Channeling my inner Larry Brown

by Mike Prada on Nov 7, 2008 9:22 PM EST Comment 59 comments

We all stink. Everyone.

Eddie Jordan played all the right guys at all the right spots. Juan and Nick got most of the guard minutes. JaVale got most of the center minutes. Blatche got time until he sucked and was pulled. And yet, there was Chris Duhon looking like Steve Nash, Zach Randolph looking like Amare Stoudamire and Jamal Crawford looking like the second coming of Kobe Bryant.

I'm so thoroughly disgusted right now. We're 0-4, with losses to the Nets, Bucks and Knicks, two of which came at home! I know there's no Brendan Haywood and Gilbert Arenas, but we can't be this bad. When it mattered most, New York was composed and found the guys they wanted, while we rushed everything, playing at their pace offensively, jacking the first shot we saw. Defensively, they ran the simplest plays and we were powerless to do anything.

All the athletic plays in the world by JaVale McGee mean nothing as far as positives in this game. Maybe by game 30, I'll be okay with us sucking. But not now. Right now, I'm thoroughly mad.

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i'm come over here to gloat

and there’s the one name that burns my eyes right out of my head. Just kidding. I came to say that the Wizards are clearly a better team than the Knicks and to apologize for the wrath wrought by the D.C. injury bug and the Knicks’ good fortune.

Posting and Toasting: Yes sir!

by Seth on Nov 7, 2008 9:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

No.

We are not the better team. Maybe at full strength, but that has not been a reality for 2 years now.

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Nov 8, 2008 2:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe it’s the fallacy of the NBA fan that I pay more attention to offense than defense, but I feel good about the way our players played tonight. Which makes this loss against a bad team feel so confusing.

Eddie played the hot guys off the bench heavily. Caron and Antawn played well their game pretty well.

We could point to easy fixes for the Bucks and Nets game. What are we going to do after this?

by Aldo on Nov 7, 2008 9:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Our Three Point Defense

Sucks. Totally. It always has. As long as Eddie is the coach, it always will. Fire Eddie Jordan. That’s what you do. When you give a coach enough talent to win a game and he can’t, then the blame obviously falls on the coach. No more excuses. Gilbert and Brendan didn’t matter tonight. What mattered was a defensive philosophy that was fatally flawed from the beginning.

As I write this, the Wizards have the 2nd worst defense in the league. A good coach can get a team to play better defense than that. The only reason that we’re not the worst in opposing 3 point percentage is because we haven’t played teams that can hit wide open threes that often, save Detroit. The only reason Detroit didn’t kill us on the arc was because they didn’t have to! How many times have we complained about the Wizards three point defense? And still they give opposing teams a ton of free looks from the arc! Disgusting! When is Eddie ever going to defend the three point line? Never! That’s the answer! Fire Eddie Jordan!

Yes the offense was really good. Eddie finally fixed his substitution patterns that killed this team in the first three games. Should he get credit for taking three games to get this straight? I don’t think so. Despite the good offense, every time the Wizards made a bucket they gave up a wide open three pointer on the other end. WIDE OPEN. I knew the shot was going in even before it left the hand of the Knick player. Hmmmm, what does this remind me of. Oh yeah, every good three point shooting team the Wizards play. When will Eddie get the message? Never! Fire Eddie Jordan!

Did I mention that the Wizards gave up a lot of open threes? Fire Eddie Jordan!

Ok, rants over, I feel better.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I Take That Back

I’m still pissed. But I’ll probably feel better soon.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The worst part about it

Is that the constant helping discourages people from digging in and playing good one-on-one defense. Why should Nick Young try to stay in front of Jamal Crawford if JaVale McGee is supposed to help him when there’s just one dribble? If the man on the weakside hits a three-pointer because of the double team, its not Nick Young’s fault.

How about leaving our guys on an island and telling them “Listen, we’ll help you sometimes, but we won’t help you all the time. Suck it up and defend!”

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 7, 2008 11:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Helping is a Staple of Eddie's Defense

Guys are always moving. He never trusts his defenders in one-on-one match-ups. I’ve noticed this for three seasons now. He doubles in the post as a force of habit. The only time I can remember that he didn’t double was in the first Miami game from last season with Brendan on Shaq. Consequently, guys are always being left open on the arc. It’s just an achilles heel of Eddie’s. And I don’t ever see it getting better.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Channeling Larry Brown?

Well, I guess it beats channeling John McKay.

Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.

by JakeTheSnake on Nov 7, 2008 9:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I didn’t notice until just now, and apparently no one else noticed on the game thread, that Songalia played 0 minutes.

