Keys To The Palace: Where The Wizards Show Their Worth Without John Wall
by Jake Whitacre on Nov 22, 2010 3:45 PM EST
in Keys To The Palace
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PrintIt's always disheartening to see a top pick miss games due to injury. Especially when you consider this franchise's history with the injury bug, even the most routine, day-to-day tweaks are cause for legitimate concern.
It's easy to let doom and gloom fill your thoughts whenever you hear the word "crutches" but when you look at the glass half-full, there is a bright spot to Wall's bum foot. This week, for the first time since Wall was taken with the top overall pick, we got an extended look at how the rest of the Wizards have improved outside of Wall's influence.
After the jump, we'll take a look at whose performances stood out in a Wall-free week, and who needs to step their game up, regardless of who is playing at point guard.
Keys To The Palace
| Player | Week 4 PER | Week 3 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JaVale McGee | 18.9 | 16.3 | 2.6 | It's hard to overstate just how far JaVale McGee has come in the past few weeks. His play over the last few games shows that he's taking Flip Saunders' criticism to heart in deed, if not always in word. Whether you measure it empirically or statistically, it's hard to find a better four game stretch in his career than his performance last week. |
| Kirk Hinrich | 13.9 | 11.7 | 2.2 | Kirk Hinrich exploited the Grizzlies' backcourt all game long on Friday, en route to his best scoring performance of the season. His shot was off this week, which I think can be mostly attributed to not having John Wall, but he stepped up as a facilitator in his absence, averaging 7.5 assists per game this week. He also made it a point this week to get to the charity stripe, earning 15 free throw attempts this week after only taking 17 free throw attempts all season before this was published. Draw your own conclusions. |
| Nick Young | 15.7 | 13.9 | 1.8 | If you had Nick Young as one of the two players Flip Saunders would call the team's most consistent, you can collect your Doug Overton throwback jersey at the Bullets Forever pirze desk later this afternoon. The oddest thing about Nick Young has become consistent offensively while relying almost exclusively on long-distance shots and not passing. Flip has eschewed conventional thinking with Young, and reaped the benefits. Rather than trying to force a square peg in a round hole, he's giving him free reign to let if fly on offense (he has 3 assists in 226 minutes of action this season). In return, Flip is getting the defensive effort he wants out of Young and more consistent offensive outings. |
Guest Passes
| Player | Week 4 PER | Week 3 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Armstrong | 11 | 7.2 | 3.8 | Hilton Armstrong is shooting 60.7 percent from the field this season, after shooting 35.4 percent last season. He's still not a guy who should be taking more than three shots per game, and he wouldn't crack the rotation on a contender, but he's been a serviceable big man so far this season. |
| Cartier Martin | 14.9 | 16.8 | -1.9 | After a few weeks of spotty playing time, Martin played in all four games last week. He didn't do much to make a name for himself, other than a couple of three-pointers and a few steals, but he didn't make many mistakes either. He'll have a tougher time getting minutes now with Alonzo Gee back in the fold, but as long as he keeps playing mistake-free ball, he'll get his chances. |
| Gilbert Arenas | 14 | 12.5 | 1.5 | Arenas showed he can still be the facilitator when he needs to be in his 16 assist performance against Detroit, but when he has to take care of the ball, his outside shot suffers. He took 27 shots from beyond the arc and converted on less than one-third of them. |
Locked Out
| Player | Week 4 PER | Week 3 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Booker | 9.7 | 12 | -2.3 | Getting posterized by your own teammate is always weird, but I'm sure he'll take that as his "Welcome to the NBA" moment over Timofey Mozgov's baptism by fire this weekend. |
| Al Thornton | 11.2 | 12.5 | -1.3 | Thornton's play has dropped off a bit since he dealt with that stomach virus earlier in the month. With Alonzo Gee on the way and Josh Howard on the mend, he's going to have to get back to where he was earlier in the season to keep his name in the conversation for minutes at small forward. |
| Andray Blatche | 14.2 | 13.8 | 0.4 | Sorry Andray. No one gets in the palace with a play like that. |
| Hamady Ndiaye | -6.3 | -9.2 | 2.9 | Ndiaye made an appearance in Tuesday's game and responded with a two trillion performance. At least he didn't commit a turnover. |
| Kevin Seraphin | -19.6 | N/A | -19.6 | After nearly a month riding the pine, Kevin Seraphin got his first playing time of the season last week, playing just under 11 minutes against Boston and Toronto. He managed to pull down five rebounds in that limited time, which is certainly encouraging, but also made only one of his seven field goal attempts and had three turnovers, which is much less encouraging. |
| Lester Hudson | -8.7 | -18.7 | 10 | I'm a softie for players from mid-major schools, so it pains me to say goodbye to the Tennessee-Martin alum, but he just didn't have enough to crack a very deep guard rotation for the Wizards. |
NOTE: Because John Wall, Yi Jianlian and Josh Howard did not receive playing time this week, they were not included in this week's rankings.
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It's too bad
that mae.jude isn’t here to provide his thoughful insights on Nick having keys to palace and apparently moving in a few pieces of furniture. :-)
Hee hee
His nicklove is sooo cute.
"Now, obviously individual production does not unilaterally equal better team production, but there's a high level of causation."
by Vanilla Gorilla on Nov 22, 2010 4:51 PM EST up reply actions
I think Gil's shot suffers when he's facilitating because it encourages him to shoot off the dribble
I’d be willing to bet that his percentages go up a bit once Wall’s back, especially if they’re on the floor together.
Follow me on twitter -
http://twitter.com/TheRealTPruitt
How can I rec'd a picture!?!
If anyone ever is confused about why McGee is called Big Daddy Wookie, look no further than this picture!
Add the link?
"Because once someone knows the whole story, I don’t see how they can disagree with my position."
This should appear at the top of every blog on the internet.
-cuppettcj & MR
by returnofswagger on Nov 23, 2010 12:18 PM EST up reply actions
I'm getting a little tired of all the Blatche-bashing
Especially since he has, according to your own stats, the second-highest PER of any starter and has actually improved it slightly. His defensive effort has been noticeably greater, in spite of playing on two gimpy legs and a healing foot fracture. From which he originally wasn’t even scheduled to return from until the end of this month, if you’ll recall. Instead of being the contract-extended injury dogger he’s been accused of here, he’s been practicing hard with the team from the start, sincerely trying to improve most aspects of his game. If he’d hit that jumper last night against the Pistons, he’d have your “key”.
You can take it to the bank that there are few teams in this league who’d take a pass on acquiring Blatche, even if only as a 6th man, especially with that contract of his.
Well, I don't want to beat this drum too loud
But he did a decent enough defensive job on Zach Randolph. Two nights later he shut Maxiel down, but was later killed by Villanueva’s mobility. That’s the bottom line on him right now—he can defend inside but is being hurt by faster PFs who can shoot from outside.
His help defense has been non-existant
Looking at someone does not make for solid defense… while you are letting them drive to the hoop.
Follow me on twitter - @CJ_202SB
by CJ Hempfield on Nov 22, 2010 8:04 PM EST up reply actions
Until recently
That could be said of mcGee, too. Fact is, Saunders’ zone defense is more to blame for that than anything else.
i love when people defend the indefensible
by DarrellWalkerFan on Nov 23, 2010 1:48 PM EST up reply actions
Indefensible?
The Wizards’ defensive numbers aren’t good, but they aren’t as terrible as they were a few seasons ago, say the year before Jordan hired Randy Wittman. I hope you’re not seriously suggesting that Blatche is a worse defender than Jamison. The reason they aren’t at .500 right now is that their scoring is down.
Aside from the fact that they just aren’t a very good or well-coached team. Yet.
Two gimpy legs, a healing foot,
and a stomach full of popeyes.
Is that a thing in the NBA?
Or have we just had a rash of guys with bad eating habits? Rod Strickland and his hotdogs, Kwame Brown and his three meals a day at Popeyes, and now Blatche. I can’t even drink a soda before I play and my stomach feels wonky…..
HA!
I used to play barefoot on concrete…I spent all my spare change on liquor…I miss college.
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Nov 24, 2010 12:58 AM EST up reply actions
sorry to hi-jack thread but
you know who’s not in any kind of palace, cottage, yurt, or cave-dwelling of good play? the miami f-ing heat. league pass just paid for itself by letting me watch the pacers dismantle miami, in miami.
"hindsight is 50-50" - Steve Spurrier
by little stevie colter on Nov 22, 2010 10:07 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Bring Mae Jude back
He or she, is entertaining. Just don’t read her posts. Who would send a note into Prada to remove her?
Did I miss the conversation on why Flip called a last minute play for Blatche to shoot his deadly off balance JUST a step inside the three point line shot to win the game
Sorry, not happening
That’s final. Time to move on.
by Mike Prada on Nov 23, 2010 2:56 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
what happened...have been gone for a while
mae.jude was great – why the ban?
She was posting WALL SUX, WIZARDS SUX, nick will be off your crappy team soon enough
can’t let that slide
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Nov 23, 2010 11:46 AM EST up reply actions
Well...
…someone looked up NY’s mom…her name is Mae Jude Young…we weren’t sure if that was her or just some random troll…
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Nov 24, 2010 12:59 AM EST up reply actions
Rook had the scoop
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Nov 24, 2010 10:45 AM EST up reply actions
sounded way too angry to be nick
"hindsight is 50-50" - Steve Spurrier
by little stevie colter on Nov 23, 2010 11:32 AM EST up reply actions
You can catch up with Mae Jude
on the Washington Post. He/She posts on Wizards insider under the same screen name. And I do believe that he/she was posting about Nick Young again.
Just a sample of maejude and her/his usual clear headed thinking on the Gee news
I GUESS YOU WOULD TAKE YOUR WIFE BACK AFTER SHE SCREWED YOUR BEST FRIEND,GEE WASN’T NOTHING WHEN HE WAS HERE AND HE AIN’T NOTHING NOW. DO YOU THINK FOR ONE MINUTE SA WOULD HAVE LET HIM GO[THINK].
Posted by: maejude | November 22, 2010 10:55 AM | Report abuse
For all of the maejude lovers out there. Giving the people what they want.
i like this one
BLURRED, right name for a person that only see stats and judge a player worth, IF NICK HAD JACKED UP A 3 AT GAME END WE MIGHT HAVE WON,IT CALLED SHOOTING GAURD,THEY SHOOT FOOL.
Gil with the ball...
I’d like to see Gil handle the ball more when Wall is on the court, because he’s effective
with the ball in his hands. I think Wall’s a better point guard(and of course, that’s HIS role), but, when Gil gets touches, I wouldn’t mind if he had the option of playing less like
a catch and shoot guy and more like a jack of all trades. His basketball IQ is very high.
If this is not possible, then I’d at least like to see him and Wall play together. There’s
something about the two of them being on the court that, if extracted by a smart coach, could be very dangerous league-wide.
Agreed
But not as in the actual pointguard role , he should not inniciate plays for others (thats what Wall should do imo). Flip should call some iso plays for Gilbert, to create a triple threat for himself and either pull up, drive and attack or drive and dish.
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Nov 23, 2010 9:55 AM EST up reply actions
Cartier
I love that Cartier Martin can hit the open 3-pointer. As long as he continues as a 41% 3 point shooter, I want him to continue to get 10 to 15 minutes of playing time a night.
Why the PER stat?
Makes our palace look pretty ghetto when players with below avg PERs are awarded keys!
Our players
play on a below average team………. it’s called grading on a curve.
You must not have attended a Public School……..
He's "delightfully cranky"
Newsflash
Wiz are turrible.
Getting buckets since 2003.
by Icantfeelmyface on Nov 23, 2010 1:48 PM EST up reply actions
Riley is trying to figure out how to Van Gundy him as we speak
But it has to be sneakier this time.
After all the hell he caught last time, I'm sure he'd rather it go a little smoother the second time around
Or maybe he just doesn’t care. There is definitely that possibility. To quote Scoop, “Riley’s a gangsta”
I am sure Riley is measuring the coffin as we speak....
It is a shame since Spoelstra actually seems to be a good young coach… but the new Heat need a firmer hand.
He's got to be
What’s become pretty obvious from watching the Heat play is that their frontcourt is tissue paper soft. They will still be pretty good but until they can improve their front line they are going to get pushed around by Boston and Orlando. Zach Randolph destroyed them the other night. As soon as Haslem went out he had his way with them. People keep saying that Mike Miller is going to help them, but House has played pretty well and so has Jones. It’s their front line that is going to get them bounced from the playoffs.
i actually think another problem is wade and lebron
playing together. it can work, sure, but they are a long way from figuring it out, and i’m not sold lebron’s ability to work through adversity. i mean that’s the whole reason he came to miami – to avoid adversity.
"hindsight is 50-50" - Steve Spurrier
by little stevie colter on Nov 23, 2010 5:04 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, life isn't so sweet in the NBA
without Anderson V., Shaq, Jamison, and J.J. Hickson taking up room in the paint, getting rebounds and playing good defense. He’s going to have to work his ass off to win, the whole team will, and there are going to be nights when Bosh is just going to get outworked in the hustle department.
I think you guys are whistling past the graveyard.
I mean, nobody wants to see them lose more than me( outside of Cleveland I guess) but I think they’re going to put it together.
I don’t think they win a ring this year, however.
by MR on Nov 23, 2010 5:17 PM EST up reply actions
Very much this
This year they appeared to address the shooters around the big 3 but neglected the inside. On the flip side, I think Wade and LeBron need to revise their GM strategies. Looks to me they picked the wrong big for their superfriends. Bosh’s finesse game does seem to be a legit long term issue for them.
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
by souldrummer on Nov 23, 2010 10:50 PM EST up reply actions
Ha
You just mentioned Jamison and getting rebounds, playing in the paint, and playing in the point…whee!
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Nov 24, 2010 1:03 AM EST up reply actions
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