A New Direction

by mamemimo on Jan 20, 2009 9:31 PM EST Comment 12 comments

Editor's Note: Bumped, because it's well thought-out and because it comes at a perfect time, both in the basketball sense (the halfway point of the season) and the symbolic sense (inauguration day). -PM

Let's face it everyone, the Wizards are terrible right now. We've all been arguing about playing time, but our problems do go deeper than that. Right now, just changing playing time around between players is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. I think we need to start playing a little differently to have some success. Here's what I would like to see for the rest of the season:

Bring Back the Big Three. I know, I know, Gilbert's out, and he's probably not coming back this year. That's not what I'm talking about here. This team had its greatest successes when it had three 20-point scorers starting. Let's get one thing straight - I love McGuire, you love McGuire, but we need to start Nick Young. Will we take a hit on defense and rebounding? Yeah, but Caron is clearly not comfortable at the shooting guard spot, and while Nick Young is no Gil, neither is Caron or Antawn. I think the flow of our offense has been hurt by the fact that Caron has been playing out of position, and that neither of our remaining All-Stars has that sort of gunner mentality of a #1 option. Nick has that, and while he may not have the skills of a #1 scorer, he can take some of the pressure off Antawn and Caron and allow them to return to more of their game.

Big is the new Small. Abolish small ball. Seriously. I know we always complain about Songaila at the 5, but that's because its retarded. We have been getting killed in the paint and on the glass recently, because we've gone so small. I want to see McGee and Blatche at the same time, for extended periods. Hell, I even want to go SUPER big as a change of pace - I'm talking about a front court of O-Pec, Blatche and McGee. They always say, "You can't teach height." Well, why not use it?

You don't have to go small to go fast. I know Tapscott's been talking about us as a Seven Seconds or Less team, and I don't necessarily agree with that, but I think we are structured right now to play up-tempo. And this is because of our bigs. Antawn, McGuire, Blatche, McGee and to a lesser (or really, unknown, extent) Pecherov are all big men that can that can thrive in transition. Sure, we may get a couple of boneheaded charges (although I think Blatche has been getting better at this), but we'll be getting several more spectacular dunks from McGee and easy buckets for everybody. Also, Crittenton is a big guard that rebounds well and excels in transition. Just sayin'.

Hire an established coach. This one may be a little more iffy, but I think we need a proven coach here, instead of the next hot assistant. Honestly, Tom Thibbedeaux (spelling?) may turn out to be the next great coach, but are you sure? Paul Silas threw his hat into the ring, and I actually think he could be a great fit for this team. He's a great teacher of big men, rebounding and defense - I personally think that he really helped Carlos Boozer emerge as a star in this league. I know his overall record is pretty crappy, but he did well in Charlotte, and was turning Cleveland around when he got fired. Flip Saunders, to me, is another decent option. While he does teach zone defense, he also is good at developing young players, and could help smooth out some of our offensive struggles - we really do need conststancy through 4 quarters. P.J. Carlisimo - no. When I say established, I mean good. I think we can all agree that the current coaching staff just is not cutting it. Except for maybe Dave Hopla. Honestly, the idea of hiring Tapscott permanently, or promoting Wes Unseld, Jr. scares the hell out of me.

Well, what do you guys think?

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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Agreed for the most part

I agree that Songaila isn’t a 5 and shouldn’t be playing there but with Brendan and Etan out, I think it’s a necessary evil. I don’t think he should be getting as many as he is, but I don’t quite feel comfortable with Blatche and McGee logging all 48 minutes at center either. But that’s my only minor quibble.

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by JakeTheSnake on Jan 20, 2009 3:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Center is a position in flux right now… but otherwise I agree with the other points.

Here are some more:

1. Establish a fixed rotation, with fixed minutes for the top 10 players on the roster.
Those top 10 players should know exactly what their minutes will be, and when they will come.
The top 10 should include:
Andray Blatche – Starter
Caron Butler – Starter
Javaris Crittenton – 1st guard off the bench
Mike James – Starter (but limit his minutes – he is not in the Wiz long range plans)
Antawn Jamison – Starter
JaVale McGee
Dominic McGuire
Oleksiy Pecherov
Darius Songaila- never plays Center
Nick Young – Starter

2. Play the big-2 fewer minutes. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are both averaging over 38 minutes per game… Bring that down to 33-35..

3. Stop “rewarding” and punishing. Stop rewarding good play with playing time; and conversely, punishing mistakes. Because of injuries, this has become a very young team. Young teams make mistakes. Live with it. Deal with it in a positive way. Embrace it.

4. Let the fans know that there IS a plan.. The team should announce that they know the Playoffs are no longer a valid goal for this year. Instead, the remainder of the year will be used for instruction and evaluation. SOMEONE (stand up Ernie Grunfeld) should come forward and give us a definitive answer about whether Gilbert Arenas is coming back this year, or next.

5. Speaking of Arenas – What’s up? Someone , at the very least, should let us know his progress, where he stands, what he is capable of, and what his rehab schedule is like. When Greg Oden was injured, there were weekly reports from the GM, the Coaches, the trainers and others as to his condition and progress. Why is Gilbert’s status such a secret?

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by Rook6980 on Jan 20, 2009 5:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No, you're right.

Songaila can get a couple of minutes at center, but this 20-30 minutes of 6’ 8" or less has got to go.

The Washington Wizards: providing career scoring nights for unknown opposing bench players since 2004.

by mamemimo on Jan 20, 2009 10:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nick Young Next Year?

