Today's discussion topic: The 10 themes that will determine the success of next season
by Mike Prada on Aug 14, 2008 1:26 PM EDT
in Team Analysis
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PrintUPDATE, 6:37 p.m. EST: Instead of 10 themes, since I even had trouble thinking of 10 good ones in my own head, just list any number of key themes that comes to mind. My idea was to use this post and my own thoughts to come up with a master list and countdown the themes with 10 blog posts over the next month and a half. -PM
We haven't done one of these in a while, and with the dog days of August well upon us, this seems like a good time to revive this running feature.
We're probably not close enough to next season for predictions and we haven't even finished last year's player evaluations, but it's about time to at least start thinking about next year. Even if it's two and a half months away.
With that in mind, here's the exercise:
What are the top 10 factors that will determine the team's success next season? Call them "keys to success," "barometers," "questions" or whatever you want, but that's what I'm trying to get at.
There are no guidelines, other than to try to not overlap themes in your list. For example, unless you think there's a very compelling reason to separate the two, how Gilbert Arenas meshes with Caron Butler specifically should be viewed as a subsection to the greater question of how Arenas meshes with the entire team.
Discuss.
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Let's see
1. Defense.
2. Staying healthy.
3. Development of the youngsters.
4. Gilbert returning to form.
5. Keeping Brendan and Etan far, far apart at all times.
6. The start of the season. No excuses.
7. Managing rotations to prevent key players from logging too many minutes.
8. Maturity.
9. Staying healthy.
10. Defense.
Bullets Forever: Where fancy numbers and YouTube come together.
That's what I was thinking too
Because when they were healthy (sans Gil of course) last year, they defended pretty well. Then, Butler got nicked up and the defense fell off.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
My first thought was....
Bench play….which would go along with managing rotations.
Representing DC with Wizards & Stuff - Truth About It Dot Net
10 themes
1. Health – (especially the big 3)
2. Develop of young guys (Most importantly NY, and Blatche)
3. Defense (limiting wide open shots, and second chance points)
4. Gilbert – Shooting a higher percentage by taking fewer shots, and increasing his assists per game
5. Haywood still being our starter, playing 30 mins a night, and Etan having a much more limited role
6. Start of the season – can’t start slow, not with this schedule
7. Coaches / Players knowing their role – playing as one with everyone contributing what they can – also means EJ playing a standard rotation to allow players to understand their role
8. Maturity – if we get hot, not running our mouth, and if we start losing to not panic
9. Road play – we have not played well on the road
10. HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH – especially during playoff time
Here's mine
Keys to the Wizards 2008-2009 Season:
1. Staying Healthy ( top 8 guys play at least 75 games each )
2. Managing minutes for the big-3
3. Perimeter Defense (specifically 3-point defense)
4. Haywood should be the starting center, and get the majority of the minutes.
5. They need to take advantage of the weak schedule in the early part of the season
6. Consistent rotations, with each of the top 10 players knowing their roles *
7. Continued development of the youngsters (specifically Blatche and Young)
8. Less reliance on outside shooting, more reliance on cutting and movement within the Princeton.
9. They need to get their “swag” back. (a Month leading the EC should do it !! )
10. Better rebounding from the whole team (especially Haywood and the Guards)…
*Top 9 Players:
Arenas – Starter (32mpg)
Stevenson – Starter (27 mpg)
Butler – Starter (35 mpg)
Jamison – Starter (32 mpg)
Haywood – Starter (32 mpg)
Blatche – Key Reserve (25 mpg)
Daniels – Key Reserve (16 mpg)
Young – Key Reserve (20 mpg)
Thomas – Key Reserve (16 mpg)
Songaila – Key Reserve (15 mpg)
Pecherov, McGuire, Dee Brown – scrubs (mop up and blow out minutes)
McGee – DLeague
(1) Health
(2) Gilbert returning to All-NBA level form
(3) Team defense. Perimeter defense. Interior defense. Man-to-man defense. Help defense. Whole lot of defensive changes.
