Washington Wizards Blog

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 9, 2010 at 7:59 AM

Go Wiz!! Lets rain on the Rockets!!

30 minutes for Nick, win or lose!!

Comment from Jaba
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:11 AM

I really like these two teams meeting. Let’s embrace the role of a playoff spoiler (since we can’t be there ourselves) and make life hard for the Rockets!
Go team! Go Wizards! PLAY HARD!!!

Comment from aznzero
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:18 AM

It just feels wierd having a game on a Tuesday.
Lets go Wizards!

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:55 AM

Rockets in the booth tonight.

BIG thumbs up for ‘Dray.

Go Wiz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:57 AM

I hope that coaching isn’t responsible for preventing a victory tonight…of course, it would be out of character for the kids not to have to overcome some stupidity from that sideline.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:23 AM

i want to know what elaborate scheme will flip use to slow down the recent hyper-productivity of luis scola.

ever since the landry trade, scola has been going all “moses malone” on his opponents, getting like 20 ppg and 17 rpg per contest. that’s a pretty sick stat line from one of the better international players.

also, what will the wizards try to do against aaron brooks, a diminutive PG that plays with a far bigger heart than his stature? will flip throw quinton ross at brooks?

if yao and ariza were healthy, the rockets are extremely difficult to take down. but, since these guys are out for tonight, i hope the wiz can use the frustration energies stemming from last game’s loss to take down an up-and-down team, as dj said in the preview, at home tonight.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:35 AM

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 8, 2010 at 11:21 PM

IMO, we might as well play Nick 30 minutes a night from now on. Why not? Because we’ll lose more games? How do losses matter right now, if you think of it? I don’t believe in tanking, that’s for sure, but in the end we’d be a lot better off picking 4th than 8th in June, so even if we miss out on some wins because of the kid, …so what?

Time to start a “free Nick Young” movement?

- – -
i just bought a bomb shelter to protect myself from armageddon because tom m. and gabbo agreed on something.

@ tom m – your sentiments about nick now were exactly what GABBO was preaching after he saw this season going down the tubes again. it makes little sense, during another throwaway season, to have the vets monopolize minutes when these same minutes can be put to better use developing the young guys. think of now as “last season, part 2″.

we understand your dislike for nick as an nba player and nick hasn’t done anything lately to refute your claims. however, if 30 minutes per contest is what he needs to get out of his doldrums and out of flip’s doghouse, then i would take that chance if i was coaching/managing the team.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:42 AM

i want to elaborate a bit more on aaron brooks:

a) boykins and foye can’t stay with brooks one-on-one.

b) flip’s zone will not work against brooks because he’ll launch 3s

c) scola runs a high screen-n-roll with brooks (scola substituting for what yao typically does) and brooks zips a beeline pass to scola for an easy layup. the wiz are still a work in progress with defending screen-n-rolls, so this is going to be a challenge.

d) brooks is a turnover machine. get him flustered and he’ll miss jumpers and subsequently will turn the ball over.

e) if the wizards big men can set solid screens for foye and boykins on brooks, dc’s pgs will be able to get a nice open look for an 18 foot jumpshot. this is what foye LOVES to do, so randy better make them or else we’ll all be pulling our hair out like during the last 6 minutes of the celtics game.

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:42 AM

Let’s get a quality win versus a scrappy Rockets team, I love Scola! And Coach, whomever Jeffries is guarding…ATTACK…..early and often, and the Rockets have no answer for McGee!

Slick, I hope you at least get 20 minutes tonight and I will be happy!

Comment from jeffmalone1990
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:44 AM

The only issue I see we will have tonight is slowing down Kevin Martin, as I look on the roster I do not see anybody being able to slow him down, so hopefully he will have an off night shooting~

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:58 AM

Great line on the Washington Post Insider by Theone9:
“Flip flopped and flipped.”

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:30 AM

Some teams just know how to draft certain positions.

Look at New Orleans. Besides getting all-world Chris Paul, now they have 2 budding stars at the PG position in Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton.

They won’t keep all 3 PGs, so I ask – should the Wiz try to pry Collison or Thornton from them? And, would it be too confusing to have 2 Thorntons on the team?

Comment from tyrone2000
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:21 AM

So did the Wizards pickup Shaun Livingston for the remainder of the year?

