Briefing: Unfortunately, style points don't help win games
by Jake Whitacre on Feb 25, 2010 8:17 AM EST
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The Wizards did retaliate in the second quarter when Memphis appeared headed for a double-figure lead, with Nick Young providing a highlight-reel dunk that brought much of the announced 11,875 at Verizon Center out of their seats. With his team down 33-24 after a timeout 10:42 before halftime, Young gathered the ball on the right side near the three-point arc and drove along the baseline. From there he elevated with the ball held high in his right hand and shook the rim with a dunk over 7-2 reserve center Hamed Haddadi. That prompted the Grizzlies to call timeout, but momentum remained with the Wizards after the stoppage. Clearly energized from Young's emphatic basket, Washington scored 10 of the next 11 points, all courtesy of Blatche and Young, to take a 36-34 lead with 5:27 to go before intermission.
Grizzlies Close Out The Wizards - Dave Johnson, CSN Washington
The Wizards shot 48 percent from the field and had 26 assists including seven each from Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Because of the Grizzlies second-chance opportunities in the fourth quarter they ended up with ten more shot attempts and five more made field goals for the game than the Wizards. "I think overall our effort level was good," noted Wizards head coach Flip Saunders. "Memphis is a great rebounding team and we battled on the boards and led for most of the game until we went through that stretch to start the fourth quarter. I thought it was a good solid effort though."
Mayo's 4th quarter spurs Grizzlies win - Associated Press
Washington’s loss ended a three-game home winning streak in front of a Verizon Center crowd of 11,875—the lowest of the season. "We gave them way too many easy points," Thornton said. "We didn’t make it tough on them. They got baskets at will."
Grizzlies 99, Wizards 94 - Craig Stouffer, Pick & Roll
Saunders was even harder on JaVale McGee (10 points, 1 rebound), who might as well have not even guarded Marc Gasol (20 points), who scored 10 of Memphis’s first 12 points, all in the paint, and was nearly perfect (10 for 11) from the field, missing only his final attempt after the game had long been decided. "JaVale was getting his butt kicked tonight," said Saunders. "It was a learning experience for him tonight. He plays 15 minutes. The guy he’s going against goes 10 for 10. He gets one rebound. Those are things he’s got to do better. He’s got to fight better, and he’s got to keep on learning from that situation."
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Overall, I Thought the Wizards Played Well
I was disappointed with the loss, but I thought the Wizards played hard and made it tough on Memphis. Memphis just played really, really good, IMO. Especially Marc Gasol, who not only made tough shots but also great moves to get open for easier shots. I hope Javale learned a lot from guarding him. I expect some growing pains from him for awhile.
Blatche looked very surprised when the Grizzlies started double-teaming him in the second half. That’s a great sign to me that he’s finally arrived. He needs to practice how to handle this situation. In fact, the team needs to practice it, since it will open up opportunities for open 3 point shots. Mike Miller needs to be more aggressive with his catch and shooting. He wants to be a facilitator, but sometimes the Wizards just need him to catch the ball behind the arc and launch.
Earl Boykins had a really poor night. He shot way too much and missed a lot of his shots. He didn’t want to take open three pointers, opting instead to drive the lane and hoist floaters. That worked once, but then Memphis adjusted and Boykins just looked silly. I’d like to see a backup point guard picked up from the D-League and Boykins given much less playing time, especially in the 4th quarter.
