Keys To The Palace: Young, Hinrich Step Up In Arenas' Absence
by Jake Whitacre on Dec 21, 2010 1:01 PM EST
in Keys To The Palace
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The post-Gilbert Arenas has gotten off to a good start, with a narrow loss to the Heat and the Wizards' first victory by over 20 points since February 2008.
Of course, if you know anything about Wizards basketball, this shouldn't come as a shock to you, since almost every era gets off to a good start in Washington. The Flip Saunders era got off to a good start. The Josh Howard era got off to a good start. The Alonzo Gee era got off to a good start. The Earl Boykins era got off to a GREAT start. The Ed Tapscott era got off to a good start. Most of the Gilbert Arenas post-surgery eras got off to good starts too. The only era that seemed to get off to a bad start around here was the John Wall era.
So as we move forward, don't be surprised when the Wizards return to losing games the same way they have over the past few years. But until then, let's appreciate who has stepped up in the void created by the Gilbert Arenas trade.
Keys To The Palace
| Player | Week 8 PER | Week 7 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Young | 16.9 | 16.8 | 0.1 | With John Wall out and Gilbert Arenas on the move, Nick Young had to take on the role of primary scorer this week. He knew he had to take it to the rim more this week without those two around to create open looks. He came through with some very complete scoring performances throughout the week, getting to the rim and the stripe better than he has all season, which the team will need moving forward. And if he can keep making plays like this, we just might have to revive Monumental Air. |
| Kirk Hinrich | 12.9 | 13 | -0.1 | Kirk Hinrich took 50 shots this week, which is never a good sign, but it's what has to be done when Wall and Arenas are out of the lineup. He did everything you could ask, given the situation, racking up two double-doubles, hitting the boards, coming up with 8 steals and playing all but six seconds against the Heat. |
| Josh Howard | 12.5 | N/A | N/A | In his six games as a Wizard, Howard has only posted a negative plus/minus in one game. With that said, we must remember a big part of his success so far has been riding the momentum from the Caron/Antawn trades when he first arrived and now the Gilbert Arenas trade. Can he still have a galvanizing effect on the team when the energy leaves the building? Can he avoid becoming part of the problem when things go wrong? We'll see this week. |
Guest Passes
| Player | Week 8 PER | Week 7 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Seraphin | 8.2 | 4.5 | 3.7 | Physciality has been an area where the Wizards have struggled for quite some time, so it's encouraging to see Seraphin continuing to earn playing time by doing the dirty work. He continued to destroy the glass this week, snagging 13 rebounds in 24 minutes of playing time this week. That, and his rock-solid picks have helped him carve out a niche in the rotation. |
| Al Thornton | 11.3 | 10.4 | 0.9 | Thornton's big game against the Kings last week carried over, as he hit double-digits in all four games. His rebounding is still down from where it was at the beginning of the season, but at least now he's giving himself a chance to compete for some playing time at a position that's now logjammed with Josh Howard and Rashard Lewis. |
| Trevor Booker | 13.1 | 12.5 | 0.6 | Booker's shooting touch is still coming along, but it was encouraging to see him make more trips to the foul line this week. Coming into the week, he's only attempted 16 free throw attempts. This week, he got to the line for 13 attempts and made 12. Until he gets more comfortable making that mid-range jumper, he's going to have to get to the stripe to be an effective scorer. |
| Andray Blatche | 14.9 | 14.5 | 0.4 | Blatche's 20 & 12 in the first game back from injury against the Heat was encouraging, but he needed 21 shots to get there. Against Charlotte, his efficiency improved, but it's still not where it should be for someone who needs to be a big part of the offense, especially now that Arenas is gone. |
| Lester Hudson | 5.7 | N/A | N/A | Where was that Lester Hudson at the start of the season? He scored 8, and chipped in 6 assists and 3 steals in 17 minutes against the Bobcats in his return to the roster on Monday night. A lethargic Bobcats defense undoubtedly helped Hudson pad those stats, but it's still a step in the right direction. |
| Hilton Armstrong | 7.9 | 9.7 | -1.8 | Not gonna lie, I was tempted to put Armstrong in the Palace based solely on his Dream Shake against the Nets, but considering that move made up nearly one-fifth of his scoring this week, he'll have to settle for a guest pass. |
Locked Out
| Player | Week 8 PER | Week 7 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JaVale McGee | 18.5 | 19.3 | -0.8 | Outside of his stunning highlights, McGee's game lacks depth. Apparently, his game also lacks depth perception. |
| Cartier Martin | 13.2 | 14.7 | -1.5 | It becomes more and more clear with each week that Flip Saunders role for Martin is to come in for a few minutes, take a few threes and hope he makes enough to make his outing worthwhile. That means the only way to really evaluate his performance is check his shooting numbers, and this week, they weren't good. He only connected on 3 of his 12 shots and missed out on some chances to help the team keep pace against the Lakers, where he only went 2-6 beyond the arc. |
NOTE: Rashard Lewis, Hamady Ndiaye and Yi Jianlian were left off this week's Keys to the Palace since they did not play enough this week in order to be evaluated properly. John Wall was excluded due to injury. Gilbert Arenas was excluded because he's on the Magic now, as you may have heard.