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:56 AM

gosh, why does the wiz, in recent times, so infatuated with ball players with severe knee injuries?

when livingston first came onto the scene, clipper-nation was all talking about how he could be the next magic johnson.

when i saw his freakish knee injury, my stomach got sick because no appendage is supposed to be bent like that. i’m glad he can walk, let alone play basketball again.

with that said, i don’t know how many more chances he can have in the pros before the nba closes its doors on this guy. his comeback may be done as quickly as jay williams after his stupid stint with motorcycles. livingston hasn’t shown me anything during a real game and i wonder if he’s doing anything during practice to warrant grunfeld to keep him for another 10 days. mike harris didn’t and he’s cut in favor of alonzo gee. livingston’s dc stay may be as brisk.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:57 AM

oops, ^

“why does the wiz, in recent times, BECOME so infatuated … “

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 12:06 PM

this is spooky

Charlotte Bobcats were involved in 2 grusome knee injuries by opposing players back in 2007

Feb 26, 2007 – Shaun Livingston’s left knee

April 4, 2007 – Gilbert Arenas’s left knee

kinda ruined both players’ careers, no?

Comment from gray16
Time March 9, 2010 at 12:34 PM

wiz fusion, i still haven’t got over that gerald wallace incident with gil, imagine where this franchise would be without that…

injuries are without a doubt the worst part of sports, too many stars have been taken from us (all nba fans) too quickly due to injuries.

as for tonight, this will be a tough game and i wouldn’t be surprised to see mike miller get lit up again by kevin martin this time. i think andray and javale will do a decent job of holding luis within reasonable numbers. and i agree with wizfusion saying that foye and boykins won’t be able to contain brooks, luckily mcgee will make him hesitant to go in the paint.

on offense, the wiz will need thornton to do his best against battier, even if that means not shooting much and just helping to move the ball and taking his baskets as they are handed to him (hard to do without a pg). i really wish livingston would get more playing time, why pay a guy to come here to ride the pine? especially when it’s a pg this team needs. foye can’t shoot a horrible percentage again tonight, but i see brooks being on him like white on rice, brooks is just too quick for him. blatche should be able to have a good game tonight, but i’m sure adelman has something planned to stop him, probably involving more than one guy.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 9, 2010 at 1:06 PM

wiz_fusion — I don’t think Marcus Thornton is a point guard. He’s a 2, and an undersized one at that. Collison is one, however, and has improved *a lot* since the all-star break. He is looking pretty good and getting a lot of minutes.

“why pay a guy to ride the pine” — required to have 12 on the roster and you need that many to insure full practices. I don’t think the 10-day contracts are about developing our future roster. All the same, anyone would want Livingston to do well.

Don’t overestimate Brooks; yes he is quick, but he shoots a low percentage and has no size and not much strength. Overall, he is about as productive as Foye — i.e. not very.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 9, 2010 at 1:10 PM

Kyle Lowry, on the other hand, has turned into an excellent point guard.

Comment from Rick
Time March 9, 2010 at 1:31 PM

I’d like to see a pass-first, defensive-minded point guard come up from the NBADL. I’m not sure if there are any good ones, but that’s what this team needs. Spelling Foye with Boykins just seems silly to me.

Comment from Rick
Time March 9, 2010 at 1:31 PM

oh, and livingston isn’t it. you can tell, he still fancies himself a scorer. and his passing has been really bad.

Comment from gray16
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:09 PM

tom mandel, randy foye is shooting a worse percentage while taking 4 less 3 pt shots per game (although foyes mid range shots can be considered very dumb shots at times since there are like a foot within the three point line)

he’s also averaging 8 less shots taken per game, and 10 points less per game. even as a starter foye’s numbers can’t match up to brooks, i think it’s safe to say brooks is much better than foye.

brooks won’t need any strength to beat foye or boykins, he’s arguably the quickest player in the nba, he can blow by both any time he wants. his problem is finishing around the rim, due mainly to his size, so he’s not going to shoot 50% having to rely on jumpers and floaters, but he still impacts the game very well.

and from the rockets games i have watched, he was the main guy offensively. landry would be the go to guy at time, scola as well, but brooks was the guy throughout the game running the offense. so i say don’t sleep on him.

Comment from gray16
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:13 PM

not to mention brooks has scored 100 points in his past 4 games (dishing out 25 assists). he did have a bad game against sac town, but the other three were good performances. hope he doesn’t light up the wizards tonight.

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:15 PM

Hey everyone I’m back….it’s been a couple weeks since I’ve been on the blog, but happy to have found time again to be back on!!!! Not trying to put the Wizards down, because I will always be a Wizards fan no matter what happens to them, but IF the Wizards do end up losing this game tonight, they would be 6th in the lottery race, whereas they are currently in 8th place…….not saying I want the Wizards to lose on purpose to increase our chances of winning the lottery, but I am saying that there are not always negatives to losing games at the end of the season if you know your team can’t make the playoffs!

