Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from aznzero
Time November 25, 2009 at 10:41 AM

My condolences to the Pollin family. I love going downtown and it is all thanks to Abe. The life that he brought to that part of town is amazing. He will truly be missed. It is all good, God needed an owner for his basketball team. RIP Abe.

Comment from Aj
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:23 AM

Great win last night, Im glad they won for abe. I hope th wizards continue to win games.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:51 AM

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 25, 2009 at 1:00 AM

@wizards_fusion-I agree with your comments EXCEPT for one thing:

as with the game – for the first time this season, the substitution patterns were excellent.

Can you explain this one to me?

–

@ jeffmalone1990

I thought my immediate second sentence tried to clarify the “excellence” comment but i guess it didn’t. What I tried to say was that Flip’s rotation was paced by what the game gave him. Flip didn’t overplay anyone in particular – and this allowed the key guys to muster needed energy during the furious finish. I thought Flip and his staff managed the minutes well. I didn’t believe WAS would have been able to trade baskets if guys like Blatche and Jamison were not fresh late in the fourth quarter.

Again, my comment was strictly directed at the minutes the players got and not what personnel groupings were on the court. As GABBO (or GEBBO now? – I’m confused) pointed out, the Wiz ran a 3-guard lineup in the early parts of the 4th quarter (I believe it was Arenas, Foye, and Boykins). Interesting but not that effective. Also, with Javale and Nick playing very well last night, they got the short end of the stick (i.e., benched) when the 76ers started to come right at the Wizards. All those offensive rebounds by Philly which led to 3 point baskets were atrocious to watch. The crowd was sensing another collapse and was screaming with displeasure. And of course Gil’s one man raid into the bakery for turnovers. For the first time, half of the people screaming in my section (about 5 guys) yelled at Arenas to be benched at the crucial juncture of the game. Flip will never do that but it felt like that’s what should have been done. I find it funny that the refs whistles became non-existent at the same time Arenas started to play 1 on 5 (make that 1 on 9 because he’s going against his own team as well).

Comment from dcbutler357
Time November 25, 2009 at 12:24 PM

Wiz-Fusion, it’s the holiday season, so I like to be relaxed. Last night I was fuming at the end of the game. Thankful that we won and like everyone else, my clothes were drenched from sweating that one out.

Maybe I’m seeing things differently, but the current “key-guys” were not on the floor at crunch-time. Boykins, McGee, and NY. We had a taste of how “potent” this entire team can be, when managed properly, and now I’m HUNGRY. The “key guys” from yester year are not the “key guys” for this year.

I’m just glad we don’t play until Friday, because I like peaceful/stress free holidays

Comment from dcbutler357
Time November 25, 2009 at 12:26 PM

BTW-DJ and Glenn, that was OUTSTANDING call in segment last night. I learned a lot about Mr. Pollin, that I never knew

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time November 25, 2009 at 1:44 PM

@ dcbutler

I read most everything you blogged about the game and I sensed that you must have either cussed at the tv or computer or punched through a wall. Believe me, home fans at the Verizon Center were as disgusted as you with how close the ending became when it should never have crossed into those realms.

You’re absolutely right that some guys (for me, especially McGee) not being on the court in the 4th quarter was a major mistake on Flip’s part. And yes, this is a big hole in the substitution patterns and continual stubborness of Flip sticking with just 8 to 9 guys. If ALL players are dropping “hidden agendas” for the good of the team, then the coaches need to do the same. I can’t forsee Flip continually putting Arenas in situations where he’s going to lose the game – even though he’s proven, in the past, to be a formidable closer.

Arenas is the only “a cut above” star player on the Wizards that has never been benched with any Washington coaches. Heck, even Jamison got the boot in seasons past. Star players are supposed to calm the storm if the opposing team goes on a tear, like what Philly did. Arenas helped Philly with all those turnovers and was a Lou Williams missed-shot from giving the game away.

It is sad for me to say that Arenas is a very big problem. I know he’s confused and frustrated and stressed with everything on and off the court. I believe Flip can help cut down on Arenas’ mistakes by sitting him down. The team has won without Arenas in the past and can win again with him on the bench.