Despite the poor 4th quarter, I liked the effort and hustle. Even if making the playoffs is unrealistic, I would like the Wizards to continue playing hard and trying for wins. I enjoyed watching last night’s loss over many of the previous team’s slim-margin wins. I feel like this team gives it’s best effort every game and forces the other team to beat them. Overall, the results have been much better than my expectations.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Me too
In fact, to me, these games are perfect because the effort’s there (mostly) and they lose only because of talent, which means they don’t sacrifice draft position too much.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I Think They Already Have a Lot of Talent
It just isn’t developed enough. This same team can beat a team like Memphis easily one or two seasons from now, even without added talent. Of course, that is not to say that I would not like to see the Wizards add talent, but I don’t think we should sell our guys short, either. They are young, hungry, and have the potential to improve a lot, IMO.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
It depends on the player
There are definitely some guys who can get better with more time, like Blatche, McGee and maybe even Young. But I feel like there are also a lot of guys who aren’t likely to get too much better. Thornton, for example, is playing about as well as I could possibly expect him to play, and I don’t think Randy Foye is going to suddenly develop good point-guard instincts.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Agree About Foye
But why couldn’t Thornton get better? He’s only 26 and has been only in the league for three seasons. He is playing out of his mind right now, though, so maybe you do have a point. His PER for the first 4 games he got here is 20.8. He just needs to maintain that, and he could be an All-Star next season.
I also am very optimistic about Mike Harris. He barely saw the floor last night, but I would like to see what he can do with more opportunities. He is definitely someone who could improve our team, IMO.
As for Blatche and McGee, just those two player’s alone have a ton of untapped talent in the reservoir, IMO. I’m glad you agree. Those two may someday rival the “Twin Towers” of San Antonio and Houston teams past.
"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 Realize That
But they were also much older, much more developed players who stayed in college much longer than Blatche (no college) and McGee (2 years of college). They haven’t even approached their ceilings yet, but yes, I do think they have similar talent.
You can’t compare McGee to any of those guys yet, because those guys were still in college when they were McGee’s age. As for Blatche, I’ll have to research, but I think his 25 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists average the last 5 games comes pretty close to what those other legends averaged when they were 23.
"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 am growing
increasingly frustrated with McGee. It just seems like all he is worried about is blocking shots and dunking. Except, of course, for his elbow jumper. PLEASE make him stop taking that.
I don't see how you can say
his only concern is blocking shots and dunking… Those are the only good things he does at the moment. So its natural for him to try and do them…
He will improve with floor time. That’s the most important thing. He can only improve so much without it. In fact, we should be cheering for him out there, even when he looks lost… Its the only way he’ll find his way.
yeah
The truth is Javale needs experiences like the one he had last night. He needs to see the gap that exists between where he is now as a center and where he needs to be to be effective.
And as much as Javale needs to learn how to play the game better, he also needs to develop physically, both in terms of strength and stamina.
by Johnnie Futbol on Feb 25, 2010 3:26 PM EST up reply actions
This same team can beat a team like Memphis easily one or two seasons from now
wow. really? i don’t see much room for improvement from any of foye, miller, thornton, ross, boykins, singleton, or young. so i’m lost as to how that will happen.
well… young has a ton of room to improve, i just don’t think he will.
what am i missing? are you counting josh howard or arenas?
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 25, 2010 11:51 AM EST up reply actions
nba teams dont show up for it seems like half their games. you can make a living betting that at least one important starter takes the night off. it’s the deadly combination of youth, riches, travel, long season and regular back to backs. so yeah- average talent across the board that shows up for every game would be a .500 team and probably a playoff team many years…imho
by les boulez bomber on Feb 25, 2010 12:26 PM EST up reply actions
but that's not what cuppett is saying
we could have beat memphis last night, yeah, but we didn’t. sheer talent sure as heck wasn’t going to put us over the top, which is what cuppett is alluding to.
you’re also assuming that this team is going to show up and play this hard every game over an 82 game season. that remains to be seen. i’m not sure that’s possible.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 25, 2010 12:48 PM EST up reply actions
We Simply Disagree
I think Blatche can still improve greatly, especially with his handling of double-teams, which he has never had to worry about before.
I think McGee will improve greatly on defense the more he plays, and he is logging good minutes right now.
I think that Mike Harris has potential to improve greatly if he logs good minutes at the NBA level.
Yes, I do think Young can improve, although I’m least confident in him because he has been the only young guy to not step up so far.
Throw in Thornton continuing to play at an All-Star level (20.8 PER in his 4 games with the Wizards), and Singleton not having such an off-night (2 for 9 from the field, his worst shooting night so far), and yes, I think we could easily beat that Memphis team. It’s not like we got blown out as it was, we just needed to make that added push in the 4th quarter and we couldn’t.
"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 think i misunderstood
you are saying we just as well could have won last night if some things went our way. i agree with that. especially if blatche and mcgee get better.
i thought you were saying in two years, as this roster is presently constructed, we’ll be a 55+ win team that will regularly stomp teams like memphis with ease. i (now) agree that blatche and mcgee have potential, but i don’t think alone that gets us from here to there.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 25, 2010 3:39 PM EST up reply actions
I Think We are Back on the Same Page
My original point that you were responding to was a challenge to Mike’s point that we lost because we don’t have as much talent on this roster as Memphis. Talent does not always equal performance. We played well overall, but I think Memphis played very well throughout. I think we have just as much talent as Memphis right now, but we lost because Memphis is more seasoned, more familiar with their offense, and played a better game.
This is not meant to be a swipe at Memphis. Honestly, I’ll take consistently good performances over talent every day and twice on Sunday. But absent that, there is still talent, which leads a fan to at least hope for better days.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Marc Gasol is freaky efficient
There’s a reason he’s out there on the floor instead of the #2 pick, and it ain’t all that Thabeet is some sort of stiff. (Hasheem’s problem is fouling, but otherwise he’s been a decent player by the minute.)
Gasol is just very effective. The guy puts up a whole lot of high-percentage nights.
Miller…. Mike Miller has somehow lost the ability to catch it and let go a shot. He misplaced it last year and hasn’t figured it out again.
"It has come to the editor’s attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission."
I was wondering
about Thabeet. He can’t be doing any good. For the 5 minutes Gasol isn’t on the floor, they put the “First Iranian player in the NBA” in.
They’ve gotta be kicking themselves for that pick. Gasol is only getting better, and I don’t see Thabeet catching up to him,
Depending on when they cut bait,
any team would have to consider Thabeet a potential below-value pickup, at least on his rookie deal. Memphis seems not to need him that much, or so they think. Haddadi is an awful defensive center right now, and for all that Thabeet’s a rookie, he’s going to swat shots and be at least a complement to Gasol. When the other team’s bigs are scoring inside, it’s not like you can go to Haddadi to staunch the bleeding.
The Grizzlies have been pretty patient on players like Mike Conley for a while now. They won’t toss Thabeet out casually….
"It has come to the editor’s attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission."
Blatche getting doubled is frickin awesome
He’s a very good passer, and it will definitely open up the floor, for both open J’s/3’s but also for players cutting to the basket from the wing (guards/forwards) or the opposite baseline (oop oopportunities for McGee). Excellent development…
McGee got torched, but I’ll take it, because he needs that experience. If he has any pride to go along with his reported work ethic, then he should improve quickly…
That dunk was on Haddadi, after all
The guy’s a bad defender, bad. He’s also fouling at the highest rate, per minute, of any player in the league so far this year.
Somebody needs to get on Memphis’s backup centers and get them to stop hacking people. Both Haddadi and Thabeet would foul out in starters’ minutes.
"It has come to the editor’s attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission."
I was just reading on CBS
he got sent down to d-league.
by young, loud and Scotty on Feb 26, 2010 1:24 AM EST up reply actions
If Miller is not going to take open shots....
I say sit him down and give Nick the minutes. Miller is not going to be on this team next year at this rate, and Nick will be… barring a trade which argues for showcasing him anyway.
With Blatche now drawing double teams, the Wizzies must counter with another wing scoring threat in addition to Thornton, who is playing well and may turn out to be a steal if he does not revert to the style of play that cost him minutes in Clip City.
I also agree with those who say that now that Z is bought out we should try to find an available point guard and bring him on down to DC. Foye is an average combo guard at best, and Boykins is (and always has been) a situational player.
Memphis has to be kicking itself REALLY hard about not taking a point guard with that second pick last June. Everyone was saying Thabeet is a project, at best, and if Memphis had taken Curry (or traded down and wound up with Lawson or Collison) they would be real contenders.
Or taking Rubio
The 2nd pick gets paid alot more than the 5th.
I Never Understood Memphis's Obsession With Thabeet
Bad pick, IMO. As for Miller, I wouldn’t be so sure he is gone. Michael Lee reported that the Wiz want to resign him, and he may not get great offers this off-season. I heard that he wants to be closer to his family, but staying would guarantee him starters minutes and familiarity with the offense. I don’t know, we’ll see.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
You can't teach height, that's the obsession.
Same reason Jordan went behind Hakeem and Sam Bowie. Same reason Durant went behind Oden.
AND
same reason all those teams are kicking themselves. Yes, even Houston. I love the Dream, but Jordan shoulda been the first pick. Same with Durant.
Very well may be
But every team has the perfect draft in hindsight. On draft day (and in the preceding preparations), no one says he’s gonna not pick a for sure superstar because there’s a 7 footer on the boards, because no one knows what a for sure superstar looks like (with the exception of LeManChild, and maybe Blake Griffin) until they suit up. And by that time its a little late to draft him…
The reality is you have no idea how well a player will perform in the big boy league until he gets there.
Wasn’t kobe a mid first rounder? Steve Nash? Countless others? Heck our very own 7-day Dray was a mid second rounder for goodness sake… Half the teams in the league passed on him TWICE!
I’m just saying that you can’t call out Memphis for picking Thabeet based on Stephen Curry’s or Tyreke Evans’ rookie season performance.
Sure I can
the book on Thabeet was that he was soft. Just like size, you can’t teach heart either.
That said, I completely agree with your point. Yes, I was referring to hindsight. Every team screws up the draft at one point or another. Although, there’s NO WAY Darko shoulda gone before ’Melo. The guy dominated college basketball his only year there, AND won a national title.
As for the hindsight discussion, my favorite will always be the Bulls/Blazers example. In ‘83 the Bulls passed on Drexler, and in ’84 the Blazers passed on Jordan. That’s 2 chances for them to end up on the same team. They woulda made a hell of a tandem.
Agreed mostly, but as for Melo
You could, by the same rationale, say he should’ve gone ahead of LeBron. Melo won the NCAA championship, and Bron had only played against high schoolers. But you never hear that stated, because it doesn’t work out in hindsight…
that's because
everyone knew Lebron gonna be the first pick two years before that. I just think it sucks a$$ that NONE of those great players from that draft coulda been there 2 years earlier. We have the worst luck with the draft. We took Juan Carlos over Luis Scola in the SECOND ROUND. Sure, Houston got lucky with that pick. But why can’t we get that kind of luck? I mean, Jarvis Hayes over David West? Ugh.
andray blatche is an overavchieving second rounder for us right now! better than our lottery pick mcgee even. and i know there is a year in the nba difference between the two, but blatche is better today than mcgee will be in next year…and likely the year after
by les boulez bomber on Feb 25, 2010 12:34 PM EST up reply actions
Blatche is actually in his 5th season
McGee is in his second. Where they’re a year apart is in age, not NBA experience.
Yeah
I guess we did get lucky with Blatche. Which is why it baffles me when people call him a “bust.”
But McGee wasn’t a lottery pick. If he was, he’d be in “bust” territory.
It all goes back to being raw
Which is why I’m advocating patience. We really don’t know what we have until he’s not salmonella…
He wasn’t a lottery pick because he was so raw coming out of Nevada. If he wasn’t so raw then yes he’d be a bust. He doesn’t perform that well because he’s raw.
Well you gotta remember who was picking there...
It was Detroit, who was coming off of a run to the Conference Finals. They had a set two guard and a three and they weren’t looking to mess up the dynamic of the team in 2003. Yes, in hindsight, they should’ve picked Melo, but they probably figured it would be better to hide a unknown European player on the bench for maturation than it would’ve been to feel the pressure of having MOP of the final four and highly touted Melo on their team. It may have messed up their nice team dynamic they had there. I can understand their Darko pick, even though it seems like a no-brainer now
by SkinsWizStangs on Feb 25, 2010 12:51 PM EST up reply actions
damnit
I didn’t see this, typed the same damned thing up a bit. The Thabeet thing, that is.
Yes, we need a REAL PG bad. But we also need a legit center. McGee gets eaten alive by any center with size. He needs to learn positioning instead of trying to block every shot. That’s why I hope we end up with Cousins in the draft.
I'd take McGee over
any big in this draft. Just based on the fact that he has just as much upside as anyone in the draft, and a two year head start.
Last year wiz fans were screaming for minutes for him. Then when he gets minutes we start screaming that he’s not ready… You don’t say….
I mean, what do people expect?
Sorry, I think
Cousins is gonna be a good one. Monroe too, although he may be better suited at PF.
I know what you mean about McGee, and I I’m definitely guilty of it. But I bought into the hype of him “knowing the fundamentals” since his mom played professionally. Well, if he knows ‘em, he sure as hell doesn’t show ’em.
And I think
McGee’s gonna be a top 5 center by 2012. Of course I’d still take Cousins, its not like you can have too many good young bigs…
By the way, I also predicted last year (on wiz insider) that blatche would be an all-star caliber player… ;-) He’s got a ways to go, but if this team is .500 next year and blatche is putting up 20/8 it would be hard to keep him off… And he’s only 23.
And it was very clear last year that McGee couldn’t even spell fundamentals… So I’m not seeing where you got that idea, genes notwithstanding.
Knowing the Fundamentals
I don’t think you were around then, Hutch, because nobody here ever bought that hype. DraftExpress rated him the worst defender they had ever profiled. Ever. Prada famously singled Javale out as the one person we definitely did not want to draft. This board exploded with complaints after we picked him, myself included.
My point is, everybody here knew that he was a terrible defender, but seeing him play made us realize how much potential he has. The only way this kid is going to get better on defense is to play. Yes, that means he is going to get schooled often, but he has a long road to go from “worst defender ever profiled” and NBA adequate defender. It’s going to be a bumpy ride at times, but if McGee can make it through, he has the potential to be a very dominant center in this league.
We don’t have any other options (unless you are a big fan of Oberto), so why not let this play out? No need to give up on him so soon. Look how long we waited on Blatche to develop!
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Last year wiz fans were screaming for minutes for him. Then when he gets minutes we start screaming that he’s not ready… You don’t say….
LOL. so true. gotta love irrationality.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 25, 2010 11:57 AM EST up reply actions
get the center first…always the hardest position to fill
by les boulez bomber on Feb 25, 2010 12:35 PM EST up reply actions
some headscratchers...
Nick Young was playing crunch time minutes in the win against Denver. He had 7 at the half of this game and was an offensive spark plug. Then he got no love in the second half. Why not give Young a shot? Our defense was not stopping anyone anyway, and he ended up doing ok on Chauncey against Denver. I love James Singleton for his blocks and offensive rebounds, but he fell in love with his jumper tonight in some really questionable spots. (Shot 2 for 9 from the field!!!). Foye’s struggling in some ways right now. Trying to do all the right things as a point guard and not looking to come off screens for his shot enough, so he’s too tentative. But look at his plus minus compared to Boykins! Why not let him develop rather than play Boykins so much? Foye did have 7 assists and one turnover. Bulls game, 16 points, 9 assists with 1turnover. If he finds the balance and gets his confidence right, he’s a scorer too! He had 30 in a half for Minnesota last year and averaged 16. I’d really like to see Foye and Young get the chance to develop, and we’ll need their scoring to replace the 20 points Howard would have averaged the rest of the way. 4 of Blatche’s 8 2nd half points were in garbage time when the game was decided. He really disappeared for a while there. I was at the game and thought he could have been more aggressive, even if only to draw the double team more often. I agree, Millier’s hesistance to take the open 3 is baffling.
