How do the Washington Wizards get John Wall in the open court?
by Mike Prada on Oct 18, 2010 1:34 PM EDT
in Player Analysis
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PrintIf there's one thing we can take away from yesterday's Wizards preseason loss to the Knicks, it's that John Wall is pretty much unstoppable in the open court. Granted, it's the Knicks, who don't exactly defend in transition well, but it was truly breathtaking. Afterwards, Flip Saunders had some pretty incredible things to say about Wall, as usual.
Coach Flip Saunders has watched the No. 1 overall pick play six preseason games, enough time for him to determine that there probably isn't a faster player with the ball in the league. "I don't think so," Saunders said. "No."
When you combine his speed with his ability to finish and draw fouls, it's a pretty incredible package. I thought about this for a bit on Twitter, but who in the NBA is more unstoppable in the open court right now than Wall? I'll give you LeBron James, and there's also Dwyane Wade, but beyond that? I can't think of anyone better. Wall finishes better than Derrick Rose, dribbles better than Kevin Durant, is faster than Steve Nash and passes better than Tyreke Evans. He very well might be number three on that list.
Clearly, getting John Wall in the open floor has to be a priority for this team. The question is, how? This is purely subjective, but to me, it seems like you need the following elements:
- A good defense that forces misses relatively frequently without fouling too much and slowing the game down.
- Big men who can grab defensive rebounds and outlet quickly.
- Big men who can, in turn, run the floor.
- Wing players who are dangerous spotting up for three-pointers, which gives Wall more space.
- One or two athletic finishers that are smart at running their lanes.
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i'd say the fastest players in the NBA right now
are darren collison and ty lawson, and now John Wall.
Kevin who??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7xn0qN5AVI&p=08A8F39F03595E6E&index=11&feature=BF
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Oct 18, 2010 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with four of the five elements you list; having big men who run the floor isn’t that important (see, for example, the Showtime Lakers who had the very slow Kareem at center).
That said, adding a great fast break wing player, someone who really excels as a recipient on the break, would be a very good idea. The Wizards don’t have anyone like that. Nick Young can dunk in the open floor, but what we are looking for is someone who is unstoppable if given just the little opening that a well-run fast break provides. I’m going to have to think about who that could be. Shawn Marion springs to mind as the type of player that’s needed, but he’s too old. Need a younger version of him.
Trevor Booker
I think could be that guy. Needs development but he certainly has the athleticism.
I'm not sure we can declare Wall as a top 5 pg in the league quite yet
beceause the season has not even started ,but i recon he takes the league by storm and after his rookie season he will be ranked amongst the best.
defensive force?
not there yet, by far! i think the fg% allowed looks pretty bad for the preseason (but i didnt check)
defensive boards?
Meh, AB and Yi are reasonable devensive rebouders, JvM is trying and Booker is to small to be an elite rebouder in this league.
running bigman?
Yes. McGee and Booker are amongst the fastest at their position, yi and blatche are not bad either
Wingman?
meh, Hinrich and Arenas are good but you would like another outstanding one. Martin, Young, Morisson or Hudson are good shooters but non of them are starters in this league.
Rim finishing?
Meh. Arenas and McGee. Thorton should be that guy, maybe Howard, but who knows if he is going to be willing to jump at all this year coming off a knee injury. Maybe Booker, he could (and should imo) turn into a slashing, cutting 3 that can finish at the rim and is able to knock down wide open J’s from the perimeter.
Realistic acquisitions?
Arenas for Carter and Gortat looked good to me at the time beceause of the outside shouting and rim finishing from Carter and Gortat is an inside presence on both sides with good rebouding. Plus he would be a great practice body for our young Bigs. If it is still possible i would love this trade.
Any SF with three point range, reasonable speed/latteral quickness and the ability to finish above the rim is in the rotation on any team. Thats why Childress was out of our reach. Maybe Terrence Williams or Reggie Williams????
i think our best bet is the draft though.
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
Yeah, Carter is a heartless loser, but one thing he’s always been good at is “the dunk.” He might lose the game for us if it comes down to last-second free throws, but that’s not why we would trade for him. At the very least, Carter would be a stop-gap measure while we look for his replacement. And Gortat — jeez, was Orlando ever serious about including him in that trade?
by Tbonebullets on Oct 18, 2010 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions
I hadn't thought of putting Booker at the 3
Think it could work with his quickness though.
I think we need a 3 and D guy at the 3 position
With Wall driving to the lane either on fastbreaks or half court offense, we need a corner guy that can hit 3s. I like Booker, but we need some shooting out there with everyone converging on Wall in the paint.
by PhenomenalSwag on Oct 18, 2010 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes a starting threepoint shooting defensive minded 3 (high draflottery) and a dynamic, fast athlatic backup (Booker)
Right now our defensive 3 point shooter is Martin. Thats why i want Morrison cut. He is a little better shooter i guess than martin but not as good defensively.
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Oct 19, 2010 4:20 AM EDT up reply actions
Secondary break
I’d like to see us run after made baskets. That way, we can use our speed as a weapon, even without the good defense or the strong rebounders.
Don't know if that's possible, to be honest
I also don’t want to neglect the necessary half-court development Wall will have to go through this year.
Mismatches
The secondary break won’t win you too many points outright. It’s more about creating mismatches and tempering the opponent’s bigs’ aggressiveness on the offensive glass.
I hear ya
But I still think even that’s tough to pull off. The only team I can think of who has done this well is Phoenix.
I'd like the Wizards to do what the Buck accomplished
and maybe add a slasher like Maggete/Salmons to complement Wall. I know Gil is also described as such, but he seems more about the outside game this year.
Further, while I think Blatche is great in terms of a fast big man, I would also like to add a fast ball hawking forward like Jamario Moon or Carl Landry who can follow up fast break misses. I know that Booker is supposed to fit this bill, but someone more accomplished would be a nice add.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
I dunno about the slasher
Isn’t that Josh Howard right now? Also, I’m not sure whether Maggette or Salmons run the floor well enough – Salmons might, but not Maggette.
Hmmm I thought Maggete was fast?
Probably wrong about that, I haven’t watched many Clippers games the last few years. I think the idea of the slasher came from the need to surround Jennings dribble penetration with more scoring. Another thought would be a guy like Rudy Fernandez.
You know who would be perfect on this team right now? Juan Carlos Navarro. Still angry about that trade.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
Would you really want a guy
Who doesn’t want to play over here? Maybe its just me, but I like when my favorite teams avoid players with character issues like his
His issue seems to be more with McMillan than the US
And that maybe spills over to the US in general.
Portland and Rudy never made sense. McMillan’s teams are always the slowest-paced teams in the league, and Rudy’s the kind of guy who needs to get out and run as a shooter or finisher on the break. He also needs to get chances while moving without the ball, and McMillan’s system often calls for him to stand in a corner. Flip’s system seems perfect for him.
He has talent and is very undervalued right now. I’d think about it.
I see your point
But many guys are in positions that they are unhappy with, Rudy has went about it in a demonstrative way. I’d rather the guy that is upset (if any) and keeps it to himself, handles his business and moves on.
Sorry, thread drift alert
Why so angry about Navarro trade? Didn’t everyone end up with nothing?
by MR on Oct 18, 2010 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Mmmm
The reasons at the time irked me – that we needed consistency, so we rewarded Stevenson instead of letting him walk. Navarro would have provided exactly what Mike Miller didn’t bring to the table last year, so there is a chance that we wouldn’t have made the No. 5 trade. It was also a classic Grunfeld “upside” trade, in which he traded a known quantity for an unproven athlete.
I think Navarro left the Grizzlies because they sucked and they traded his buddy. The Wizards sucked that year as well, but may have sucked less if Navarro was there.
Further, the Navarro deal encapsulates the failures of the past administration, which never adequately judged or scouted foreign talent.
Navarro just seems to be the kind of player that Grunfeld never targets, a guy without a high ceiling, but someone who you can count on doing one thing well every night.
Of course, all this is hindsight.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
I guess I figured the guy wasn't cut out to stay in the US
so I never regretted the trade.
Since it didn’t seem like he was ever coming to the Wiz anyway I also didn’t have that problem with the trade.
by MR on Oct 18, 2010 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions
We Should Stop Beating Dead Horses
In another homage to “The Butterfly Effect,” we should all realize that everything that happened before was necessary to put us in a position to draft John Wall. Everything. DeJuan Blair? He helps us win at least one more game last year, and we don’t draft John Wall. Alonzo Gee? Possible Wall buster. Trading the 5th pick for Miller and Foye? That certainly helped us get Wall, and Rubio would likely still be in Spain right now.
I stopped having regrets once we landed the right ping pong ball combination. I’ll take John Wall over Juan Carlos Navarro, DeJuan Blair, Alonzo Gee, and even Ricky Rubio right now.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"...don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can. There's no question, it can." -- Flip Saunders unintentionally coining the new Washington Wizards motto
by cuppettcj on Oct 19, 2010 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
YES!
I have had the same thought many times and I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU.
EVERYTHING has led us to this point. Kwame. Jordan. Webber. Mark Price. Wallace. Wallace. Gungate. Gee. Ike Austin. Hamilton. Richmond. The Wizards name. Cheaney. Ellison. Monroe. OPech. Soulja Boy. Jarvis.
Change one thing and we end up with the 7th pick in the 2010 draft.
It’s a really freeing concept. It allows you to throw away a lot of mental baggage.
Wow - all problems solved
shut down the blog – no more reasons to discuss anything…..
Karma – - – - – -
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
I think our needs will addressed mainly through the draft
but of possible players that could be reasonable to get would be Marco Belinelli. I’m not sure how good his defense is, but he’s a deadly shooter and he’s on his third team in his short career. He looks like an unathletic Rudy Fernandez.
Love to see
Its unlikely I know, but I’d like to see Kevin Love firing outlet passes to Wall.
I don’t even know who throws outlet passes anymore, outside of Love, I guess. That’s the kind of thing I’ve always heard is hard to teach. Didn’t DeMarcus Cousins throw a couple of those in college? Anyway, now that we’ve seen him play just a little bit, I’m starting to come around to the idea that he will be pretty good. Maybe the Kings….?
by Tbonebullets on Oct 18, 2010 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
It's a good question
I’ll settle for big men who get the ball out quickly. JaVale tends to hold it for too long.
Chuck Hayes is really good at it
One of the ways he compensates for his lack of size and skill is by always knowing where everyone is on the floor. So when he gets a rebound, he doesn’t have to look around to find his PG, he just turns and delivers the pass.
I know I’ve been in the minority here, but I would like to see a Blatche trade as long as we get good value in return — maybe for a player with a more limited skill set, but high on character and intelligence. Like a veteran big forward who can rebound and make the pass that we’re talking about. Blatche is going to be attractive to a lot of teams because of his obvious, broad skill set and risks that will really only be for intangible reasons rather than substantive.
by Tbonebullets on Oct 18, 2010 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions
BF classic debate
would you trade Blatche for Kevin Love?
I don't think many/any GMs would trade Love for Blatche.
by MR on Oct 18, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I don’t think Blatche is going to bring another young forward in return. You would either ask for a more veteran player, or add more to the pot if you want young talent at the same position.
by Tbonebullets on Oct 18, 2010 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Disagree
But Blatche could change my mind this 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
"...don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can. There's no question, it can." -- Flip Saunders unintentionally coining the new Washington Wizards motto
Sorry, I'm unclear which you'd trade for who
You’d rather have Love or Blatche?
by MR on Oct 18, 2010 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions
I guess Unseld isn't in game shape anymore
Side note: I would absolutely trade Blatche for Kevin Love. A half season of meaningless basketball and potential talent does not an all-star make. I’m not ready to drink the kool-aid just yet. Been tricked before by Courtney Alexander.
by ChrisWhitneyFanClub on Oct 18, 2010 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Why does the same thinking not apply to KLove?
Puts up decent numbers on a team that plays nothing but meaningless games. TWolves are 12-47 with him as a starter. 45%FG at the PF spot, and is known as a subpar defender.
Not saying the guy isnt a good player or wont get better. I just dont see how people are so adamant he’s better than our guy when there are no stats, wins, or anything else to support it.
There are tons of stats that support it
Here’s a pretty good per-minute comparison.
Love beats Dray in the following categories:
-True shooting percentage (Love’s FG% is misleading because he shoots threes and draws significantly more fouls per-minute)
-Rebounding – Love holds a huge, huge advantage here
-Turnover rate
-PER
-Usage rate, insomuch as Love doesn’t end as many possessions (take that for what you will)
-Foul rate
Love’s defense is much-maligned, but Blatche’s wasn’t very good at the end of last year either. Also, Love is two years younger. Throw in whatever intangibles you think are substantive – since you can get carried away with those – and I think it’s clear Love wins.
Love shoots less than two 3s per game
and hits them at a 33% clip. That’s supposed to be a positive?
I’m not saying he’s better or worse than AB (though personally I think AB is better and will really show it this year). I’m saying I dont see the adamant nature of the answer, as if Love has proven anything so significantly. He really hasnt. He’s a guy who puts up ok numbers on a terrible, terrible team.
Shooting 3s at 33%
Is like shooting 2s at 50%. Yes, I’d call that a positive. I think Blatche still has more potential, but right now I’d say Love is the better player.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"...don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can. There's no question, it can." -- Flip Saunders unintentionally coining the new Washington Wizards motto
And what has Blatche proved - exactly?
That he can get arrested? (Multiple times)….
That every NBA Coach he’s played for called him out on his conditioning?
That multiple Coaches and Leaders on the team question(ed) his work ethic?
Blatche hasn’t exactly been burning up the League on a Playoff team either….
On the other hand, Love has been a steadily improving player since he came into the League; AND He’s a beast on the boards (precisely what the Wizards need if they want to run).
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Youse preachin’ to the choir, Rook! Cosign, cosign. We gotta remember that a guy like Love is not going to be a consistent pain in the tuchas, either. Don’t kid yourselves about the tuchas hurt with Blatche. Not that I think any right-minded GM would trade Love for Dre.
Slightly off-topic, though, somebody one of these years is going to try to pry an aging Duncan away from the Spurs.
by Tbonebullets on Oct 19, 2010 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Slightly off-topic, though, somebody one of these years is going to try to pry an aging Duncan away from the Spurs.
No way. Lifer.
I just think due to his special status both as a player and as a character guy and given the small market and the fact that he owns that town and that he’s already got the rings and he’s got plenty of money…I think he’ll take a big paycut for his last few years rather than pull a Karl Malone/Ewing/Drexler/KG.
I think Pierce and Bryant may also stay with their teams. Nowitzki is a maybe to me.
I think it’s usually not up to the player — if the long-term employer sees a chance to trade old for young, they’d rather start their rebuilding process that way. I think the player may see the business side of it also.
But I see your point: many times (see: Michael Jordan) the player just isn’t ready to retire, and they sign with a new team, when they are well past their prime. I agree that I don’t see Duncan doing that.
by Tbonebullets on Oct 19, 2010 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow
At first I thought thinking of someone would be easy, but the only two that jump to mind as of late are John Stockton and Reggie Miller.
by Jake Whitacre on Oct 19, 2010 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Who was better as a starter last season?
Blatche has miles more talent than Love and has been doing/saying all the right things for months now.Recently reported he’s running sprints after practice to get fully back as fast as possible…this AFTER he signed his guaranteed money deal.
All great signs.
But we trade him for an offensively inferior player for rebounding? Flip cries when AB shoots 3s, so we should bring Love in to shoot 3s? We need our PF to be as an adept scorer as possible, look at the roster, we need scorers.
Just playing devil's advocate
but if Blatche is doing all the right things then why is there so much mystery surrounding his broken foot?
whether he hurt it playing basketball at VC
or playing at Barry Farms? Cant say I care that much either way, not that I’m a big fan of guys ballin at Barry Farms
has been doing/saying all the right things for months now
And off that track record, you’d rather keep Blatche than take Love?
Look – I like Andray as a player… and truthfully, none of his transgressions have really been too terrible (at least in comparison to others on the team)… But he may not be the best fit on a team that wants to defend, rebound and run. Dray could be great in a Utah offense ; especially if he had a big Center next to him that rebounds and plays defense. (not to suggest that Blatche would last 2 minutes playing for Jerry Sloan) -
Since the Wizards have two guys (McGee and Blatche) that like to get the ball and “create” – but have little time for nuts and bolts stuff like blocking out and playing defense – I’d suggest getting rid of one of them to get a rebounder….
You can’t run unless you have the ball. You can’t get the ball unless you rebound.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
I'd keep Blatche over Love, because I think
he’s the superior player on several critical levels and it would be a big mistake to move him based on supposed character flaws. If he really was as much a headcase as many fans think, I dont see Grunfeld extending him 2yrs early.
I'm not sure what these critical levels are
he rebounds worse than Love.
he passes worse than Love.
his basketball IQ is probably lower than Love.
he isn’t as coachable as Love.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
Blatche is a great passer.
Pretty sure his assist numbers are way up there for PFs.
Here's a nice stat
Last year against the Love/Jefferson frontcourt, Dray went for 33/13. Meanwhile KLove has never scored 26pts in a game.
PPG never ever matters
they are a bunk stat. Two, it was universally demonstrated that Jefferson and Love could not play in the same frontcourt in a triangle offense. Third, Blatche was the only one to get the ball on the team that night, since Jamison had been traded three hours earlier.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
You can make all the excuses you want, but
on that night, Blatche took Love and Jefferson to school. Love has started 60 games in his career, but never broken 25pts. Doesnt mean he isnt a good player, but Blatche is a far superior player on offense.
imo, Wizards arent in a position to be trading highly skilled, scoring, passing big men in exchange for some rebounds.
We talk a lot around here about small sample sizes
You are using the smallest possible. On that night, Blatche was the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th option on the offensive end. Now, he is option 2 if not option 2b. I would rather have a player who is a better facilitator on the offensive end and more of a presence on the defensive end.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
How do you define facilitator?
Their assist numbers are almost identical.
That is the worst argument I've ever heard.
Blatche played 36 minutes to Love’s 28.
In their prior meeting AB had 8 pts 8 boards and Love had 17 & 10 with 2 blocks and 3 assists. An equally irrelevant stat.
I wouldn’t look at those two games in isolation if I were trying to decide which player I wanted on my team.
by MR on Oct 19, 2010 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm not looking at either of those games
I’m looking at the fact Love isnt a good defender, shoots a low% for a PF, and doesnt score that well. Throw in the fact they are probably both about equal as passers…..I’ll take Blatche’s ability to be a primary scorer if need be over Love’s superior rebounding.
Especially considering Gil’s status….I dont think the Wizards are in any position to take scoring for granted. I wouldnt be surprised if Blatche is the team’s leading scorer
also, look at the numbers Blatche put up as a
starter last season. No GM would trade those stats for Kevin Love.
Obviously, we dont know how Dray’s game last season will translate to this year and beyond. But to make that trade right now before finding out (given how well he played last year) would be foolhardy. In my opinion of course
No GM would trade those stats for Kevin Love
change the ‘No’ to ‘Just about every’ and i’m with you
by DarrellWalkerFan on Oct 19, 2010 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Nobody's saying TRADE DRAY NOW
I’m just saying if that trade was offered, I’d take it. Most GMs would too. Consider how Minnesota basically gave away Jefferson to clear up space for Love.
Love is very good
But so is Blatche, and Blatche is our guy that has grown with this team each year and looks ready to take the next step. No way I would make this trade as a fan, GM or owner of the Wizards. (Ditto from the Wolves’ perspective though.)
Well....
We should be better defensively than we’ve been in the past decade (mainly due to Hinrich and Wall), but we don’t have the experience to consistently play solid defense mostly because our bigs are so inexperienced. No matter how good Hinrich is at defending guards and wings, and no matter how Gary Payton-ish John Wall turns out to be, a lot of that won’t matter so much if we have Blatche and McGee making boneheaded defensive plays.
So like Mike said, we need to defend and force misses, but we also need to be able to rebound the ball on the defensive glass – which is a definite area of weakness with our current team. If McGee can turn into a defensive rebounding beast like Dwight Howard, then this problem basically goes away. But until then, we’ll probably miss 4 or 5 buckets per game that would come off fast breaking opportunities because we’re giving away too many offensive rebounds.
I find it amusing
that you think Blatche and McGee are too inexperienced to consistently play solid defense but you expect Wall to raise our level of defense.
by MR on Oct 18, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
“Basketball IQ,” good sir, is the key element of the discussion.
by Tbonebullets on Oct 18, 2010 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I'll go with that
but I think Blatche is a good defender and I think Wall is going to go through a lot of growing pains this year on both ends of the court.
by MR on Oct 18, 2010 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Well
* A good defense that forces misses relatively frequently without fouling too much and slowing the game down. (Not sure this applies yet)
* Big men who can grab defensive rebounds and outlet quickly.
(Wiz have this, why they are always in bad position, only god knows)
* Big men who can, in turn, run the floor. (Wiz have this)
(Wiz definitely have this, in fact, this may be one of the team’s strong suits)
* Wing players who are dangerous spotting up for three-pointers, which gives Wall more space.
(Wiz have this, when Young is making shots. Adds to Arenas, Martin, Hinrich. W/O Young, that aspect seems thin)
* One or two athletic finishers that are smart at running their lanes.
(Most concerning thing, aside from rebounds of course. Wiz have Young, Thornton, Martin (maybe)……..but it seems like w/o Wall, guys just aren’t getting to the rack or in position to finish enough.)
Wes Johnson
He’s a finisher who needs a creator. Fast, strong, good shooter. Perfect wing for a great point guard. When he bombs in Minnesota (well bomb is a strong word) in a couple years because the timberwolves have Flynn playing the point, we should do whatever we can do get him. Perfect, efficent player for Wall.
by zeke5123 on Oct 18, 2010 5:24 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Agreed, that is exactly the type of player we need
Not sure how we’d ever get him though, I guess it’s Minnesota so they would definitely be open to trading someone to us again.
by PhenomenalSwag on Oct 18, 2010 7:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Yep, good call. We should have traded up to get him.
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Oct 19, 2010 4:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Tyreke Evans is bar none the best slasher in the league
The man dribbles like he has a magnet on this hand. So smoothe and fluid, he looks like he’s moving in slow motion but then he’s already at the basket.
I like Wall though.
1.Wall 2.Tyreke 3.Russell Westbrook
my favorite players…and 3 of the most exciting guys in the league. I love Tyreke’s game. Dude is a monster
Wait till he learns how to shoot
then he will be lebron like
He won't be Lebron-like, he'll be better
because he won’t be a ^$@#.
by MR on Oct 19, 2010 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Putting together the pieces
Seraphin, I assume, was drafted to ultimately be the big guy who could grab the rebound and throw the quick outlet pass… but he is a couple of years away.
That’s why getting someone like Gortat as part of a Gil to Orlando deal makes sense and it is also why Pietrus would fit as he can slash some and hit outside shots as well as play tough wing defense.
The Rudy Fernandez possibility makes a lot of sense too. He is a perfect slasher and Washington is the right kind of city for him if he wants to stay in the NBA.
Wall’s comments to the WaPo on wanting to make the playoffs as opposed to being ROY suggest that management might want to think about making some deals for the right complementary players now… It is a shame they did not make a move on Louis Amundsen earlier. Maybe if the Nuggets wind up dealing Melo and doing a fire sale on some of their larger contracts a Nene or Birdman would be useful. Getting the Flopper from Celeveland would help too.
We shall see and it will be interesting in a positive way, for a change.
What About the 2004-05 Model?
That season, we didn’t have great interior defenders (other than Haywood, whom EJ kept on the bench way too much). So EJ played a very up-tempo style in which he allowed his fast, dynamic guards to gamble a lot in the passing lanes to force steals and create fast break opportunities. The defense was overall still pretty poor, but it allowed the Wizards to speed up the game significantly and turn games into scoring contests that usually favored the better running team. The end result was the best record the Wizards have had in the past 30+ seasons, 45-37.
Now, Arenas is a step slower than he used to be, but every indication I’ve gotten this pre-season is that he’s still very fast, especially in the open court. Wall has the potential to be every bit the pick-off artist that Larry Hughes was, and let’s not forget that Larry Hughes rode that pick-off artist reputation all the way to a 1st Team NBA All-Defensive award. Add to that a resurgent Josh Howard (or Al Thornton if J-Ho is not resurgent), Andray Blatche (improving fast break player), and JaVale McGee, and I see the potential for a very explosive run-and-gun team. In the half-court, they are likely to get broken down on defense, but in the open court, this team could definitely excel.
Flip has already said that he wants this to be a running team. If he can’t get these young guys to play good half-court defense, then he should allow Wall and Arenas to press in the full court and gamble in the passing lanes to try and increase the tempo. At least that’s what my gut is telling me right now.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"...don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can. There's no question, it can." -- Flip Saunders unintentionally coining the new Washington Wizards motto
Yikes. Things haven’t gotten bad enough yet for me to be nostalgic for Eddie Jordan. That dude is probably smoking $100 bill joints in Jamaica somewhere, these days.
by Tbonebullets on Oct 19, 2010 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm Not Nostalgic
You got the wrong gist from my post. You probably weren’t around here for that long, but I was one of EJ’s most vociferous critics back when he coached this team. I’m only pointing out that that team had a pretty good record despite a lack of good interior defenders, and that is a model we should consider, for this season anyway.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"...don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can. There's no question, it can." -- Flip Saunders unintentionally coining the new Washington Wizards motto
Nah, I was here, I just don’t pay much attention to who said what. The main thing is, I was so frustrated with the team after it went south, to see some kind of “princeton offense” gimmick again, even if coached competently, might cause my head to explode. Though part of our problem was that it really wasn’t a princeton offense, it was an “Eddie Jordan Chaos” offense, based upon very athletic and talented personnel. That he ran into the ground. I just don’t wanna see that undisciplined foolishness ever again. I would rather see a “showtime”-type offense ran by a gifted point guard. We have a chance to accomplish that,j once we put together the right kind of complementary personnel.
by Tbonebullets on Oct 19, 2010 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm Talking About the Defense From 2004-05
Although EJ was not known for his defense, that season was one of the best the Wizards have had in the past decade. Still pretty terrible, but good enough to win a lot of games and get one guy voted to the All-Defensive 1st Team.
If I ever start advocating a return to the Princeton, however, somebody please recommend me a good psychiatrist.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"...don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can. There's no question, it can." -- Flip Saunders unintentionally coining the new Washington Wizards motto
Haywood played a lot more than year than in the next two years
So I think even then we had better interior D.
OK, So We Had Slightly Better Interior Defense
That only strengthens the argument. If we can’t defend on the inside, shouldn’t we try to minimize our half-court defensive deficiencies by gambling in the passing lanes? As a long term strategy, it won’t work or be very successful. One argument you could legitimately make against it is that it will neglect an opportunity to instill defensive half-court fundamentals into this team that it will need to be successful in the seasons ahead.
But by utilizing this approach, it could do a number of positive things for this team to build on in future seasons also:
- Establish this team’s identity as a running team.
- Utilize one of the strenghs in the backcourt – quickness
- Minimize one of the weaknesses in the backcourt – size
- Develop our young players’ skills in the fast 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
"...don't ever think it can't get any worse, because it can. There's no question, it can." -- Flip Saunders unintentionally coining the new Washington Wizards motto
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