Comment from rgz
Time November 25, 2009 at 2:08 PM

I love Gilbert, but he’s got to mature to his age. He needs to start learning how to speak the company line, and learn that to be outspoken without filters sometimes leads to a terrible team atmosphere and eventually a bad career outcome. Witness folks like AI and Marbury.
I do have sympathy for his off-court problems and hope he is able to resolve those one way or another.
I can see from his facial demeanor that there is an emotional problem, he needs the support of his friends on the team right now. I hope they understand that. If they can’t stand each other, then there is no hope of ever winning the conference championship, much less the NBA championship.

Comment from M2
Time November 25, 2009 at 2:32 PM

Side note
How is it that everyone is still having a problem understanding that GABBO is GABBO regardless?
“Get a”
“Got a”
Hello…
Just sayin’

Comment from M2
Time November 25, 2009 at 2:33 PM

& rough year for Gil so far
I suspect that it’s worse than we can even imagine off the court…

Comment from neal
Time November 25, 2009 at 3:27 PM

We played better than we have been last night (ignoring TO’s and FT’s). Otherwise, the 69ers win that game. They played pretty well.

Jamison has amazing concentration and touch around the basket. He’s a remarkable player. Some championship contender ought to offer the Wiz the world for him. It would be a win-win trade.

Pretty good D, except for Arenas and Jamison leaving their men open on the perimeter.

Maybe Arenas should sit awhile. But he’s still our most talented player and we need him to be all he can be if we’re really going to be a good team. On the court, not on the bench.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 25, 2009 at 5:01 PM

I do not think you need to bench Arenas, he is one of the ELITE scoring threats in the NBA. However, he needs to be put at his natural position the 2 guard. He plays much better when he does not have to facilitate the offense and can concentrate on getting buckets. I will reserve judgement until Flip puts him at the SG position, and we have Boykins or Critt start at PG. Gilbert should not try to be a 10 assists guy, Iam happy with 5-7 a game with 25 plus points, he needs to stay in attack mode. Flip, scrap the system and let the players play free and in their correct positions.

There should never be a line up that has Oberto and Haywood starting. You need offensive threats to open up the lane, not to mention zero pick and pop plays with that line up.

@Wiz_fusion-ok thanks for the clarity and yes I agree with you. McGee 6 blocks in 14 minutes and Oberto gets 21 minutes? Flip it starts and ends with you, I am no longer in the business of giving passes to accountability. Basketball is not rocket science, it is about match ups, Flip put the best match ups on the floor (use the depth you spoke ok) in every game, that gives the Wizards the BEST chance of winning PERIOD

Comment from dlts20
Time November 25, 2009 at 5:38 PM

I thought when the season started that our lineup would be the basic 4 with NY at the SG and then we come off the bench with Foye & Miller in the backcourt and Blatche up front to go along with either Oberto or McGee on a game by game basis and I still feel thats our best lineup. I love Boykins and the good thing about him is that I think he’s the one guy along with probably Miller who you can throw in at any time and he will play well. Like I think a guy like NY & Foye needs minutes every game to play well but you can always throw Earl in for just 5min and he will be fine. However, I still think Foye is the better player and I think our team would be better all around with the lineup I talked about.

I like that lineup because as I said at the start of the year, I dont like the thought of maybe having a true vets on the starting group and a ton of young guys on the bench. I would like to put the young guy in NY in the starting group and have Miller on the bench because this guy has won a 6th man of the year award and you can tell that he’s one guy that you can count on every game even off the bench. It makes us that much more deadly. Then I love him off the bench with Foye because he can help Foye with his handles & playmaking. To me, the 5 man rotation at the 1, 2, and 3 spots should be Gil, NY, CB, Foye, and MM. 5 guys for those 3 spots. There should be a main 3 man rotation up front with AJ, Wood, and Blatche. Then you can throw in Oberto or McGee whenever you like. Thats the potent lineup for both units.