Doesn’t speak well of Darius that his non-appearance is so unnoticeable.

by Aldo on Nov 7, 2008 9:45 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I didn't notice that either

I’m guessing he just wanted to ride JaVale since he had the hot hand, but that is a bit surprising.

Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.

by JakeTheSnake on Nov 7, 2008 9:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I did notice it

I chose not to mention anything about it.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 7, 2008 10:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He played 23 minutes in the Bucks game, and I didn’t notice him either.

by Rook6980 on Nov 7, 2008 11:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

touche

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Nov 8, 2008 3:01 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

To truly channel Larry Brown

requires a phial of goat’s blood and the bottled anguish of children. Don’t even mention such a thing in jest.

Injuries seem to allow for good play in bursts, but make consistency real tough. When they get healthy (granted, that phrase’ll be uttered about 7,208,891 times throughout the length of the Arenas era), they’ll be right back in it.

by twincitiesknick on Nov 7, 2008 9:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I hope you're right.

I’m just not sure right now…

http://kremsblog.blogspot.com/

by Matt K. on Nov 7, 2008 10:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not sweating it

Im really not going to sweat it.. Im not going to kill myself over these losses.. I was so upset last game I ruined my night and nearly smashed my remote control through my 42 inch HD tv.

3 Things I again need to re-iterate

1. We clearly have alittle bad luck. Why do I watch these teams the Wizards lose to otherdays against other teams and they look like utter garbage I mean sometimes awful, and suddenly no-name or so-so-name players step it up like MJ or Kobe, or Lebron.. I mean seriously thats wierd and kind of ridiculous I am going to have my Priest baptize the team or something.

2. Why do we need to post 3 point shots in 1-6 point deficit in the fourth quarter when were not a 3 point shooting team from quarter 1-3?

3. Our starters are suddenly looking like the downside of the team. I get the sense I hate to say it AD, Deshawn, EJ make up the terrible 3. We need to stop digging our selves a hole with these players in the 1st quarter.

PS. I think we MAY have won minus those three turnovers blatche had with like 6 or so minutes left, not sure and minus the random “i need to shoot a three” attempts.

Either way loss or win I love this team, it hurts, its depressing, its bad for my confidence and ego, regardless I know this team may look like the worst team in the league but when healthy I think we are capable of beating anyteam. I also love the team humility I would have to say Arenas was the most humble people I ever met.

by Unxpekted on Nov 7, 2008 10:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Mcgee

One more Javale is a BEAST he seriously made the game worthwhile regardless of the loss and JUAN DIXON IS THE MAN.. I love him man very solid very very solid player, reminds me of alittle Ray Allen. Nick Young is awesome as well.

ONE THING I WANNA SAY

WE ALL NEED TO

Really thank Caron and Jamison for there blood sweat and tears everygame these guys are really the reason we are where we are and stand a chance

by Unxpekted on Nov 7, 2008 10:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Eddie in the Huddle

“OK, guys! Here’s what I want you to do. Everybody collapse into the low post. When they swing the ball to Jamal Crawford, the guy closest to him needs to sprint out at him with his hands raised and jump as he releases the shot. After it swishes, quickly push the ball up the court. Got it? OK, good. Ready? Break!”

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Remember Scott Skiles Coaching the Bulls?

Remember how Skiles would always get his Bulls teams off to a very slow start, only to turn things around later in the season and get them into the playoffs? Remember how they then would either lose in the first or second round of the playoffs, usually the first? I notice he doesn’t coach the Bulls anymore. I wonder why?

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Probably has something to do with being an asshole to his players

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 7, 2008 11:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That Too

But being an asshole doesn’t get a coach fired. Poor performance from his team does. He had the talent to advance deep into the playoffs every season.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not really

Being an asshole leads to poor performance from his team.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 7, 2008 11:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Right, But

If Skiles wasn’t an asshole, and his team still sucked, he still would have gotten fired. Regardless of the personality differences, Eddie’s performance is starting to remind me of Skiles’s. Performance, not personality, gets a coach fired. Bobby Knight and Red Auerbach were assholes too.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t see any Skiles in Jordan. Don’t even see a parallel.

by MR on Nov 7, 2008 11:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Performance

Not personality. Not coaching style. Not skin color. Not hair style. I’m comparing their team’s performances, both starting the season and finishing in the playoffs. Notice the headline on the New York Times article announcing his firing: Bulls Fire Skiles After a Sputtering Start. It doesn’t say: Bulls Fire Skiles Because He’s an Asshole. As I said above, Red Auerbach was an asshole too. It didn’t seem to prevent his teams from winning championships.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 8, 2008 12:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But the key there is that it was Christmas day

I’d be all for Eddie’s firing if we keep sucking until Christmas. By then, we’ll know it’s a rebuilding year. Four games is still a bit early.

