Keys to the Palace: Go west, young men
by JakeTheSnake on Dec 21, 2009 11:14 AM EST
in Keys To The Palace
22 comments
As the D.C. area was bombarded with snow this week, the Wizards were out enjoying sixty degree weather out on the West Coast. Unfortunately, they didn't make the most of their time inside the climate-controlled domes, going 1-3 on the week. What makes the performance this week even sadder is that all four of Washington's opponents missed the playoffs last season.
Of course, Phoenix was the victim of an extremely deep Western Conference. The Kings, Clippers, and Warriors on the other hand, would have been bottom feeders in any conference last season, just like the Wizards last season. With the exception of the Warriors, all of the teams I have mentioned, including the Wizards, have improved since last season.
While the Suns, Kings, and Clippers have developed thanks to the acquisition and development of young talent, the Wizards went the veteran route, figuring that it would take less time to integrate veteran players into the team than a raw talent. Yet as you look at the standings, the Suns are right back in the thick of the Western Conference battle, the Kings and Clippers are hovering around .500, and Washington is the one struggling to win one-third of their games. If this year has shown anything, it's that rebuilding can be faster than remodeling.
As the Palace undergoes renovations, who deserves keys inside? Follow me after the jump to see who goes in and who stays out.
Gilbert bookended the week with two clunker performances. But like an Oreo, the middle of the week was sweet. We will see if the swagger Gilbert gained out West will travel with him as the team heads back to D.C. In the meantime, enjoy some highlights from Gilbert and Stephen Curry's performance on Friday.
Final Verdict
The bench was a weak point all week, and Blatche was one of the big culprits. The good news is that while Blatche has slumped as of late, he isn't hitting the dizzyling lows that he reached earlier in his career.
Final Verdict
Earl was the other big culprit in the bench's woes this weekend. 11 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds is decent output for one game, not four.
Final Verdict
On the whole, Caron had a solid week. His shot selection improved, but as Kyle pointed out in this excellent post, Caron still has inefficient tendencies he needs to rid himself of. He summed it up best when he said, "why must Caron always find himself facing up further away from the basket than from where he started?"
Final Verdict
Just when it looked like Javaris was turning the corner, it looks like his ankle has flared up again. Why can't this guy catch a break?
Final Verdict
Foye logged 19 minutes on Saturday, the first time he's played over 15 minutes since he November 24th against Philadelphia. His performance, albeit mostly in garbage time, might be enough to earn back some minutes that he has lost to Earl Boykins.
Final Verdict
After three strong performances this week, Brendan had his worst outing of the season against the Suns. It's one thing to have season-lows in points and rebounds, but against Channing Frye? Seriously? It's a good thing his other three games were solid as usual.
Final Verdict
This exchange between Mike and Dan Steinberg of DC Sports Bog sums up everything.
mikejames7: Working hard. Staying on my grind. Gotta stay right even though everything around me seems wrong
dcsportsbog: Um. That doesn't sound good RT @mikejames7 Working hard. Staying on my grind. Gotta stay right even though everything around me seems wrong
mikejames7: It's the truth.
Final Verdict
Antawn carried the team through the first two games of the week. He nearly helped them win two games that the Wizards had no business winning. Even after he injured himself against the Warriors, Jamison did what he could to shoulder the burden, but he just could not do so at the same rate. Still can't fault him for going out there and trying to do what he could to help the team win.
Final Verdict
After tightening up the rotation for most of this week's road trip, Flip emptied the bench against Phoenix, giving players like JaVale McGee a chance to make their case for more playing time. If JaVale's performance on Saturday was a lawyer, arguing on JaVale's behalf for more playing time, it would have been Lionel Hutz.
Final Verdict
Dominic parlayed a solid performances against Detroit and Indiana into more playing time this week. He's slowly, but surely starting to wiggle his way into the rotation.
Final Verdict
If I give you a key, will play this week? Pretty please?
Final Verdict
I guess it's a good thing that the players ahead of him have made him irrelevant, but his disappearance from the rotation has been rather surprising.s
Final Verdict
DeShawn played 76 minutes and he took ten shots to score five points. What else do you need to know?
Final Verdict
Like Dominic McGuire, Nick is slowly, but surely getting more minutes. He's still learning the offense and how he fits in, but his defense is keeping him in the rotation. Who would have thought we would say that at the start of the year?
Final Verdict
I'm not exactly sure when it clicked, but at some point this week Flip found out that he can't teach and motivate this team the same way he motivated the Pistons. Can he figure out a way to get through to this goofy squad? I don't doubt him, but he may have to take a page out of Eddie Jordan's playbook on how to balance the team's many quirky personalities.
Final Verdict
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This team has gone 1-7 in its last 8 games
So, giving keys to four of the team’s five starters either means that this team is broken, or this blog feature is broken.
by disgrunted on Dec 21, 2009 11:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Well
Jamison and Bulter could have gone either way. Jake’s just trying to build their confidence.