Again, I just dont think we can be fully great if Flip is going to try to play Gil, NY, CB, MM, Foye, Boykins, and DS. Its too many guys. Only 5 out that group should play every game. DS has to sit in that group and as good as Earl is, he also has to sit. Him & DS can be used for special purposes only

Comment from dlts20
Time November 25, 2009 at 5:38 PM

I thought Flip almost made us lose again by sitting NY so long in the 4th. Earl started off well but both him & Foye made like 4 bad plays in a row each and he still left NY sitting. I said by time he brings NY back, he will now be cold from sitting too long. Anyways, his O was great. He’s still probably my favorite player to watch besides maybe Gil. I just love Nick’s moves and the way he shoots that J.

However, by far the best thing from NY was his D. Did you guys see that? I thought he was our best defender tonight. He was all up in Iggy’s face. He was on him on every shot, never fell for the pump fake, and both used his size & speed well. If he keeps that up then he will be a beast, espically right now because I think Gil is going to go into more of a setup mode until he finds his way in the system

Comment from neal
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:22 PM

jeffmalone, I’m finally coming around to your point of view. I think all of us have thought that Arenas is just too short to play SG, but maybe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I sure am tired of his TO’s. Presumably, there would be fewer if he weren’t trying to be the playmaker. On the other hand, that really overstocks us with good 2’s (Arenas, Slick and Miller) and under-stocks us with 1’s. Do you think we should wait until Crittenton is healthy and shows he’s ready for the rotation?

I thought I might be the only one, dlts20, that thought that Slick’s D is about as good as the other 2’s. If that’s the case, he absolutely should play over Stevenson and Foye.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:31 PM

@neal-I think Nick knows that if he wants to play he has to do more than score, he has to have an all around game, rebounds, assists and defense. As for him starting he looked good with his extended minutes.

As far as waiting for Critt to be healthy, Boykins came in off the street and was plugged right in. I believe that Boykins should start because he knows Jamison and Arenas and where they like the ball. He is a match up nightmare and gets into the lane at will, and it a real pest around the ball. The rotations need a lot of work, and Flip controls who plays in the game and for how long, so I am DOWN ON FLIP!

Comment from maggicman11
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:36 PM

nice game from the players.. i really like NY in the starting line up. it gives us better rotation on Offense. I think it should be GIL, NY, MM, TWAAN, HAYWOOD as the starters with foye, dsteve, caron, dray, and mcgee off the bench with none of the players getting any favoritism for minutes because of the name on the back of their jersey. If GIL isnt performing as well as Foye, then foye should get more min. if dray plays better than twaan, then dray should get the most min, etc.

Oberto should be used sparingly and should never be on the floor at the same time as haywood. oberto cant give you as much any other player on the team and shouldnt be treated as if he can. what are his attributes? he plays good team ball… well i play good team ball so that doesnt count for much. he is a decent post defender. would you take his D over mcgee? hell no! so why play him over players that are better options?

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:37 PM

@Neal-Also Young and Miller can also play the 3 (SF) in the east, so we have players that can play multple positions. Dray can play 3,4, or 5, McGee can play 4 or 5, and Foye can play 1 or 2. Butler can play 2 or 3, Jamison can play 3 or 4, Gilbert is a 2, Boykins is a 1, DMAC can play 2, 3 and 4 (depending on the match up). So again we can make it work……….

Comment from maggicman11
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:40 PM

Mcgee is 10th in the league for blocks per 48 minutes

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:46 PM

@magic-I almost agree with all you had to say especially:

Oberto should be used sparingly and should never be on the floor at the same time as haywood

But we may disagree on the starters and bench:

I think it should be GIL, NY, MM, TWAAN, HAYWOOD as the starters

Here is my question to you, the Wizards are HORRIBLE with TO’s, and I believe in the last game they had 23 assists and 20 TO’s. In your line up pf Gil, NY, MM, who will get the team assists and set up in our offense? Gil, Miller, Young? We need a PG so IMO, Miller should come off the bench as well as Young (however let them get meaningful minutes). That line up you mentioned is set up for one on one basketball, and a ton of jump shots. Yes Gil can get into the lane, however when he is looking to get teamates invloved he is not looking to do what he does BEST which is to SCORE.