My point about Skiles was only to say that it went beyond performance. The players tuned him out. I don’t think the players here are tuning Eddie out.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 8, 2008 12:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Right, Because Players Don't Turn Out Players Coaches

No doubt Skiles had a coaching style that wasn’t friendly, unlike Eddie. This made the front office decision very easy. But Eddie is a players coach. His players like him. So the decision is even tougher. But if the front office is doing its job, it will notice that little thing called win-loss record. After 5 full seasons with the Wizards, Eddie still hasn’t eclipsed a .500 winning percentage. Yeah, his players like him. But if you can’t get the job done, you can’t get the job done.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 8, 2008 12:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I see what you're saying

I’d just rather wait 20 games before making a change. These four games have been beyond awful, but I don’t see some magical coach out there that’ll be able to give any short-term improvement to this roster. Randy Ayers is cut from the Eddie mold.

No, if we’re going to replace Eddie, it needs to be at a point where we can give up on contending this season and work on a new foundation. Four games isn’t enough to prove that to me.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 8, 2008 12:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You Sound Like a Sensible GM

And I sound like a pissed-off fan mouthing off on some blog. When I finally calm down, I’ll probably agree with you.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 8, 2008 12:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Unfortunately

I don’t really think we can judge EJ, despite such a long tenure. He’s had to deal with so many roster changes…I think he’s done a great job. Last year I thought he was top 5 coaches of the year level. Unfairly to him the team may be getting stale on his message despite an overachieving job by him. Maybe a change will be necessary, but not yet.

by MR on Nov 8, 2008 12:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well I guess you could compare Skiles and Jordan to any coach that has a team playing badly and losing.

Aside from that I don’t see it.

But if that’s your point, that they both lost games, then point conceded.

by MR on Nov 8, 2008 12:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No

My point, if you read what I wrote, was that both coaches had talented rosters. Both coaches would always start the season by digging themselves holes in the standings by losing to teams that they should have beaten. Both coaches would somehow turn things around in the course of the season. Both coaches would then run out of gas in the playoffs and lose early.

Re-read that New York Times headline, and I think you’ll get it. Bulls Fire Skiles After a Sputtering Start The Bulls front office finally got tired of the slow starts and held their head coach accountable for them.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 8, 2008 12:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes

I read it I read it.

Tell me about Skiles’ major injuries going into the playoffs. The recurring injuries the next year. How he changed the team’s style and kept winning against tall odds. How he reconciled with an important player who nobody thought he would reconcile with and who played near all star quality the following year. How he lost two crucial players back to back and had his team collapse.

Don’t get all up in a tizzy. Your point is that both coaches sputtered early in the season. Every coach fired midseason probably sputtered early on. Fine. Beyond that I don’t see a connection. The Wiz haven’t run out of gas in the playoffs, they’ve run out of bodies.

Believe me when I tell you I understand what you are saying. I don’t see a significant parallel.

by MR on Nov 8, 2008 12:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why There is a Parallel

Every coach fired midseason probably sputtered early on.

Right, but not every coach fired midseason had a consistent record of always starting a season slow. Skiles would have gotten fired a long time before he did had he not had a track record for always turning things around and making the playoffs. But the Bulls front office finally got tired of watching him always have to dig his team out of holes that he created because he didn’t have his team ready to start the season. Like Skiles, Eddie never has his team ready to start the season.

Tell me about Skiles’ major injuries going into the playoffs. The recurring injuries the next year. How he changed the team’s style and kept winning against tall odds. How he reconciled with an important player who nobody thought he would reconcile with and who played near all star quality the following year. How he lost two crucial players back to back and had his team collapse.

No analogy is perfect, but this defense is getting old, IMO. Every coach that gets fired can point to excuses. But if only this player didn’t get injured! But if only that player had executed!

Let’s face it. The Wizards had the talent and the skill to be 4-0 right now. They’re 0-4 because of Eddie’s mistakes. They were 0-3 because of Eddie’s stubborn rotations, despite poor performances from his trusted players. He finally corrected that, only to have his team lose because of the poor defense that he taught them. Even with all of Eddie’s adversities, he still had a better team than the Knicks tonight. Even Seth from Posting and Toasting admitted this above. So why did we lose? The same reason we usually lose – Eddie.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 8, 2008 12:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

WTF?