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Comments
Obviously Gilbert leavng killed us
Our three best players have dropped in production. Obviously. (I don’t know if I made the sarcasm noticeable enough)
Editor at Baltimore Beatdown - SB Nation Baltimore Ravens Blog
we already knew that from the Big 3 Era though
Arenas being hurt had zero negative effect on the production of AJ and CB.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 1:54 PM EST up reply actions
Actually to my eye,
neither of them was as efficient without Gil in the lineup. They had to shoot more to compensate for his absence, but they also had to work harder for their shots because opposing defenses didn’t have to worry about him.
well CB posted the 2 best shooting percentages of his career in years without Arenas
and AJ’s numbers were in line with his career numbers and he posted his highest TS% as a Wizard without Arenas. So what you think you saw never manifested in their shooting numbers. Basically your saying they shot at a higher(more efficient) percentage but it was harder for them to do it?!?!? I’d follow you if they’re percentages dropped but they didn’t. Also CB’s shots per game stayed pretty much the same(.8 more) while AJ’s kicked up about 1.5 so there isn’t much example of them shooting more unless you count them shooting about 2 more shots total between them significant. I think this is one of those things where people assume something happened but the facts don’t support it.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/butleca01.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamisan01.html
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 5:20 PM EST up reply actions
Still optimistic here
McGee and Young will continue to improve, and will be in the top 10 in their positions by the end of the year.
Wall will be a great point guard, probably top 5 by the end of this year.
Howard and Lewis are former all-stars.
And, of course, Flip is a great coach.
Why can’t this team win at least 50% of the remaining games?
Way optimistic
Because if all those things were true/came to pass by the end of the year, then we should do better than win 50% of our remaining games.
I think we could be playing .500 ball right now if the whole team played their hardest for 48 minutes every night out, and concentrated only on playing defense with their feet, rebounding the ball, and valuing every possession.
Improvements in McGee, Young, and Wall would be a bonus on top of that, and conversely, wouldn’t mean much without such a sustained/renewed commitment to defense and rebounding.
"Jesus got a sweet jumper!"
I'd Be Happy With That
I think we could be playing .500 ball right now if the whole team played their hardest for 48 minutes every night out, and concentrated only on playing defense with their feet, rebounding the ball, and valuing every possession.
"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
With Arenas gone....
…who is not committed to D? It seems Dray might be the last hold out. If he doesn’t put forth the effort, I’d start Lewis at the 4.
Of course, McGee needs coaching on D, but at least his rebounding is improving.
This is a whole new team, particularly when Wall suits up.
To answer Rook’s question, I expect the team to be better than average in 20 games.
Call me optimistic, but we’ll see.
Your question
What did you expect?
That will make the Wizard wall of fame, one day.
Well
I do think you’re optimistic….
I see they MIGHT be able to win another game in December (at home against Indiana is a possibility)… That will put them at 8-23
Early January has a stretch where they could win 4 or 5 games, including a couple road games:
New Orleans
@ Philadelphia
New Jersey
@ Charlotte
Sacramento
@ Minnesota
Toronto
But then, it’s all Playoff teams, all the time until mid February , when they play AT Cleveland and AT Philadelphia – which, in my opinion, are the only winnable games in February….
That leaves the Wiz with a 15-45 record at the end of February… By that time, the team should be a bit better.. more experienced….
The schedule gets much easier too- with maybe 14 or 15 winnable games the last month and a half of the season….
They will end up with 29 wins – and a lottery pick…. as one of the worst records in the League (along with Minnesota, the Clippers, Sacramento, Golden State and New Jersey)…. I’m hoping for a top 5 pick…
He's "delightfully cranky"
As usual, your keys don't make sense--
Blatche’s return was one the main reasons for two fine games in a row. Not only did he play excellent defense, but except for a pair of bad mental lapses at the end of the Heat game, provided leadership. He gets a “key”.
Armstrong played a monster game against Miami during McGee’s disappearing act. For that alone he deserves a “guest pass”.
20 points on 21 shots doesn't get you a key
Neither does all the boneheaded stuff that lost the game.
My client, AB
Thinks you are a bit harsh. AB was not alone in losing the Miami game.That was a team effort. True, he isn’t shooting well. However, he played some pretty good defense on Bosh and he creates opportunities with his passing that leads to trips to the foul land for his team mates.
Yeah he wasn't horrendous
You’re right, he did some good things. I’m just saying he doesn’t deserve a key yet. A guest pass seems appropriate.
Agreed....
Need his points… and he got to the line 15 times in 2 games, which is great… but his 48% True Shooting percentage shows why he didn’t get a key…. That’s not nearly efficient enough for a Power Forward….
He's "delightfully cranky"
Yeah and that's all fine and good, but it doesn't pass the eyeball test.
The offense looked much better with him than without him. It can’t all be attributed to his presence/absence, but just consider the fact that Dray routinely scores in double digits or close to it in the first quarter. That helps get the offense going.
Agreed on Armstrong
I meant to put him in the Guest Passes. I’ll fix that.
On Blatche we’ll have to agree to disagree. He is one of the big reasons why the Wizards did better against Miami and Charlotte, and I was impressed that he didn’t need a game to shake the rust off. I just think he was a shade below key-worthy this week, but I can see the case for giving him a key as well.
by Jake Whitacre on Dec 21, 2010 4:51 PM EST up reply actions
new beginnings
the constant rip job of Mcgee is puzzling.
He had 4 blocks against the heat with 10 boards, he got 10 points with 5 blocks in last nights win thats production and detterence at the rim thats valuable to any team.
sure he’s had lapses and made some questionable in game deicisions but he’s given the Wizards a shot blocking presence the only one on the team watching teams guards actually change shots when driving has been encouraging.
Blatche was mostly responsible for the heat almost win and last night agaionst the hornets he was a real focus of the offense away from Young.
speaking of Young he’s fools gold. He’s a blackhole who will cost the Wizards more games when his fga’s go down with the inserttion of Lewis occurs . He needs fga’s to find a rhthm becuae he doesn;t help his teammates by actually passing to them when they are open this can’t be real good for team morale. I found it funny that Thornton commented on the team being more unselfish when he himself is a blackhole I was guessing he was referring to Young and his forays.
as for Hinrich he cost us the Heat game with stupid decisions and missed free throws. He had costly to’s which Ithought were the result of fatigue but his missed free throw and running to the ball and driving at the teeth of the defense instead of pulling up are just dumb decisions.
I think less Hinrich is more Wall has to get healthy soon or Hinrich is gonna hurt the team nothing hurts the team more then when he’s just holding the ball dribbling as the clock is running down.
I just pray when Wall returns we make Young the starter at 2 and bring Hinrich off the bench and play a more traditional line up.
not certain Howard deserves the key to anything with the choke job he did at the line against the Heat for all the angst vets and coaches give the younger Wizards it was the vets who coughed up the game in the Heat debacle Howard, Hinrich and Young.
Howard is better than Thornton and he’s in position to make the right play alot of times I just hope he doesn’t feel comp[elled to fall into a bad shot selection mode and contribute to the growing sense of selfish play I see preculating within the teams ranks,.
Wall needs to come back quick his energy spirit of unselfish passing I think could be key to this team moving forward.
I think less Hinrich is more Wall has to get healthy soon or Hinrich is gonna hurt the team nothing hurts the team more then when he’s just holding the ball dribbling as the clock is running down.
You think less Hinrich is more Wall?
or did you mean
You think less Hinrich is more Wall has to get healthy?
Eats shoots and leaves…… look it up on Amazon. Use it.
He's "delightfully cranky"
the constant rip job of Mcgee is puzzling.
I like McGee. He’s still doing a solid job, and like you said, his presence around the rim is valuable. The biggest problem for me with him right now is that he’s trying to make these super highlights while not addressing that his performance has fallen off from last month.
I would be willing to give him a pass if it was just a matter of his back still not being right after that fall he took posterizing Elton Brand. But if that’s the case, he shouldn’t be trying to jump from the free throw line either.
by Jake Whitacre on Dec 21, 2010 4:48 PM EST up reply actions
I agree.
He’s progressing, and he’s come a long way since last season, to be sure, but the reason people are so hard on him is that he has amazing potential. I’m still looking for next year to be his breakout year. This year is OJT, in my opinion.
For the Record
I am the biggest Javale McGee basher on this board and I haven’t criticized his play at all over the past two games.
Now that I’ve said that, let me proceed to bash him. Remember when Javale came down with a long rebound in the 4th quarter of the Heat game, with the score very tight, and then decided to bounce pass the ball towards an invisible teammate? That would have been hilarious had it not been so very sad. To Javale’s credit, though, he did scream at himself the moment the ball left his hands.
"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
Strange
that you would bash a 22 year old, 7 foot center who is averaging 10, 8, and 3 and plays with energy every night. Yes, he makes a lot of boneheaded plays but you have to be blind to not see his steady improvement. He had, what, one year of college ball? He is going to have a long and productive career.
by edubz on Dec 21, 2010 9:46 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I think the annoyance comes from the fact
that he keeps repeating the same mistakes, despite everyone and their mother calling him out on it. How many times does he need to be told that he SHOULD NOT take it down the floor? Yet he does it every game.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
You mean Javales mother calling him out
by hambonejackson on Dec 21, 2010 10:44 PM EST up reply actions
Exactly.
Everyone and HIS mother, lol
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Dec 21, 2010 11:32 PM EST up reply actions
My Bashing Has Evolved
I used to bash him out of shear frustration, but now I do it mostly tongue-in-cheek. Yes, I have always acknowledged his physical gifts, his talent, and his potential. What I complain about (and complained about in the past) is his boneheaded plays and his boneheaded insistence on repeating the same boneheaded plays over and over again, as Sean pointed out above. But I will admit that nowadays he often contributes more to this team than he takes away, on most nights.
But I still reserve the right to make fun of him when he does really stupid things, like pass to teammates who aren’t there, attempt a finger roll from 8 feet away from the basket, or attempt a dunk from the foul line while losing control of the basketball. His talent and potential doesn’t negate the stupidity of such plays.
"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
....
hinrich was fouled on that last drive…even the guys on nba.com who do the recaps suggested so much…he didnt get the call, if he had would you have called him a hero…?
I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!
U see, Gilbert is gone and everyone steps up and improves. So why did u guys waste your time honoring such a knucklehead in the first place, idk.
by Jeffrey Thompson on Dec 21, 2010 3:01 PM EST reply actions
Are you a Wizards fan? Did you live in D.C.?
If the answer is no, I’d suggest sitting around and being more respectful.
There's a point to be made that the Cloud of Arenas was affecting team performance
And I can respect someone arguing that – the stretch to where an entire day of tributes before we collectively moved on was a waste of time does grind my gears.
To Mike and the rest of BulletsForever
the vast majority of us really appreciated the effort you put into yesterday. I know it brought up a ton of fond memories personally.
Start the rebuilding process, FIRE GRUNFELD!
by forthepeople on Dec 21, 2010 3:39 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I second that...
The Arenas Tribute Day almost gave me closure on seeing my favorite player leave my favorite team…Thanks guys!
I third that
Arenas is the reason many became fans and the reason many who were already fans became so invested. He is to a large extent what has made the Wizards fan community what it is. That should not be swept under the rug because of the events of the past season and his less than ideal departure. Mike and the rest of the contributors hard work on the Gilbert Arenas tribute was a service to all of us who care about this team. I for one have read and expect I will reread the posts from yesterday. Thank you again for doing that for us.
by Emmet O'Neal on Dec 21, 2010 11:22 PM EST up reply actions
He is to a large extent what has made the Wizards fan community what it is.
