2011-2012 Washington Wizards Thread

[Pedro Cerrano]

Meh, the NBA is a different animal. Half the teams in the NBA make the playoffs. All you need is 2 or 3 good players and you make the playoffs.

Haha, well I know if the O's made the playoffs we'd rejoice but in terms of aspirations of oh, I don't know, being a team that can actually be a title contender, the O's are probably in better shape.

[NewMarketSean]

Haha, well I know if the O's made the playoffs we'd rejoice but in terms of aspirations of oh, I don't know, being a team that can actually be a title contender, the O's are probably in better shape.

The Wizards also seem to have an owner who at least cares. That is probably the biggest and most important difference.

[The Maestro]

Rashard Lewis didn't play yesterday. It was announced about 20 minutes before game-time that he had a "sore right knee." Turns out he had an altercation with Sam Cassell in the locker room and announced that he wasn't going to play.

It's quite possible that this team is in worse shape than the Orioles.

Nothing like good veteran leadership on a young team.

[adamwolff11]

The Wizards are an infuriating team right now. Flip should be gone, not sure how he makes it through January, unless there is a huge turnaround.

Going forward, here are some things I would do:

-You don't resign Nick Young. Yes, he can be the offense, but he plays like Kobe. When he has the ball, the only thing he can do is isolate and take a jump shot. He's a good scorer, but he's not elite. I think his style of play can only be truly valuable if you are a Melo, Kobe, Lebron, etc. type of scorer. I don't think he'll ever put up big numbers on a good team.

-Blatche should be out of town by whatever means necessary. You seriously need to start shopping him. If anyone will take on that contract, by all means, give him away. I don't think I've ever seen a player that is actually so much worse than the box scores indicate. He gets his stats, but he's another guy that will never be a 30 minute per game player on a good team. Amnesty him next year if you have to, just get him out of here and off the books ASAP.

-I think you sign JaVale, unless it takes crazy money (which it might). After seeing what DeAndre Jordan got, you never know. His offense is a work in progress, but I think we've seen marked improvement from him every year, which is encouraging. I don't think JaVale and Blatche are a good fit together at all. Let's see more of JaVale and Booker together to see how they work together.

-Singleton and Booker should be getting 30 minutes per game from here on out. Flip has had many quotes about needing to find players who will play the right way, give max effort, etc. Well, back some of that up. These two guys bust their ass out there. If someone with Blatche's build gave the effort Booker did on the glass, he'd grab 15 a night.

-Somehow, Jordan Crawford needs to be held accountable for shot selection. I'm not sure how you get it through to a second year player that they are not Kobe, they are not Lebron. You have done nothing in this league, kid. It's one thing to be confident, it's another to talk about how good you are and then back it up by shooting less than 32%. Aside from Kevin Seraphin (who attempts less than 1.5 shots per game), Crawford has the lowest shooting percentage on the team. Shelvin Mack hasn't played great, but if Crawford doesn't change his approach, I'd like to see him get some of those minutes.

-Pay Rashard his money, play Singleton/Vesely at the 3. The only thing more of a guarantee than the Wiz missing the playoffs this year, is that Rashard Lewis will not be resigning here after the 2012-2013 season. He's making almost 56 million this season and next (which just feels terrible to type). Let him take his money and sit the bench. You could make an argument about a veteran presence, but I think the issue with Cassell, which I absolutely believe is true, proves he isn't some great influence either.

-2012 Draft: Don't screw it up. There is a LOT of talent in this draft. After a couple week draft classes, we finally have one that is really strong. Especially at PF, which will be a need if we can get rid of Blatche. At PF, you have Davis, Sullinger, Jones III, Robinson, and Hensen, all of which should be top 10 picks. I like Brad Beal as well, who should be a lottery pick as a SG. Ideally, the team could grab a few more late first or second round picks (either via trade or buying them), and then use those picks to grab 2 lottery or 1 lottery and one mid first round pick.

Say you were able to add Sullinger and Beal (maybe wishful thinking, but not ridiculous). Now, I'm assuming they wouldn't just be handed the starting rolls, but for an intents and purposes, your starting 5 would be:

McGee
Sullinger
Singleton
Beal
Wall

Sullinger and Singleton are good, physical defenders, and I've heard Beal defends well on the perimeter as well. Sullinger should also compliment McGee well both defensively and offensively, as he can defend the post well and can score with his back to the basket. I think Singleton has proven already he's a little underrated as a perimeter shooter and Beal has a good mid range game. Sullinger receives the ball well in the post. Suddenly, I think this offense fits together a little better. You wouldn't have to get Sullinger and Beal to make this happen, you could replace Sullinger with one of the other PF and grab another SG around that 20 spot in the 1st round.

That's my plan/scattered thoughts.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Tickets for tonight's game were available on Stubhub for as low as THIRTY CENTS as of an hour ago.

[adamwolff11]

I'm going to make a post at the half, in case they ruin it with a terrible 2nd half. That was the best half of basketball I've seen in awhile. The team looked like one unit, all playing hard for each other. Some thoughts:

I've been hard on Blatche. He came off the bench tonight and has played really well. Have to give credit where credit is due.

Vesely is raw, but he plays the passing lanes well. He also seems to be a very good passer. He certainly will help the ball to keep moving and help the offense run more smoothly. If his offensive game develops, look out. He's got 3 steals in 10 minutes of play.

Crawford had 9 points, and I believe he had 4 layups. He's been aggressive all year, just typically aggressive meaning 'not afraid to put up any shot, any time'. He's gotten to the rim and been very efficient.

Booker probably won't ever be a star, but he's always going to be able to get minutes somewhere. Particularly valuable on the offensive glass.

John Wall still can't shoot.

Shelvin Mack is the prototypical backup PG. Runs the offense, can shoot a bit, pass a bit, won't kill you in any facet.

Let's hope they don't piss away all this positive energy in the 3rd quarter!

[BaltimoreTerp]

Well, not EVERYBODY beats the Wiz.

[Floater]

The Janchise is here

[adamwolff11]

Players like Booker, Singleton, and Vesely should establish the kind of basketball the Wizards want to play, which is fast, up tempo, get after it on defense and force turnovers.

And Blatche and Lewis are perfectly suited for coming off the bench, especially Blatche. He can come in and get his shots against the other team's second line, which puts him in a good position.

It's a shame they have to play in Chicago tonight, one of the toughest places in the league to play (3-0 this season, 36-5 last season). Who knows though. I'm just hoping for another solid TEAM effort like last night. Everyone that played last night scored, with 8 players having at least 8 points.

[adamwolff11]

Watching the Bulls feed for the game. These homers make Jim Hunter sound unbiased. I guess you have to be an annoying dbag to do broadcasts for Chicago sports *cough* Hawk Harrelson *cough*

[Can_of_corn]

Not one but two articles on the Wiz on Grantland today.

[adamwolff11]

I'm not sure I've ever heard the Wizards insulted more during a broadcast. These guys insult them even when they do something well!

[adamwolff11]

Maybe this will just be my thread to rant. Thoughts:

- Jordan Crawford is terrible. I mean, he is REALLY bad. He's not a good passer, he's not a good shooter, he's not a good defender. He's fast and confident, that's about it.

- Nick Young will never be a major player on a really good team. Once you pass him the ball, kiss it goodbye. Even when he makes shots, he's going to be hurting the team as a whole because he's going to miss plenty as well as playing below average defense. If a team gives him decent money, it'll be a terrible contract.

- Once Rashard Lewis finishes this contract, he won't be in the league. He's a perimeter shooter by trade and he's one of the worst shooters on the team. Does nothing for this team.

- JaVale should have a fine imposed every time he takes a jump shot.

- Seraphin should be in the D league. He could be good one day, but he's like a deer in the headlights out there.

- I've never seen a team pass the ball worse. And they have a PG that is ALWAYS looking to pass. Once John gets rid of the ball though, it ain't going to be moving much. If Crawford or Young get it, you better believe a turnaround and/or fadeaway is going up. If JaVale gets it, he's doing something that won't be overly pretty.

- I've had to watch a lot of Wizards' opponent's feeds, so I hear the opposing team's announcers on the Wizards. All of them are literally amazed by how selfish the team is. I've heard multiple teams marvel at the lack of passing, the shot selection, the lack of effort on loose balls, etc. And they're all spot on.

- The Wizards are on pace to be one of the worst offensive teams in the HISTORY of the league. Take a moment to absorb that.

- Fire Flip Saunders. I don't care if it's not his fault, this team has completely quit on him. I don't know why he can't get through to these guys, but he can't. That's kinda just how it is. Move on.

[xKHx]

I don't think Coach K could get these guys to play.

[The Maestro]

Hey, I like ping pong balls, let Flip stay.