I know the Wiz have had terrible 3 pt D for a long time, but in the past it was usually because of drive and kick. Tonight it seems like we just decided to leave that spot between the corner and a third of the way around open no matter what. I couldn’t figure out the D, it was like some guys were playing zone and some playing man. I really didn’t get it. At some point you have to stick with the man on the 3pt line. This scheme honestly did not look right.

by MR on Nov 7, 2008 11:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Blatche

Poor guy looks lost out there.

by MR on Nov 7, 2008 11:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

But he played very well

Until that gawd-awful one-minute stretch in the fourth quarter.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 7, 2008 11:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Blatche is a Three Point Specialist

Don’t you know? Somebody send Prada the memo. He’s also a point guard.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Right

His warm-up stretching was really impressive. Too bad about that whole “regulation time” thing.

by MR on Nov 7, 2008 11:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not amused

He was very good during his second-quarter/end of first quarter stint. Seriously. Practically all his production came during that stint.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 8, 2008 12:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

After that fourth-quarter stint, though

I wasn’t about to advocate him going back into the game.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 8, 2008 12:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Didn't realize you were serious

They guy ranged from mediocre to horrible. Looked like the last game of the night at the Y.

Tons and tons of due respect to you Prada, but my advice to you is not to try and defend Blatche’s play tonight. You won’t get far.

He’ll have a 20-10 night one of these days. Save it for then.

by MR on Nov 8, 2008 12:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You mean I won't get far with you

Which doesn’t really matter to me, since you aren’t changing your opinion. Don’t ask me to change mine though just because you said so.

Blatche was good in his first stint and worse than I could have ever imagined in his second. Hence, 13 minutes. That’s fine by me.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 8, 2008 12:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That's cool

In his 1/2nd Q stint he played fine. A bad foul or two, a silly 3…but also 2 assists and 7 points. A decent 8ish minutes.

What puzzles me is how that became the mess that happened late in the game. Why would he even attempt a couple of the things he did in the 4th Q? Like I said, he looks lost and I actually feel bad for the guy. He’s too inside his own head at the moment.

by MR on Nov 8, 2008 12:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

silly 3?

As I recall, Blatche ended up with the ball at the top of the key with like 2 seconds left on the shot clock….. so he shot it – - – and that’s a silly thing to do !!?!!?

What… he should have just turned around and handed the ball to the referee?

Prada is right, you guys are just looking for ANY excuse to bash Blatche. – - – if that’s not the case, then why are you not bashing Antawn for taking silly 3’s? He’s shot 21 of them this year…… at a scorching 19% (that’s NINETEEN percent).

How come Antonio Daniels didn’t get called out for taking a 3 pointer in the exact same situation? (with the shot clock at 2 seconds)?

7 points and 2 assists in 8 minutes only gets a “decent” grade in your book? (By the way, nice of you to leave off the 5 rebounds, too)

NO – go back to your DVR and look at Blatche’s first stint in the game – and you’ll see that you’re mistaken – he played very well. Even with his horrid minute or two in the 4th, his overall game was good.

You can take a minute or two from the game, and ANY player will have had bad moments…. (Juan Dixon’s stupid foul on that breakaway, Daniels’ clanked 3-pointer and turn over on the next possession, Antawn’s missed 3’s in the 4th Quarter)

by Rook6980 on Nov 8, 2008 8:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

My Favorite Play

Was Blatche’s no-look, over-the-shoulder pass into the rim. If only Antawn had been in the right spot for that one. Like, ready to grab a rebound off of the pass.

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 7, 2008 11:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think that was a set play.

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Nov 8, 2008 3:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Another gripe

Nate Robinson lays a hard foul to stop a layup. Why are we touch-fouling him on his layups? What’s the point of fouling somebody’s jersey from behind when they have an open layup? Either tie up his arms or don’t touch him. I prefer if you hard foul him the way he does to us, as long as it’s clean.

by MR on Nov 8, 2008 12:04 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'm not on the Fire Eddie bandwagon yet

But this quote annoyed me:

“We had some plays to the basket, some drives – put the ball in guys’ hands thinking they could get it done – but we came up short,” said Jordan, whose team shot 51.7 percent. “What are you going to do when guys are knocking down shots 28, 30 feet from the basket?”

Defend them???

Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.

by JakeTheSnake on Nov 8, 2008 12:44 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That's it in a Nutshell

Perfect quote from Eddie. It provides the insight to his defensive strategy. He assumes NBA players can’t hit 3-pointers with consistency. This is why he is always leaving them open to help in the post. What’s the worst thing that can happen? We give up a wide open 3 pointer? Players will never hit that shot with consistency. What are you going to do if they do?

