Comment from wizards_fusion
Time October 21, 2009 at 5:51 AM

so i watched the game from about 8 minutes on in third quarter till the end. let’s just say that the Wiz have a sweettooth because they’re getting turnovers left and right. i know that they have been playing second-stringers the last couple of days but it is not acceptable because turnovers are a result of poor fundamentals.

the Wiz need to have better spacing when they’re being trapped by the other team. philly forced turnovers by knowing when to execute the half-court trap.

i want to see more blatche in the post. i think he’s getting more comfortable and his offensive skills cause problems with most defenders. blatche is a good passer for a big man, and with the right combination of talent on the floor, blatche can rack up assists.

although mcgee has played well in preseason, last night’s game against philly is the main reason why he’s going to be left out of the rotation. he’s staying in the game with hustle and determination (like dom the last 2 years), but he doesn’t have the IT factor to be a reliable player on the court. javale just needs more years under his belt and he’ll be a serviceable second-stringer.

lastly, poor chenier had a tough time talking last night. it was one of the his worst performances on tv. also, the replacement refs may have given the gift win to the Wiz, but i thought they did a good job overall. they did crank up the calls in the last 4 minutes of the game though.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time October 21, 2009 at 5:54 AM

1 more thing – bring back dave hoopla. the team needs to learn to shoot free throws!

Comment from neal
Time October 21, 2009 at 6:47 AM

Yes, if Hoopla would do nothing more than get Haywood back to where he was at the line he would be worth whatever he cost. But it’s unlikely they’ll call him. He was part of the other regime.

Young is such a mixed bag. He has such a sweet shot. But he makes mistakes at both ends.

Well, McGee is raw, but he has the skills to be a lot more than a serviceable second-stringer. So the probability that he develops all those skills is only 1 in 3. Still, the upside is enormous IMO if he does so.

Interesting that in crunch time Saunders left the subs in for experience, rather than put Butler and Haywood back in.

Comment from neal
Time October 21, 2009 at 12:13 PM

Jordan’s defensive strategy was to protect the paint, even if a perimeter shooter had to be left open. So a lot of them were. Saunders’s strategy is apparently to not leave ANYTHING open. IMO it’s working better. Far fewer open perimeter shots and it doesn’t seem to me like we’re being hurt on the inside any more than before.

When I get energetic I’ll again give comparative stats on Oberto and McGee.

Comment from gbkdc
Time October 21, 2009 at 12:36 PM

Wiz fusion, what was wrong with Phil Chenier? I did not see the game. Was he sick?

Comment from M2
Time October 21, 2009 at 12:42 PM

BRING
BACK
HOOPLA

Lets make some T Shirts…

Comment from AUNDRA
Time October 21, 2009 at 3:29 PM

Great Win however the bone head mistakes with turnovers are piling up which will bit us in the butt real soon. I like Nick Young when in attack mode as wellas Randy Foye really unstoppable! I like to see the same line up against Chicago friday to see if they would gel. Gil and Miller and AJ should rest and use the treadmill while preparing for live game action in a week! I would like to see P.Davis more and Grier to see who we should keep or let go in the final preseason game!Kudos to Mike James you were terrific. When you set your mind offensively you are a beast and with 85% freethrow making ability a very good asset! Good luck team and most of all don’t get HURT!

Comment from Aj
Time October 21, 2009 at 3:40 PM

Are P.davis and Grier going to make the team because a lot of other teams have been waiving players in the last week.

Comment from Rick
Time October 21, 2009 at 4:13 PM

i think davis may get a 10-day contract, especially if antawn is going to be out. i think grier will be cut for sure.

Comment from GlingGling
Time October 21, 2009 at 6:21 PM

Anyone see the Wizards’ splash on NBA.com? There are about associated links all basically saying, “The Wizards must win.”

The Wizards are easily amongst the Lakers, Cavs, Celtics, and Magic as having the most pressure on them to win (particularly from the media). Now having the pressure doesn’t mean I think the Wizards are up there with those teams (that is yet to be determined).

Luckily we have a core group of guys that can actually handle the pressure (Flip, Gil, Caron, AJ, Stevenson, Oberto, Miller, Cassell, Haywood, and many others). In this way, the pressure is a good thing. I expect very good things from this team.

I’m not a big supporter of hype cause a lot of the time that’s all it is: hype. This year though, people have legit reasons to be excited.