Let’s also not overstate things. Lots of tickets and jerseys were sold before Arenas got here.
by MR on Dec 22, 2010 6:49 AM EST up reply actions
- - As a Wizards fan, I don’t think I “wasted” my time honoring one of the best players in Franchise history.
- - You want to bash Gilbert Arenas – go to the Orlando blog… He is on their team now.
#3. – The guy lives in Canada….. Now, I don’t want to disparage Canadians – but he’s NOT from DC, or the DC area.
#4. – Since he lives in Canada – and has only just signed up on BF recently (not very many posts, that’s for sure) – it makes it seem like he’s trolling…. And if there’s one thing I hate worse than an outsider criticizing our team or players – it’s a troll.
He's "delightfully cranky"
Actually I did live in DC and I’m surprise u do as I know that folks in DC would eat your sorry behind alive. So I got 2 letters for your Wizard boot licking, arenas a** kissing behind— F and U with a lovely little birdie in the middle. Schmuck!!!!!!
by Jeffrey Thompson on Dec 21, 2010 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
What Were the Magic Words?
Just for reference sake. He didn’t curse at all. Not that I think he didn’t deserve banishment; I’m just curious. I’m assuming it was for the confrontational nature of the post.
"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
Let’s face it cuppettcj
You and I have had some pretty heated arguments – but we respect each other.
I’ve never called you a schmuck – nor have I insulted your intelligence, fandom, or manhood… And you’ve reciprocated with intelligent, thoughtful posts that have merit and deserve consideration.
One of the nice things about BF, as opposed to some other places you can talk about Wizards basketball online ( cough* insider *cough ), is that we can disagree here without being mean. We can argue, without being confrontational. We can discuss issues, without throwing sticks and stones.
Mike will give a poster a chance (just as he gave this person a chance)…. but if that poster decides to throw it back in our collective faces…. well…….. so long… I guess we’ll see you on insider…….
He's "delightfully cranky"
He told Rook to F off
That’s a no no here. No matter what.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
True
I do enjoy the visual of someone riding off into the sunset flipping the bird to the editors.
The artist formerly known as ledellforlife.
Check out the history of the Colts blog...
There’s a gypsy band of banned Colts fans that traipse to every opponent’s site to talk the game because of some huge falling out and flame war with Big Blue Shoe
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Dec 21, 2010 11:41 PM EST up reply actions
Your mother was a hamster!
Couldn’t resist a Monty Python reference..
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Dec 21, 2010 11:43 PM EST up reply actions
Any chance you are mae.jude's better-spelling Canadian brother?
If so, say hi to him for me.
Nice to see Nick's efforts rewarded with a Key
AND -he’s got a jump start on this week’s key, with a nice game against Charlotte last night (Monday)…..
He's "delightfully cranky"
It's still a clean slate
I threw in the Charlotte game with this week’s KTTP to simplify things over the holidays, but I might have to give some consideration to how everyone performed on Monday since there are only two more games this week.
by Jake Whitacre on Dec 21, 2010 4:55 PM EST up reply actions
So Mike Prada
Nick is up to 47.5% shooting from the field (over 58% TS%) -
When do you start getting nervous that Nick will prove you wrong?
He's "delightfully cranky"
I'm stunned by it really
I don’t wanna say it’s a fluke because it’s been going on so long, I can’t get excited about it because some part of me can’t believe it. So I’m left just nodding my head in amazement game after game.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 3:36 PM EST up reply actions
Stunned because a shooting guard is doing this
Or because a WZ shooting guard is doing this?
stunned cuz it's NY
I had pretty much written him off.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 4:05 PM EST up reply actions
Same here.
I figured he’d put it together, I just figured he’d do it elsewhere…
I saw this coming
I think I was the first (only?) to ever reply to a mae jude offering with the heading Agree.
I still say he, of ANY Wizard past or present
has the best chance of shooting 50% from the field while shooting a high TS% (58-60%)…
You disagreed with me…. back at the end of November….
Now – I’ll admit that this is still a relatively small sample size – since the Wizards are just approaching the 1/3 season mark…. but he’s actually gotten BETTER since you wrote the article:
Is Nick Young’s improved production sustainable?
Your take was that there was no way he could continue shooting those kind of percentages…..
I said he could – and he has actually improved….
To be fair, he’s also been taking the ball to the basket more, getting more free throws, shooting more set 3-pointers, and taking fewer multiple dribble shots…… But, SINCE your article in November, he has INCREASED his overall shooting percentage to 47.5% and his TS% from 57.1 to 58.3%
He's "delightfully cranky"
I'm thinking you may just think this is a fluke?
But I say it’s just playing time…. consistent playing time.
Nick needs it – not only for his shooting and scoring… but mainly to keep his head in the game defensively. When he gets consistent playing time – and I mean, when he KNOWS when he’s coming in the game and how long he’ll play – he concentrates on defense, and he relaxes on offense.
He's "delightfully cranky"
I guess we'll see
I think it’s a combination of that and Flip’s remaking of his game finally starting to pay off. He had to be broken down a bit to be built back up.
I say
its all that plus the coaching staff really just being okay with what he is as a player. A volume scorer who has poor court vision, can’t pass very well, and is an above average on ball defender.
Instead of bemoaning what he isn’t… And toying with his PT (and confidence) as a result.
Eventually defenses are going to adjust
Which will push his % down. If he gets doubled consistently and still can’t see anything but the hoop that could become a problem. However, he can create his shot so quickly that he will be drawing more and more of teams’ attention even if he doesn’t handle the double team well. That will open things up for everyone else.
"Be patient or be a Heat fan" - MR
I know Young can knock down the 3-pointer, but I'd love to see him drive more and getting to the line.
TNT should've treated Lebron's return to Cleveland game like 2k11 and cut the game off after the Cavs were down by 30. lol
How about almost 5 times per game, since he sat out the Phoenix game.....
He’s been averaging almost 5 Free Throws per game… I’ll take that.
He's "delightfully cranky"
His previous 17 games
he went to the line an average of only 3 times per game…..
He's "delightfully cranky"
I Disagree
When Nick drives towards the basket, there is still a high risk that he will lose control of the ball or get blocked. I’d say that he drives just enough now to keep defenses honest, while taking the most productive scoring option most of the time – going up with his jumper. My feeling is that he scores more consistently with his 10 to 24 foot jumper with a hand in his face then he does when he tries to drive to the rim.
"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
But he can slash really good for his size despite being a shooter also...you would rather see him shoot a shot with a hand in his face then go aggressive to the hoop?
TNT should've treated Lebron's return to Cleveland game like 2k11 and cut the game off after the Cavs were down by 30. lol
Yes, And I Explained Why
Half the time he drives into the lane he either dribbles the ball off his leg out of bounds or he gets rejected. I don’t have the stats to back that up, so maybe I’m wrong here, but that’s my perception from watching him play. He is a much better outside shooter than he is a slasher. I don’t mind him slashing every now and then; it keeps defenses honest so that he has more room on his jumper. But I don’t think he needs to drive any more than he’s doing right now. IMO, he’s found the right ratio of shooting vs. driving.
"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
Nick Young's defense
…has been the biggest improvement in his game.
He used to look totally lost out there.
Now, he is doing a more than decent job on the likes of DWade and Kobe.
I really hated to see Gil go, but the hibachi days are gone and we needed the money
The good thing is that I see a similar growth in Young as with Blatche after Jamison was traded last year. Nick is ready to take over the 2-guard spot and will improve as the season goes on. Now if Flip can ever convince him to do anything else besides scoring, that would truly be amazing. I also think our young core is starting to take shape (Wall, Young, Blatche, McGee), however it may be a couple of years before we start seeing any return on the investments made this year. Although, a top 3 pick in this upcoming draft could help speed things up a bit….
Mike, can you dig up the details of the "non-guaranteed" part of Lewis's deal?
Lots of folks, even reporters, are stating as fact that the Wizards will save $30 million as a result of the trade, but I have yet to see any detail about the incentives that can push the guarantee in the last year beyond $10 million.
Thanks.
From what I saw in the reports...
The Wiz will save at least $18mil from the deal and up to $30mil based on the incentives in Lewis’ deal….
by TheRealBigMike on Dec 21, 2010 5:46 PM EST up reply actions
But didn't everybody say
that Arenas’ contract was untradeable?
Someone told me performance incentives can be for only $3 million maximum, which is why you see reporters list the $30 million figure as fact. But that’s the first I heard about that rule, so I wouldn’t take it as gospel.
Otherwise, I think it means he can be cut and only count for $10M plus a max of $3M in incentives on their cap. But again, that’s just after a little bit of work.
by Mike Prada on Dec 21, 2010 6:36 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
As for the actual incentives, I asked Sham about it. He said he didn’t know what they are but doubts he’ll meet them considering his declining performance.
by Mike Prada on Dec 21, 2010 6:39 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Thanks, Mike. So since Lewis’s salary is listed at $22 million, a max of $12 and a min of $9 is unguaranteed, if all of that is true. That makes a deal a little better in my eyes.
I think the 30M number also takes into account the fact that Lewis makes something like 4M more than Arenas this year and the next
I could be wrong but I think it works out so that we are without that extra year Arenas had(22M), plus they only pay Lewis 10M in 2012 as opposed to GA’s 21M which creates another 11M which gives you about 33-34M saved. Then subtracting the 3-4M that Lewis costs more than Arenas this year and the next gets you to right around 30. That’s just my interpretation though.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 7:15 PM EST up reply actions
it would also explain the 18M that people throw out there as Arenas's final year(22M) minus that 4M gives you 18.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 7:16 PM EST up reply actions
Here are the totals (from HoopsHype)
Gilbert Arenas
1. $17,730,694
2. $19,269,308
3. $20,807,922
4. $22,346,536
Rashard Lewis
1. $20,514,000
2. $22,152,000
3. $23,790,000 (Incentive Based of $23,790,000-$10,000,000 = -$13,790,000
4. $0
Difference (by season)
1. ($2,783,306) (Prorate to about -$1.9M for partial season)
2. ($2,882,692)
3. $10,807,922
4. $22,346,536
Total = $28,370,972 gained
I’m not sure how you get to $30M total, unless it’s by adding the last two years and not counting about $3M of the incentives.
"Be patient or be a Heat fan" - MR
From what I read
The incentives are: show up and play and he gets the money
Cut him: and he only gets 10 mil. I don’t know if there is some way for the team to cut him and the bring him back for 10 mil if they want to keep him, although I doubt it.
by hambonejackson on Dec 21, 2010 9:47 PM EST up reply actions
s
President of the Chris Whitney fan-club
by Natepyatt on Dec 21, 2010 6:06 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Young's contract
No years left?
Is he worth a commitment?
Do you throw him a contract now and maybe get a discount if he keeps up his current play? (And is that a thing – negotiations during the season? I’m really blanking on that.)
President of the Chris Whitney fan-club
by Natepyatt on Dec 21, 2010 6:14 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Good question...I was thinking of this earlier, but I'd say wait it out a little more.
