Comment from Phemy
Time November 15, 2009 at 10:12 AM

Well. Sure it’s a bummer, but I can live with a loss like that. They showed effort, moved the ball well didnt give up…that’s something! With Arenas still trying to find out “who” he is on the court, and antawn still out…I’m optimistic.

Oh and..man I always liked Boykins, he’s just fun to watch. And as long as he keeps up the energy like yesterday, I hope we will see him alot!

Cavaliers in my Washington? Oh boy, let’s give them a delightfull welcome..in form of a blowout with loud “OVERRATED” chants ;>

cheers

Comment from Reuben
Time November 15, 2009 at 11:29 AM

Last night me and my friends started a chant “Kwame Sucks(clap clap clapclapclap)” Whenever he went in or shot free throws. It only carried on to about 10 people, but it was fun.

Very upsetting loss. Boykins looked great hopefully he can keep it up, i was very impressed by his play having just being signed

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 15, 2009 at 11:51 AM

When AJ comes back, the Wiz WILL be a different team. AJ is the only one we have who can play in the low post with his back to the basket and score consistently. He is also our best catch-and-shoot outside player. He doesn’t have to dribble the ball in order to get into his shooting rhythm. The problem, as usual, will be adding another horrible defensive player to the mix, but, at this stage, I’ll take that if AJ will just not be another “the ball stops here” type of player.

Comment from gray16
Time November 15, 2009 at 12:28 PM

gabbo, you say sit gilbert because of his bad offense, but then who do you replace him with? foye can play better defense, but then who do you put at sg? deshawn can play defense but then who do you have at sf? caron can play defense, but then who do have at pg? etc. etc.

then you look at this lineup and say, where the hell are the points going to come from?

the wizards have been doing this all season, playing good defensively, but not being able to score points. that has lead to a lot of losses so tonight was different. tonight they tried to outscore the opponent, and that didn’t work. who knows how this team can get wins,

mabye their just not a good team. it’s crazy to think that this team is still a bottom 5 team in the league, but that’s the way they are playing.

Comment from gray16
Time November 15, 2009 at 12:29 PM

sorry, i meant sit gilbert because of his bad defense.

Comment from gray16
Time November 15, 2009 at 12:36 PM

if the wizards keep losing games, does anyone think flip might get fired?

i mean look at all the excuses eddie jordan had, what excuses does flip have?

not saying it’s gonna happen, but i wouldn’t be surprised. even with jamison out, this team shouldn’t be this bad. i hate to blame the coach for it, and i’m not necessarily doing that, but i am saying that’s where the blame usually goes. (ie byron scott)

Comment from tyrone20000
Time November 15, 2009 at 1:25 PM

Boykins seems to have quickness that the Wizards lack. That is why he was effective

Comment from Phemy
Time November 15, 2009 at 1:31 PM

I’m wondering if we would allow Nick Young 40shots..would he also make 50 pts? j/k

I’d really like to see McGee get some minutes…seriously! He was in the training camp for Team USA, impressed the coach, and now he gets 1min per game max? C’mon! Crowd loves him, we love him!

Comment from gray16
Time November 15, 2009 at 2:45 PM

tbh, right now it seems as if flip’s offensive schemes just aren’t working with this team right now. i think when jamison is back they will work better.

right now the ball seems to be going to butler too much. butler has always been more efficient working off of jamison and arenas. notice how when he is given isolation opportunities he rarely cashes in, but when he gets an open shot, he drains it. i think if the offense stops running through him, and he plays more of a supporting role, he will get 15 ppg, 8 rpg, and 3 apg. and of course those nights his shot is falling, then you start feeding it to him.

arenas played a lot better as the playful arenas, which is a good thing. the serious role just didn’t fit him, he likes to have fun, and that’s when he plays his best. he also does a lot better not handling the ball 90% of the time. (another thing flip wanted from him) he is such a good spot up shooter that he can get a rhythm that way. he should still handle the ball a lot, especially in clutch situations, but having him deciding where the ball goes makes the offense stagnant. this is why ej’s princeton hybrid style offense worked so well with arenas working off ball just as much as on ball.

randy foye is much the same as arenas. he works better off ball, but also should handle the ball a decent amount of time. but both would be best served playing with another pg who can decide where the ball goes, so they can work off ball as well.

so the question is who plays the point with them? mike james? earl boykins? javaris? last night it was earl, but his lack of defense (along with gilbert’s lack of defense) was a big reason for the wizards loss last night. they were almost able to outscore the pistons, but in the end, the lack of defense caught up with them. who knows how well javaris can play when he gets back, not to mention flip probably won’t give him the time of day anyway. mike james would be the best answer imo, but having him and gil on the court is bad for size.

so in the end, i think it’s a matter of this team not fitting flip’s offense. this team is perfect for ej’s style of play, it needs a lot of ball movement, not one guy deciding where the ball goes. i guess we’ll see if either flip, or the team is able to adapt. mabye jamison’s return will change more than we think as well.

Comment from M2
Time November 15, 2009 at 4:01 PM

Yes, if we let Crit develop the way Boston has/is let Rondo…

They have STUDS in Boston, which is the reason they’re getting away with Rondo learning as he goes (like Parker did in SA).

You would think that a 21 yr old Crit can be afforded the same opportunity in Flips system with Butler, Jamison, Arenas, Foye, Miller, Blatche, etc

It’s what I envisioned for this season (& beyond) the minute we brought him over from Memphis. Crit is a nice strong penetrating 6’4″ true PG that plays nice on ball D.

In my mind the next few yrs should be Crit, Gil, Butler, Jamison/Blatche, McGee as our core… With Foye, Dom & Slick getting ALOT of burn as well (not so sure where I see Haywood over the next couple seasons? maybe 20 mins depending on pace & match-ups?)

I’d just like to see us win a few games in the meantime!

Comment from neal
Time November 15, 2009 at 8:08 PM

Everyone keeps talking about Stevenson’s D. I agree it’s better than some, but I sure wish he would raise his arms when his man is shooting a J. Just giving up is too much like Jamison’s defense.

Comment from vitality08
Time November 15, 2009 at 8:52 PM

Well, I hope Flip won’t get fired because of the way the team started. Although everyone wishes they were doing better I still think it’s gotta be hard to learn a new offense with a new coach and basically all new teammates. If Flip was a brand new coach maybe he’d get canned but with his experience I think he should get the benefit of the doubt this season.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time November 15, 2009 at 9:06 PM

I don’t see nor do I hope to see Flip fired. I just think that he needs to start getting the right players on the floor.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time November 15, 2009 at 9:07 PM

Ok, the skins won a football game…hint hint

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 15, 2009 at 9:22 PM

Flip fired? The season has just started for heaven’s sake.

Comment from neal
Time November 15, 2009 at 10:33 PM

Saunders is not the problem. The problem is the same as it was under Jordan (apart from the injuries). It’s getting these guys (particularly the “big three”) to play a team game on both ends. I don’t envy Saunders and the other coaches in trying to make that happen.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 15, 2009 at 10:55 PM

Come on folks, Coach Saunders is the real deal. The issue is injuries (not an excuse, but a statement of fact) and GIL.

Gil was a wonderful basketball player. After two years away from serious competition, he is no longer a wonderful basketball player and changing from “grumpy Gil” to happy Agent ZERO Gil is not going to make him any better. He never would throw a good pass when a highlight pass was possible; his timing is way off; he doesn’t handle the ball the way he used to; his shot is less than 40% (probably the legs); his defense is (could it be possible) worse. Until Gil either starts to put some real effort (not that pretend BS) into his defense, or Coach removes him from the starting lineup, we will not be a playoff team.

CB is a talented player who is now on the wrong type of team. He is a one-on-one guy. Coach is trying to get some ball movement so that we are a TEAM. CB is “the ball stops here” because he needs to create his own offense with the ball. I would be shopping CB for the best player I could get for him, regardless of position. I would love to trade CB for Charlie V. I’d throw in DSS.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time November 16, 2009 at 3:28 AM

Flip has made a very large difference in our defense. His offense is very complicated and will take the guys time to learn. Nobody being able to hit the broad side of the barn doesn’t help. It will come.

Mr Boykins makes things “Fun”. That little guy can really play and really sparked us in his very first game. Boykins and Foye at the same time for defense? Hmmmmm. Hope they gel. Lots of rotational possibilities out there now. One guy made a big difference.

Miller is “almost” back. Antawn is back “after the bug” and Critter can’t be too far away. A problem I’m sure Flip is eager to sort out. How to use all the talent to our best advantage.

Comment from M2
Time November 16, 2009 at 5:12 AM

We’ll be fine… Most of you guys are really trippin’!

Patience

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 16, 2009 at 9:05 AM

Relax. Keep working. We have enough good players that we should be ok.

As to Gil, remember that everyone he played against in Chicago this Summer said he was all-world. That tells me he’s ok physically.

NBA ball is different from pick up ball — no matter how great the pick up players are. Apparently it’ll take a while.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time November 16, 2009 at 9:19 AM

When CB got the ball and shot without hesitating, he hit about three jumpers in a row. Gil is getting into trouble when he tries to drive on three guys at one time. A lil tweaking in everyone’s game could go a long way. And DMac should be getting some time on D.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 16, 2009 at 12:17 PM

It’s interesting that the Wizards were only able to get one field goal in the final 5 minutes, 4 seconds of the game against the Pistons. I know that ‘Dray did not play any of those minutes. I guess that the strategy was to just jack jumpers and hope for the best.