- Jamison is what he is. He gave what he always gives.
- Butler still had some bad moments, but he was better this week.
Can you add something extra for Stevenson? The lock just isn’t getting it done. Maybe bars? A moat? Shackles? A ring of fire? One of those red circles with a slash through it? Anything to keep this guy off the court.
by steadyhand on Dec 21, 2009 12:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
lol
run and gun cause the ball don't lie
by CellBlock4 on Dec 21, 2009 1:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
or that the bench is betraying us
but yeah, too many golden keys this week. unless jake is a leading indicator like the stock market.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 21, 2009 2:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm a sucker for optimism
Looking back, I probably should have taken Caron’s keys away at least. Part of me wanted to take away Gilbert’s but he was the biggest reason why the team won against Golden State, so I can’t lock him out even if the rest of his week was more down than up.
Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.
by JakeTheSnake on Dec 21, 2009 8:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
i agree. they lost 2 of 3 to bad teams and were ABSOULTELY DESTROYED by a good team. no keys from me.
frankly, it is getting harder and harder to keep rooting for this team that does not win or play defense. PHX might have had 100 points six minutes into the third qtr. i like many of the players individually. then again, i’d like my job if i could get full pay for half work.
i can accept losing. i cant accept lack of effort. i KNOW flip is a good coach. i’d move every one of them that does not play defense and play within the system. i am tired of seeing jump shooting teams. they dont win- EVER. stay in the lottery until we get a big man that can score in the paint. filling out the roster then gets easy.
by les boulez bomber on Dec 21, 2009 12:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
FLIP
Just wondering, do people still think he’s a good coach? I’m no expert, but I’m inclined to think he is. Curious what the rest of you think, or if the losing is starting to change opinions about him. I see les boulez’ opinion above but would like to hear more.
by gbkdc on Dec 21, 2009 1:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I still just don’t get why Flip doesn’t realize that the team he has is built for run and gun.
I am still working on understanding Flip’s offensive system, from the ball movement to the short screens, but believe me it just seems like a huge mess out there some times. It helped in Detroit for Flip to have a big man like Rasheed Wallace to step out and hit a open three (or the threat of) to open up driving lanes for kick outs and more ball movement. Not only that their defense led to a lot of offensive opportunities. In a few games here and there for the wiz I see a little of what he is trying to do in that regard but his schemes just become so opaque at one point or another. I am someone who has played basketball in teams in the past and understands different sets and systems here and there but it seems to me that Flip is just trying to turn ketchup into mustard.
I know he asks for the point gaurd to initiate the offense, but I just can’t grasp what exactly he is trying to do mainly because it seems the players are lost out there as well (ask Caron). It seems that only Mike Miller knows what’s up.
As for his coaching… well I am not as excited about that as others are, I would have preferred to have Mike D’Antoni as coach (I know y’all will laugh) since he would straight up know what to do with this offense, but i don’t know if Gilbert would have wanted to be in the same room as him after the Team USA debacle.
run and gun cause the ball don't lie
by CellBlock4 on Dec 21, 2009 1:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The players are ignoring it a lot
That explains a lot of it. Jamison in theory does all the stuff you say Rasheed does.
Bad screening too explains a lot. Caron’s not open because nobody screens well to get him open. Jamison and Caron don’t know how to set screens.
But seriously, I’ve heard this a lot and it makes no sense for me. This team is not build to run! Have you seen our transition defense? Have you seen how Jamison and Butler never run the wings? Can anyone really envision Brendan Haywood running? It’d be Gilbert running with no partners.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
by Mike Prada on Dec 21, 2009 1:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
maybe
Well that’s why you start playing the other bigs on the team who can, you don’t necessarily have to be the Golden State Warriors, but I am sure people can imagine seeing Andray and JaVale running the court, we have seen Blatche being able to initiate and finish the break as a big man. That is where you can implement the athletic bigs we have on the team not to mention Nick Young finally being able to roam. on the wing. I mean hell they played that kind of up tempo when Eddie Jordan was around and Haywood managed to drag his ass around (granted Haywood has bulked up and it may be harder now for him to do as such). I am not calling out for an ALL OUT run and gun, but rather more of an up tempo style that sems stymied at the moment by Caron’s isos to name a few plays.
As for transition defense? They have the same problem right now either way, I mean maybe they need somethng positive on offense to translate to their defensive out put. I know these are a lot of maybes and what if scenarios, but to me the best possible solution would be to incorporate bits and pieces from Eddie Jordans Offense into the flow of their fast break situations. I mean we have some athletes on the team, use them to suit their style of play, can you seriously think that Gilbert wouldn’t like to play fast pace?
run and gun cause the ball don't lie
by CellBlock4 on Dec 21, 2009 1:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
They play fast already
The second unit should play faster, yes. But the Wizards are playing fast this year – ninth in pace. I’m not sure how much faster we can play.
We really didn’t have a classic r-n-g attack under Eddie. The reason our pace numbers were high was because we shot the first good shot we saw in the halfcourt, not because we were running the break. And really, the major reason we played fast was Gilbert. When Gilbert got hurt in 08, we played extremely slow – 27th in pace, actually, with all the same players. Take away Gilbert, and this is not a team that likes to run. Our athletes can’t really run a fast-break well anyway.
Transition defense issues are directly related to too much running. The reason we don’t play good transition D is that our guys are not in good position to retreat well. The reason we aren’t in good position to retreat is because shots are going up too quickly and in the wrong spots. When you shoot a bad shot in transition, it affects everyone’s floor positioning. More of those going in during the short run won’t make much difference because bad shots are bad shots in the long run.
Flip had the right idea, but didn’t execute it well. He should have been reigning them in from the start instead of letting them run wild and then pulling the plug. He should have called more plays early and then trusted his team to make the right reads once they got comfortable.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
by Mike Prada on Dec 21, 2009 2:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
You make alot of great points, and I definitely will read that post by Rook.
All I am trying to say is that right now their offense seems a mess, like you said Flip didn’t execute his plan well because I guess he wanted the team to learn on the job and push through their mistakes. But as for run and gun, or a modified approach I will stick to that until I start seeing results from what Flip is trying to do.
run and gun cause the ball don't lie
by CellBlock4 on Dec 21, 2009 3:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Jamison
Yes in theory he does all the stuff rasheed does except they play different positions so I don’t want to compare them, but when he steps out he brings out his defender which is usually a 4 or maybe 3 (depends on the lineup, plus ‘toine is a tweener anyway), he does not like sheed (primarily a 4 but plays the 5 when Ben Wallace’s free throws become a liability) bring out mainly a 5 or 4 (due to Ben Wallace), that takes out a primary shot blocker out of the lane. And defensively it obviously is not even a contest as to who is the better defender. I guess the better example to use here would be Blatche for the Wizards since he can extend it a bit and play the 4 and 5, but of course he is not on the level of a ’Sheed, Especially in the technical foul department.
As for the screening you are completely right, those screens are instrumental to Carons role in his pick and pops, but the problem is even if he is open it seems to me like he still out of habit?? or idk seems to dribble or wait for the defender.
run and gun cause the ball don't lie
by CellBlock4 on Dec 21, 2009 2:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
They do not play different positions
Sheed was the 4 in that offense. Jamison is a 4 here. McDyess played the role of the five man. Rook had a great four-part series on Flip’s offense in the preseason, here’s the last link with the link to the other pieces.
I didn’t say anything about defense. Sheed vs. Jamison on D is no contest.
Caron is struggling because he isn’t trying hard enough to pick up the offense, not because Flip forced him into some terrible, awful role.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
by Mike Prada on Dec 21, 2009 2:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Caron is struggling because he isn’t trying hard enough to pick up the offense, not because Flip forced him into some terrible, awful role.
I’ll second that…
I posted several times in the early season, and on the first BF podcast, that I thought Caron was perfectly suited for Flip’s Offense. This offense is designed to get open shots… typically open mid-range shots. And given the fact that Caron is (or was) one of the best mid-range players in the League; I thought he would absolutely explode in this Offense once he (and the rest of the starters) learned the intricacies of the movement and all the screens. I thought it would take 15-20 games… Well I was wrong. NOT about Caron being perfect for this Offense, but about how long it would take. It’s obvious that Caron is fighting this Offense, rather than flowing with it; but another problem is the fact that besides Oberto, no one on this team seems to be able to set an effective screen.
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by Rook6980 on Dec 21, 2009 8:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Unqiue oppurtunity
To be a run and gun team with size. McGee and Blatche as a 5/4 combo would provide size in the middle that most RNG teams don’t have. If we can move Jamison/Butler for more RNG style players, we could have an interesting system. If by the trade deadline, we are realistically out of it, we need to try to move those guys to try the RNG.
by zeke5123 on Dec 21, 2009 2:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I can accept that
Because I do think it’s Caron/Antawn that holds us back from being RNG.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
by Mike Prada on Dec 21, 2009 2:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
not built to run
just built to gun!
Our athletes can’t really run a fast-break well anyway.
painfully true.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 21, 2009 3:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Flip is fine
The players are the ones falling short right now.
by forthepeople on Dec 21, 2009 3:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
having Gilbert Arenas, Randy Foye and Earl Boykins on the court at the same time is not what I would coin “genius.”
by o dat boy good on Dec 21, 2009 3:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
fancy law talking guy
glad someone else was disappointed in mcgee’s minutes vs phx. thanks for that one jake, particularly the lionel hutz joke.
and prada i think you’re spot on about the bad shots and flip’s handling of it. some of it might also have to do with gilbert only just now getting back into form. time to focus the troops.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 21, 2009 3:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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