TNT should've treated Lebron's return to Cleveland game like 2k11 and cut the game off after the Cavs were down by 30. lol
you can't resign him till the summer
The extension deadline passed for the year. I think he is def. worth the commitment. Kinda shocked thats even a question. He’s pretty much been the best player on the team this season.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 6:23 PM EST up reply actions
Thats from a fan
Who spent too many years watching an Abe Pollin led team
you understand there was a gm making the personell decisions and a knock on Abe was his loyalty to a fault
President of the Chris Whitney fan-club
by Natepyatt on Dec 21, 2010 7:41 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
it wasn't loyalty it was Ego
He just refused to even consider that him or his people could be a problem. So he just continued being inept and went for cynical money grabs like the name change, MJ, selling draft picks. Why evaluate yourself and the people you hired when you can just pocket a huge amount of cash by selling a pick or changing the name?
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 7:46 PM EST up reply actions
Cynical and inept? Not so much.
I’m no Pollin apologist, god knows Unseld the GM made some fireable mistakes. But to say a guy that basically revitalized a section of DC by himself and had what he considered a legitimate reason for the team name change – that guy isn’t making cynical money grabbing moves. And inept? Pollin had Stern’s ear when it came to the business side of the NBA – you don’t get there with ineptitude.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/10990/the-tales-of-abe-pollins-life
http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/abe-pollin-wizards-owner-and-philanthropist-dead-85
by ChrisWhitneyFanClub on Dec 21, 2010 10:04 PM EST up reply actions
I considered Pollin
the team owner as a cheapskate. The B-W area is the 4th largest market in the country. And yet, every year Pollin stood in line with evry small market team waiting for his handout. How do you think others owners who struggle to keep their franchises alive and depend on teams with larger markets to help them out and there is Pollin sucking resources out of the NBA by basically denying the NBA any economic advatage of where he is located. Unlike the Redskins or Nationals, he had a monopoly of the BW area.I could write more but this is all history.
by hambonejackson on Dec 21, 2010 10:39 PM EST up reply actions
The last 20 years is all the ineptitude I needed to see
Aren’t you dodging the point? I never called him a bad person I just pointed out that he was without a doubt inept at fielding succesful basketball teams. In terms of basketball product he ended with about 2 decades of ineptitude. One of the least successfull franchises in any sport over the last 20+ years. Exactly 1 playoff series win since 1982. 8 years with a winning record in that span with the highest win total a measly 45. That is inarguable fact.
If you wanna believe the marketing spin about gun violence go ahead but the story about Rabin is verifiably false. It was already being reported months before he was killed that they were changing the name. It started coming out after the Bullets put out another horrible season, were dead last with a bullet(pun intended) in merchandise sales and the lead selling jersey was for the brand new Raptors. The “fan vote” for the new name(less than 3% of WaPo readers at the time wanted Wizards) was run through Boston Market for crying out loud. It was timed to coincide with the new Arena. And Abe was making directly contradictory statements about the reasoning at the time. This is in one of the more affluent areas of the country. So rather than figure out the fact that you never give them a team to respect might be why sales are apatheitc you decide hey people will buy new jerseys if we change the name. I find that cynical to say the least.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/02/why_abe_pollin_went_from_bulle.html
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 11:26 PM EST up reply actions
I dont really come here to argue so you win
Congrats on that.
President of the Chris Whitney fan-club
by Natepyatt on Dec 22, 2010 12:24 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
he story about Rabin is verifiably false
You can repeat this and repost that story as many times as you want. But that story does not say what you claim it says. Pollin has clearly and consistently stated that there was talk of changing the name and the Rabin death solidified the decision.
“I’ve been thinking about it for over a year that with this increased violence and shooting and killing that bullets connote death and violence and shooting and I just felt that a sports team should not be involved with that kind of a name….I’d already made up my mind [before Rabin died], but that sure put an exclamation point on the fact that I made a right decision.”
So I don’t know what “marketing spin” you are referring to.
Furthermore he says
“I’ve had people say I was changing the name just to make money from a new nickname, new colors, a new logo,” Pollin said. “I find that distasteful. It’s not a question of money.”…
So to say that he opened a new arena with his own money and went through what Ted confirms is the difficult and costly process of a name change to sell jerseys is absurd.
The guy never spent as much on his team as others because he wasn’t as rich as other owners. The teams were never a major source of revenue for him. He was consistently toward the bottom of the wealth list of NBA owners.
To keep spinning this article into something it’s not even after they guy’s death is actually kind of nauseating to me. Why don’t you instead go back and look at some of the reports of what he did in his life and compare that say to the reports about Donald Sterling.
by MR on Dec 22, 2010 7:08 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
MR I find your response disingenuous and downright misleading
I have never criticized Abe the man just his basketball ownership abilities. I’m sorry that offends you but you are totally moving the goalpoast by comparing him to Donald Sterling who I have repeatedly stated on this blog is a horrible person and owner as opposed to Abe who was a good guy but awful owner. The article clearly outlines that Abe changed his story at the time about his reasonings and when he came to his decision. If he could have kept a consistent story I might believe him. Thats the marketing spin. That this was some great altruistic move not a way to generate income, distance yourself from the previous 8 losing years, and improve the marketing.
The truthfulness of the whole name change was questioned at the time and there is plenty of evidence to question it still. So be nauseaus all you want I just brought up some facts and an article that supports it. If you want to try and twist the meaning go ahead because you can’t seperate Abe the man and the Abe the awful owner. I can. What made me nauseaus was changing the name to something that less than 5% of the public wanted, or that the “vote” was part of a marketing deal with a food chain. How much more cynical and crass can it get than that? I can appreciate that he was never as rich as other owners but he could always sell the team. That’s not some hard luck story. So I’m sorry that bothers you but I think your reply was extremely misleading and just plain wrong.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 22, 2010 2:51 PM EST up reply actions
The article clearly outlines that Abe changed his story at the time about his reasonings and when he came to his decision.