So, do we see Nick Young definitely being a starter next year?

Would his touches get lost amongst Arenas, Butler and Jamison?

Would we still want his scoring coming off the bench…..(while still continuing to increase his minutes should he earn the honor)?

And if so, would it be better to keep him coming off the bench this year so that he continues to become comfortable in that role into next season?

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by Truth About It on Jan 20, 2009 11:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

that's a good question

I wonder if there are enough points to go around with a starting lineup of Arenas, Young, Butler and Jamison. Added to that, those four aren’t the most capable defenders, so I really question how successful that lineup can be.

I really found the idea of a Arenas, Butler, McGuire, Jamison and Haywood lineup appealing because I felt it would have an ideal balance of scoring, defense, and rebounding. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the Butler at SG experiment is worth continuing.

If the luxury tax situation does force the Wizards to make some changes, trading Jamison IMO could open things up for the team some. I’d rather keep him, but I see players playing out of position because Jamison and Butler get 37+ mins per game (as they should in a season where the Wizards are competing for the playoffs, i.e. not this season). Without Jamison, I see a rotation at the 4 & 5 postions including Haywood, Blatche, McGee and at times McGuire (this is ignoring whom the Wizards might draft or trade for in a Jamison trade). With Jamison and Haywood next year, I see Blatche continuing to play out of position behind Haywood, while getting a handful of minutes at the 4 when Jamison is out. And McGee getting another year of very inconsistent minutes (and maybe that’s all he’s ready for, at least if the Wizards can pull themselves back up to a 40+ win team).

by Johnnie Futbol on Jan 21, 2009 10:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I've never been a proponent of sending a starter to the bench....

Your 5 best players should be your starters. If the 5 best players on your team are not the starters, then either your team is unbalanced (ie: too many good Forwards), or the Coach’s rotations are screwed up… (for a definition, see “Ed Tapscott” in your Basketball dictionary)

The next best 4 or 5 should be your regular bench guys. Again, if you don’t have enough scoring (or rebounding, or defense, or whatever) on the bench – it’s a reflection of the failure of your GM; but the Coaching staff should never relegate a Starter to the bench just to improve bench scoring.

In my opinion, the Wizard’s 5 best players are Blatche, Butler, Jamison, Nick Young and Mike James (Yeah , Yuck, I just threw up in my mouth a little when I wrote that)….

The next 4 are: Javaris Crittenton, Darius Songaila, Dominic McGuire and JaVale McGee

If he were healthy, you could include DeShawn Stevenson in that second group.

As for the rest? You allocate garbage time.

All that changes if Arenas and Haywood are healthy. They become starters. James and Blatche move to the bench, and McGuire (or maybe Stevenson) and Mcgee drop to the end of the bench.

With Arenas back, would Young get enough touches? Maybe not.. Or Maybe, because Young can hit from outside, Jamison could concentrate more inside…. and Butler could go back to being the devastating slasher and mid-range shooter – and all of a sudden, the Offense looks more balanced again.

The bench (with Stevenson, McGuire, Crittenton, James and Songaila) would have plenty of Offense…especially against 2nd teamers.

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by Rook6980 on Jan 21, 2009 10:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

So do you think Greg Popovich is making a bad decision...

….in not starting Manu?

Or Phil Jackson in his desire to bring Odom off the bench? (please don’t tell me he’s better than Vlad Rad)

I feel that just throwing the five best players as starters on the court can be equated to when team USA just chose those were perceived to be the best superstars for the Olympic team without factoring in overall team chemistry.

I think a team is better served when a coach can provide balanced lineups for the duration of the game….and lineups which will allow individual players to flourish while playing off others as a cohesive unit.

Not to say that starting your best five players is a wrong idea, it’s just not always the best idea depending on the capability of personnel.

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by Truth About It on Jan 21, 2009 3:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

by MR on Jan 21, 2009 4:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with this too.

I think that once Gil comes back, Nick should go to the bench and we should strive to keep at least three most times, but no less than two ever, scorers in the game.

We don’t need to go on scoring droughts like we used to. Having two guys that can be go-to guys on the floor at all times could be one hell of a luxury.

But right now, it looks like we’re repeating EJ’s mistake of keeping Butler on the bench when he first came to DC. We’ve shown that we can spread the ball around between three scorers, and I think Nick is going to have to do a little learning on the job when it comes to sharing the ball. Now is a great time to teach him this lesson.

The Washington Wizards: providing career scoring nights for unknown opposing bench players since 2004.

by mamemimo on Jan 21, 2009 5:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Caron has been playing the 3 spot

Everybody keeps making excuses for Caron being out of position when in reality, he has been playing the 3 spot for the last 10 games. If you watch the games, you’ll notice that McGuire and James are in the backcourt together bringing the ball up, while caron and antwan are on the wings. This brings me to my next point, while I am also a huge fan of McGuire and his all around game, if he’s going to be playing the 2 guard, then why not start Young. My only reasoning for this is that McGuire provides a balance to the starting unit that would not be there if Young was in there stagnating the offense with his ability to go one on one which usually leads to everybody else on the floor standing and watching. If I had my choice of the wizards lineup, I would start Young and McGuire in the backcourt, that way you have your best offensive player as well as your best defender on the court together. Butler and Jamison at the forwards where they are, and Blatche at center with McGee and Critt as the first players off the bench.

by wizfanatic on Jan 21, 2009 3:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs