it looks like the wizards killed it with their draft pick.  He’s way better than expected so far.

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15 hours ago, ixcuincle said:

The replay is on NBATV rn

 

Not sure how Wizards lost this game it is 152-144

 

I know, right??? 

 

In his halftime interview, Beal said "We won't outscore this team down the stretch. We have to step up on defense in the 2nd half."

 

When you face an opponent as "automatic" as James Harden this is the right mindset. Harden went ballistic down the stretch. I was loving the way the Wiz stayed 4-8 points ahead for a while but I saw the late takeover by the Rockets coming. In a no-defense game, guys like Harden and Westbrook will absolutely rule. 

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11 hours ago, Destino said:

Lost in all the scoring is that Rui had another excellent game.  Had some iso possessions in which he showed off a new shot, a silky smooth turn around baseline jump shot.  He also hit three threes.
 

so far it looks like the wizards killed it with their draft pick.  He’s way better than expected so far.


TB Jr looked good too. If he has a consistent three ball this year, he will be very productive. 
 

Rui needs to be more aggressive on D. His foul rate is too low. Needs to take more chances going for steals or blocks. 

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Watching the Rockets game now, they deserve credit for doing some things better then expected, but they lost for reasons predicted before the season started. 

 

There were several plays where they weren't even trying to rebound and several plays complete lost on what to do on defense.  Defense is a combination of smarts and effort to help compensate for talent.  

 

Somehow this is a better team with a worse defense, I didnt think that was possible nor believe that will favor us in our end of the year win/loss record.  

 

Does the two teams scoring almost 160 points each say more about us or the Rockets?

 

Thomas Bryant reminds me of Soto with his overflowing personality, I love it.

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54 minutes ago, ixcuincle said:

At wiz game what the hell is going on

Theyre playing the same defense they played against Houston, but without the offense they had that night.

 

Rui is having a bad night, just 2 points on 1-10 shooting.  Young players are going to have these nights.

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If you didn’t watch this game, good call, but know that this was “one of those nights”.  Timberwolves are swishing everything, even garbage, with or without defenders in their faces.  Meanwhile, the wizards are blowing layups.  Burn the film on this one and move on.  
 

 

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I had it on, the only thing not shocking or hasnt changed is this historically bad defense.  That they scored almost 160 points and still lost the other night seems like omen of things to come.

 

I'm concerned every night their offense isnt clicking is a chance they get blown out.  Definetly one of those games, but again, somehow the defense looks worse then last year.  A home run on another big man draft pick wont fix this, what is the coaching staff telling these guys?

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13 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

I had it on, the only thing not shocking or hasnt changed is this historically bad defense.  That they scored almost 160 points and still lost the other night seems like omen of things to come.

 

I'm concerned every night their offense isnt clicking is a chance they get blown out.  Definetly one of those games, but again, somehow the defense looks worse then last year.  A home run on another big man draft pick wont fix this, what is the coaching staff telling these guys?

 

It's still the same terrible defense that we've seen for the entire time Brooks (a defensive coach!) has been here.  They're still doing that thing where the perimeter defenders drift towards the paint, over help on any drive, and then give up wide open threes on seemingly every possession.  Our guards still can't stay in front of anyone, which is no surprise when either IT or Ish Smith are on the floor at all times.  They don't stop the ball or get matched up in transition either.  Same problems... only with a roster that is much worse defensively. 

 

The result is what we expected heading into the season, a disaster. 

 

But it's all good because the goal of the season is to get a good draft pick, give Wall time to heal, and get these young guys some burn.  So far, so good.   

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Destino said:

 

It's still the same terrible defense that we've seen for the entire time Brooks (a defensive coach!) has been here. 

 

Yes, it's the same useless scheme, but there doesnt seem to be any effort or instincts on that side of the ball at all.  Like, I want to buy into this idea we are doing a semi-rebuild, but I'm convinced Brooks should not be part of it.  I dont see the logic in keeping him outside of not wanting to deal with his contract. 

 

This is so bad, I'm not sure what this will mean for the development of guys like Rui and Bryant, they are practicing some of the worst basketball habits imaginable in the name of ensuring a lottery pick.

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You shouldn't be sure Brooks should be part of things, because he's never proven himself to be anything more than a relationship manager. 

 

But it's not all bad.  Every player this season seems to have shown up in shape and the effort level has seemed high.  Most teams would consider that a bare minimum and nothing to brag about... but on this team neither of those things have been true under Grunfeld in recent memory. 

 

Baby steps.  Improving a bad team can happen quickly, changing a bad culture never seems to happen as quickly. 

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2 hours ago, Destino said:

If you didn’t watch this game, good call, but know that this was “one of those nights”.  Timberwolves are swishing everything, even garbage, with or without defenders in their faces.  Meanwhile, the wizards are blowing layups.  Burn the film on this one and move on.  
 

 

 

I feel like this is good copy and paste material for another 30 games or so this season. Just change Timberwolves are to The other team is and it will save you time. 

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On 11/2/2019 at 11:14 PM, Renegade7 said:

I had it on, the only thing not shocking or hasnt changed is this historically bad defense.  That they scored almost 160 points and still lost the other night seems like omen of things to come.

 

I'm concerned every night their offense isnt clicking is a chance they get blown out.  Definetly one of those games, but again, somehow the defense looks worse then last year.  A home run on another big man draft pick wont fix this, what is the coaching staff telling these guys?

 

The lack of care given to building the defense is my one major reservation about how the Sheppard era has started.  It smacks of not valuing defense and rebounding properly, and not knowing how to build a good defense and rebounding team.

 

Offense.  Defense.  Rebounding.  All equal in value in determining the outcome of games and rebounding and defense are talents just like shot creation and shot making.  My boy Matisse Thybulle is leading the league in steals and deflections already and he's one of the most impactful rookies in the class despite having negative offensive value right now, and the reason is because he has special defensive talent.  We need guys like him.  We need high end defensive talent.  And we need front court rebounding.

 

A team rotating Thomas Bryant, Mo Wagner, Rui Hachimura, and Davis Bertans in its big man spots has absolutely zero chance of stopping anyone in the paint or guarding switches/rolls or grabbing a tough rebound.

 

Then you've got a tiny back court of Ish Smith, Isaiah Thomas, Brad Beal, and Justin Robinson that has no chance of stopping dribble penetration, harrying passing lanes, or bothering shooters on the perimeter.

 

Put those two things together and you have the recipe for one of the worst defenses in NBA history.  I am going to need to see Tommy make some moves that show a genuine commitment to fixing the defense before I buy in to this rebuild as capable of making meaningful progress toward contention.  Collecting a bunch of no defense front court players and committing hard to Thomas Bryant is doing the opposite.  It's got me a little worried, and best case scenario, the rebuild will probably take longer than it should given the offense talent we have on hand.

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Yeah you really cannot 'effort' your way to a good defense. I'll give Shep a pass this year because alot of what he can do is limited by his predecessor. Ultimately, a good defense will hide the weaknesses of their players. This year we have somehow mananged to stock a roster with guards/wings who cant stay in front of their man, while also not having anybody who is a rim protector. Bold strategy indeed

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I agree you cant do it with effort alone, but this team lacks effort on that side of the ball and talent alone cant fix that.  It's a mentality I dont even see a hint of with this team, they expect to allow 120 130 points a game.

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