"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier

by cuppettcj on Nov 8, 2008 12:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly

I’m not a basketball expert, but I was at the game last night and noticed that as the Wizards set up their basic defensive alignment, the defender on the weak side ALWAYS left about 10 feet between himself and his man standing at the 3 point line. I guess this is to help with penetration or to double in the post. So it hit me that the open 3’s seem to be pretty much by design.
Usually the opponent barely had to move before getting the pass and wide open 3 pointer (with the Wizards defender making a late run at him).

by hotplate on Nov 8, 2008 9:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

One more thing

on the defense. It seems as if there are 2 basic assumptions to our defensive schemes:
1. None of our players can defend their man straight up.
2. The opponents can’t hit 3 point shots.

Number 1 may be true, but we should be able to do something to better defend the 3 point line. Especially against a team like the Knicks which does nothing except shoot 3’s.

by hotplate on Nov 8, 2008 9:15 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I hate to ask this question

But just how deep in the hole do the Wizards get before A. they finally win or B. Eddie Jordan does get the pink slip.

"Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home." --- Daffy Duck

by George Templeton on Nov 8, 2008 1:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

A bigger hole than last year.

I mean, 0-4 is bad. I agree. BUT, it really is too early to talk about Eddie getting fired and here’s why. 2/5 of the starting lineup is out. Gone. Kaput. Eddie can’t fix that, and when your best player and your best defender/big-man are out, well, a lot of teams would struggle. Also, Eddie can’t fix the fact that AD is suddenly looking very very old and it may or may not be his fault that DeShawn (not really NBA starting material in my eyes) and Blatche (a headcase – though I admit good coaching is part of a young player’s development) are vastly inconsistent from night-to-night or quarter-to-quarter. Even Jamison has been good at rebounding and below average at everything else (again, not a terrible surprise – his shooting percentages were way down last year and he is not in his prime anymore).

Yes, the defense is terrible. Yes, it always has been. Yes, we can’t guard the three point line (and who thought it would change after we allowed the most 3s is league history last year?). But the injuries and aging aren’t EJ’s fault, and he has been forced to juggle the lineup as he looks for a combination that will provide some consistency in this young year.

I agree with Prada that we stink, and I agree that our defense is bad and will likely never improve as long as Eddie is the coach. But if defensive ineptitude is the reason to fire the coach, well, it should have been done in the offseason. For better or for worse I think we ride this one out with Eddie until Arenas returns and he gets a solid rotation going. If we continue to sink after that then all bets are off.

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Nov 8, 2008 3:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes the defense sucks but last year we...

were not giving up over 105 points a game… Even though we were giving up the 3s, we were holding opps down in the 90s…

CLEARLY, Haywood was a much more vital factor than anyone either knew or wanted to admit.

I am encouraged that the right players got decent minutes and prodcued decent numbers last night, but that is mighty thin gruel when you look at who is beating us.

by khrabb on Nov 8, 2008 11:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i know i can be long winded

so you might have missed it, but i talked about how much losing haywood would hurt us on both ends. prada knew it too – check out his posts from back when we first got the news. i think he just talked himself out of it going into the season because he desperately wants the wiz to win.

sorta like he seems to desperately want blatche to be good.

songaila’s had some great second quarters this year.

and most of the bad stuff i read about blatche (at least half) isn’t about a lack of effort, it’s about blatche being clueless and making dumb basketball plays – repeatedly. songaila, thomas, daniels, songaila, stevenson, and jamison are all getting criticized. they aren’t playing well. however, for none of those guys can you appropriately say: “what the hell is that guy doing?” pretty much every game. that only applies to blatche.

you should pretty much avoid criticizing arenas and blatche on this site, because you’re going to hear about it if you do.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Nov 8, 2008 12:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No criticism of Gil from this quarter...

but Blatche is going to continue to draw a lot of heat so long as his lack of a mental game continues to negate his physical assets… If the light bulb does not get switched on fairly soon, IMO the Wizards ought to try and get as much value for him as they can at that point.

Tonight in Orlando will be interesting as the Magic have not exactly delivered on expectations either. Of all the teams we have played, the Magic are also the most “guard-poor” … which should give us a better sense of what our backcourt players can produce against mediocre opposing players.

I am not one of the “fire Eddie” folks either, but I surely do understand the high level of frustration that we are hearing throughout Wizard Nation (such as it is).

by khrabb on Nov 8, 2008 1:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I really need to write a post about this

But I don’t see a point in trading Blatche since his salary is too small to be used as anything other than a sweetner in a deal. I’ll wait for a longer sample before I decide that his value has depreciated that badly.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 8, 2008 2:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs