Keys to the Palace: Time for Some Leadership
by Jon Kelman on Feb 7, 2011 1:39 AM EST
in Keys To The Palace
Email
PrintAt 13-37, we are now 2nd to last in the Eastern Conference, and 4th to last in the entire NBA. I would like to say that this 0-4 week is acceptable because this is a rebuilding team and all 4 losses were against good teams, but frustration is mounting amongst fans and the players.
With that in mind, the theme for this week's Keys to the Palace is leadership. This team has 2 players over the age of 27, so leadership roles have been thrust upon a lot of young players. As we look to the future, seeing how these players embrace their leadership responsibilities could be very telling for how quickly and successfully the team moves forward.
Keys to the Palace
| Player | Week 15 PER | Week 14 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Hinrich | 13.6 | 13.4 | 0.2 | He got hot against the Hornets, and continued his hot shooting against the Hawks. The bad part of the Captain is that he is not a great playmaker, which is about as damning a point one can make about a point guard. The offense completely changes with Wall out of the game, and although Hinrich handles the ball, he is not driving and creating for others. A nice week for him though, and perhaps a nice coincidence that my focus this week is on leadership. |
| Al Thornton | 12 | 12 | 0 | A 5 minute and a 7 minute game, but he's still in this week. I have been impressed with Thornton's ability to adopt to a new role. This was a black hole on offense, trying to earn a starting job somewhere, who has been relegated to less than 15 mpg on a bad team. Thornton has done a nice job though picking his spots on offense and not displaying any of the frustration I would expect from guy who lost his spot so quickly. He won't be here next year, but I respect the guy for going about his business and tweaking his game on such short notice. |
Guest Passes
| Player | Week 15 PER | Week 14 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Booker | 13 | 13.4 | -0.4 | 6 blocks against the Magic got me salivating. The bad is 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 5 fouls in 12 minutes against the Hawks. Looking to the future, I think Book is a long term piece. I am not sure if he is a starter, but if he keeps his intensity level up through his career, it is hard not to see him as someone who will lead by example. |
| Nick Young | 15.2 | 15.5 | -0.3 | Shooting 6-20, 7-20, and 7-17 in 3 of the 4 games this week is not good. I also think that the Wall ejection against the Magic is partly Nick's Fault. Sushi was frustrated at not getting a few calls, and that frustration definitely rubs off on your teammates. To date, I have been okay with Nick's easy-going attitude, but for him to be a long-term piece, he needs to understand that his personality and reactions will affect his teammates. I have a hard time seeing him change though. |
| John Wall | 15.1 | 15.3 | -0.2 | 2 decent games, 1 okay, and 1 awful this week. He has been showing some signs of frustration that seemed to boil over into his ejection against the Magic. As much as I like the fire, I can't help but think some of that anger is from being on a bad team. A possibly symbolic play was the 2-on-1 break he defended against the Magic in which he perfectly played 2 guys at once, forced an awkward lob pass, and then blocked the alley oop dunk..........only to have the loose ball fall to a 3rd Magic player trailing the play for an easy layup. Wall looked incredulous after the play ($50 fine I'm sure), but rightfully so for his unbelievable effort that was not supported by any of his teammates hustling back on defense. |
| Yi Jianlian | 11.2 | 11.1 | 0.1 | 2 games into this week, I had a Key to the Palace with his name on it, then a couple of stinkers and he is back to guest pass territory. The ability to stretch the defense is nice and seemingly a good fit with Wall. Unfortunately, he is just so slow on defense, I can't see him guarding any PFs with major minutes. I think he should play more center and see how he stands up to the league's biggest men. |
Locked Out
| Player | Week 15 PER | Week 14 PER | Difference | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andray Blatche | 14.6 | 14.4 | 0.2 | The effort and performance by my eyeballs was about the same as usual, but the numbers were much better this week than in the past few. I really shouldn't have to say much about his leadership. I know at least Nick gets along with him, but he will never lead by example and I only think a superb leader will bring out the best in him. Dray will be incredibly high maintenance if that is the case, which is one more reason that he should not be in the team's long term plans. |
| Rashard Lewis | 14.4 | 14.7 | -0.3 | I have praised him for adapting to a new team with a variety of roles, but he is a veteran making big money who needs to really step it up at this point. There was nothing particularly bad he did this week, but he is being locked out because of an absence of 'good.' It is important to note that he is the oldest player on the roster. We just need more out of Rashard. |
| JaVale McGee | 17.1 | 17.7 | -0.6 | 20.2, 19.3, 18.5, 18.0, 18.6, 18.2, 17.5, and 17.1. Those are JaVale's PERs in order starting in week 6. As you can see, there is a concerning pattern......His minutes are down, and his benchings are up. When the highlight of your week is outplaying Zaza Pachulia, you know things are not going well. Dwight Howard predictably destroyed him, but the Mavs and Hornets games were not good efforts. Part of the reason he keeps getting locked out is that we expect more from him, and in many ways NEED more from him for this team to be successful in the future. |
NOTE: Hilton Armstrong, Cartier Martin, Mustafa Shakur, and Kevin Seraphin were left off this week's Keys to the Palace because they did not receive enough playing time for a fair evaluation.
36 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
leadership
I’m a bit dissapointed in John when it comes to leadership. With all the praise leading up to this season about his intangibles, his winners mentality and leadership abilities i expected more from him.
I thought he would be the type of player who would hit Andray in the face with a pass if he mailed it in on defense, i thought he would spark everybody with contagious fire and will his team to a win.
The only time i really saw that was the second game of the season agianst the hawks where he really sparked a fire amongst his teammates. That is also one of the view games he really took over as ‘the game changer’ he was announced to be (they lost that game ofcourse, but that’s not the point)
Instead i see a lot of whining and complaining.
Back in the summer of 2008, going into his senior yr of highschool this scouting report had this to say:
the main concern we have with John Wall at this time revolves around his often-poor body language on the court, especially around his teammates. He tends to get frustrated easily when things aren’t going well, blaming others for his own mistakes, taunting his opponents, and just generally looking quite immature. It seems like the incredible amount of success he’s received over the last year may be going to his head a little bit, and there is a real risk that he may not reach his full potential if he isn’t willing to be humble about his flaws and learn how to channel his emotions better.
From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/John-Wall-1339/#ixzz1DGTP0jfk
http://www.draftexpress.com
Later reports don’t mention it anymore and instead praise his leadership and will to win. I think he has regressed (not sure that is the correct english term for this)
I assume a lot of you will say someting along the lines “He is a rookie, he will learn etc.” and i agree with that. I guess my point is that John just isn’t where i thought he would be in his rookie season and quite frankly i am dissapointed at the tempo of his development so far.
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
" My psychiatrist just doesn't know what I go through. He is a Lakers fan" Hambonejackson
Its hard for me to worry about all of that Wall stuff.
Because I really don’t know what is going on behind closed doors. Maybe Dray has way more of a veteran presence than we would imagine, around the locker room. And by veteran presence, I mean he is pretty set in his ways and he makes it known that he isn’t changing. Maybe John thinks he is a lost cause. Maybe John really isn’t comfortable in the locker room. It’s easy to lead guys that you are comfortable with, but if he doesn’t relate or especially get along with them… then I dunno. Maybe Wall really feels defeated this year(this one would be disappointing a little and would call for criticism).
I do agree, I am also disappointed in this season, on the John Wall scale. He really hasn’t blown anybody away in a while, and people are lying to themselves if they say they were expecting simply “solid play” from him this year. I’m not saying he should have carried us to the playoffs, but he hasn’t really had an outstanding game in quite a while.
by returnofswagger on Feb 7, 2011 5:39 AM EST up reply actions
It was absurd that Flip tried to push so much leadership on him to begin with.
And that speaks to Flip’s unwillingness to be the leader.
Making him capt was ridiculous. Here’s a kid who cant do his laundry, living alone for the first time, completely unaware of how the nba operates, life on the road etc…and he’s going to tell guys like Arenas what to do? Blatche who has been here 6yrs? Josh Howard? These are grown men being told a teenager was their leader….just wasn’t going to happen. It’s going to take a few seasons
by DCrez on Feb 7, 2011 8:45 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
It's partially Wall's own fault...
The person trumping up John Wall’s leadership the most, even before he played his first NBA game, was John Wall himself. I’m always wary of people who talk about themselves as being leaders and in this instance it seemed presumptive coming from a 19 year old rookie, even if he was the #1 pick.
I disagree
He was just answering questions that were asked from media people trumping him up for being a leader.
He was getting tons of questions about leadership
with the Gil situation especially. I always felt he could have answered the questions more tactfully than he did. He could have been self effacing. Could have said things like he sees himself as a leader someday, but just wants to learn from the vets on the team his rookie season, etc. Do you feel the media put his answers in his mouth?
cocky SOB coming out...which is to be expected, and not a bad thing
Look at how everything went down with him, so much hype, consensus #1, the John Wall dance, the shoe deal, and on and on. He probably expected he’d come in and turn things around.
He looks humbled at times, his rookie campaign must be a huge wake-up call for him. Hopefully the effect is to re-dedicate himself this summer, build up an nba body as fast as he can while working on his J.
His attitude towards work and getting better always seems superb, gotta love that
It's bad enough that Hinrich had to be named captain
due to the circumstances…but there really wasn’t any pressing need to make Wall a capt as well was there? On the other hand, I’m not sure the title carries any weight- it’s pretty clear IMO this is a rudderless ship.
speaking of leadership
who are the up and coming GMs out there?
*Typo Alert*
Says Dray has a guest pass, but he is locked out.
Only he would try to use the Holiday Inn card key, when he was staying at the Red Roof Inn. Silly Blatche!
Nice catch, change made
As you can tell, I went back and forth on Dray this week. If it weren’t for me arbitraritly deciding to call it leadership week, then he would have moved up to the guest pass.
Al Thornton
I’m kind of leaning to the side of saying, “bring him back next year”. He’s got talent. Although he has some flaws to his game, he plays so hard and he is one of the few players on this team that will take to the basketball. Outside of Nick Young, he’s been one of the most consistent players on this team this year.
I've been thinking the same
He plays so damn hard…it’s refreshing in this team
it all depends on price
but i agree he has been playing pretty darn hard recently
by John Park Williams on Feb 7, 2011 10:49 AM EST up reply actions
forgot AT was a team option next year, was thinking RFA
yeah, at $3.9M i’d definitely be down for brining him back.
by John Park Williams on Feb 7, 2011 12:38 PM EST up reply actions
Nobody on this team
works harder for his shots than Al Thornton. He’s like our own wing player who is willing to take it inside. I wouldn’t be too quick to say he shouldn’t be brought back.
by Marine4Life51 on Feb 7, 2011 10:51 AM EST up reply actions
I watched the Orlando game after having read the post-game thread here on BF and I gotta say the calls weren’t as bad as I expected. There were 2 terrible calls against McGee where Howard was shoving him and Javale got whistled. Terrible. And I’m aware that just a couple of bad calls at the right time can send a team spiraling, especially when it becomes confusing how physical the refs are allowing. And the call where Arenas fouled NY was a terrible no-call too. But the block by Wall was probably a foul. The call on the rebound with Wall and Howard was probably a good call too.
I think if McGee would start playing the percentages instead of going for the big play every time—in this case don’t bite on fakes, keep your arms up, don’t reach in—I think he would be more effective and might have drawn an offensive foul or two. I agree it’s frustrating when a guy (or team) is being physical and the refs let them, but reaching in and losing composure only compounds the problem, and makes the next call easy for the ref.
The best revenge against a team or a bad call is to overcome the problem and win the game. It’s hard to do that when you’re complaining.
I watched Boston play Orlando yesterday....
It was a hard, physical game. You have to play hard-nosed against Orlando, and above all not back down against Howard. Do not let the smiley stuff fool you, Howard was at war against Perkins and ultimately he lost.
Yet the Wizards (that is to say, Flip) gave most of the frontcourt playing time against the Magic to the buttery soft Blatche, McGee, Yi and Lewis. Far smarter to put Booker, Seraphin and Thornton in there and let them foul out if need be.
Oh I am waiting with anticipation and dread to see what happens in Cleveland… The Desperation Bowl is looming.
Seraphin deserves a lot more PT in my opinion
by John Park Williams on Feb 7, 2011 10:51 AM EST up reply actions
@John Park Williams
How exactly did Seraphin deserve more PT in your opinion??
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
" My psychiatrist just doesn't know what I go through. He is a Lakers fan" Hambonejackson
by Dutch Hoopfan on Feb 7, 2011 1:54 PM EST up reply actions
I'd like to see more of him, though I wouldnt say he deserves it so much as
why not play him since we suck and he’s a 1st round pick. I guess it’s more important for management to see Yi as a decision has to be made on him, whereas Seraphin will be here no matter what.
Kind of amazing that Ernie promised him no D-League, makes you wonder if they ever saw him play before the draft.
The thing I noticed in the Boston-Orlando game which was also written
about in the Orlando-Heat game is the degree to which Cs and Heat have wing players help out on Howard. He dominated the paint against both team in the 1st half, they adjusted, and he was nullified in the 2nd. It’s not that he starts missing shots, it’s that he doesnt even take them because the double and triple team happens so quickly.
It seems we start each Magic game expecting that Mcgee will singlehandedly check Dwight Howard, which immediately results in some quick fouls. So we put in Yi or Hilton who also cant do anything etc etc etc
So much talk about our Bigs not helping perimeter players enough defensively…it looks like the reverse is true when we play the Magic
Not helping enough
There’s a huge difference between not helping a player when he gets bumped off the ball handler in the pick and roll and not helping a player when he is matched up in the post one-on-one.
Every player, no matter how good, needs help to recover to the ball handler when he has to get around a pick.
In contrast, all players should be able to stop their match up in the post one-on-one, for a few seconds at least. Our guys were getting beat so thoroughly and so fast that there was not time for help to arrive.
Almost no player can stop Howard 1-on-1 in the post for a few seconds.
He was killing Perkins in the 1st half yesterday.
Right, right
“Stop” was the wrong word. Much too high of a standard. Instead of stopping him, how about setting the bar at preventing Howard from shooting over 90% from the field? Or maybe occasionally stopping Howard’s first move and getting him go to one of his counters?
I think Mcgee was terrible
Though it is so lame to watch Howard get away with blatantly shoving opponents around, it’s his version of the crab dribble.
But I feel like we go into these Magic games thinking “Let’s see if Javale can stop him this time!” I’m afraid we know the answer, should change it up a bit. Rondo was all over Howard on the help D, would LOVE to see Wall doing the same
I saw it a bit differently
First, let me say that McGee was horrible. I didn’t really pay attention to anything he did because he kept allowing Howard to back door him and catch alley oops (like 4 or 5 of them).
Second, the block by Wall was an awful call because a) he got all ball and b) there was no other body contact at all. As a matter of fact, I remember sitting there and hearing the official blowing the whistle before the play had completely finished. It was as if they decided they were going to call a foul on the slightest of contact.
I think the worst call of the night, and the one I think lead to Wall getting his first T, was when he was guarding Arenas near the perimeter and Arenas shot the ball. It really didn’t look like a foul initially at all, but when they showed the replay it just looked even worse because Wall never made contact with them. I think that foul and the T changed the game and the Wizards were completely unfocused.
Let’s not pretend, the Wizards were awful that night, but the reason why they were able to stay in that game so long is because Orlando is playing terrible basketball too. They are jacking up too many 3s and missing them and no one is consistently contributing besides Howard. The refs made a close game a blow out by changing the momentum at the end of third/beginning of the 4th.
by ThePGPhenomenon on Feb 7, 2011 12:15 PM EST up reply actions
what a great week! we go 0-4, and the 2011 draft is looking pretty good
To me, there are 4 blue chippers: Sullinger, TJones, PJones, and KIrving.
I know nothing about DerrickWilliams, MotanisusJariskizviz or Enes Kanter.
But, losing works for me.
by John Park Williams on Feb 7, 2011 11:51 AM EST reply actions
Wall has shown flashes of aptitude for the role of floor general
I’m not worried about John yet.
I’m more worried about the lack of secondary leaders. If Wall is our captain of the future, who will be his lieutenants? Our older vets, Rashard Lewis, Josh Howard, Kirk Hinrich, and Hilton Armstrong, will all be gone in a year or two. Who can step up to the Caron/Antawn role as a leader by example who can stand with Wall and lend some extra gravitas to Wall’s leadership? Next in seniority and age is Blatche, then Young, Thornton, and Yi, followed by McGee. Slim pickings.
leaders
Right now, Nick Young is emerging as the leader. JWall may be the leader of the future, but the vets on this team are surely not the type of leaders needed by JWall
Genl. Flip Lee is the leader of this team
Blatche and Wall are the anointed floors leaders: kamikaze rookie point guard and an anxiety plagued power forward. The main thing is to develop a team and hopefully one that has more to play for this time of the season than for next season. The 3rd worst record in the NBA is not going to produce many leaders and followers and if this continues will lead to an overall exodus. Get Blatche healthy, get McGee into a weight room and get Young resigned. Fill some holes this off season either through the draft or free agency. The main thing is to have a team and hopefully one that can compete.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bullets Forever
Related FanShots on Bullets Forever
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