Can you please show me in the article where this happens?
by MR on Dec 22, 2010 4:03 PM EST up reply actions
But as with most things, it’s hard to say that was the final word. A few days later, Pollin was on NPR with Noah Adams. Pollin had told Vecsey he’d been thinking about the name’s baggage for 31 years, but when Adams asked if he had early misgivings about the name, the owner said “Absolutely not….I thought that was very appropriate at that time.” And while he told the Times that Rabin’s death made him realize it was time, he told NPR that he had made the decision before Rabin was killed.
“I’ve been thinking about it for over a year that with this increased violence and shooting and killing that bullets connote death and violence and shooting and I just felt that a sports team should not be involved with that kind of a name….I’d already made up my mind [before Rabin died], but that sure put an exclamation point on the fact that I made a right decision.”
So in one version the name had always bothered him for his entire tenure as owner and Rabin made him realize it was time. A few days later he says the name hadn’t always bothered him, he had found it appropriate at the time and that he had already made the decision before Rabin was assasinated. I mean those are some direct contradictions only a few days apart. Most likely spurred by the fact that it was proven fact that he was changing the name before Rabins death so he was forced to backtrack and distance himself from his first statement which was just plain false.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 22, 2010 4:19 PM EST up reply actions
sorry if it wasn't clear but the first 2 paragraphs are a direct quote from the article
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 22, 2010 4:21 PM EST up reply actions
I still don't see a contradiction
He had thought about it since he bought the team. Early on he thought it was appropriate (although it clearly was on his radar) but as gun violence grew he decided it was less and less appropriate. He decided to change the name and then his friend was killed and that put the exclamation point on it.
That time line is consistent and is supported in the article.
Saying he had been “thinking about the name’s baggage for 31 years” and “I thought that was very appropriate at that time” aren’t a contradiction to me. If that is what your argument is based on then you are cutting the cheese pretty thin.
Never does Abe say he made the decision based solely on Rabin or even that he made the decision after Rabin. Always does he relate the name change to gun violence.
How much money do you think they would get from jersey sales anyway? I mean, this guy spent a lot of money to bring the team into the district. He could have saved a lot of money putting a new arena in the suburbs like Cooke did. Jersey sales? Sounds like a drop in the bucket. Marketing? You don’t move a team and change its name without using your marketing department. That doesn’t mean that his decision wasn’t based on his long held misgivings.
by MR on Dec 22, 2010 4:55 PM EST up reply actions
You Both Make Very Good Points
Allow me to summarize:
You both agree that Abe Pollin was a good person overall.
You disagree about whether Pollin was a cheapskate interested more in making money than in the team’s success. You probably won’t change each other’s minds here.
I think that you both will have to agree (I know that BayAreaBullet does) that Abe Pollin was not a good owner in terms of leading a successful basketball team on the court. BayAreaBullet’s statistics are really compelling towards this point. Whether or not this was related to Pollin’s alleged greed seems to be the sticking point here.
"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
cuppettcj-
I understand you may be uncomfortable and that you think BAB and I are being confrontational. Rest assured I have nothing but respect for BAB and as I have stated before, I probably agree with him more than I agree with anyone else on this board.
However BAB has posted this article before and I believe he has either mis-read or mis-characterized it and I feel the record deserves correcting.
Unless I’m mistaken BAB takes this article as some kind of 60 minutes expose of Abe’s contradictions. I read the article as an attempt to correct the confused MEDIA portrayal of what I think is a pretty consistent theme from Abe. Note that every word quoted directly from Pollin is consistent. But the article relies heavily on commentary from sports opinionators, which are all over the map.
I don’t think BAB can really find any substance in the article that shows that Pollin was anything but genuine in his desire to distance his team from gun violence and in fact is drawing conclusions that Steinberg himself is not making.
So please allow us to have our difference of opinion, to me at least it is worth a few heated words to try to set the record straight.
by MR on Dec 22, 2010 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
BAB- I’d also like to take issue with your characterization of Pollin as “inept at fielding successful basketball teams”.
I spent years praying that he would dump Wes, who clearly was in over his head as both a coach and GM.
But if you look at the Bullet/Wizards history fairly I think you’ll find that Abe fielded:
GREAT teams in the ’70’s (4 Finals appearances, playoffs every year of the decade)
MEDIOCRE teams in the 80’s (6 playoff appearances, all but one were 1st round losses)
HORRIBLE teams in the 90’s (Wes’ decade)
DECENT teams in the ’00s (4 playoff runs)
Another way to look at the history of the Bullets/Wizards is that Abe’s real major fault was his over loyalty to Wes Unseld. Aside from those dismal years he actually has a great record as owner.
by MR on Dec 22, 2010 5:06 PM EST up reply actions
Ah, I Stand Corrected
I suppose that my perception is tainted by the fact that I only started rooting for the Bullets in the early 90’s, so I missed the good ol’ days of Bullets basketball.
"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
I Find it Odd
That you characterized the 80’s as MEDIOCRE (6 playoff appearances, all but one were 1st round losses), but characterized the 00’s as DECENT (4 playoff appearances, all but one were 1st round losses). Why more respect for the more recent teams?
"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
In my memory the 80’s teams were topped out. They were usually 6 seeds but probably weren’t going anywhere. They were stuck in that middle ground of making the playoffs, getting lesser draft position, and never being able to get that great pick to lift them out. Remember that free agency then wasn’t what it is now.
