JaVale "Patty Flippin" McGee

by DaGribb on Feb 2, 2010 7:06 PM EST

So my friend and I went to the Wiz-Celtics game last night. It's halftime and the Wizards were winning and we were both upset that Oberto was getting what seemed like, at the time, a good amount of playing time. Oberto only played a little over 4 minutes for the whole game so maybe we exaggerated a tad. We both wanted to see McGee get some playing time b/c he's the one guy I feel all Wizards fans can get excited about.

So the players get back on the court for the shoot-around and both of us just watched McGee and Miller (he came out early and was draining everything). McGee started off with a bouncing off the knees/ through the legs/ free throw scoop shot (missed)...he then did a few behind the back dribbles followed by some lazy underhand shots. He threw the ball off the backboard and missed the dunk 2 times. Most importantly he was dancing and mouthing off the words to Fergalicious. Not once did JaVale take a jumpshot or resemble anything close to a killer mentality. My friend and I agree that his body language and attitude resemble that of a fast food employee to which we have given him the new name of JaVale "Patty Flippin" McGee. I'm a huge fan of the potential that McGee possesses, but he looks like he is years away from maturing enough to be an impact. I SAY HE'S NOT UNTOUCHABLE.

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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I wouldn't read too much into it.

He’s the starter next year. Or maybe next month if EG pulls the trigger…

by jones-y on Feb 2, 2010 7:34 PM EST reply actions

I do

Every game, he spends the entire shootaround taking threes, then spends the game barely paying attention. He’d be a lot more engaged if he played, I think, but he’s got to show more focus. He also shouldn’t be taking jumpers period, and instead focus on hook shots and drop steps and stuff. There’s no reason a guy with his size and quickness shouldn’t be scoring in the paint at will.

by pantslessyoda1 on Feb 2, 2010 8:44 PM EST up reply actions

McGee will not be the starter next year or next month

No matter what EG does

by lj15 on Feb 2, 2010 9:04 PM EST up reply actions

They'd start Blatche at center before McGee

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Feb 2, 2010 9:45 PM EST up reply actions

Correct

by lj15 on Feb 2, 2010 10:19 PM EST up reply actions

Untouchable?

I would get McGee out of here so fast his head would spin. It’s not that he doesn’t have talent, it’s not that he can’t thrive in this league, it’s because he has no idea who he is or what he wants to do. He’s just not satisfied beinng a rebounder/defender/high flyer like Tyson Chandler. Every time he gets in the game he tries to post somebody and dribbles off his leg, or he puts up a pathetic looking jumper. And I agree with his overall attitude and body language. I was at the game too, and at one point he just got up and left the bench and went into the locker room. I understand that players do that sometimes, but he was just so lazy about it. We were in a tight game with the Celtics, and there is McGee, amblin’ his way to the locker room. McGee, Young, and Blatche and Arenas are all terrible influences on each other. There isn’t a killer instinct in that whole bunch, and they mostly seem happy just to be in the league, scoring a bunch of points, instead of doing the things it really takes to win games.

by seewhite on Feb 2, 2010 11:32 PM EST reply actions

Could not agree with you more

by jtwiz on Feb 3, 2010 11:06 AM EST up reply actions

I never understood what everyone loved about McGee

I would love it if he developed, and I see no sense in trading him.

But to me, this roster has no one to build around.

by John Park Williams on Feb 3, 2010 12:37 AM EST reply actions

Needs someone to light a fire under him before it's too late

I see the same thing from Javale. He’s the NBA’s poster child for untapped potential right now. Hard work is a habit that has to be developed. It takes sustained motivation to develop it, then it gets easier and even becomes natural. Some people never figure that out and will never be very good at anything. Knowing this doesn’t help — you just have to decide one day that you’re going to put everything you’ve got into something, and then sustain it for at least a few months. Then it gains inertia and gets easier.

Benching Javale has clearly not worked. If I were Saunders I’d sit down with Javale, tell him that he is going to start and play 30+ minutes in every single one of 15 games starting in two weeks. I’d clearly explain what he needs to do to be ready, and that if he doesn’t prepare, work hard and perform during those games, he’d never play for me again. And I’d mean it. If he responds, then he should have developed the beginnings of a work ethic. If he doesn’t then he simply doesn’t care enough, and playing him is a waste of time anyway.

by steadyhand on Feb 3, 2010 12:50 AM EST reply actions

ridiculous

the guy never plays. you can’t judge him based on what he does at half time. Warmups mean something completely different to someone who’s about to play than someone with another 24 mins on the bench.

Javale is in his early 20s, surely he can benefit from some maturation as anybody his age can. And surely his lack of play this year is more confirmation that he’s not “ready” for regular minutes as a center (though I think they should give them to him after the trade deadline), but he’s got a long career ahead of him. If this team is about to go into a rebuilding stage, I’d rather see the team put more stock in patience and development of its young players. That doesn’t necessarily mean big results are right around the corner.

by Johnnie Futbol on Feb 3, 2010 7:34 AM EST reply actions

I don't agree completely

warmups should mean the same to everyone. He just isn’t focused at all and I do think that the coaching staff needs to be more responsible with his approach to the games. I don’t Flip is the right coach if our team becomes very young by next year. Maybe Lefty Driesell will coach the Wiz.

by DaGribb on Feb 3, 2010 9:12 AM EST up reply actions

You might be right that Flip isn’t the right coach to develop young players and a rebuilding team (I have no idea!), but players don’t improve their game during pre-game and halftime warmups. I certainly hope there are plenty of other team functions for that purpose, otherwise McGee will never develop into a better player.

In any case, maybe we’ll have to just agree to disagree, but I believe there’s an inevitability that way more often than not a player who’s actually going to play will take warmups more seriously than one who sits the bench the whole game.

by Johnnie Futbol on Feb 3, 2010 9:37 AM EST up reply actions