Arenas, Jamison, Boykins, Haywood and Young or Arenas, Dray, Boykins, Butler and Haywood, it would be hard to bring Twan off the bech with the way he has played. However as long as one of the 3 is willing to sacrifice for the team and still play big minutes by accepting a role coming off the bench, then we will improve on offense and defense (IMO).

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:47 PM

I like the fact that the Wizards bloggers really enjoy discussing b-ball and have so many diverse thoughts about the team and the coaches yet seem accepting of the fact that everyone is entitled to an opinon. It’s fun to read!

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:48 PM

I like DeShawn, however I think DMAC deserves to get a look over a few games with the minutes DeShawn would have gotten.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 25, 2009 at 6:50 PM

@gobbo-so what are your thoughts thus far through the first 13 games?

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time November 25, 2009 at 7:16 PM

the only problem i have with McGee he only got 4 rebounds you can’t do that and be a center its not going to work he needs to learn to box out and get the rebounds i watch him alot of times hide under the basket and try to out jump guys with position but he did good for 14 mins witch i hope he gets alot because he needs it and its only going to give Haywood much needed rest

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time November 25, 2009 at 7:19 PM

also we had no real SF last night but Dom never seen the floor and they were stroking the 3 pointers so why would he not play don’t get that at all

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 25, 2009 at 8:02 PM

McGee has the most UPSIDE as anyone on this roster, 6 blocks in 14 minutes with 4 rebounds. I will take it, also I will take him playing minutes in every game, and be an essential part of the rotation.

LOL….Haywood would play 48 minutes if it were up to him, however it is up to the Coach, and his game management and in game situations, it falls back on Flip.

Comment from neal
Time November 25, 2009 at 8:35 PM

The statement that McGee doesn’t get many rebounds surprised me, so I decided to double check it. Here are the average rebounds per 48 min of our big rebounders:

Haywood 15.6
Jamison 14.1
Miller 10.2
Blatche 9.8
McGuire 9.6
Butler 9.0
McGee 8.8
Oberto 7.0

Jamison and Miller get more than I expected and McGee gets fewer. Maybe Wizards4Life has the reason for McGee’s lack.

Have I mentioned what I think about Oberto getting court time?

Comment from dcbutler357
Time November 25, 2009 at 8:50 PM

Wooohoooo,
There’s a lot of games on league pass tonight

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 25, 2009 at 10:39 PM

neal — I don’t think the sample size is big enough yet to draw any conclusions about McGee’s rebounding. He rebounded at a reasonable clip last year (12.3 per 48min — just slightly below average for an NBA Center).

Haywood’s rebounding so far this season is way more than his career average. Things do tend to fall towards the mean.

But I agree that McGee should absolutely be getting 15-20 minutes a night. And I want Andray on the floor; the kid is playing really good ball this season, and his play should be rewarded. (You hearing me, GABBO? )

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 25, 2009 at 10:42 PM

@jeffmalone1990 – Thanks for the invitation to spout off. You asked for it, so here it is. Actually I believe that most of the bloggers are on the same page regarding the poor start for the season.

We’re all tired of hearing that injuries have prevented us from having a better record, but it is a fact. Then when we get folks back, we still lose because they haven’t had enough time together. New key players, new coach, new system, new injuries, same old problems. Every team goes through it…the good teams overcome…We shall…

People talk about the young guys having gotten a lot of court time last year and should therefore be better players. I view it as a willing suspension of disbelief to assume that watching those young guys on the court last year should equate to progression in their learning curve toward NBA players able to contribute to a successful team. The young guys learned only what they were able to figure out for themselves last year because that coaching staff was incapable of teaching anything about how to be a successful basketball player at any level. So, despite the fact that they got some minutes (minutes that were spent looking over their shoulders to see when they were being yanked), the court time was almost wasted. Coach Saunders has to, and is, re-making everyone of them.

While I didn’t expect it to be so, Mike Miller was the most positive addition to the team…a real gamer, a throwback. If he’s playing against you, be careful because he’ll make your life miserable for a variety of reasons. Foye needs court time to fit in but he has nice skills. I like Earl’s hustle, savvy and his ability to move the defense when he has the ball. He usually gets us a good shot.

Oberto, DeShawn, McGuire, along with Critt and James (when well) provide a cadre of very nice opportunity players who will be able to help us in spots.

Given the opportunity, both Slick and ‘Dray have demonstrated that they are capable of making a positive impact on an NBA-level. I love it when McGee is in the game because it will be fun to watch even if he is out-of-position. He’ll get better faster if he gets some meaningful court time. I believe that he is a future All-Star.

Brendan is playing solid basketball. He helps the team in overall defense, but his offensive skills are horrible (despite the fact that he works very hard to improve in this area (I’ve seen him). He is more aggressive going after rebounds this year, but he simply does not have the athleticism of a Dwight Howard, the strength of Shaq, or the jumping ability of some younger centers…but he is serviceable. I will not be surprised if the Wizards pass on his contract season.

That leaves the “Big Three”:
Remember that “coach” ET said that ALL of the offense last year would go through his All-Stars…and, then for the most part, it did. Consequently, Caron, and for a lesser degree, AJ began to think that he had to do everything. When Caron got the ball he had to make something happen…he had to beat his man…he had to score. Consequently, “the ball stops here” began with Caron last year. He focused on beating his defender one-on-one. And, since he did it very well, that’s a tough habit to break but it’s definitely hurting his game and the team’s offense this year. Caron’s game from last year simply does not fit into the team’s game for this year, but it looks as though he is trying to “shoe-horn” it in. If he can’t adapt, the team should get whatever value it can for him and let him go to a team where he can, and will, be successful.

AJ is a true class act, and anyone who wants him to be traded or come off the bench is not paying attention to what he provides to the success of the team.

Gil is a SHOOTING GUARD who might go through the motions of being an assist guy from the point guard position, but, while he really wants to win, his heart is stuck on making sure that everyone realizes that “Gilbert did it”, whether it is a spectacular pass or a 10-point shot. For Gil if it is not a spectacular event, it is not worth doing. I love Gil’s enthusiasm and athleticism, but he needs a strong hand. I hope that Coach Saunders can provide that. I have seen signs, like when Gil was not in the game during the 4th quarter of the Cav’s game…and we won.

Bottom line is that I still believe that we have a great team that is capable of winning it all. I believe that Coach Saunders is a winning coach. There are no players on this team who should only play in “mop-up” situations (we had several of those last year). The weakest spot is with a strong player… Caron, and only because he is being asked to do something that is foreign to him. He’s a very nice player who has to adapt, or we need to find someone who will give us some value for him.

It is, when all is said and done, a basketball TEAM.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 25, 2009 at 10:50 PM

Where do the minutes come from for guys like JM and AB — not to mention DM?

If we combine Antawn, Caron and Gil for 105 minutes a night, that makes it tough. Oberto doesn’t need the minutes he’s getting, DeShawn doesn’t need to play much either, nor do I need to see Nick all that much (although, yes, he contributed yesterday) until he produces *consistently* in whatever minutes he gets.

The more I think about our rotation, the more complicated it looks.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:00 PM

Good evening Tom M. Good to hear from you.

I’d like JM to get more minutes at the 5 and ‘Dray to get 24+ minutes spread amoung the 3, 4 and 5 spots. As I wrote earlier, I see DM as a spot player, primarily as a stopper both early on, if someone get hot against us, and late in the game to shut down a key player.

I agree 100% about Oberto and DSS and I believe that “0″, “3″ and “4″ should not exceed 34 minutes per game.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:00 PM

GABBO — after the pre-draft trade, I said on this blog (to jmpalomo, I think): “You are going to love Mike Miller.”

Your idea that we might benefit by trading Caron will no doubt cause some heat, but you are right. Of all the players on the team, he is the most tradeable; the right kind of deal might benefit us and whatever team we trade with. There’s always been some question, btw, whether Caron and Gil could play together. If you assume that Gil is not going anywhere….

I agree about Dray — but I don’t know where you get the idea that Nick has *demonstrated* that he can produce on the NBA level. So far it’s lots of bad games for an occasional good one. Still, maybe he can build off of last night. He has plenty of basketball talent, that is obvious.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:01 PM

Lets not get off onto the side track of disagreeing about Nick — we’re both rooting for him.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:05 PM

@Tom Mandel – Yep, you did advise us that Miller would be a loveable guy…and he is.

I know that both you and I have a difficult time remembering what it was like to be 25-years old (which I believe is NY’s age). But if we ask Spock to do a memory probe we’ll both realize that at that age success begets success. I agree with you about Nick. He has plenty of basketball talent. My point is that the more he plays, the more we’ll see that talent.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:06 PM

24 multi-purpose minutes for ‘Dray sounds great to me, GABBO. He has definitely stepped up, and he should be rewarded (not to mention that he’ll help us win games).

As to JaVale, no matter how raw he often looks on the court, he is so physically gifted and imposing that he disrupts the other team’s game.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:09 PM

Of course, no matter whom we attend to on the Wiz, the single biggest variable right now is Gil’s play — if he continues playing the way he has through the first part of the season, it’s gonna be hard to win games!

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:10 PM

Tom Mandel and GABBO on the same page. How can the Wizards not go undefeated from this point forward.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:11 PM

Have a Supa, Dupa T-Day everyone!!! Good night.

Comment from dlts20
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:22 PM

Gil Looked Slow Again Last Night!

Didnt watch the full game live, only bits & pieces. So when I rewatched it today I saw that Gil I saw for about half or more than half of the games this year. In alot of these games he just looks like a shell of himself physicaly. I thought he was the slowest guard on the court last night for both teams. Everything physicaly looks like a struggle and thats when he gets stripped sometimes because he’s physicaly inferior to this opponent. The only thing that saves him during those games is that he has great ball handling moves and knows how to position his body. Still, some games he looks like such a shell of himself. Thats why I dont understand how people can rip him or try to compare him to guys like Wade when right now you cant even compare him to Gil. He use to be like the quickest guard in the league and sometimes now that still shows up but there are alot of games where he has nothing. We have no chance if he’s not the old Gil. I dont care if he masters the system, plays differently or what, he still has to physicaly be the old Gil just to dominate a game.

Right now most of the time he’s a glorified role player or a guy who looks great if he was an average player. Like if he was Westbrook or one of these guys then he would be ok by putting up 17 & 8 but if you watched that Philly game, he looked alwful with his movements. Thats why some of his shots are bad because they seem like a guy who cant even go pass a backup and then shoots a J from ground level that has no shot. He runs full speed at time to finish at the rim and barely gets an inch off the ground before shooting up something that is a prayer. Man I hope that burst gets back. You add his lack of burst to the fact that he’s struggling with the system and it spells disater.

I still hold out hope that it will click one of these games but right now Gil is actually a dependant player. He wasnt that way at 1st but now he needs guys around him to play well because he cannot take over a game or even come close to it. Again though, there are some games where he clearly does have a pep to his step. Not like the old Gil but still pretty good. I wish we could have that guy for all 82 games and not just 40 or whatever. Sometimes he’s had the pep and played bad but I can live with that because I know it will get better when we find the chemistry. However, I cant live with him looking like an old man with bad knees on the court for a ton of games. Thats my biggest problem right now and that guy again showed up against Philly

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:22 PM

Just saw the photos of Mike Miller and the Thanksgiving dinner promotion. And, if Mike ever looks at the blog, I want him to know that that was a very nice gesture, especially from a relative newcomer to the DC area. Very cool my friend.

Get well soon. BTW, I noticed that there was no heavy lifting by the left arm.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:24 PM

@dlts20 – just read your post. On target!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:32 PM

Night all….

Have a really nice Turkey Day and lets get a win Friday.

