Inexcusable Wizards effort results in a blowout in Toronto
by CJ Hempfield on Dec 2, 2010 9:35 AM EST
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PrintThe problem with a team that returns only four players that finished last season, is that they appear to have forgotten lessons that they seemed to have learned last year. When the Wizards play with energy and enthusiasm their effort will often mask any deficiencies in talent (see their win over Denver last year), but when they display no energy or enthusiasm their weaknesses are magnified. Well they also had two players - Josh Howard (for four games) and James Singleton - who played with a feistiness that seems foreign to many players on this current roster. But more on that later.
In the first half the Wizards seemed to be taking a page from Muhammad Ali's famed Rope-a-dope style, hoping that by letting the Raptors run that they may eventually tire out. Well their inability to stop the Raptors from scoring at will lead to the Raptors scoring 72 first half points. 72 first half points! This is the same Raptors team that in its previous game, an 18 point loss to the Atlanta Hawks, managed to score 78 points for the entire game. Yes, nearly its full game point production in one half of basketball. Shameful.
"I don't even want to talk about it. That's a video game stat. That's like somebody that studied a video game so much that he knows exactly when to shot it and get any shot he wanted. That's basically how it felt. They can get any shot any time. They were getting dunks after dunks, layups after layups and foul after foul."
-- John Wall on the Raptors' hot shooting, as reported by Holly MacKenzie, for NBA.com.
Yes this team is young and I buy the argument of building around a young nucleus. However, isn't it then critical that the organization ensure that they play the right way? It is important that young players aren't allowed to establish bad habits, like not boxing out, drifting up court before securing rebounds, not paying attention to detail on defense, generally playing as if they are uninterested, etc. If young players, even those with potential, are not playing properly when on the floor, then you must find ways to communicate what is expected in a way they receive it loud and clear. That may mean limiting their playing time. If this team is truly in a rebuilding phase then wins and losses are secondary to establishing a proper foundation for the future - which should include playing high energy, fundamentally sound basketball.
"Like Coach Flip and Coach Wittman said, we were walking around, acting like we didn't want to do nothing. We just weren't in to it. If you come like that early in the morning that's going to tell you how your game plan is. To hear your head coach say that he don't have faith in you that early in the morning by shootaround, that means it hurts us [when] we went out there and proved exactly what he thought."
- John Wall as reported by Holly MacKenzie, for NBA.com
What is most disappointing is that this team with much less talent seemed to get this towards the end of last season. With essentially a collection of cast offs, young players and spare parts they were able to play with energy and enthusiasm and they were a joy to watch. There are many things that a team cannot control such as injuries, but you can control the amount of effort that you put forth.
Which brings us to what I believe is the elephant in the room. There are many elements of the game that can be taught, such as strategy, boxing out, proper spacing, etc, etc, etc. However there are also elements that cannot be taught such as desire, passion, competitiveness and fire. In many walks of life we have come across people who have the proper "resume," but they seem to lack the intangibles. Last season, Josh Howard (prior to his injury) and James Singleton demonstrated the intangibles. Currently, few of this current crop of Wizards players are demonstrating the intangibles, the intestinal fortitude, and heart.
Other thoughts/observations:
- Who on this team is tired of losing and is willing to put themselves out there to lead this team? Who is willing to be that player that others don't want to let down? Who is that player that will bite someone in the butt when they miss their assignment? This can't just be the coaching staff's responsibility; it must also be someone on the floor. John Wall? Kirk Hinrich? They are the captains. Gilbert Arenas? When there is a lack of leadership someone, even a rookie, must stand up to be accountable.
- Bright spots were few and far between but JaVale McGee finished with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Coming off the bench John Wall finished with19 points and 8 assists.
- Speaking of John Wall. Given that he is still recovering from an injury and his team was getting blown out, why was he still in the game late in the 4th?
- If Hamady N'Diaye can't see any playing time in a blowout loss, then it is time to either assign him to the NBADL or cut your losses. If I am not mistaken they only had 11 players available for last night's game and were down essentially to one true Center (JaVale McGee). If they are unable or unwilling to use him, then why not use the time to assign him to the NBADL to get him some playing time?
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I agree whole-heartedly with the statement that, “it [is] critical that the organization ensure that they play the right way … It is important that young players aren’t allowed to establish bad habits, like not boxing out, drifting up court before securing rebounds, not paying attention to detail on defense, generally playing as if they are uninterested, etc.” I put a lot of this loss on the coaching staff.
I don’t agree with the notion, however, that “there are also elements that cannot be taught such as desire, passion, competitiveness and fire,” by which I think you mean that some players are just lost causes. This is a BAD organization, and poor effort is not just a phenomenon from these players. We have seen it for decades, and when players arrive here, they start out like gangbusters (Josh Howard, Singleton, etc.), but then regress. It is up to the coaching staff and the GM to make clear that only guys who play like warriors are going to play. Period. Once that rule is firmly in place, most guys will develop desire, passion, etc.
Flip needs to show for the rest of this season that he can demand that. If not, he needs to go, and a taskmaster needs to be hired.
When I said, "there are also elements that cannot be taught such as desire, passion, competitiveness and fire," I was referring to the old (and often true) cliche that you can measure what is in a man’s heart. Every major sport evaluates talent often using things that you can measure or easily see – vertical, wingspan, sprint tests, etc. But what is often true in every sport is that the intangibles that I mentioned above which, in my opinion can’t be taught, can take an average player and make them good and a good player and make them great.
A coach may be able to weed out those that don’t seem to have those traits, but I am not sure if he can teach them. You can however hold people accountable for lack of effort and you can definitely teach people to play fundamental basketball.
The camp motto was “Back to Basics,” it seems like some on the team forgot that already.
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 2, 2010 10:15 AM EST up reply actions
I hear what you are saying, but I don’t agree. That is the traditional fan’s lament — “our guys have no heart.” The fact is, however, that you don’t make it to the NBA unless you work your ass off and are competitive.
Maybe you can understand what I’m saying with this example. Let’s say you are an incredibly hard-working person, and you move to a new job where most everyone is a slacker. You start off continuing to bust your butt every day, but after a while, you get tired of how no one else works hard, your incredible effort is not rewarded and others’ poor effort is not punished. You may still work hard, but you are going to take your foot off the accelerator a bit, if you know what I mean.
So, I’m not willing to conclude that if a player on the Wizards, a BAD organization, isn’t busting his butt every minute, it is because he doesn’t have desire or competitiveness. I don’t buy that. Environment has an influence.
by disgrunted on Dec 2, 2010 10:34 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
+1
Where’s Shane Battier when u need him…
Pride is better than wins in Washington. But bring us wins and we will immortalize you - Ask Mark Rypien
lol
Pride is better than wins in Washington. But bring us wins and we will immortalize you - Ask Mark Rypien
I'm with disgrunted
I’m getting so tired of Flip saying he can’t coach effort. That’s ridiculous. You can certainly inspire it.
I would agree that a coach can inspire effort. The coach can also reward or penalize players for effort. That was part of my point, but I also believe that you need to find those players who have demonstrated that they play with the type of effort that you desire. In every profession there are people who put out the minimum amount of effort required. Those that are truly special put out maximum effort virtually every time.
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 2, 2010 11:16 AM EST up reply actions
Yes, it is clear that what we are discussing is a very small percentage of our popultion that has the required skills to make it to the NBA. I am not questioning how hard they prepare – notice for example I did not call anyone lazy. What I am focused on is what seperates this group from their peers.
I do agree that environment has an influence, but I would also argue that a person with superior drive is less affected by others around him. I hear your point though, I think we are actually not that far apart. Given that this team does not seem to have players with “superior drive” then they are likely more affected by a culture of losing.
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 2, 2010 11:12 AM EST up reply actions
Very Good Comment, disgrunted
You get a Rec from me. Flip needs to establish an environment where good effort is rewarded and poor effort is punished. Until he does, he cannot expect anything other than what we witnessed last night.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
And that's the problem
He selectively punishes poor effort and mistakes. When Kirk Hinrich makes a mistake, he keeps him in, just because “he’s the veteran”, but he will give Nick Young the boot for the same mistake. Is this the same entitlement that he complained was the problem with last year’s team. I’m not saying Kirk is the only problem, or even a big problem, but you just can’t play favorites on this team. Put people in who want to win and who will give you maximum effort while playing smart no matter if they are a veteran or a rookie. This is a rebuilding team, there should be no allegiance to play certain players for a certain length of time. Let your team grow and learn.
by ThePGPhenomenon on Dec 2, 2010 12:52 PM EST up reply actions
Totally Agree w/ this
Flip needs consistency in his approach.
by DCPerspective on Dec 2, 2010 12:53 PM EST up reply actions
it should be noted
every mistake isn’t the same kind of mistake. guys are going to turn the ball over from time to time trying to make plays. you live with it. if someone is out of position of runs the wrong play or completely blows a rotation, that’s different.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 12:56 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
But
have you ever seen a player like Hinrich benched for a mistake like being out of position? Be honest do you really think that would happen? It seems like he is going to play Hinrich a certain amount of time regardless just like he did with Jamison and Butler last year.
by ThePGPhenomenon on Dec 2, 2010 12:58 PM EST up reply actions
i think flip did a pretty good job running AJ and caron out of town
and i do think flip would bench hinrich if he started blowing assignments.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 1:14 PM EST up reply actions
How did Flip run them out of town?
Did they see a reduction in their minute? Did McGee and Blatche outplay them and stole their minutes or was it a matter of the GM breaking the team up?
by ThePGPhenomenon on Dec 2, 2010 1:24 PM EST up reply actions
AJ walked all over Flip.
Publicly laughed off Flip’s coaching directives.
If Flip won’t bench Blatche, there is no way he’d bench Hinrich.
this is all subjective
but my instinct says flip would be more willing to bench hinrich if he deserved it, b/c hinrich could take the constructive criticism.
as for flip’s stance on blatche – like AJ in the past, blatche has earned the right, as one of our teams best players, to work it out on the court. also, flip benched him last year and it went really badly, so maybe he’s trying to take a positive stance and let blatche work through it. flip also doesn’t really have a viable alternative to play. i think it’s all those things. but, sadly, we might be getting to the point where flip has to change his tack and try something different.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 2:03 PM EST up reply actions
I honestly think this explains it
also, flip benched him last year and it went really badly, so maybe he’s trying to take a positive stance and let blatche work through it.
And I agree with this:
we might be getting to the point where flip has to change his tack and try something different.
picking up
On those… This may have been handled differently if Yi was available. Last night I felt we could have gone small with Al Thornton and Gee playing some 4. Most nights that’s not realistic. Otherwise, Flip doesn’t have much of a choice.
BUT… I’ve been saying since the preseason that the NBA schedule doesn’t allow for “working back” the way other sports do. Blatche needs time dedicated to Strengthening his legs so he can actually hold his ground in the post.
flip said a team of 50 year old men could score at will on those guys
you don’t think that’s going to expedite changes? and no, mcgee and blatche did not outplay them last year. AJ and blatche are both equally capable of putting up numbers on crappy teams.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 1:52 PM EST up reply actions
I Agree
every mistake isn’t the same kind of mistake. guys are going to turn the ball over from time to time trying to make plays. you live with it. if someone is out of position of runs the wrong play or completely blows a rotation, that’s different.
Hinrich makes mistakes like everybody else, but he at least gives maximum effort when he’s on the court. Guys like Young and Blatche decide to take plays off, and that’s inexcusable. That said, Flip needs to be called out for his failure to hold Blatche accountable for his lack of effort like he used to.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
Who gave max effort last night?
Mcgee, that’s pretty much it. All the starters dogged it, everybody. Flip even said so. That makes Friday the perfect time for Flip to show he means business and make a few changes, even if just temporary. Start Booker or Nick or Cartier. Sit Blatche, or Gil or KH….just do SOMETHING other than trot out the same group and hope for the best.
I'll Agree With You Here
That makes Friday the perfect time for Flip to show he means business and make a few changes, even if just temporary. Start Booker or Nick or Cartier. Sit Blatche, or Gil or KH….just do SOMETHING other than trot out the same group and hope for the best.
Flip needs to send a message soon, or he will get tuned out.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
flip can coach, obviously
but he was brought in when the team was thought to be ‘on the cusp’ of truly competing for a spot in the conference finals or semi-finals.
things have changed in a year in perhaps the most dramatic way possible. i think at this point you can make a case that an avery johnson or scott skiles type is more what this team needs.
"hindsight is 50-50" - Steve Spurrier
by little stevie colter on Dec 2, 2010 12:37 PM EST up reply actions
Where +/- Stats Lie
Notice our 2 bright spots had the worst +/- of the night.
Any word on Bean Buritto’s injury? He would have been another bright spot last night I think had he not gotten hurt.
shine like bald head, smoke trees call me log head
Good point. I hesitated talking about bright spots because in reality there weren’t any.
No, I haven’t seen any update on Nick yet. Let’s hope it is nothing serious as he was on a nice roll.
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 2, 2010 10:22 AM EST up reply actions
Seems like....
All the coaches in the DMV area got together to figure out how to be “just-under-mediocre-but-not-so-much-that-the-fans-KNOW-we’re-rebuilding”. When there’s blood in the water, follow the $
Pride is better than wins in Washington. But bring us wins and we will immortalize you - Ask Mark Rypien
Sure seems like we're pretty far below mediocre to me...
From the District of Columbia, home of the hyperbolic paraboloid transitional floating zone defense.
by mr. 91 on Dec 2, 2010 1:41 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think the players have quit
on Flip. They don’t believe in him. I know it’s early, but it’s troubling that a team with so many young, (presumably) energetic players with so much to prove would constantly be so flat and lackluster without an undelying reason. I think they know they are fighting an uphill battle with him as the coach and his decisions (lineups, substitutions, schemes) are bogus. My two cents.
How often do we run plays that involve a player getting the ball
as he cuts to the basket? It’s amazing when you watch other teams play how bread&butter that is for their offense, yet we rarely do it. Either Flip doesnt run his offense like that or are guards are consistently missing plays they should make. Or both.
I think it's on Flip.
Arenas and Hinrich are experienced PGs so I would think that if that is what Flip demanded of them, they would do it. Our offense and defense just look like crap. The offense is too perimeter oriented and our defense (especially that zone) is porous in the middle. I’m not expecting the Wiz to set the world on fire this season, but the blowouts are troubling.
Who?
I don’t disagree but who is the option inside? Blatche can’t hold his ground in the express line at Safeway right now.
I don’t agree that’s it simply rests on Flip. As a man you have a personal responsibility to your career. These aren’t NBA vets like San Antonio’s squad that suddenly threw in the towel one night. These are guys like AB, NY etc that have had issues with effort, consistency and defense in the past.
The organization has done a great job of bringing in scrappers and hustle players like Hinrich, Thornton, and Howard. They need to continue rewarding effort with PT.
The elephant in the room
Is that Wall and Arenas don’t mesh well together. In another month it may become pretty conclusive that they can’t really exist on the same team. That’s not to say that both players haven’t tried to get along or that Arenas hasn’t been just as much a mentor to Wall as Hinrich. I think the players get along fine. This is just a weak team that’s severely out of sync on the playing court, however good they may look in practice.
It may be time to actually blow the rest of this team up for real. It’s starting to look like neither Arenas nor Blatche is going to work out with Wall’s uptempo game. Or vice versa. Something’s got to give. As for Hinrich—please bring back Sean Livingstone.
After a game where the players exhibited such poor effort, I’m not sure today’s the day to criticize Hinrich. At least he hustles every second he’s out there, especially on the defensive end.
Kirk has played well this season
Don’t see why he gets so much hate
by zl on Dec 2, 2010 10:59 AM EST up reply actions
Because he's subpar yet plays 37mins/night.
Unlike AB, it’s not his fault, he just doesnt have THAT much to give.
isn't it more bc you love nick young?
do i sound like a broken record like this when i ride blatche? if so i need to cool it. (although lately i feel like i’ve been letting others do the talking for me)
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 11:36 AM EST up reply actions
1)yes you do
2) i “love” whichever players perform
Limited is probably better than subpar
I don’t mind Kirk playing 25 minutes a game, but he’s a liability playing many more minutes than that.
Though I suppose it's partially a roster construction issue
I also just don’t think he’s providing the kind of things this team really needs specifically, though I admit I’m comparing him to a more classic 3/D guy.
it's b/c gil and wall and thornton have been hurt
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 11:41 AM EST up reply actions
No, it's not that at all.
It’s that he’s not very good but Flip leans on him, soon his nickname should be Earl. KH was supposedly brought in for defense and leadership, neither quality has been on display. Not his fault at all, he is what he is. Not like there isnt 12,000 hours of film on the guy. It’s just another mistake by the GM
There's more than one type and style of leadership.
I think the Wiz knew exactly what they were getting. Since we have very little idea of what goes on behind the scenes, I don’t think you can say Kirk isn’t providing leadership.
If they brought him in expecting a fire up the team, get in people’s faces guy, then yeah – that would have been stupid.
And I already typed my thoughts on defense below.
Team was lazy in warmups apparently
And somehow knew they’d lose before the game even started? Seems like the moment some sort of leadership should have come into play?
Again, not blaming Hinrich at all for being who he is. But if you arent taking charge and leading last night, when you are a team capt, then when/how do you lead?
Grunfeld was delusional about a player he has admittedly coveted for years- the problems which stem from that are 110% EG/Flip’s fault and 0% Hinrich’s
You're assuming no one tried to lead
I suspect because your vision of the leadership that was needed was something more outwardly emotional. But there’s no guarantee ranting and raving would have worked either.
I don't hate Hinrich at all
He’d be a great role-player on a contending team. As a starter (sometimes at SF!!!??) on a youthful rebuilding team, he’s a drag-anchor. On top of which, it’s readily apparent now why Chicago was so anxious to part with him—his skills have diminished a lot. Most people here weren’t crazy about the deal that brought him, and he’s done nothing to change anyone’s mind except stay healthy and available.
The model for this team should be OKC. The Wizards need to assemble a squad of young greyhounds around John Wall. Either that or trade Wall and McGee and build the team around a half-court offense of Arenas, Blatche, and Hinrich. It’s either-or. Saunders has tried juggling the two team tendencies, and the result speaks for itself.
Kirk is never going to look great in a defense where the team concept isn't clicking
He’s generally fundamentally sound individually, but he’s smaller than the big guards and slower than the fast guards. He usually won’t get beat for lack of effort, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get beat.
What he excels at is knowing the team concept, where everyone is suppose to be and what they are suppose to be doing. In a team game, one of the easiest ways to look dumb is to go with the plan while someone else does not.
I suspect that Kirk is doing exactly what Flip asks him to do – because the other possibility is that Kirk is not doing what Flip wants and playing lousy, yet Flip is completely blind to it. And while Flip may not be perfect as a coach, I can see him choosing to play the guy trying to execute the team concept -even if not the best player – as a building block toward getting the other guys to play the team concept.
Flip is clearly blind to AB. No reason KH would be any different.
Effort and fundamentals are great, but when you cant check Jose Calderon there is no amount of team concept that will save you. Hinrich is an ok player and can fill a role, the problem is Flip plays him 35+ every night and has him dominating the ball pretty often. The negative results are on Flip 100% imho
I get you would do it differently
I just don’t think Flip is acting out of ignorance or some grand delusion about the players. They track the players and break down tape far more than we do.
Exactly
And taking it further, you need somebody like Kirk on the court to provide a reference point. With Kirk there, our young players get instant feedback on whether they’re doing it right. If their play complements his, then they’re probably doing it right.
Have you ever played a sport like doubles tennis? The best combination is when the partners both know the right way to play. But it is possible for a partnership that does things wrong to be pretty good, too, as long as they’re in sync with each other. If you have one partner who is doing it the right way and one doing it the wrong way, that’s always ugly. To reach the top, both players have to do it the right way, the wrong but in sync way just doesn’t cut it.
They definitely looked bad tonight
But they also only played nine minutes together tonight, and have played less than 100 minutes together on the season. The sample size is too small. Both sides knew that would take time.
The bigger issue is the interior D.
You may be right...
but I don’t think that we have seen enough to come to that conclusion. Now once they are on the floor together consistently we will see.
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 2, 2010 11:18 AM EST up reply actions
I don't wanna be right--
I wanted to be wrong all along—and I admit I was about Arenas’ attitude. After his early season tantrums I think he’s settled down and behaved like a solid pro. But the fact remains that he and Wall just aren’t complementary talents. I seriously doubt they ever can be. You could even argue that in a few key ways, they’re just too much alike. It’s like having two hottie wives on “Big Love”—sometimes, no matter how good it looks on TV, you just gotta choose between them…;)
We lost because we shot 46% and the Raptors shot 58%
Not because we didn’t have enough “heart” to win. I understand the argument that we let them shoot 58% because we didn’t put forth enough effort on defense, and that lack of effort is attributable to the character faults of our players, but saying we lost because we didn’t have heart seems a little ridiculous. We lost because we played bad basketball, and bad defense.
The Raptors shot 58% because we didn't get back on D
We didn’t get back on D because we didn’t have an effort and because Booker and McGee are undisciplined on the offensive boards. It’s nice to crash the offensive glass, but you have to recognize when you are out of position and have no hope to get the board. In those case, the correct decision is just to get back on D. McGee didn’t get back to help out on any fast breaks the entire game.
Now take it a step further...
why do you think we played bad basketball and bad defense?
The tired cliche “heart” just seems inadequate to me. As nate33 said, it could be attributable to just basic mistakes and poor technique.
by zl on Dec 2, 2010 11:01 AM EST up reply actions
Who was this directed at?
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 2, 2010 11:21 AM EST up reply actions
I agree
the team is very frustrating to watch right now. Blatche sadly I think is a sympton of whats wrong with this team. He looks terribly out of shape, doesn’t compete defensively doesn’t talk and shows zero leadership or inclination to do the things necessary for the team to win.
Hinrich is an ill fit on this team they don’t need him. He’s become Flip’s crutch the unspectacular do what the coach says to a T even if he makes no plays and holds onto the ball too long. He’s the crutch between an impulsive rookie (Wall) and an unpredictable (Arenas).
Thats whats throwing the chemistry off between Wall and Arenas.
Nick Young is scoring in bunches but he’s killing ball movement and needs to be called on it instead of encouraged with praise when he looks off open teammates and feels compelled every time he comes off the curl to fire away good shot or bad.
The team needs a young energetic coach who reinforces the positives and drives very hard on nights when the team has a throw in the towel mentality.
Cassell would be the better coach for this bunch.
Getting Howard back and to full strength will help as he’s a proven scorer and adds toughness but the overall direction of the team is wrong.
They need to be told the game is as much about attitude and toughness as much as execution.
Avery Johnson woulda been a much better hire than Flip as well. The team needs an identity change not a technical adjustments that Flip offers.
It's easy to blame the coach when a team is losing
But its also unfair. Flip is one of the best coaches in the NBA, and I think the incredible improvement in Young and McGee can be partially attributed to him.
by zl on Dec 2, 2010 11:05 AM EST up reply actions
Why did Young only play 12mins?
Was it injury? He went to the FT line 6x in just 12mins, and I will guarantee he plays better defense than KH or Gil.
by DCrez on Dec 2, 2010 11:16 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Let us not forget
Lester Hudson only got in at the end and showed he can hit shots. Something we needed and something I think we already know… I thought.
no
I give individual player improvement to the players themselves Young and Mcgee have worked on their games considerably. Nothing to do with Flip. I give team improvement to coaches and thus far the Wizards are not improving.
to be blown out by the lowly Raptors and not make 1 serious run in the whole game is pathetic, Thats a lack of preparedness and a coach who can’t motivate guys to get ready to play.
Not Overall
But he has one of the best offensive minds in the league
by Krobify on Dec 3, 2010 2:05 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I really don't care who is on the court
As long as they are giving full effort. Gee, Martin, Wall, McGee, Seraphin works for me. It’s time to bench Blatche. 7 day Dray is more like 7 dunks on me a game Dray.
by gilsix on Dec 2, 2010 11:01 AM EST via mobile reply actions
just want a moment of silence to reminisce
“The NBA record for most points in a single overtime period is 16 by Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas in December 2006.” – ESPN
oh how great things used to be..
That was his outing
against Kobe when we was “unconscious”….that was absolutely awesome
by Meraj Chowdhury on Dec 2, 2010 11:06 AM EST up reply actions
The laziness and ineptitude of this team isn't an indictment of building through the draft
If you draft players with attitude, focus, motivation problems such as Blatche, McGee, Young, and then they play with poor attitudes, lack of focus, and no effort, that’s not an indictment of youth, its an indictment of your drafting.
Ernie Grunfeld is notorious for loving project players, players who other teams pass on because they are viewed as late-bloomers or talented headcases. The fact that those players are not NBA-ready and/or lazy is a reflection of Grunfeld, not youth.
If this team moved from projects/redemption type players to drafting players that were more known quantities with strong work ethic, we would still have a mix of jackpots, as-expecteds, and busts but there would be fewer busts.
Turning the page on the Consistency Era and on morethesamewiz
by Emmet O'Neal on Dec 2, 2010 11:48 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Good Points
I would just add that it’s harder for young guys to learn how to play the right way when everybody out on the court is a clueless as they are. That doesn’t change who should get the blame, though, that’s still clearly Grunfeld.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
spot on
i could deal with one or two of those guys, but during the EG drafting era we’ve assembled a whole team of young guys who have issues upstairs and, worse, surrounded gilbert arenas with them. at some point ernie has to factor that into his decision making. i have a tough time paying money to watch blatche mail it in and young incapable of playing team basketball.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 11:51 AM EST up reply actions
You know, we're also completely failing to acknowledge they just came off a tough loss
I’m sure the players felt jobbed after the Miami game. Part of “growing up” is learning to let it go and move on to the next game, but it’s not easy to do.
sorry i take issue with the notion that we got jobbed in miami
a lot of the stuff we were doing in the miami game carried over to this one and we got blown out – again.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 12:14 PM EST up reply actions
i thought there were a handful of questionable calls
but that didn’t sway the game. we were down by over 20 with a couple minutes left.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 12:21 PM EST up reply actions
I don't think it would have necessarily made a difference in the outcome
That doesn’t mean you can’t have a sense of injustice over it.
i see your point, especially as a fan
but i simply find it very hard to believe that might have affected them. it’d be just as likely to get them angry and fired up as anything else.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 12:58 PM EST up reply actions
I totally agree that's the outcome you want
“Us against the world” is a million times better than “why bother.” I want them to be there. After this game, I think maybe they aren’t. Especially in a road game with no road wins yet. Or at least some of them aren’t.
i just think we're not very good and have a ton of room for improvement
there are basic things we aren’t doing effectively as a team right now. an off night against a team shooting the ball well magnifies it for sure.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 2:08 PM EST up reply actions
3 issues I see
1. One think that is glaring to me is that because of injury Wall and Arenas simply have not had a chance to actually share the floor and get any rhythm at all. 100 minutes together over 17 games is nothing to make any judgment over. Throw in the fact that there is no doubt Flip shows far more trust in Kirk than he probably should makes it very hard to see any development in our guards play. Unfortunately I think this is bad luck and bad timing on the injury’s so in that sense imo the jury is still out on our guards and whether they can run together.
2. Flip needs to treat these guys the same across the board. The difference in his carrot and stick approach to playing time approach to JM and AB is atrocious. I still have faith in AB but he needs to get in shape and step up his defense.
3. Naming Kirk and Wall Captains was a terrible mistake. Walls way to young to demand respect from these guys and Flip’s crush/reliance on Kirk takes any respect away he might generate. Lock them all in a room and let them decide who’s captain because as it stands I’d rather have Howard screaming at them from the bench than those 2 try and lead.
I'm all for consistency in team rules
I don’t think it works to treat different players the same as far as getting the best performance out of them. What works for some people is the worst possible tactic to take with others.
Flip seems to be soft on players who make more than he does.
As soon as AB got a raise, he moved into "vet’ status where I suppose Flip just makes suggestions to him rather than demands. Mcgee and Young are still eligible for the stick.
Brutal schedule for remaining 14 games of 2010
All the mediocre-crappy teams we play except Portland are either 1) road games (Suns, Nets) or 2) road games AND second game of back-to-backs after playing Lakers/Spurs night before (Rockets, Kings) or 3) teams that despite being mediocre/bad have the Wizards number (Bobcats)
We have no road® wins so this year
Blazers (8-10)
Suns (8-9)®
Lakers (13-6)®
Kings® (Second game of back-to-back)
Knicks (10-9)
Lakers
Nets®
Heat (11-8)
Bobcats (2-11 record vs them past 3 yrs)
Bulls (9-7)
Spurs®
Rockets® (Second game of back-to-back)
Pacers (9-8)
Pacers®
Turning the page on the Consistency Era and on morethesamewiz
Then comes January - which is worse than December
and February , the Wizards have 6 (count em, SIX) back-to-back games… and a really, really difficult schedule….
Which is why I picked them to finish with only 29 wins….
He's "delightfully cranky"
They'll be lucky to get 20
I have them down for 19. They’ll make the lottery again and either Grunfeld or Saunders or both will get cut loose.
Did Nick get hurt last night?
Not that more playing time for Nick would have changed much, but I think Flip took way to long to get him in the game. Playing Kirk the entire first quarter doesn’t add up to me. Since Nick’s shot was somewhat off on Monday Flip needed to get him in early and be keep the TR lead under 10. However, a minute into the 2nd we were already down by 12 and the game was already lost.
We would be lucky to get 3 wins from those games
I was watching Tim Duncan play last night. Sure he is old now but his fundamentals were a delight to see. Moving people out of the paint away from their comfort zone. What a revelation! Dray and McGee – please watch some of Timmy’s games.
by gilsix on Dec 2, 2010 12:38 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I was unable to watch most of the game but
In Michael Lee’s writeup this morning, he uses Wall’s the second John Wall quote from above, and an Andray Blatche quote that also talks about a lack of focus during warmups. This leadime to believe that he was one of the few Wizards players focused last night. After reading this post, and the NBA.com article that it cites, the absence of the Blatche quotes make it seem like he’s the one to blame.
Now I know Blatche was terrible last night, but was his poor play do to his usual bad decision making, or was he just not focused in warmups as well? What about Wall for that matter?
On a side note, it’s possible that Jason Whitlock was right (gasp!) when he attributed Chris Bosh’s effectiveness early in his career to the fact that:
“when visiting NBA players cross the Canadian border they put far more effort into acquiring condoms, loonies and a strip-club champagne room than their on-court assignments.”
oof. i hope not.
That was a great line by Whitlock. I don’t care what someone does off the court as long as it isn’t illegal and they are not hurting someone… but darn it lock in when you are on the court.
Follow me on twitter - @CJ_202SB
I can’t speak for the players, but there are a few things in Canada that are legal that aren’t in many parts of the US. Or so I’ve been told. hahaha
Follow me on twitter - @CJ_202SB
I think the Wiz need to know who their starting 5 are
They throw anyone and everyone out there to figure out who is what and what to do with them. oklahoma drafts a 4 knowing thats their 4. position by poisition. The Wiz draft and they don’t what they are. Wall, yes and Mcgee, but everyone else is thrown out there. Blatcher wanders around the court not knowing whether to facilitate or score. he doesn’t know what his role is. I blame grunfeld and saunders for being so haphazard about putting the team together. they traded everyone, but they didn’t replace them. Booker is clueless as am I as to exactly what he is. Is he a 3 or 4 , a starter a bench player? They act like they have a a starting 5 already, but they don’t because they traded them all. What did they draft Young for? whats his position? Is he a 2 or a 3? Does he know? then they have a need position and they squish this player into that position. like Yi. What is he? Is a 4? a 3? does anyone know what his role is?
by hambonejackson on Dec 2, 2010 5:27 PM EST up reply actions
In fact, i will go more
The same day they are trying to trade arenas leonosis calls him the future. You are either the future or you are the trading block. Arenas is the future until until he can be traded. Why is Hinrich out there? What about Howard? What is he? Trade bait? so they plan to play a hodge podge of vets until the right offer comes around so they can audition more players. Is this rebuilding? By the time this team rebuilds oklahoma will have 5 championships. They have Wall, Young, Booker, McGee- all 1st round picks. Now why aren’t they out there starting? Are they so deep they draft 1st round picks for their bench? Blatche is their only true 4. so lets get this team together and play them. Howard, Hinrich, Arenas, Gee, Martin, Yi are some bench players. Now a team.Lets see what they can do.
by hambonejackson on Dec 2, 2010 6:05 PM EST up reply actions
To answer your question (I think)
Blatche was essentially asleep on the defensive end. “Not focused” is an understatement.
by MR on Dec 2, 2010 4:08 PM EST up reply actions
He is lapse
He gets more of a pass on offense because he did score some. When you look at how he is getting his points though… all he could get on a soft TOR defense were fading jump shots.
I’m just a weekend warrior with a few extra pounds, but even I know when I get a soft defender on me. At one point GIlbert was trying to get him the ball. He stood (almost) straight up, put a forearm into the smaller defender and stood there. Now that he’s got his extension, I have to wonder if we will ever see the best Andray could be. He was never one to push himself to the limits to begin with.
Nice article CJ
Good point about N’Diaye…No reason for him not to be in the D-League. If he isn’t going to play in a blowout when one of our centers is suspended when is he going to play???
Thx. I would love to know why he can’t see any time in a blowout. The fourth quarter could be used to rotate him with Kevin Seraphin.
Follow me on twitter - @CJ_202SB
Missed the game also, but
My concern is the philosophy of the team. You have one proven scorer on a young and energetic team and what is your focus on? The conventional thinking is that it would be defense which is based more on energy and effort rather that a developed skill set. Establish cohesion as a defensive unit first while running basic sets on offense which can be executed at a high level. If you don’t defend, you don’t get minutes, simple as that. As a larger example, whenever championship teams lose in big games, a common concern is the level of defensive execution versus offense (ref Bryant, Kobe in last year’s finals). Teams like Phoenix in the past are a classic example of not paying close attention to the defensive side of the floor. I just don’t see the execution of team defense consistently with this team. In some ways it seems like Eddie Jordan all over again with just younger players and different offensive sets.
The loss all came down to two things,
PREPARATION and DISCIPLINE….These are the two things the Wiz can not seem to grasp the concept of. They will continue to be losers, no matter who they have on the roster, as long as they refuse to accept those two words to heart.
We'll probably win the next game.
The coaches will lay into them, they’ll come out focused, play their best game of the season. That’s just how it is with young people.
by mogoman on Dec 2, 2010 3:55 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Blazers
Blazers think we are a piece of cake they are on a losing streak but are happy to play us:
“In short, a random offense and an absolutely pathetic defense should allow an easy win for the Blazers no matter what else is going on”
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Dec 3, 2010 5:55 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah but they also want to trade for Hinrich
I imagine one or two people on this board would be OK with that.
by Elvin_is_my_Elvis on Dec 3, 2010 9:41 AM EST up reply actions
???????
Did Mcgee and Noah come out the same year ????
This is the first Wizards game I have actually watched this season...
I am in visting from Warsaw, where I follow the team purely on ESPN.com and the blogs unless they are playing in one of the two weekly NBA games I get on Canal Plus.
I have tickets to see the team play in LA and here against the Knicks over the next ten days.
I sincerely hope I see a great deal more intensity and effort on defense than I watched the team display yesterday in Toronto.
How can you have so little pride in your work to let an opponent rip through you like s#%t through a goose for the full 48 minutes? That was, in one word, PATHETIC.
Jeez.
No pride, pathetic
Don’t worry. You will get used to that watching the Wiz. Its what the team is known for and that is why we love them: like that mangy dog walking down the street in a rain storm. kind of lost and stupid looking because it doesn’t get out of traffic and the one car that stops to pick up the dog is usually a Wizard fan.
by hambonejackson on Dec 2, 2010 4:50 PM EST up reply actions
Sad but true
It never really felt right when they were making the playoffs….. :)
it says a lot when khrabb goes negative
rarely happens
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 2, 2010 5:18 PM EST up reply actions
LOL... the scales have fallen from my eyes.
Silver linings:
At least Dan Snyder isn’t the owner.
At least we have Wall and McGee.
Actually
I think its Grunfeld and Saunders in the car.I am now a one note poster. Oklahoma put together 5 players throught the draft. each player was drafted to play a specific position. they now have a team. the Wiz can’t seem to put 5 players together and call that a team. I am like this because I cannot tolerate the thought of 65 games more of this. I think this team should put Wall, Young, Booker, Blatche and McGee as their starting 5. All of them are 1st round picks. Lets just start that team and call that the team that is the beginning of the rebuilding process. They drafted them now lets start them. If they do not work out then lets replace them. I don’t know why they draft these players. do they know? Or are they forever trying out new players to see what they can do. How long does this go on for? What did they draft up for Booker for? How can Oklahoma draft 5 guys and stick them on the floor and this team doesn’t know who is starting avery night. Do they have any faith in their ability to draft? How many draft picks do they nedd/ how many years? I am sick of this with Saunders of Grunfeld. This team has no organization. No players with the exception of Wall and McGee that seem to be locked into their position. Blatche doesn’t know what he is and its not his fault. They need to give a specific role. he stands around and takes bad shots because he doesn’t know whether he should shoot or pass. he plays hard but he is clearly lost out there this season and they have to end this. I am going to now. For now on I am only going to advocate that if you draft players in the 1st round and they can play specific positions, put them at that position unless injury forces otherwise.
by hambonejackson on Dec 2, 2010 6:22 PM EST up reply actions
I highly doubt Booker can play SF effective.
He needs to work more on his ballhandling.
by Krobify on Dec 3, 2010 2:00 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
sad as it sounds
they will play hard in those games because of the stage they are on, not because it is who they are.
They play hard without purpose
They are a totally disorganized team and the reason they are so disorganized is the way they handle their draft picks. They draft them and them start them. bench them. move them from position to position. In the time its taken the Wiz to solidify 2 positions, oklahoma has solidified 5 positions and are a playoff team. Why? Because they need a position filled they for that position. Thats how they managed to build a team. this team drafts a player and then try to figure it out what he is later. No one knows what they are or wheat there role is. Its the continoius Wiz audition.Lets see what he can do and see if we can make him do something else. They need to do what Oklahoma does. take your 5 draft picks, put them into the position they were drafted for and keep him there.
by hambonejackson on Dec 2, 2010 7:07 PM EST up reply actions
I look forward
to the next 65 games this season.
hmmmmm just thinking
We need a hustle guy like varejao to show the young team how its done him next to mcgee would be nice honestly and this is just my opinion blatche is kwame brown all over again honestly sitting here thinking bout it LOL they are the complete opposite kwame had hustle no talent and drey has talent no hustle ouch put them together you got kevin garnet LOL just kidding
Very confused
What was everyone expecting this year? Many people forecast this team to be historically bad.
Our #1 pick is 19 years old. He was FIVE when the Wizards got Webber. This is going to take a while.
Last year moves were made before the season with the expectation we would contend. It didn’t work out. The roster got blown up. We were stuck with Gil. Then we lucked the f*** out into a #1 pick. I’m not a Grunnie fan but he can’t work miracles.
We now have a 19 year old PG, maybe the most athletic player ever at the position, averaging 9 assists a game. We have 22 year old C, legit 7 feet, athletic as hell, averaging what, 10,9, and 3? Beyond that I’m happy to muddle through this year and grab another lottery pick and keep reworking the roster.
After following this team for 25 years I’m ecstatic.
by the way
This is not in response to the article, but to the comments.
The article is excellent reporting on the game. I just don’t feel the angst of everyone else I guess.
i hope we get a pf in the draft
My reason being is that blatche is the 2nd longest tenure wizard granted he still is young but he’s been round the the game long enough to know effort and defense will take you a long way in the nba but to me he comes off as a showoff spoiled brat that gets offended when someone constructively criticizes his effort in getting down in the paint working for rebounds and scoring position consistently his work ethic has been in question since he’s been here before the rebuilding and to think to have a pf like jamison even though he was knockd for being soft but he gave effort and was known as mr.consistent he would learn a thing or too so i dont blame flip for the effort being shown in his team i blame him for keeping this log out on the floor getting in everybodys way i say PUT YOUR GAME WHERE YOUR SELF PROCLAIMED 7 DAY HYPE IS and play ball or just do what you did last year dont even get in the game.
Didn't we just get 2 power forwards in the draft?
I’d prefer a dead-eye shooter to give Wall some room to move. I don’t know if any of those exist, but I’m just sayin.
yea but honestly that draft was weak
nah its time to step up the defense seraphin is a project who’s held in contempt and booker is solid but is honestly a backup bruiser off the bench im talkin about a quality starting PF that wall can throw to down to in the paint alah rajon rondo to kg or pau gasol or even stoudemire because what that does is it stretches the space for the wing players gives wall more room to operate and get open looks for your sharp shooter i prefer a pf i mean look how flip turnd nick young in to the shooter he is again folks its just my public opinion
My thoughts on the game last night...
The first word that comes to mind is EMBARRASSING! Last night was easily the worst loss of the year. The Orlando game was definitely up there, but granted that was the first game and on the road against one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. This game was inexcusable against a team (Toronto) that is no better than the Wizards. Washington made Toronto look like the best team in the NBA. Washington made Weems, Bargnani, DeRozan, Calderon, Barbosa, Bayless, and even Davis look like all stars. There were so many things that made this loss worst than what it really should have been.
IMO, everything went downhill when John Wall entered the lineup and we went to a two POINT GUARD lineup. Kirk Hinrich and John Wall are not a good fit together on the court at the same time. I think that they COULD be a very solid backcourt defensively, but I just don’t think that their offense together is good enough together to outscore teams when they are on the court at the same time. I believe that John Wall is better when he has a pure scorer/a person able to score in one on one situations around him (such as Gilbert or Nick Young) as he looks more to distribute the ball than he looks to score, as it is the opposite for Kirk as he looks to score more than he dishes the ball. I think it would be better served for Kirk being our six man. I do take a little away from Flip because the team has been plagued with injures limiting players for the right rotations of players, but we still should not be getting crushed to teams like Toronto.
Another huge problem for last night’s loss is Washington’s inability to defend the pick and roll. I’m not sure if I was the only person to see that all on ball defenders were trying to send the ball handler away from the screen by over playing the ball side that the screen is coming from. This not only allowed for the offensive player to score on wide open lanes to the basket for easy lay ups/jump shots, but it got our defense all out of whack when they reversed the ball and it ALWAYS left a person wide open for a 15 foot shot or an easy dunk as Washington players scrambled to find a player to guard after doubling the ball handler. I’m not sure who told them to defend the pick and roll that way, but it needs to go and we need to just go back to fighting over the screens or going under depending the offensive players abilities to shoot the outside shot or not. IMO, it did not look like Flip tried to make any adjustments throughout the game. I believe that Flip is a great coach at developing players, but to me he does not seem like a good in game coach that makes adjustments accordingly (I say that also because I attended the Washington vs. Memphis game the other week and when Thabeet came into the game, I thought we should have gone to the pick and roll game with Gilbert and whoever Thabeet was guarding every time down the court. He could not guard the pick and roll to save his life and we only did it one or two times and we scored easily).
Another thing that I do not understand is why Kirk gets all the minutes that he does. What does he do so great that Nick Young can’t see the floor more than 12 minutes??
Another problem about last night was Blatche’s defense. (If you go to NBA.com and watch the highlights from the game, there were so many plays that they showed of Toronto that involved Blatche being torn apart on defense. The worst one was when Toronto was on a fast break and Andray was already down the court, but instead of paying attention he was too busy looking into the crowd. You can sort of see him looking into the crowd and turning his head at the last second before it was too late as the streaking player down the side dunked the ball. It kills me because I believe Blatche can be a 20 points 10 rebound guy that can eventually make an appearance in some all star games, but he will never get to that if his defense doesn’t improve. I still believe that he is trying to recover from his broken foot; I don’t think the foot is a problem, I think that he is a bit overweight and that he is still trying to lose those pounds he gained from sitting around at that time. He plays great in the first quarter, but when we see the terrible Andray it’s in the later stages of the game where I think it’s he’s just not in game form to be playing the entire game.
Another thing about last night’s loss was the poor refs. I played basketball before and I know you can’t blame refs for losing you games, but they were pathetic last night. At Toronto’s offensive end they called some ticky tack fouls on our players and it was being called the complete opposite at Washington’s offensive end as they called that terrible call on John Wall for his clean block on Weems (I think it was).
It’s our job to criticize players when we lose games.We are volunteers.We are Bullets fans forever.
Blatche seems like a really nice guy 24/7.
But…Dunk in your face and intimidate the opponent is probably a more effective attitude.
He has great talent but his laid back style is exactly what we don’t need as our starting power forward.20 minutes a game off the bench…I could see it.I like him and feel bad being critical but his lack of defensive intensity is smacking us in the face.(In my opinion)
by g zeller on Dec 2, 2010 7:59 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Your point on N'Diaye
I’m not exactly sure why he’s not getting any minutes, especially given the situation last game. I’m no expert but it seems like the Wizards don’t do a great job of developing talent. At least throw the guy in for a few minutes and see what he gives you. Wasn’t he the Big East DPOY? And isn’t this team’s main weakness on defense?
There are many that believe he is raw… and I agree. However, particularly yesterday’s game the 4th quarter was pure garbage time. There is no reason to not play him particularly since there was one other Center on the active roster. Figure out what he can do or assign him to the NBADL this month. I understand that Ernie wants flexibility and may need to move or cut him before January, but in the interim do something with him.
Follow me on twitter - @CJ_202SB
Thats what i mean
And if you say raw, Seraphin? He looked like he never played ball at times in the preseason but he is getting some chances. N’Diaye might be more polished than he is. I guess Seraphin is more physical at a time when the team lacks physicality completely. I agree though, a decision needs to be made either way, sitting on the bench of a rebuilding team helps no parties involved.
what you think ?
what if(inner thought) washington gave sac-town this yrs 1st and andray for PF cousins since they have been bumping heads i know im just dreaming but thats the kind of guy we need youth,attitude,and big body im just saying
That would be awesome!
But it will never happen
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Dec 3, 2010 7:32 AM EST up reply actions
I have a hard enough time dealing with the current headcases on this team
Can we not add the evolutionary Sheed, please? Thanks.
I have a trade proposal
I live in Hawaii so my posts come late. Drafting Booker has always troubled me until tonight. What if the wizdidn’t draft him to be with the team, but are using him as a trade piece? Suppose Miami dcide the James and Wade cannot succeed together? The trade is simple: Arenas, Blatche and Booker for Wade and Haslem. Blatche always played better at the 5 that the4. Arenas takes over for Wade and Booker is a young Haslem. Wade moves to the 2 which would explain Young going to the 3. Haslem takes over the 4 until Seraphin develops. Financially its not undoable.Basically, the Wiz are handing wall wade.
That is ridiculous :P
And it wil never happen also
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Dec 3, 2010 7:33 AM EST up reply actions
I must disagree
Blatche plays better at the 4 rather than the 5. He’s not a center.
And Riley would end up choking him out
The Heat are soft enough as is.
I think Blatche hurts this team with the way he plays
Its more of a matter of fit. How does Blatche driving the ball a fit into this team ? or even his jump shooting?
by hambonejackson on Dec 6, 2010 1:28 AM EST up reply actions
I swear I put more energy into setting my DVR and watching this game than the players put into playing it.
And my Wed night pickup game had FAR better defense on display.
by MR on Dec 3, 2010 10:15 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Hilarious
And so true. So sadly true. And I have an easy DVR to program.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
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