New-look Wizards win their first game!
by Mike Prada on Feb 17, 2010 9:23 PM EST
in Recaps
85 comments
To new beginnings!
(Scroll down for the Antawn Jamison thread).
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He couldn't stop Jefferson down low
But he was ok overall I’d say.
by Palace of Good Play's Golden Toilet on Feb 17, 2010 9:32 PM EST up reply actions
Jefferson Took McGee to School Tonight
But hopefully JaVale learned something at school today. I liked that he got several minutes and remained on Jefferson, despite getting abused. JaVale appears to need to learn how to play defense the hard way. As long as he eventually learns, I’ll be happy.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Jefferson is a tough cover for alot of guys
hopefully he will get it.
by BayAreaBullet on Feb 17, 2010 9:42 PM EST up reply actions
Both Love and Jefferson use a variety of very good pump fakes
and JaVale went for every one of them…. sometimes multiple times in one possession….
He’s gotta learn to hold his position better, and just stay down on pump fakes… he’ll get plenty of highlight blocks on helpside defense
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
you'd think
he would learn from playing against Blache. AB does a lot of pump-faking too. Those two should make each other better.
One thing that was good to see was Blache drawing the foul from Jefferson after he had been working McGee all night. Jefferson looked pissed to be getting a taste of his own medicine. Damn I wish there was a consistency pill that Blache could take. He’s so smooth in the post when he’s dialed into the game.
I Somewhat Disagree
Both Love and Jefferson use a variety of very good pump fakes
and JaVale went for every one of them…. sometimes multiple times in one possession….
I actually saw some signs of JaVale having worked on staying down on pump fakes. The first few possessions against Jefferson he would stay down of the pump fakes, but Al would successfully back him down and shoot over him, since he wasn’t jumping to block. But later I saw JaVale get frustrated by Jefferson’s success and started biting for the fakes a lot more. Usually he wouldn’t bite on the first fake, but would get fooled by the third or fourth.
Overall, he got taken to school, but I think it was a good learning experience for him.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
He bit on a LOT of fakes
for a while there he was just jumping on everything, as jumpy-guys are likely to do. It got comical I thought, even multiple times in one possession as Rook said. But I did notice him stay on his feet later in the game.
Jefferson took one shot after halftime.
Something was up in this game. Look at the popcorn machine game stretches.
Jefferson before the half: 7-9 from the floor.
Jefferson after the half: 0-1 from the floor in the first 6:00 of the third, and he never took another shot.
The Wolves could go to Big Al all night, and they didn’t. They decided to ride Love instead. This is known as “player development,” but at some point it almost looks like holding someone out to be traded, even….
"It has come to the editor’s attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission."
C'mon feral
you are grasping at straws. Yes, the Wolves frontcourt makes people look great, but if your team can’t pull out a win against a shell shocked Wizards team that played James Singleton and Quinton Ross for major minutes….well there is big trouble in little Minny.
A question, and I know you guys have discussed this on Canishoopus a ton, why the hell can’t Jefferson and Love play together? (Or is it simply a matter of Rambis not playing together?) And why did Johnny Flynn seem to going at 1/4 speed last night? Sessions actually seemed to care comparatively.
Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!
I'm not aware of what I'd be "grasping at straws" to accomplish....
Basically Big Al Jefferson is an atrocious defender most of the time, though he’s made an effort. Love’s not great, but he’s not as awful as Al, and Rambis can’t hide him in the context of a bad defensive team. The combination is not good to watch. So, Kahn and everyone else have in mind to mix in defensive types alongside the two of them, or athletic types in the case of Hollins.
There’s not “big trouble” for any given team based on a single game, or “huge promise” for the Wizards on the other end of last night either. Seriously, when the Wolves won three straight before the break people worried that their lottery odds were about to worsen.
In the case of the Wolves, they’re absolutely doing lots of stuff to work on young players. Jonny Flynn’s been specifically forbidden from running a lot of pick and roll stuff, for example. They’re starting Ryan fricking Hollins to see what Love can do on his own with the second unit, when he’s carrying more offensive load.
"It has come to the editor’s attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission."
Interesting
has Al regressed? I remember when I watched him on the C’s, he was considered a fairly competent defender, if raw.
Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!
he was still biting
but having more rope is going to be a huge boon
Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!
I know this isn't the caps but
hard hat goes to Andray Blatche.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laydODN6xVk
No question about it
He could really smooth this transition over.
