The Official Washington Basketball Thread: Wizards, Mystics etc

[StillUnknown]

Wagner's gonna spend a lot of time with the go-go

[Renegade7]

Until Wall is gone, its the John Wall era to me.  His contract keeps us from truly moving on to another one, and you know what, I'm not mad about it.  At least he wanted to and still wants to be here, its not like we supermaxed Blatche.

[Going Commando]

Mixed bag from Wagner today.  Looks decent on pick and roll D.  Looks soft on the glass.  Not much physicality for a big.

[CRobi21]

#14 with the headband. Haven't caught his name. He can get some buckets.

[Going Commando]

He's not finishing his looks around the basket either.

Just now, CRobi21 said:

#14 with the headband. Haven't caught his name. He can get some buckets.

 

Troy Caupain.

That was an absurd Eurostep and the dude got what he deserved for trying it.  But Wagner took a shot to the groin there.

[Going Commando]

Obvious basket interference.

[Destino]

Hachimura with the clutch free throws and dunk down the stretch.  I know these summer league dudes are trying to get noticed, but they need to feed Rui the ball more when he’s open at the elbow or has his man sealed off on the block.  He’s really good moving without the ball.

 

you guys realize Brooks is going to kill that part of his game off right?  Otto was great without the ball too, and Brooks stapled him to a spot.  

[Going Commando]

Not the best closing possession but looked like he got fouled on the shot.  Oh well.

 

Robinson was pretty rough today.  He was behind the 8 ball in his decision-making and too often chose wrong.  Multiple times took it into the paint looking to pass and got stuck.

 

Caupain put up big numbers and had several nice possessions, but I thought he had a mixed bag game too.  His floater game is on point though.

 

Hachimura and Brown were both good.  They are clearly a good deal better than the rest of the guys on the roster.

 

Our centers got thoroughly outplayed.  They got out-physicalled and they flubbed a lot of shots around the basket that they should have made.

 

Corey Davis is a nice little shooter.  I want to see more of him in the next game.

5 minutes ago, Destino said:

Hachimura with the clutch free throws and dunk down the stretch.  I know these summer league dudes are trying to get noticed, but they need to feed Rui the ball more when he’s open at the elbow or has his man sealed off on the block.  He’s really good moving without the ball. 

 

you guys realize Brooks is going to kill that part of his game off right?  Otto was great without the ball too, and Brooks stapled him to a spot.   

 

I've seen enough from Rui.  Unless we really want to make that tournament, I'd scale back his minutes in favor of some of the other guys.  Rui has proven he's a lock to make the roster day one, and he will probably play in the regular rotation right out of the gate.  I think he might already be the second best scorer on the team, behind Beal.  We'll get more out of these games if we use them to figure out the readiness of other guys IMO. 

[Destino]

Another thing, not sure if I mentioned it here on on bulletsforever, but Schofield’s defense was disappointing in that first game.  He made the same impression tonight.  He’s kind of a spaz on defense, fouling too obviously and too often.  Without very smart defensive play he’s just not an nba player.  

Edited July 9, 2019 by Destino

[Going Commando]

1 minute ago, Destino said:

Another thing, not sure if I mentioned it here on on bulletsforever, but Schofield’s defense has been disappointing.  He kind of a spaz on defense, fouling too obviously and too often, and without very smart defensive play he’s just not an nba player.   

 

I'm willing to give him time.  The effort is there, he's just been too aggressive and physical.  He should probably start on the Go-Go though.

[StillUnknown]

Rui was 0-2 on 3's. really hope he can develop into at least a credible threat from that range. without it, it will severely limit his upside

[Going Commando]

But yeah, he's been spazzy and it's disappointing.  I hoped he was further along than he's looked so far because he's an older draft pick.

[@DCGoldPants]

48 minutes ago, TryTheBeal! said:

 

This feels more like the first day of Spring, tbh.

If spring was going to last 2-3 years. Yeah. Going into 20-25ish win season doesn't feel like spring yet. 

[Destino]

2 minutes ago, StillUnknown said:

Rui was 0-2 on 3's. really hope he can develop into at least a credible threat from that range. without it, it will severely limit his upside

I think he will develop a three point shot, but not this season.  

[CRobi21]

 

[Going Commando]

I guess the most disappointing thing from Summer League so far is how our centers have looked.  Summer League is tough for an offensive minded center who relies on good guard play to get him the ball.  I was hoping for more from Wagner.  It looks like rebounding and finishing strong in the paint are weak points for him.