Comment from tyrone2000
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:16 PM

If you actually watched S Livingston’s highlights you can see the comparison to Magic Johnson just as a kid out of high school. I just wanted to know if the Wizards resigned him or not…

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:17 PM

and I agree with Tom Mandel on the fact that we should not intentionally tank the team this season…..instead we should let the younger guys get some minutes so they can improve like Nick Young!!

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:40 PM

Comment from Rick
Time March 9, 2010 at 1:31 PM

I’d like to see a pass-first, defensive-minded point guard come up from the NBADL.

- – -
@ Rick

I can’t name anyone that fits this criteria.

Maybe Eric Snow from a generation ago? Gary Payton was a pretty darn good defensive PG, but he also scored near 20 ppg and passed some.

Maybe you can name someone because I’m having a hard time visualizing your idea.

Comment from millie mill
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:40 PM

This is going to be a tough game tonight. Too many matchup problems.

-Kevin Martin will kill us tonight just like Ray Allen killed us last game.

-Miller needs to shoot more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Foye really needs to step up his game. I want him on the roster for next season but he needs to bring it every night. He will be the key to the win tonight.

-Our bigs in Blatche and McGee should have good games tonight, must watch out for fouls.

-Regarding the Free Young thing. I rather play a D- leaguer with more heart and hunger than playing a young NBA player looking like he is going though depression. He looks like he just lost his best friend of something. ?

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:45 PM

@ Tom M

Good that you clarified what Marcus Thornton’s position is because I have no idea.

Too many “tweeners” in the NBA.

Comment from dmac
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:48 PM

I have been blogging football the last couple weeks around my Redskins. even though have not been busy in FA so far that is a good thing. I hope the Wiz kind of take the same approach. Meaning rebuild. I see our rebuilding centered around Gil, Andray, Javale, Thornton, Foye, Singleton. For me everybody else is expendable. Now my group is not a no touch group . It is just a group I would rebuild around. That means I have about 6-7 roster spots available.
Top of the the list is a true point guard. Next is a Center. Maybe that wish will be granted in the draft.
A shooting guard who can play defense against the Bryants, Wades, Roy’s, Johnson’s and etc.
Right now I am not keeping Flip. he lost that game against the Celtics the other night. I am not sure I want to keep EG. If I am the new owner I want to give Gil a fresh start and new beginning. To make this season even more intriguing I predict that Blatche and Thornton will carry the Wiz to victory tonight.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:51 PM

lol @ fear of kevin martin tonight

he’s had a lot more 3/14 shooting games than 14/17 shooting games. i’m not worried.

just don’t foul him and put this 90% FT shooter on the line. that’s killer.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 2:56 PM

this is not going to make sense and i have no reasons to back up my opinion, but i want a center.

i want demarcus cousins.

i want the wiz to have the eastern conference’s version of the spurs’ “twin towers” with mcgee and cousins.

sprinkle this in with blatche, you have the “tri-towers”.

i’d say if the wiz get cousins, the frontcourt rebuilding is over!

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 9, 2010 at 3:40 PM

Gray16 — Per my previous, overall Brooks and Foye are about equally productive. Brooks has a little edge, not much. Neither of them are particularly good players considered against the better guards in the league.

That said, Randy was a lottery pick (#7); Aaron was taken at the end of round one (#26). No question that Foye has been the bigger disappointment.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 9, 2010 at 3:42 PM

Cousins has game, no question about that! People question his character and commitment. He is currently projected to go @ #4 in the draft — doubt we’ll pick quite that high.

How about Hassan Whiteside?

Comment from gray16
Time March 9, 2010 at 5:10 PM

i disagree tm, brooks was a legitimate all star this season, many believe he deserved to be on the team. he’s a very good pg imo.

as for kevin martin, yeah good luck with the don’t put kevin martin on the ft line plan lol. that’s like saying don’t put lebron or corey maggetti on the foul line, it’s just not going to work. plus if kevin gets hot (which doesn’t seem to be hard against miller) he’s not missing till the next game lol. so while i agree he does shoot horribly a lot, i still fear him.

Comment from gray16
Time March 9, 2010 at 5:17 PM

as for cousins, i do think the upside for him is very high. he reminds me of rasheed wallace for some reason (mabye it’s just the attitude probs)

i think the wizards will be able to get a decent big man (if they play their cards right) and also a good pg out of the draft. as for big men, greg monroe could be a good addition, patrick patterson is a good player. i’d also like to see the wizards get grievis vasquez with their 30th pick.

Comment from millie mill
Time March 9, 2010 at 5:23 PM

I think this Free Agency the Wizards will go after three free agents. First will be a Shooting Guard, Second Center, and Third SF/PF.