Comment from neal
Time November 25, 2009 at 11:47 PM

Young is shooting 33% this year vs. 44% career. I don’t think coming in for just a few minutes works well for him. I look for him to improve with regular, big time minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving fellow bloggers.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time November 26, 2009 at 12:05 AM

Happy Thanksgiving

And I really think that no matter what you think about Mike Miller, what he did being a new comer to the area, with the Miller’s assist program was “priceless”. In the spirit of Mr Pollin and his charitable giving, I have a lot of respect for the man and the player. Thank you Mike for putting a smile on so many faces, and I am sure you got just as much out of that as they appeared to

Gabbo-you really nailed it with Miller, please all blogers click on the photo gallery

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time November 26, 2009 at 12:17 AM

I was very impressed by Nick’s progress. He played pretty darmed good defense and fought for rebounds too. I’d like to see him get some more minutes after that game.

Welcome to the NBA Andray. It looks like he has finally decided to use his God given talents. He has played ball for us this year at a consistently good level.

Gil may have a lot going on in his head and a lot of rust in his body. He isn’t the automatic scoring machiene we are used to yet, but, it’s early and it’s been a long time since he has seen the court. He isn’t going to “play through it” sitting on the bench. We didn’t pay him 111 mil to sit on the bench either. Once his shots start falling again we will all wonder what we were worried about.

I really like Flip (sorry Jeff ). He is new here and started out playing the normal cast of characters. He has shown me a few thing prior coaches haven’t. Flip isn’t opposd to playing with the lineup if things aren’t clicking. Ok so maybe he waits a few games too long to adapt, but, at least he does adapt. Past coaches would stick with the “all stars” until hell froze over. Flip is the only one so far to have Gilbert on the bench in the fourth quarter. I think once he gets fully acclimated to DC and this team he will make the moves we need at the proper times to win ball games. He is learning us and is willing to adapt. I’m anticipating things to get better for us the longer the reins are in his hands.

Happy Thanksgiving All.

Comment from datonypony
Time November 26, 2009 at 3:42 AM

How much $ (US currency) is a ticket at a wizards home game against a good team and the seating is in an average place?

Comment from M2
Time November 26, 2009 at 7:51 AM

50 bucks

……….

Comment from M2
Time November 26, 2009 at 7:52 AM

& MOVE GIL TO THE TWO ALREADY… Damn

Comment from neal
Time November 26, 2009 at 10:58 AM

Flip is mostly doing what he said he would – going with an 8 or 9 man rotation. The 9 have been Arenas, Foye, Miller, Stevenson, Butler, Jamison, Blatche, Haywood and Oberto, with more scattered minutes to the others than I expected. Now it looks like Young has replaced Stevenson and McGee has replaced Oberto. Hooray! Is Boykins replacing Foye?

Comment from Reuben
Time November 26, 2009 at 12:58 PM

@datonypony

a decent seat is like $60 but a pretty good one is about 80-90.

I recommend going to Stubhub.com to look for tickets

Comment from neal
Time November 26, 2009 at 2:07 PM

I’m not sure Stevenson really is a better defender than our other 2’s. He stays low, on the balls of his feet and focused, which is good. But he’s not as quick as either Foye or Young and it doesn’t look to me like he keeps the enemy player from getting around him any better. And he doesn’t challenge jump shots. He doesn’t try to block them; he doesn’t even raise his arms.

Comment from maggicman11
Time November 26, 2009 at 9:25 PM

@jeffmalone

I chose that lineup simply off of what we saw against the 6ers. The ball moved around and nick played defense. He started and produced. we cant keep judging slick off what we saw in years past. this is a new year and this time he has got any valuable mins so this is him so far this season.

another reason is, it seems to me like Gil has has alot of respect for NIck and twaan’s game offensively. he has always spoken very highly of nick comparing him to kobe and plays one on one with him often. if you look at who gil passes the ball to the most it twaan. these are the guys gil trust on offense. I dont think he trust caron as much or haywood or anyone else. i think thats why the ball doesnt usually move as well as it did when nick started. And also will (hopefully) help get gil back on track. with slick and MM on the wings, teams will have to respect the fact that when gil drives it, he can always kick it back out to two dead on shooters. they wont be able to collapse as easy on him then. if they do then gil can kick it out to the only players who’s O game wasnt left in the 08 season. I really think it will open things up for gil. then Caron, blatche, and foye can come in and run the second unit with another go to guy in caron. it will make us efficient for longer stretches in the game. I also would like to see DOM get mins against teams with unstoppable players to hopefully slow them down. wade, lebron, kobe, roy, durant, carmelo, joe johnson. i think when we play these guys our lineup should change to try to slow those guys down. we dont have anyone that can out score them. so why not slow the game down and force there other players to win the game for them.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 26, 2009 at 9:38 PM