 

But I do like his skills and he seemed to be a decent team defender with solid pick and roll coverages.  There is something there to work with in him.  But I remain unconvinced that he's a good option at the 5, especially as the primary back up to Bryant.

 

We're faced with having to play Mahinmi right now.  That is not ideal.  I wish we'd been able to bring another credible center in for the season.  That German guy who ended up staying in Europe would have been nice.

[StillUnknown]

3 minutes ago, Destino said:

I think he will develop a three point shot, but not this season.  

 

this season I just want him to show somethin to build on, whether its offensively or defensively. think i want more than flashes though. Oubre had flashes, but ultimately flamed out

 

i wish i had more faith in our player development

Edited July 9, 2019 by StillUnknown

[Skins199021]

Really like Rui's mid-range game. Brooks needs to just hammer him on passing because if he gets it in the middle and is a good passer he could be deadly from the foul like. Have to respect the shot already.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

 

 

 

[@DCGoldPants]

 

 

1

10 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

I guess the most disappointing thing from Summer League so far is how our centers have looked. 

 

I get the point of having a summer league. I also expect the bare min from what you really can get out of it. If you're a lock for the roster, the odds are you're playing with mostly guys who aren't. In this case, a bunch of guys who were just drafted and traded for.

 

Maybe its enough to create film for coaches to pour over and come up with a plan for what to work on in training camp and preseason? I don't know.

 

 

p.s. - That Wall battle-ropes pic. You're supposed to have your knees bent deep doing that unless you are doing rope-jacks. 

[Going Commando]

Certain types of players do well in Summer League.  JaVale type centers are one.  Mo Wagner type centers are not.  The play is loosely structured and raw athleticism is a massive advantage.  A player like that #15 from the Nets can take over a Summer League game by jumping all over everyone and fouling like crazy, but he'll struggle to make the end of an NBA bench because he doesn't have the skill to take over the paint against real NBA competition.

 

But one of the things this SL run has thus far revealed is how unathletic our 7 footers behind Bryant are.  They are finesse players.  We still do not have an athletic rim protector, and defensive rebounding is probably going to be a problem for us.

[Going Commando]

Anyone else get the weird feeling that the NBA media is anxious for us to give away Beal?

 

Maybe it's the fact that Zach Lowe wrote an article calling us losers and that he advocated for us to trade Beal to the Nuggets, but I sense hostility towards the Wizards in the basketball cognoscenti.

[bearrock]

43 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Anyone else get the weird feeling that the NBA media is anxious for us to give away Beal?

 

Maybe it's the fact that Zach Lowe wrote an article calling us losers and that he advocated for us to trade Beal to the Nuggets, but I sense hostility towards the Wizards in the basketball cognoscenti.

 

We're an easy target right now. 

 

Man, that Wall and Beal hug.... I'm not ready to throw in the towel on this era yet 😢  

[Going Commando]

1 hour ago, bearrock said:

 

We're an easy target right now. 

 

Man, that Wall and Beal hug.... I'm not ready to throw in the towel on this era yet 😢  

 

Me neither.  if it's true that we promised Beal we wouldn't trade him, then I would not trade him.  IMO you don't break promises like that.  Your players are your partners and should not be treated as disposable commodities.

 

Also, when the dust settles on the shock and depression caused by Wall's injury, I think people will eventually realize we've got Wall, Beal, Troy Brown, Thomas Bryant, and now Rui Hachimura.  We need some more pieces, but we are far from destitute and hopeless.  New management was the key to getting better.  Now the second thing is to start playing defense.

[Skin'emAlive]

Second thing should have been canning Scott Brooks.

 

We still dont have a center on this roster. It takes 2 years minimum for a center to put on mass for the NBA grind, and certainly this year is a wash. A rookie center would have had an entire year to get ready for Wall's return. It would have been in our own best interest to pick Bol Bol or Bruno Fernando with our trade back up into the 2nd. Heck... Tacko Fall was available. Dude is a traffic cone, but he is a huge traffic cone that knows defense. Admiral is just a guy. He might even be decent. But he is not what we need. We needed a center. A tall, physical, rebounding 5-man that could protect the rim and set a pick. Instead we traded for Mo Wagner, who will need our prayers should he decide to take a charge. Bryant is a tweener, that shouldnt start, and at best is another Serpahin who has a decent offensive game, but thats it. Heck, I would take prime Seraphin over Bryant because he had an unstoppable hook, and played angry ( even if he had no ability to stretch the floor).