Boy was I wrong

by CJHutch on Nov 19, 2009 4:02 PM EST Comment 22 comments

Obviously I know Jamison is an important player in our rotation, but I didn't think he'd have THIS type of impact. Especially not this quickly. I was very happy with his shot selection, and I hope it runs off on the rest of the team. I have ha a problem all season with the team, Caron and Gilbert in particular, "settling" for jumpers. And I have always had a problem with Jamison camping out at the 3 point line. But he didn't do that this game. He established himself inside, then mixed some outside shots in to show his versatility. Like I said, I hope the rest of the guys follow suit. Arenas seemed to in the second half at least, when he was obviously much more aggressive.

But I guess this was a night for me being wrong. I will readily admit that Deshawn Stevenson had a noticeable impact on this game with his defense on LeBawl James. You could tell James was visibly frustrated when Stevenson was on him. And that jump ball was great. Of course it was a missed call, but so what? It's about time the tables were turned on him. It would've been perfect had Stevenson somehow won the jump ball. I'm sure James would've cried about that too.

And lastly, while pointing out my wrongs, I come to Brendan Haywood. I think he has found his niche on this team, if he continues to play like he did last night. While one shot attempt may not seem ideal for your starting center, I think it is a good thing that he only attempted one shot, was not upset about it, an still had a major impact on the game. I'm not saying he should be limited to one shot a game, but I would like to see them go away from running specific plays for him, and/or trying to force it to him down low. We are much better served with him crashing the boards and getting follow ups and tip ins than shooting fade away jumpers. I don't mind if he lets an occasional hook fly now and then, but I'd like to see him stick to defense and rebounding. I will always be of the mindset that shot blocking/changing can have a major impact on games, and Brendan showed it last night. If he keeps up this type of play, the league will be embarrassed by not at least including him on the all star ballot.

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.

3 recs | Comment 22 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Rec'd for admitting you can appreciate Haywood

(Half-kidding).

In all seriousness, nice thoughts on Antawn. He went inside first then moved out.

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

by Mike Prada on Nov 19, 2009 9:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

ha-ha

I KNEW I’d get your attention with that.

Seriously though, I do love how the guy is playing. I maintain that the “true big man” is approaching dinosaur status in this league, so I’m glad as hell we have one in our line-up. One thing I never mentioned in all my previous anit-Haywood rants, was the guy’s basketball IQ. While he may lack the outright athleticism of some of his opponents, he is definitely never outclassed in the smarts department. (Although I will always cringe when I see him fading away on a jumper. Whoever the hell taught him that should be shot.)
Now, I have one last bit of Haywood homage (and THEN you all can start slinging the “hypocrite” and “I told you so” comments). I think more should have been made of one particular play the other night. I don’t remember who it was (maybe Hickson?), but one of the Cavs players had gotten a two hand hold on the ball under the basket, only to have Brendan rip it away with ONE HAND from THE FLOOR. Not only was that an amazing display of strength, it is exactly the type of play this team needs.

by CJHutch on Nov 20, 2009 2:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Brendan ripped that ball away from LeBron James

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 20, 2009 3:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Picture

on Mike Lee’s article in the Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/19/AR2009111903889.html?sub=AR

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 20, 2009 3:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You telling me

that 2006 Brendan Haywood does THAT? I doubt it.

by MR on Nov 20, 2009 4:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nope – 2006 Brendan got pulled in the 1st quarter by then Head Coach Eddie Jordan…… and James would have taken that ball coast to coast with Etan’s dreads waving futilely behind him….

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 20, 2009 5:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Haywood has clearly upped his focus and energy in the last few years. That was my point.

by MR on Nov 20, 2009 5:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Easy to have more “energy” and “focus” when the Head Coach makes you feel comfortable with your role on the team….

My point is that we don’t know how much of Haywood’s “development” was stunted during the Eddie Jordan years.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 20, 2009 5:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That’s a pretty sad crutch to rely on for a 7 year (at the time) professional basketball player.

The book on Haywood for years was that he was lazy. He turned that around. Maybe having the job all to himself lit a fire under him. Maybe he wanted to show up his coach. Maybe he saw his career slipping into mediocrity. Whatever the reason he turned it up a notch. Maybe the coach was single handedly holding him down the whole time…the fact is that BTH made a large step forward in his offensive game in 07-08 and I believe in his overall game.

by MR on Nov 20, 2009 11:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well first, I’ll admit I’m a big fan of AJ, but I’d be a huge fan if he didn’t have a big ‘basket this way’ sign on his chest. Aside from defense, I absolutely love everything else about the guy! His leadership, his on-court awareness, getting in his teammates’ ear, his offensive game, and so on. I would just like to see him take a foul or two and just prevent a layup y’know? Its not like he has a propensity to foul… so he should use them…

As far as BTH’s (and AB’s) shot attempts going down, I fully expected that with AJ back. He’s the designated frontcourt scorer. I do think that as his shooting percentage comes back down from the stratosphere, it will open up more putback opportunities for both BTH and AB, so hopefully they have put enough work as far as anticipating AJ’s offense (as much as you can with his unorthodox game) and quickly getting into position.

Also, I think AB did well as the backup to both post positions, but I like him a lot better when he plays backup 4.

by jones-y on Nov 20, 2009 10:11 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

And oh yeah Haywood! I am impressed! I’ve always maintained that he was a serviceable center, even in his under-performing years a few years back. But he has steadily progressed, and now he really asserts himself. I must admit I never expected this much from him… Here’s to hoping its not a contract-year blip.

by jones-y on Nov 20, 2009 10:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

haywood was playing just as well

in 2007-2008. so it’s not totally a contract year deal.
should be fun to see him going against etan tonight.

"a crab dribble is when you travel" - caron butler

by little stevie colter on Nov 20, 2009 12:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

To my eyes he's looks better this year than 07-08

small sample size, of course…

by jones-y on Nov 20, 2009 12:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No change - except he's getting more minutes

Those folks that said Haywood had a “career” year in 2007-08 were wrong – he just was able to do the same things he’d always been doing – just doing it for more minutes per game. Same this year.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/players/hollinger?playerId=1000 (Insider required)

He’s rebounding a bit better this year.. but that may be because Jamison has been out (AJ snags around 8-9 rebounds per game – it’s possible that there have just been more rebounds for BWood this year)

Other than a bump in rebounding, Haywood’s per 40 numbers this year are roughly the same as his career numbers

Points per 40 = Career 13.0 This year 12.9
Reb per 40 = Career 10.01 This year 12.8

True shooting percentage = Career 55.4% This year 51.7%

The only reason you notice now, is that he’s getting over 33 minutes a game – - – - whereas in previous years, and especially under Eddie Jordan, he was getting 22-25 minutes a game.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 20, 2009 1:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

One more thing...

Take out that 19 rebound game he had against Indiana… and he’s averaging right around 10 rebounds per game……. much closer to his career average..

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 20, 2009 1:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not trying to say that Brendan is not playing well… quite the opposite… I’m saying he’s playing extremely well -

My point is that it’s not a ONE year thing… he’s been playing this way almost his entire career…… He’s been remarkably consistent if you look at his per-40 numbers and most other non-minutes related stats (PER, rebound rate, usage rate, TO rate, TS%, etc…) It’s just that nobody seemed to notice, until he started getting more minutes….. (Mike Prada excluded)

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Nov 20, 2009 2:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs