Comment from dlts20
Time October 10, 2009 at 11:17 AM

Im not going to trip too much about the D because we are playing so many guys and experimenting with rotations. I think its hard to gel on D like that but once we settle on the roster and everyone knows there roles then I think the D will follow

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time October 10, 2009 at 11:35 AM

After an interesting visit to the Verizon Center last night (how many fans were there, like 10,000, for a pre-season game?), I came away impressed with Randy Foye’s maturation as an NBA player (I know he went 1 for 7) and Miller’s contribution to the Wizards. I think both guys will fit well as the “real season” progresses.

I don’t agree with Tom M. often, but I would have to concur with everything he said in his last post (from a player-to-player breakdown/analysis).

Game 1 showed the Wiz need to focus on rebounding and being more aggressive on offense by the guys that can bring it. I think Flip made it clear with the media this is what Arenas needed to do.

Game 2 showed the Wiz outrebounded the Mavs but left the defense in a Swiss bank account. I went home and played 2K10 as the Wiz and the video-game Mavs did EXACTLY the same thing to me as the real Mavs did to the real Wiz. Is the game that accurate? Maybe. I am hoping by Game 20 that Flip’s crew can tighten the spots on the floor. The Mavs were having guys cut to the basket anyway they pleased. Losing Haywood hurts the defensive communication in the paint, but letting Marion get baseline dunk after dunk is just silly. It was rather frustrating because memories of last year came creeping back in my mind.

Anyways, the Mavs were a playoff team and they added a refreshed Marion but held-off on team cancer Josh Howard. Kidd looks spry at 36 (correct me if I’m wrong) and the Mavs role players are pretty good (Barea is like the Ramon Sessions of the West). The Mavs now were a good test for the Wizards and I hope Washington can continue to show the remaining teams on its pre-season schedule that the team is not going to let up, even if everyone needs to embrace defense as a means for success.

Comment from Reuben
Time October 10, 2009 at 12:25 PM

THoughts on each player after watching last nights game.

Gilbert- HEEEEEES BAAAAAAACK
Antawn- Shot looked a bit off although he did score quite a bit
Caron- looked GREAT
Stevenson- shot wasnt falling, overall not so good
Haywood- didnt play much
Foye-Im only hoping he gets better
Oberto-looked relatively slow, doesnt have a great shot
Young-Looked a tad better than last year
Blatche-played a good game
McGuire-fine(barely played)
James- didnt se much of him either
McGee- Was great, happy with his improvement
Miller- has more to prove

Comment from neal
Time October 10, 2009 at 1:15 PM

I agree with whoever said it on the last thread that Jamison shouldn’t shoot so many 3′s. I’d rather he work the inside. He’s more effective there and we need his rebounding.

I wish Arenas would let the situation determine whether he shoots, rather than his own mood.

Foye has got to stop shooting so much. Once he builds confidence by learning the other aspects he can begin to take a bigger role in scoring.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time October 10, 2009 at 2:06 PM

Reuben, you wrote “Stevenson — shot wasn’t falling, overall not so good.”

DS took 2 shots, both 3pointers, and hit one of them. He went to the line for 2 FTs, and made them both. In addition, in his 18 minutes, he had 4 assists and 2 rebounds.

I thought he played pretty well.

Comment from neal
Time October 10, 2009 at 3:27 PM

I don’t ever remember Stevenson looking so good. Previously he had very few assists.

Comment from GlingGling
Time October 10, 2009 at 4:11 PM

I would like an update on Haywood’s ankle. The fact that he played for a couple minutes after the fall was encouraging but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any damage. Any word on if he’ll play tomorrow?

Comment from GlingGling
Time October 10, 2009 at 4:13 PM

As for what Flip said, I too saw a lot of over helping. That is a problem I’m sure the coaching staff has well in hand.

Comment from Phemy
Time October 10, 2009 at 4:43 PM

..it might sound like an excuse, but it’s the truth afterall – it was just a preseason game! No biggie! The slogan “Undefeated” doesn’t fit anymore, but the loss wasn’t too bad. I’m happy for the german wunderkind on the other hand, the matrix really fits them well.

Man i hope BH is ok! We really need him for the D.
Deshawn was doing ok – nothing more imo.
McGee…maybe he’ll get more playing time now that BH needs to rest in the preseason – go boy!
..and finally, as long as we beat the cavs at our preseason game, i’m happy. A game against the cavs always counts. Damn u shaq, I loved you since I was a kid…but now…it’s hard… jk

greetz!

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time October 10, 2009 at 10:02 PM

It’s really interesting how several different people can see the same thing and come to different conclusions. For what it’s worth here’s another opinion of what took place at the phone booth on Friday.

There were two primary reasons why the Wizards lost the game on Friday night, and if those two problems don’t get resolved, there will be a lot of loses.
1. The perimeter defense is terrible. The opposition goes through our defense with ease. Gil, in particular, was made to look foolish on more than one occasion. That terrible outside defense put a lot of pressure on the big guys in the back. The Mav’s just broke down the perimeter defender; got in the lane; and if they were stopped just kicked the ball out for an easy shot.
2. Gil, once again, decided to try to prove something to someone. He refused to shoot in the first quarter; and refused to pass in the third quarter. It’s as though he has his own game plan. Sure he was perfect from the field in the 3rd quarter, but he also committed 5 turnovers to go with his 9 assists. Three of the turnovers came in rapid succession in the 3rd quarter and set the Wiz back on their heels. The Wiz will not be successful until Gil stops acting like a spoiled child and starts getting his head on straight.

Caron started out great. I believe that he had 14 points in the 1st quarter. Then, as he frequently did last year, he decided that he could beat the Mav’s all by himself. Same result as last year. His porous defense led to Marion scoring just about any time he touched the ball.

Jamison was his usual dependable self. A real pro. I’m glad he’s on our side. He did a decent job defending Nowitzki.

Haywood controlled things inside until he got hurt.

Stevenson could not have been proud of his performance; he’s rusty. But, more disturbing, his defense on the outside was lacking. He got off 2 shots in 18 1/2 minutes, and that was with Gil trying to set him up. He lacks the quickness to get free from his defender.

Blatche replaced Haywood and had a very solid game for his 26 minutes. He was whistled for 5 fouls, but fouls 2, 3 and 4 were bad calls made by out-of-position replacement refs. He was 5/11 from the field, 5/5 from the line; led the team with 9 rebounds and had 2 steals. It looks as though he understands what the coaching staff is trying to do and is in the right position more often than not. He appears focused.

Young played 28 minutes and only took 9 shots (4/9). That’s not enough offense from the 2-guard. However, it is tough to get shots if you’re on the court with Gil, CB and AJ. If I had to pick a starting 2-guard at this point, it would be Young. No one else is showing anything.

Dominic played. He got 6:22 minutes of undistinguished time. That’s probably above the number of minutes that he’ll average this year.

Foye was horrible. He played 19 minutes and was 1/7 from the field with the made shot coming at the end of the game. He played both the 2-guard and the point and looked bad at both.

James played. He looked unsure of things and rusty. That’s understandable since he’s played 9 minutes in two games so far. Like Dominic, that’ll probably be his average this year.

Oberto got 13:33 to show why no one else in the league wanted him. He has no shot; committed 4 fouls; and had 3 rebounds. If Haywood had not gotten hurt, Oberto would have played about 3 minutes and that should be his average time this year.

Miller is a player. He got 7 boards and had 4 assists, but more importantly, he knows where to be and what to do at all times. He was 1/4 from the field, but the shot will come for him.

Just looking at the box score it would appear that McGee played well. He was 5/5 from the field and 4/7 from the line. Two of his baskets came on twisting fade-away jump shots. Not what I’d like to see him shooting. I thought that I could almost hear the Coach saying “Oh NO!” and then “good shot” on both. He still looks confused on defense. On offense, he missed two great passes right under the basket (both of which hit him in the chest) and both times he complained that the passer should have thrown an alley-oop pass. I know that he’s young, but there’s a little too much “me” in McGee for my money. I hope that he learns quickly that a layup and a dunk both score two points even if the layup doesn’t make the highlight reel.

Bottom line is that this is a much better team than showed up at the phone booth last night, but we need better perimeter defense and an All-Star point guard with his head screwed on right if we are going to be as successful as we should be. There is much room for improvement. I was disappointed to say the least.

Comment from neal
Time October 11, 2009 at 12:24 AM

As usual, gabbo, your comments are insightful. I particularly agree with what you said about the fouls on Blatche.

I disagree, however, with what you said about McGuire. I thought he looked very good on both ends for the little time he was in there.

I don’t understand what’s up with Foye. Can’t the coaches calm him down? He has no business shooting contested shots.

I didn’t notice Stevenson’s D. I just assume he’s going to do it well.

Comment from GlingGling
Time October 11, 2009 at 1:01 AM

Gabbo, I think you may be suffering from overanalysitis. A very common ailment amongst sports fans.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time October 11, 2009 at 9:06 AM

Gabbo — I agree w/ most of your analysis (note: AB was 6-11 not 5-11). A few small points of difference, and one question:

1. Arenas too gets some slack for being “rusty.” That said, “some slack” gets used up pretty quick.

2. I thought Dominic was terrific in his short time on the floor, and I disagree that his minutes will be limited.

3. If Nick can’t get shots w/ the big 3 on the floor, and you think he should be shooting, why would you start him? Why not let him provide scoring off the bench?

Everything else — right on.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time October 11, 2009 at 9:09 AM

Caron — this is a terrific player, but he tends to get over-impressed by his own success, and when he does he starts trying to take people off the dribble. But his handles are his one offensive weakness, so in fact he gets in is own way. Once frustrated, he becomes a gambler on defense.

Caron needs to work on his “pride” and be more of a flow player.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time October 11, 2009 at 9:19 AM

Who should start at the 2 guard?

I’m starting to think it should be Dominic. We have 3 shooters on the floor already in our starting five, we don’t need another one — in fact the opposite. We need a *non-shooter.*

In that case, the 2d unit could feature Miller and Young as the “movement” and “shooter” type players. That would create more opportunity for Nick, especially if he moves without the ball, Miller being an excellent passer. Blatche fits very well in that scheme.

Who backs up the point? That’s the biggest question mark on this team:

Randy Foye? He has shown over his years in the league that he is not a point guard. No shame — he wasn’t one in college either. He’s a very strong, too short, 2 guard who would be a more effective player if he was a higher % shooter.

Mike James? Please…

DeShawn? He may be the only choice, unless…

… we swap Dominic into the “point forward” role for some of his minutes?