@datonypony – go to http://www.greatseats.com . You can see what they have available and the prices.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 26, 2009 at 9:48 PM

@maggicman11 – I like your offensive strategy. I thought all along that we would be successful with this group simply because Gil draws a crowd and we have some excellent spot-shooters. So far, the problem has been that Gil just puts his head down and drives to the basket with little, if any, thought of kicking it out.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 26, 2009 at 11:14 PM

I’m watching the Magic and Hawks and it occurs to me that Dwight Howard has become a perennial all-star because of his strength and aggressivness. His skill set is actually minimal. He can dunk on offense and he can block shots on defense, his fouling shooting is horrible., he can play one position. He is 6′11″ 265 lbs.

The closest player that the Wizards have to that size is 6′11″ 248 lbs. His skill set is amazing. He too can block shots, AND he can handle the ball, AND he can hit the 18 ft. jumper, AND he makes his foul shots, AND he can play three positions.

There are three things that differentiate the players: (1) Howard has an extra 17 pounds of solid muscle, (2) Howard is a nasty SOB around the basket, (3) ‘Dray doesn’t get the minutes (probably because of #s 1 and 2).

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time November 26, 2009 at 11:23 PM

Talk about strength…Josh Smith just took the ball to the basket and jumped into and was fouled by Dwight Howard. Smith scored and went to the floor. Howard barely moved an inch. It was like a fly bumped into him.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time November 27, 2009 at 1:35 AM

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow’s game centers around controlling primarily one player. Given recent games… who do you guys think should start against Wade? Do you think DeShawn is “automatic” or do you think a guy like Dominic might get his props as Nick did last game. It sure seemed to put a spark in Nick’s play. If we could put a “spark” in Dominic along with JaVale simply being JaVale this could get interesting.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time November 27, 2009 at 1:41 AM

Consider this: Teams with 2 big men down low win titles today.

Last year it was Gasol, Bynum with odom helping.
Prior to that it was Boston with Garnett, along with Perkins/Big Baby/Pope.
I also recall Detroit Beating Shaq because they had Sheed and Ben Wallace. My point is that you can have your guards and small forwards, but today you also need two big men, whereas one may be a scorer and rebounder, but one is also the scrapper. Tonight, Atlanta was attacking in the first half, and even though superman was down there, Atlanta was bringing it to him and the weakside was getting offensive rebounds. Lewis started playing a big man role in the second half and negated some of this.

I say all of that to say, we will need two big men to get over the hump, against the upper echelon. Boston went and got Sheed to play with Garnett and I think this will make Boston the team to beat. As soon as L.A. got Bynum and Gasol on the floor together, they won a title. Cleveland has also stocked up on big men and are trying to play them together. Just my simple opinion. The more Javalle gets on the floor and establishes himself, he may be that wild-card that’s needed. Whether he’s on the floor with Dray or on the floor with Haywood. His rebounding will come around, but in the meantime, his skill at jumping out changing shots, will enable others to get rebounds, and also, his quick jumping ability may just allow him to alter shots and get rebounds.

Comment from GrifonRacing
Time November 27, 2009 at 1:49 AM

DCB… JaVale has the talent and atheleticism to literally change games. I think Flip is slowly realizing that. Remember that game last year when he got 4 blocks in (I think) 12 minutes and Tap pulled him and he never returned? That “block fest” the other night should open Flip’s eyes a little wider.

I agree you Must have multiple bigs to compete in this league these days. With Andrays consistent play and JaVale swatting em we may just have that. Let’s see if Flip can realize potential any better than those that came before him.

Oberto is playing a much more “controlled” game these days too. He isn’t going to score, but, he does all the dirty stuff. Songaila comes to mind.