Comment from neal
Time October 21, 2009 at 7:07 PM

I think you’re right, Rick, about Davis, although if he’s looked good I’d rather see him get a non-guaranteed one year contract. He can then be cut by 1/10, when contracts become guaranteed. He would be good insurance for almost 3 months with no effect on the lux tax.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time October 21, 2009 at 8:43 PM

All the players have to remember is what I’m certain that Hoopla told them…”you shoot a basketball with your legs, not your arms. Develop a routine; bend your knees; keep your upper body straight and on-target; and release the shot on the way up, just before you straighten your knees…and BEFORE you reach the peak of your extension.” What Brendan is doing differently from two years ago is he is going through all of the pre-shot routine and then he waits until he has reached the peak of his extension and then shoots the ball with his arms.

Comment from neal
Time October 21, 2009 at 9:59 PM

Stats for last year for our 2 reserve centers:

FG%
McGee 49
Oberto 59

FT%
McGee 66
Oberto 57

Rebounds/48 min
McGee 12.3
Oberto 10.0

Blocks/48 min
McGee 3.2
Oberto .8

Assists/TO
McGee .4
Oberto 1.6

PF/48 min
McGee 6.6
Oberto 6.9

So….Oberto shoots only high percentage shots. McGee is better at the line. McGee is much better at rebounding and blocking shots. Oberto gets more assists (and more turnovers) and his assist/TO ration is much better. Oberto fouls more.

So it’s a mixed bag. I still like McGee better, but not by much. Opinions?

Comment from Rick
Time October 21, 2009 at 10:47 PM

@neal, it’s an apples to oranges comparison. they bring very different things.

Oberto: savvy, consistent, defense, high bball IQ, sets real screens, good passer

McGee: high energy, runs the floor, blocks shots, crowd pleaser

The thing with McGee is that his negatives hurt you more. His defense (other than shot blocking) is poor and he tends to take bad shots (which are essentially turnovers).

With oberto there is less downside. He doesn’t shoot well from the outside (but he doesnt take many shots). He’s not very athletic, but he largely makes up for that with veteran experience.

Long story short, I think they will both see minutes situationally, depending upon the matchups and game style, but I think Oberto will be the primary backup.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time October 21, 2009 at 11:22 PM

@ gbkdc

No, chenier wasn’t sick. He just couldn’t talk right. He had problems pronouncing words – he couldn’t say the word “Springsteen” when he was talking about why no fans were at the game (because of a Springsteen concert next door at the old Spectrum). Phil also stumbled a lot on his thoughts. Basically, he tongue-tied himself.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – Phil and Buckhantz are one of the best, if not – the best NBA commentators for a particular basketball team. They’re the anti-Joe Buck/Tim McCarver. I like how Phil and Steve are professional enough with their shtick but they’re also big fans of the team. Heck, Steve got really excited when Young made that shot with no room over his defender. Mind you that this is preseason when things don’t count and those guys take it just like the regular season and playoffs.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time October 22, 2009 at 12:04 AM

The combinations this pre season have been very interesting. Next Tuesday everything starts for real. I think Flip will have a few sleepless nights trying to decide who to play where… and when. With all the talent on the team… what a great dilema to have.

To the great McGee vs Oberto debate…. McGee played 2 seasons at Nevada and one here. He is raw, but, with jaw dropping talent. I see him getting good minutes but not as the 2nd center. He will get the minutes under Flip to develop. Oberto throughout his career has been limited to 14 to 15 minutes a game because he fouls so much. So far in the pre season that hasn’t been the case (I think he played 25 min with only 2 fouls against Philly). I was very against signing him because of his foul trouble, but, he seems to have found “home” with us. If he can bring his basketball IQ to us and leave the fouls in San Antonio we really have something.

Comment from GlingGling
Time October 22, 2009 at 1:33 AM

Grif, San Antonio used Fab for fouling. They put him in specifically to start hacking at C. He is a good defender but certainly undersized at his position. Whereas all of McGee’s fouls last year were from inexperience.

I’ve said it before but I don’t think the great debate is that great. We will certainly have starters, and there are really dependable guys on the bench that are going to see heavy minutes, but the end result is that Flip plays guys based on match ups. Good coaches do and Flip is one of the best.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time October 22, 2009 at 9:40 AM

Fab and McGee have totally different skill sets and roles; how can there be a controversy?

It was great to see both Randy and James have positive streaky nights. Might be that we can see wch one we can ride in any given game.

Maybe Nick will also look better (on offense) when we are running more of our sets. So far, he is having a rough preseason.