I think that the team of the big 3 had a shot at going somewhere but was derailed by injury. I don’t mean to rehash that because there are a lot of reasonable people who always thought the big 3 were doomed and that they were over rated. The last thing I want is to open that discussion. But I always thought they were one piece (or one less injury) away from going to the next level and that the team could grow together and possibly get there.
by MR on Dec 22, 2010 5:20 PM EST up reply actions
Let me clarify one part
I don’t feel he was some greedy miser. I think he lacked the will to consider himself as part of the process and to admit the proccess was broken and evaluate it. He just kinda gave up on trying to find ways to improve how they built the on court product. Introspection and willingess to admit you and your hand picked people are a problem is not easy and he never seemed willing to do it. So he just kept things how they were, kept expenses down, collected luxury tax checks and made the occasional cash grab. The basketball product had stunk for years so it became, hey new team name, new jerseys, new arena to try and make some break from the well earned image of failure the franchise had taken on. Was he always that way? No and I don’t think it was about making money off the team it just became a case of him throwing the towel in on improving the product and just trying to punch up marketing, merchandise and ticket sales through gimmicks. And I think I made it very clear that I was speaking to the Post 1982 period. Like I said I think he just decided he didn’t know how to put good teams out there at a certain point and quit trying.
I know alot of people see it as Loyalty to Wes but I think it was just plain hubris. You don’t let that go on unless you are unwilling to admit mistakes or as in the case with Elgin Baylor and Sterling someone who didn’t wanna pay top dollar for competent help.
I can appreciate that he wasn’t as rich as other owners but when does that stop being a sob story and just become a millionaire who can’t afford the toy he bought? He even went hat in hand to DC to get them to pay for the upkeep on the Arena because he couldn’t afford the maintenance on his property. Reminds me of a guy I knew who leased a Lexus he couldn’t afford and then couldn’t make rent payments and was always trying to bum gas money off you. Selling was always an option. What’s noble about buying something you can’t afford and being too stubborn to give it up?
Look MR I think that was pretty blatant contradictions(not of them but of details) and lots of people at the time didn’t believe what Abe was selling. I think your cherry picking what you want from the article which clearly had enough evidence to call into question the real motives. I never stated that Steinberg had concluded anything other than there was alot to question what eventually became the “official story” I don’t know what else to say other than I think it clearly shows he had different back stories. i.e. Same theme different details. I’m sure he felt alot of what he said I just think the story was alot more palatable than being like"I killed this teams fan base through incompetence so now I’m gonna put a new name on it and try and get people to get excited about the same old S***" This isn’t some crazy JFK conspiracy. I respect you and hopefully we can agree to vehemently disagree on this. You believe Abe, I don’t(He was a businessman trying to improve his products image) and think the circumstances are way too convienent for this to be some altruistic thing.
How about in honor of Abe, we decide to settle this through a fan vote? We’ll sign a deal with Chipotle(We can split the money 50/50) and have BF members vote there?
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 22, 2010 5:57 PM EST up reply actions
Fair enough.
He was stubborn and loyal to a fault. The person who staffed his owner’s box was the same person for 20 years. Same with a lot of his employees. And IMO that kind of stubborn loyalty cost the team a lost decade. Once Wes left I think he tried pretty hard to turn things around.
Maybe you have an axe to grind against him, maybe I have too much respect for him.
I’m pretty sure it was never about money for him. And I’m certain he was far to stubborn and proud to sell his franchise before he was damn well ready.
I have read that article a half dozen times and at this point I think we are reading different languages. I don’t think you change the name and build a new stadium without letting the marketing department do their job too. So maybe we are just reading differently into the story.
He will be a restricted Free Agent...
The Wizards can re-sign him this summer…. But other teams can also go after him. The Wizards can match to keep him if someone tenders him an offer sheet.
He's "delightfully cranky"
Just an aside here....
I’m not sure why the Wizards chose to extend Blatche, rather than extend Young…..
Perhaps it’s because they saw more potential for him….. but I’d really rather they had kept some of that cap space this past Summer to extend Young as well…. I guess when all was said and done, they could only afford to do Blatche with the money they had left under the Cap.
But what happens if Nick continues to play like he has, 20ppg, 50% shooting, 59% TSP…. great defense? What happens if someone offers him 5 years, $48 Million? Is he worth keeping at $8 million (escalating up to $12 Million in the 5th year)?
What happens if someone offers even more?
Ted says you reward your own players with contract extensions….. but let’s face it, Nick might not be worth $10 Million a year….. Or is he?
He's "delightfully cranky"
to be fair AB had shown more than NY at that point
Unless he had been willing to extend for peanuts I’m not sure NY had shown enough to justify a long term extension this summer.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 6:50 PM EST up reply actions
I had been hoping really hard that we could do the GA-VC swap so we could frontload extensions for NY and possibly JM next year
I’d rather pay them more next year so their salaries don’t inflate as we enter our contending window. Not sure we could do the Blatche/Collison thing with NY this summer but it would be awesome to make a huge payment next year and have dudes at bargains for the rest of their contract.
by BayAreaBullet on Dec 21, 2010 6:59 PM EST up reply actions
Hinrich at 9mil
looks like a place to free up some cash
Maybe the WZ did offer NY an extension
and he turned it down.
you made my point a little more eloquently than i did
Mainly wondering about how much of this sustained effort is needed to warrant a deal vs nick’s level of play pricing him out of Ernie’s plans.
President of the Chris Whitney fan-club
by Natepyatt on Dec 21, 2010 8:26 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Things I didn't expect to hear/see while watching ORL/DAL on NBA TV
1) You just can’t leave DeShawn Stevenson that wide open
2) Brendan Haywood is shooting 26% from the line this year
3) John Wall (broken foot) is questionable for tomorrow night
Number 3 was on the crawl. Hope that was a typo.
He's a Flamethrower!!!
1) You just can’t leave DeShawn Stevenson that wide open
Link.
"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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