(4) Haywood’s minutes. Eddie Jordan has held him back for long enough by limiting his minutes. I don’t want to see his minutes return to their previous state again. Haywood could have had this type of season four years ago except for Eddie’s undermining coaching.
(5) Blatche developing. The team needs a top rebounding presence, adding an improved Blatche to Jamison and Haywood could make a good threesome with Etan Thomas playing the fourth big in the rotation role. Blatche needs to give some offense as well around the rim. Whether it’s post play or just put backs, dunks, hustle plays, garbage baskets. He needs to get a few baskets in the paint. Too big, too athletic and too skilled not to be more of a threat.
(6) Young figuring out how to play team orientated basketball and how to contribute in more ways than one. He’s far too talented to be behaving like he does on the court, he limits himself.
Haywood's minutes
Funny you should mention 4 years ago. The 2004-2005 season was the last time Haywood got significant starter minutes (27 mpg) and he put up very similar numbers to last year (9.4ppg , 6.8 rpg)… He started in 68 games that year.
Coincidentally – Etan Thomas was injured most of that year and started only 10 games …
khrabb
1. Arenas becomes an all-around megastar, justifies his contract and silences certain voices on the Washington Post Wizards blog.
1a. Health, especially of the big three.
2. Blatche steps up to contend for sixth man of the year.
3. Young plays up to the hype, hits the 3 consistently and improves both his body language and his court sense.
4. Defense, stop collapsing on the inside and playing the lanes for cheap steals leaving opponents wide open for kick-out threes from the corners.
5. Brendan Haywood 30 minutes a game.
6. Butler and Jamison stay solid as players and role models.
7. EJ manages the clock better, calls time outs better, avoids small ball…. yadda yadda yadda
8. Etan… 10 good minutes a night from the poet until mid season when he gets a sub-cabinet post in the Obama Administration… renounces his contract and gives EG the cap space he needs to acquire [fill in name of versatile but aging player who wants a ring]
9. JaVale grows up fast and becomes a shot-blocking force as back-up center after the All Star Break.
10. Daniels gets confidence in his ouside shooting for Christmas.
Better stop now.
Um...
1. Individual Defense
2. Team Defense
3. Transition Defense
4. Perimeter Defense
5. Post Defense
6. Free Throw Defense
7. How/When/Who players foul
8. Backcourt Rebounding
9. Sticking With the Offense
10. To me, Being Healthy and Having a Good Bench go hand-and-hand; a deep bench keeps the starters from running themselves ragged.
Free throw defense?
Surely you mean fouling less, not having one player stand behind the basket making distracting faces at free throw shooters.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
You don't think Brendan Haywood would be good at making distracting faces?
I do.
And, DeShawn could lip sync to whatever’s being played on the PA system. This could actually work.
Bullets Forever: Where fancy numbers and YouTube come together.
by Jake Whitacre on Aug 15, 2008 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Especially if he keeps the beard
Damn, pryme, you’re a genius!
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Actually, cancel that.
Bullets Forever: Where fancy numbers and YouTube come together.
by Jake Whitacre on Aug 15, 2008 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, and the link
http://www.washingtonwizardsblog.com/2008/08/15/stevenson-wins-contest-over-gooden/
Bullets Forever: Where fancy numbers and YouTube come together.
by Jake Whitacre on Aug 15, 2008 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I joke, I joke...
Van Gundy once said of an old Knick team (when their opponent was shooting atrociously from the FT line) that “our Free-throw defense was excellent.”
So I use the term everytime I hear that a team has/hasn’t kept their opponent from their average.
What about the comp?
The Wizards stayed afloat last year, in part, because the conference was fairly weak; just five playoff teams had >.500 records. When projecting next season, remember that…
…the Leastern conference picked up talent (Elton Brand) or reshuffled it (Mo Williams from Milwaukee to Cleveland; Jermaine O’Neal/TJ Ford swapping places) to strengthen four possible playoff teams. Meanwhile, Dwayne Wade looks as good as ever over in Beijing, and he-Beasley-Marion alone make Miami a renewed threat; there’s also no way that teams like Chicago or New York will be as bad again, either.
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