Do you know how many chances Nick Young has got. Last night was his first good outing in a long time.
by MurlandTerps on Feb 25, 2010 11:27 AM EST up reply actions
what? chance have nick young being giving but to be punish for bullshit play mr. nick young like he play every one else and you will see how great this kid is nick is a special kind of player who need freedom to play and create with out that nick can not play well and nick is not a role player he is a star player that on a team with a bunch of role player the coaches see a nice guy that they can mass over instead of playing a winner nick young that can win game’s and mcgee would not start on my high school team and singleton is a BUMB BIG TIME
straight talk
by Mae.jude@yahoo.com on Feb 25, 2010 1:37 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t think Singleton took any questionable shots. He had one he had to rush because of the shot clock, but iirc the rest were perfectly in the flow of the offense. He just wasn’t hitting them.
I agree too
and I have officially adopted Singleton as my favorite player. Which means if you wanna rag on him, you’ve gotta deal with me.
I love Singleton too
But his game is not jumpers on the outside! When he hits them it’s a pleasant surprise but I don’t think he should be looking for them. There was one play last night where Nick Young got open behind him on the wing and he decided to hold onto it rather than make the pass. He can stretch the floor sometimes, but he’s not a shooter…
no, he shouldn't be
looking for an outside shot. I do remember screaming NO when he loaded up for that shot. I didn’t want a blemish that blemish on his career.
But, seriously though, if he keeps blocking dunks and dunking misses (isn’t that McGee’s job?), I can live with him hoisting a prayer every now and then. What’s funny though, is that he actually doesn’t have bad form. I’m not saying he’s a good shooter by any means. But those high energy utility types usually have such awful form you know why they aren’t offensive players.
I think he’s got a good jump shot. Unless the first few games were an anomoly. He seemed the hit them pretty regular till last night.
Also
Flip’s offense, no matter how complex or simplified, has always hinged on guys taking the open shot. If Singleton is wide open, he needs to take the shot. He has good enough fundamentals to make them at least 50% of the time.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
We need to sign David Lee and get a true PG
Put David Lee at Center.The guy is 6’9 but crashes the boards, fills space, and has a great back to the basket old school game. We sacrafice blocks but Blatche can pick up the slack since he is 7ft. Javale can take a few years to learn how to box out and learn a post up move. Javale can be our energy off the bench.
Then we trade for a real pass first point guard. I like Darren Collison, but we can get a gritty vet like Baron Davis to demonstrate leadership to our youngsters.
If Thornton keeps on attacking the rim instead of falling in love with jumpers….he’s our SF.
Shooting guard…Miller doesn’t shoot anymore, and Nick is inconsistent. Someone needs to step up. I say we just move Foye to exclusive shooting and let him go nuts as the starter next year.
Singleton will be most improved player or sixth man of the year :-)
David Lee is about as bad defensively as Jamison
No thanks. How about we give McGee more than five games to show progress? Think about this: This will be the first time he has gotten consistent minutes in his career, save for the short EJ stint early last season.
How about we see how he looks after this 32 game stretch before we determine how bad our need for a center is?
Naw
Foye is too streaky. Plus, he can’t finish at the basket. He just throws the ball as close to the rim as he can get it. I thought the guy could dunk?
As for Miller, I am getting tired of him passing up shots. It just seems like his game doesn’t fit this “new team” like it did the old one. Probably because his major role disintegrated. Before, he was the “team catalyst”. But this new team doesn’t need a catalyst. They just go.
I don't want David Lee at all
Also, the last thing Baron Davis is is a “gritty vet.” The grass is always greener on the other side it seems.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Centers
As mentioned above, we’re being pretty hypocritical about our centers. Last year, as our season was going down hill, it was so frustrating to watch McGee get zero playing time. You know why he looks clueless out there right now? Probably because he’s played zero minutes over his first two seasons to get acclimated to real games. We made the poor decision last year to not play him and now Flip’s crucifying him this year when he plays. We just gave away a center who is starting in the West, centers are hard enough to come by, so have patience and teach the kid.
Flip is certainly not crucifying him
But on the patience angle I’d agree 100%
Oh and he looks clueless because he's raw.
A combination of time and playing time will fix that. One without the other (in other words lots of minutes as a rookie, or conversely waiting till his 4th year for minutes) will not significantly accelerate that.
I predict him being a top 5 center by 2012. That’s if the planet isn’t broken in two, that is…
Is Singleton really this good?
He jumper is just a bonus….but he looks so smooth out there grabbing boards and blocking shots. So fluid and effortlessly. Just like CWebb back in the day.
Is this just a mirage?
No Mirage
But he is definitely no C-Webb. He is a solid 6th man that I’m stoked about because of his defense, rebounding, and ability to fill in on offense with the occasional put-back or open jump-shot. He does all of those things very well and we haven’t had a guy like him in a long time. The closest we’ve had over the past several seasons has been Darius Songaila. But Songaila wasn’t as good on defense or rebounding as 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
I said CWebb on defense. His athletic rebounding and shot blocking.
It’s just very refreshing seeing a guy being able to grab boards OVER guys. I’m used to seeing Jamison get jumped over.
Agreed
Seeing this team play gritty, physical defense and fight for rebounds with the same intensity is a sight for these sore eyes.
"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 mentioned this yesterday, he's a poor man's Josh Smith
on the defense and energy side. Just so fluid out there…has a swagger. Plus he has the headband :-)
Anything on offense is a bonus.
No, But He Could Box Out
Songaila would give you some punch on offense, to go along with solid play on defense. He never rebounded that well, but advanced stats showed that the team rebounded just as effectively when he was in the game, probably because of his box outs and tips to other teammates. He always was near the top of the team in +/-, the ultimate glue guy. But Singleton is definitely better.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
This isn't really true
advanced stats showed that the team rebounded just as effectively when he was in the game
http://www.82games.com/0708/07WAS12D.HTM
http://www.82games.com/0809/08WAS13.HTM#onoff
Neither year featured a positive differential, though our defensive rebounding was much better with Songaila on the floor in 08/09 (our offensive rebounding was way worse).
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I Considered the On/Off to Be So Small as to Be Insignificant
Less than 2% difference in 07-08, less than 0.5% last season. It wasn’t like we rebounded 5% better with him off the court. That’s what I meant by “just as effectively”. I never said he made the team rebound better.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
1.4% is somewhat significant
It’s not ridiculous, but there’s practically nobody who makes a 5% difference.
Either way, I did misread you a bit. I thought you were saying he made the team better at rebounding.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Well
It didn’t help Songaila that he was normally subbing in for Jamison at PF, who was +3.4% rebounding on/off overall. Dominic McGuire was a -3.7% rebounding on/off and Andray Blatche was a -1.5%, so there were clearly worse options for the Wizards than Songaila.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Also, IIRC
At one point last season I remember his On/Off showing a slight positive differential, which is why I remembered it.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
jake the snake I don’t like you; your name should be lying snake, when it come down to talking about nick young if that dunk would have been made by another player you would have jump for joy and fake like it was the best ever but because it was by nick young you all way’s have some thing negative say you don’t know one thing about basketball, young can not help the fact that he is good looking and sexy and that he is not hard looking and ugly like the rest of the team the kid have game know what you say and people that know real basketball know that so keep on hating on nick young, young will be just fine. AND OH YOU KNOW THAT NICK YOUNG IS SO SO SMOOTH
straight talk
by Mae.jude@yahoo.com on Feb 26, 2010 1:14 PM EST reply actions
"young can not help the fact that he is good looking and sexy"
This guy is hilarious.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
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