Dear Mr. Grunfeld,
I apologize, on behalf of all Wizards fans, for whatever it is we did to you.
by returnofswagger on Feb 17, 2010 9:29 PM EST up reply actions
He Was Our Best Player
The guy had a 20 and 10 at the half! As always, however, it will matter how he follows this up.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Exactly
He could average 22 and 10 the rest of the year and I would not be totally surprised. Or he could avg 6 and 6 and, again, wouldn’t be surprised
Dear Mr. Grunfeld,
I apologize, on behalf of all Wizards fans, for whatever it is we did to you.
by returnofswagger on Feb 17, 2010 9:44 PM EST up reply actions
If Ernie can trade for some savvy vets tomorrow
We could make the playoffs!!!!
I'll Get Hammered For Writing This
But I wouldn’t mind seeing the new Wizards make the playoffs. They’ll have to go something like 24-8 after the All-Star break to even make the playoffs, so at least they would be red-hot and would have to have a lot of chemistry. But don’t worry, I doubt this will happen
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
I will leave my hamer in the garage
but I don’t think we will have to worry about a playoff run. Although that would be the worst-case scenario imo
Dear Mr. Grunfeld,
I apologize, on behalf of all Wizards fans, for whatever it is we did to you.
by returnofswagger on Feb 17, 2010 9:48 PM EST up reply actions
go wiz
.. But I still miss caron and haywood, watching them play now. They look good in mavs uniforms.
by CVC on Feb 17, 2010 9:32 PM EST via mobile reply actions
haha don't get too excited, it's the T-Wolves
at least we play hard and gritty now. that’ll make the losing easier to take for sure….i mean the winning. all the glorious winning we are going to be doing over the next two years or so.
by Area 51 Forever on Feb 17, 2010 9:35 PM EST reply actions
ernie
that actually was a breathe of fresh air. go figure.
we might be better than the nets and wolves even after what we did. let’s see what happens when we play a good team…
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 17, 2010 9:39 PM EST reply actions
with Caron, Brendan and Antwan…The Wizards find a way to lose this game tonight..haha..Go new Wizards!
by Mikko Leinonen's opposite on Feb 17, 2010 9:46 PM EST reply actions
I thought you guys would be drinking heavily tonight...
Now it looks like that’s my job.
www.canishoopus.com
Not necissarily a bad thing. So you are welcome, I guess...
Dear Mr. Grunfeld,
I apologize, on behalf of all Wizards fans, for whatever it is we did to you.
by returnofswagger on Feb 17, 2010 9:58 PM EST up reply actions
My Impressions of the New Wizards
None of these observations will probably matter after this season, but oh well.
Bigger and longer front court. James Singleton is a beast on the glass and an aggressive defender. I think he adds something the Wizards haven’t had in a long time.
Josh Howard looks like a better player than Caron after only one game. He also appears to attack the basket more and play better defense. I also liked his attitude in his first interview. He actually called the Wizards a great organization and he likes that we wanted him. It might have been a bunch of BS, but I still liked hearing it.
Andray Blatche appears to be stepping up in the new lineup, but nothing he does for one game really matters.
If the new team requires Mike Miller to shoot more, like he did tonight, I’ll be really happy. The dude is a sniper.
I really liked seeing JaVale get so much burn. I think we’ll finally get to see some development out of him, or else we’ll know that he doesn’t have it in him. Either way, we’ll be much better prepared to assess the center position this off-season. Or should I say the power forward position? He was listed as a forward tonight.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
They should be fun to watch for the rest of the year
but that doesn’t really mean much, being that these guys are mostly on their way out of the team anyway
Dear Mr. Grunfeld,
I apologize, on behalf of all Wizards fans, for whatever it is we did to you.
by returnofswagger on Feb 17, 2010 10:03 PM EST up reply actions
Not necessarily
I wouldn’t assume anything at this point about who we’ll keep, or who we’ll get rid of at the end of the season. There are still a lot of games left to evaluate everybody. I do have to say this though, I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed watching the game. I feel as though I haven’t seen that much hustle out of this team in a long while. Singleton impressed the hell out of me. Howard knocked down a few shots, and played solid defense. Ross was pretty much negligible I think. Again, it’s only one game, and now we have more new players to integrate into the team because of the Jamison trade.
by young, loud and Scotty on Feb 17, 2010 10:11 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I Agree With Your Points
And I also had a lot of fun watching the new Wizards. I hate to paraphrase Ernie Grunfeld, but watching the old Wizards was indeed getting real stale. I saw little hustle and desire from the old guys, except for Brendan Haywood and Antawn Jamison. The new guys appear to want to work hard, and they don’t shy away from contact. I liked the fact that they muscled up to their men on defense. I liked the fact that they clawed their way back into the game after falling behind by double-digits early. I guess I just like seeing something different. Third quarter explosion instead of implosion? Putting a team away in the fourth quarter? I haven’t seen a Wizards team do that in a while.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
So, did Mike Miller do enough
to make him worth a first round pick and other expiring contracts?
I like watching him play, but he is easily the next most valuable asset we still have (Mike James isn’t worth squat so we wouldn’t get anything of value for him other than an equal expiring contract).
I think we could get a first round pick out of NY
For a James-Jeffries swap. I’m very surprised Miller’s name hasn’t come up in trade rumors.
by Palace of Good Play's Golden Toilet on Feb 17, 2010 10:27 PM EST up reply actions
If the rumors are true
We can get two first round picks and Jordan Hill just for taking on a soon to be expiring contract :P
by Manimal Smith on Feb 17, 2010 10:31 PM EST up reply actions
That is my kind of rumor
Let it snow ping-pong balls, from the heavens.
by returnofswagger on Feb 17, 2010 10:32 PM EST up reply actions
My new team (most to least favorite order)
Singleton: I know it’s too soon to commit, but I’m loving this guy already.
Blatche: Still one of my favorites. I can"t help but keep rooting for a guy that"s steadily improved like he has. He’s a pretty good defender now, he just has to play within himself and continue to improve his work ethic.
Miller: I don’t want to say goodbye…I love the way he plays and all his skills.
Howard: Impressive talent, great on defense. I wish he would consider not shooting once in a while…he didn’t used to be such a shot-jacker. I’m withholding judgment for now, but I’m prepared for him to be a lost cause (and gone next year).
Foye: I wish he could go left, or see the court while driving. I love his attitude, and even with his shortcomings I like him as a player.
McGee: I’m in favor of the sink or swim approach with this kid. I’m evenly split between being impressed by his potential and disgusted by his lack of focus.
Young: Hanging on to hope that he’ll get it. I like his scoring and kind of like his D, but he still doesn’t move the ball well and is a complete zero on the boards. I just don’t know if he has the mindset needed to take his game to the next level.
McGuire: Not sure why he regressed this year, but I doubt we’ll be seeing much more of him. Liked his energy and rebounding.
Ross: Yikes, he’s pretty lousy on offense…but better than DSteve still.
Boykins: Part of me thinks he does a better job running the offense than Foye, but most of me just can’t stand how much he freakin dribbles the ball.
Oberto: Yikes was he terrible tonight. I see no reason for hm to be taking minutes from the younger guys.
James: If I never see him play again I won’t mind a bit.
All in all, I like this team much better than the one that just left (which includes Arenas).
Does anyone know where I can find that picture of Antawn and Abe hugging after we beat the Bulls?
I’ve seen it a million times and now that I actually want to find it and save it I can’t find it anywhere.
So riddle me this
We can’t flip Z because everyone won’t have had their physicals in time?
Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!
than flip MM, MJ and RF
thats like 20M of expiring right there
by BayAreaBullet on Feb 17, 2010 11:28 PM EST up reply actions
no I meant
we can’t flip Z tomorrow to a team that wants a C because of the physicals holding the trade up?
Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!
yeah I was saying even if that is true we have more than enough expiring contracts for pretty much any deal
I really wanna get in on this NYK deal.
by BayAreaBullet on Feb 17, 2010 11:41 PM EST up reply actions
Seemed to notice a little more chemistry on the court
I didn’t get the see the entire game, but was really impressed with what I saw. I know it was MInnesota, but when they went on their run in the beginning of the 4th, I thought this was going to be another one of their typical “find-a-way-to-lose” type game. They continued to fight till the end and it paid off. Great confidence builder for a practically new team.
Just watching that 3rd qtr, I haven’t seen the Wiz play that much defense all year.
by TheRealBigMike on Feb 17, 2010 11:27 PM EST reply actions
Three Wizards with 5+ assists
It’s only happened three times this season, Nov 27th (@ MIA), Jan 15th (@CHI), and last night. 2-0 record by end of regulation, 2-1 record including the two point second OT loss to Chicago. Nice to see that kind of chemistry indeed.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200911270MIA.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201001150CHI.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201002170WAS.html
by GvP on Feb 18, 2010 11:20 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
i'd like to see more of it
maybe now we have the personnel to play flip ball
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 18, 2010 1:05 PM EST up reply actions
shame it had to come to this though
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 18, 2010 1:05 PM EST up reply actions
Definitely -- and part of me would have liked to see Jamison be able
to at least stick around just to watch the game … to have him snatched away like that, at a home game, ugh … business is business but I can’t imagine that drive out, with media chasing, so sickening.
aren't you in the media?
nice to hear you say that, actually.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 18, 2010 8:14 PM EST up reply actions
I also enjoyed seeing a very aggressive Blatche. If he could ever get some consistency, he could be a dangerous player
by TheRealBigMike on Feb 17, 2010 11:28 PM EST reply actions
for some dudes it's just knowing your starting every night
I hope thats how it works out for AB.
by BayAreaBullet on Feb 17, 2010 11:30 PM EST up reply actions
Singleton also makes Maguire look expendable
by TheRealBigMike on Feb 17, 2010 11:31 PM EST reply actions
McGuire makes McGuire look expendable. I mean, I love him and all—he busts his ass when he’s on the floor—and I wish he’d get more minutes, but honestly he just doesn’t contribute much when he’s out there.
by young, loud and Scotty on Feb 17, 2010 11:44 PM EST up reply actions
McGuire is Cursed
By his size. If he were only 3 inches taller, he’d be a more athletic Singleton and someone who could stick on many teams as a defensive stopper. As it is, he’s probably out of the league next season.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Oops
I just realized that Singleton is only 6’8". Hmm, he looked a lot taller on the floor last night. Maybe size isn’t the issue with McGuire. But for some reason, I just don’t see him as effective as someone like Singleton.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
At first glance
Singleton looks stronger and a lot more coordinated. Plus he can shoot a little.
Also liked seeing what McGee could do with extended minutes. He looked a little lost and overmatched at times, but was still able to put up 14pts /11rebs/5blocks….those are Haywood-type numbers from a 2nd yr guy.
by TheRealBigMike on Feb 17, 2010 11:37 PM EST reply actions
Can we please try and trade all our expirings for pretty much anything?
Irene got out out the luxury tax so can we now make real basketball trades? We have like 30+ million in expiring and no real desire to make a huge splash in the FA market this summer. Can’t we get a late or future first or some youngin with even a speck of potential in order to help a team get under the cap this summer? I’d love to get in on that Jeffries trade or be a third team in a bigger trade where we send an expiring for some halfway decent asset? I don’t care about anyone’s bird rights on this team so I’d be happy to move guys(especially MM or RF to recoup something from that trade) for even like a second rounder or something.
Well...
Z or MM might have some value to a team, but is it enough for a first round pick or anything of real value? Remember we just saw Marcus Camby traded for Travis Outlaw’s bird rights and Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood + cash for a team to take on $4m of 2010 salary. Not sure we are getting anything for our guys
by Manimal Smith on Feb 18, 2010 12:22 AM EST up reply actions
Trading Z to New York for Curry should net something from the Knicks
they would just about give up ANYTHING to trade Curry’s contract.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
I really think we should do that ...
but the problem is that we can’t package Z. I’d want Gallinari and 2 first round picks ….
by Manimal Smith on Feb 18, 2010 12:32 AM EST up reply actions
I'd take Curry
just to get Hill and/or a future first. Taking on a bad salary that will be expiring next year in exhange for a decent asset is cool by me.
by BayAreaBullet on Feb 18, 2010 12:51 AM EST up reply actions
Marc Stein is reporting Houston has a deal worked out for Kevin Martin
if they don’t turn it into a 3 team trade with NYK we might have a desperate Knicks team on our hands.
by BayAreaBullet on Feb 18, 2010 1:29 AM EST up reply actions
These guys just won a game
something our former squad had a lot of trouble doing. Championship! Next year.
Am I Alone
I am so tired of everyone saying we never won a playoff series. We beat the Bulls! It happened. Why does no one remember? It really ticks me off!
Because it Was So Long Ago
And technically, our recently dismantled “Big 3” as we know it had nothing to do with it. Caron Butler wasn’t even on that team. Plus, I think that Bulls team was missing two of their starters, and we got swept by the Heat in the second round. Not to mention I think everybody considers mid-season 2007-08 to be the peak of this team, since we were playing better then.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
I told you all...
that you would like James Singleton.
Still 8 hours till the trading store closes, but I do hope we keep Miller barring an offer we cannot refuse.
The Zombie Wizzies actually have the look of a nice hungry team that will be interesting to watch. I do not think that Michael Wilbon got it right today, this rebuild could be pretty interesting.
I hate to say
you told me so. And I REALLY hate to dole out credit, but you were definitely right. The guy gets me pumped up just watching him. My wife hates him though. Of course, this could be because I elbowed her in the ribs everytime he SNATCHED a rebound from someone.
McGee
I just don’t get it. The guy gets 14/11/5 blocks in 23 minutes, and there’s nothing but negative comments about him here? Yeah, he got pushed around, yeah, he went for a lot of pump fakes (but he settled down after awhile, and went for them a lot less after that), but he filled up the stat sheet in one half of basketball. He changed shots, he hustled, he gave the Wiz a new dimension inside. And people are griping because he got pushed around?
How is he ever going to learn to not go after pump fakes, establish and maintain position, learn defensive nuances, etc., if he’s not on the floor? I thought he was a difference-maker out there in his time, but it seems like I’m part of a very small club.
I don't think the comments are negative
but it is readily apparent the McGee does not have the slightest idea of how to play fundamental defense within a system. Now, I had the same criticism of NY, and he has picked it up this year, but I don’t think its negative to want your center to establish position and stay with his man. I think a MAJOR lesson that the Wizards learned last night was that if you want McGee to succeed, you need to surround him with at least one scrappy lunch pail guy like Singleton who is going to make up for his mistakes. This team desperately needed a Michael Ruffin, and now they have one who can help McGee learn that it is easier to deny guys position rather then jump all over this place.
Again, though, only one game.
But hey, he is gonna get a lot of burn, and the future is now.
Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!
What I Don't Get
Is why people get so enamored by JaVale’s stats and fail to see his overall impact on the team. I think my assessment of him above was very fair. I want him to learn, I want him to succeed, but I also want to be realistic about his performance. The Wizards won the game by 9 points last night, but were outscored by 6 points during the 23 minutes JaVale was on the floor. That’s why people are still critical of him. Who cares how many points, rebounds, and blocks he gets if he makes the team worse due to his horrible defense?
Check out these stats. Of all the players on the Wizards who have played more than 20 games this season, only one has a worse +/- per minute than JaVale (Dominic McGuire). Why so bad? Because despite his highlight-reel dunks and blocks, he is an absolutely horrible defender. I have more respect at this point for someone like James Singleton, who doesn’t fill up a stat sheet but heroically helps the team win by doing the little things like playing great defense and boxing out his defender. Even if he doesn’t get the rebound, he helps his teammates by what he does. And it all starts with defense.
All of that said, JaVale is still very, very young. I am all in favor of him getting loads of playing time in hopes that it will speed his learning curve and greatly improve his defense over time. But forgive me if I don’t get blown away by surface stats while my favorite team is still getting outscored while he is on the floor.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Point taken...
But you can’t just dismiss those eye-popping numbers as meaningless, either. And +/- is a very tricky statistic; it has as much to do with the players around you as yourself.
Yeah, JM has defensive deficiencies; so does nearly every player shipped out, excepting Haywood. And points, rebounds and blocks are pretty important things to provide to a team, wouldn’t you say? You don’t do those kinds of things if you don’t have serious talent. The key, which we agree on, is playing him, so that talent develops.
What annoys me is that people keep saying “he gets pushed around! He goes for pump fakes! He’s out of position on defense!” Those are things you can learn; insane athletic ability, you can’t. But sitting on the bench in the midst of another lottery-bound season doesn’t do anyone any good. He’s developing slowly because he gets so little PT.
I will say he did a lot better than I expected
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I know I'm excited about his potential
But we were critiquing this one game, not his potential.
by Palace of Good Play's Golden Toilet on Feb 18, 2010 2:14 PM EST up reply actions
I agree with your last point the most.
That’s why it was a crime the Wizards didn’t send him to the D-League. The wizards just simply don’t know how to develop players.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laydODN6xVk
i have to say
i disagree with this. i just think it’s easy to say.
go ballistic on the training staff and i won’t argue, but sometimes, for goodness sakes, development is on the players. haywood developed nicely here.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 18, 2010 5:15 PM EST up reply actions
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