Comment from maggicman11
Time November 16, 2009 at 12:34 PM

our record has nothing to do with injuries.. we have a deep roster, if we arent winning its becuz we arent good enough to win. im not one to attck coaches but where else can you look? we all know how good Gil is at 100% but its not coming thru this season. on paper if you look at all the talent on this team we are top 10 team in the league but in reality we are a bottom 10 team. what does that say? well its the system we’re running. it’s not flip. he is a great coach. but his system isnt working with this team.

now granted when flip was successful he had Rasheed or Garnett at his forward spots and he has yet to put antwaan in that role, when he does antwaan is missing the most essential factor. Defense. when you subsitute antwaan in the starting role for blatche you gain a little offense and lose a little defense. is that really what we want to get back to? no defense?

as far as firing flip, Coach EJ got fired for starting 1-10 with no gil, no haywood, and a inconsistant blatche. flip is about to start 2-10 with gil, haywood, a much better blatche, and new players in foye, miller and oberto. if EJ’s firing was justified, flip’s firing would be more than justified.

Comment from M2
Time November 16, 2009 at 1:38 PM

So that I have this straight, Blatche plays better D than Tawn?

& EJ got jobbed. We all know that so you can’t follow those standards. Thing is EJ wanted out so… All good.

We’ll be fine… More than fine

Comment from wtop
Time November 16, 2009 at 2:04 PM

CSNwashington.com is reporting that Antawan Jamison should make his debut against Cleveland any update on him or will something be said after practice today

Comment from neal
Time November 16, 2009 at 3:02 PM

Reuben, don’t dis Kwame. I’m finalizing a deal. Dan Snyder and GrifonRacing for Kwame and an under-achieving hot dog vendor. It’s a lose-lose deal. May set a trend in major sports trades.

Of course Blatche plays better D than Jamison. In spite of Jamison’s lectures to the troops and in spite of Blatche’s occasionally being out of position or committing dumb fouls (both of which happen less often than they used to).

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time November 16, 2009 at 3:43 PM

people read to much into what they think needs to be done its not the end of the world no one needs to be fired or benched its a new system its going to take time for guys to refind there place in the new system and i think Caron played ok and i dont think its too fair to call him out over 8 games of off play when he was putting in major work for years b4 all this.. AJ has put this team on his back and took wins from teams who would have beat us other wise and Haywood is one of if not in the top 8 centers in the NBA just because a guy dose not shoot the ball lights out dose not make him a bad player there are roles on every team and the man has to play his role in the system and sometimes that means to not take a shot an play D# or get on the glass or what ever its a few games into a long season in a new system with new and old players who are also new in there own right SO EVERY ONE CHILL its going to be ok

Comment from Cy-Philly
Time November 16, 2009 at 4:16 PM

i agree with wiz4life, things haven’t exactly gone to plan so far, we had an overcrowded backcourt which has shrunk for now at least (injuries). Everyone just needs to find their place in the system and get into a groove

Comment from dcbutler357
Time November 16, 2009 at 4:16 PM

LOL….It’s funny how we go from not wanting to show too much in the preseason to “it’s a new system”…if we are not running and gunning, there is basically no system in place…Gil is leading the league in turnover average. At one time, he could take on a few players and get an “and 1″, but now he needs to learn that someone is open, if two players are on him (basic fundamentals)…..

New system…lol…Earl Boykins can come in “off the streets” and get 20 points and some assists in our “new system” and Caron couldn’t get an assist while being on the floor for nearly all of two games.

EXCUSES EXCUSES EXCUSES….if someone is not producing or doing what needs to be done on the court, SIT THEIR A– DOWN. PERIOD!!

No one player is larger than the system, and no one player can save this team, but five players functioning as a whole will do a lot better. Play within the system and get a win.

Comment from Rick
Time November 16, 2009 at 4:54 PM

One big problem right now is confidence.

Caron has no confidence.

Gil has false confidence.

The rest of the players, the franchise as a whole, and the city and fans could also use a confidence boost after the 19 win debacle last year. It’s mostly a mental thing, and I hope that Antawn returning can provide the fulcrum that levers this team into a period of confidence and victories.

Comment from neal
Time November 16, 2009 at 6:19 PM

Well I agree with several of you up to a point.

Yes, the season is young.

Yes, excuses don’t get it. We have enough talent to be more competitive if we play a system rather than as a bunch of individuals.

Yes, confidence is a huge question mark by now. And it’s VERY important in any sport. If the guys think Jamison’s return is what they need, maybe it will be.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 16, 2009 at 6:36 PM

Allen Iverson has just been put on waivers by the Memphis Grizzlies……

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 16, 2009 at 8:53 PM

I’m sure he’ll be retiring.

Comment from datonypony
Time November 16, 2009 at 9:35 PM

Sigh, what a shame for Iverson to end his era with such an ugly ending…. So much for his promise to play as a mentor for a young team…

Comment from tyrone20000
Time November 16, 2009 at 10:03 PM

Wizards have no real confidence as a team. They need to gain trust in their teammates, especially CB. If it comes we will see that we have a winning team!

Comment from maggicman11
Time November 16, 2009 at 11:14 PM

EJ did not want to get fired. he was the longest tenured coach in the east and was building his legacy in washington. And to answer the question about dray, YESSSS blatche plays better defense than twan. much better!! not that dray is some tim duncan like defender but you dont have to be that good to be much better than twan on the defensive end.