Shooting Guard (This player will be a starter)

-Joe Johnson would be my first choice. (long shot)
-Tony Allen (FG 47.5% for a career)
-Roger Mason

Center (Back-Up) Someone that don’t mind helping a young player develop or a big man coach or a young big

- Brad Miller (would be my first choice) only real veteran center I think the wizards have a chance in getting
- Darko Milicic
-Josh Boone
-Asst. Coach Alonzo Morning

Small Forward/Power Forward (Role player)

-Al Harrington (1st Choice)
-Hakim Warrick
- Udonis Haslem

Re-sign Randy Foye and James Singleton

Draft
1st draft pick PG
2nd draft pick Best available
3rd draft pick Best available

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 6:09 PM

i dont like millie mill’s list of FAs. if the wiz is going to go for broke with FAs, just go for one guy – CHRIS BOSH. other than CB4, everyone else is meh.

resigning singleton sounds like a good plan. glad that yall are now jumping on the j.s. bandwagon after i screamed from my lungs last june to get him and no one here cared. i have proof that none of yall cared because it was BLOGGED HERE IN WRITING! yes, i’m very bitter that no one saw his potential except me. and i’m doubly bitter that the mavs didn’t know how to use him.

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time March 9, 2010 at 6:20 PM

Millie mill the only free agent I like on that list is Al Harrington because he is a more athletic version of Antawn Jamison…..what I don’t like about Al Harrington though is his price…..I think he makes about $10 mil this season, and with a new contract you can expect him to ask for nothing less than $7-8 mil per year……if we got him for the mid-level exception though that would be a steal! Another guy who could at least help our forward/center depth is Stoudamire or Boozer……but I would seriously doubt they would ever consider signing with the Wizards!

Comment from Wizfan4life
Time March 9, 2010 at 6:25 PM

Oh yeah, and out of all the guys we have that will be free agents this summer….we keep BOTH Foye and Miller…….Miller does at times not take enough shots, but he is one of the best all around guards in the league in terms of what he will get for you (he pretty much averages 5-5-5!!)………Oh yeah I just had a crazy vision: what if the Wizards were able to save $4+ million next year by trading Randy Foye to Miami for future first/second round picks (and maybe that Sacramento pick?) with the understanding that Miami would waive him, and then we re-signed him for a minimum or non-guaranteed contract……I know it is a very long-shot, but think about if the Wizards had that much extra money to use in free agency!!

Comment from ChenierFan
Time March 9, 2010 at 7:02 PM

There seems to be a lot of controversy over Flip’s remarks about Andray “wolfing” with Garnett. I too found the remarks quite curious. I am hoping some sportswriter has the temerity to challenge Flip on those remarks.

You would think after a heartbreaking loss on national TV Flip would have been a bit more encouraging to his players. Instead, he sounded a lot like us on the blog – blaming someone for the loss. He seemed to turn a bit vicious on his own player – in this case Andray. The guys played their butts off but were undermined by a point guard playing out of position and a compliant set of officials who allowed the Celtics to grab and push with impunity. It’s easy to play stiffling D if the refs allow one side to employ a higher level of physicality then the other. Garnett could have bit Andray’s ear off in the last 5 minutes and not have a foul called. He nearly did. It looked like he was going beyond trash talking and was looking to provoke a physical confrontation.

The Celts were in a similar game against the Nets on Sunday and made a mad comeback, but were thwarted because the Nets had Devin Harris who was too good a ball handler for that overplaying pressure. Without Agent Scapegoat or Josh the Wiz don’t have a ball handler who can slash through that heavy pressure.

One thing that is undeniable: on March 8, 2010 … Andray 10 fgs, Garnett 0 fgs.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 7:10 PM

6:06 PM EST…Dave and Glenn checking in…..just talked with Flip Saunders….discussed Mike Miller needing to get more shots up and handling pressure we could see Randy Foye play some two tonight with Shaun Livingston in the back court with him….Really pleased with front court on Sunday and in the second half JaVale McGee did a good job staying at home on offense.

Comment from dmac
Time March 9, 2010 at 7:25 PM

I don’t get Flip. Did he not know that Mike Miller needed to start taking more shots after AJ left for Cleve and Josh Howard got hurt. Especially since he really does not want toplay Nick Young. What did he think AB and Thornton were going to average 50 points a game for the rest of the season.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 7:40 PM

To be clear Flip knows…it is Miller that needs to start taking the shots…he has the green light

Comment from tyrone2000
Time March 9, 2010 at 7:43 PM

very good point dmac

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 7:58 PM

6:52 PM EST……Wizards will go with Foye, Miller, McGee, Blatche, and Thornton….Rockets Aaaron Brooks, Kevin Martin, Chuck Hayes, Shane Battier, and Luis Scola

Comment from SportzWiz
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:01 PM

fun little stat for tonight’s game. Chuck Hayes the starting center of the Rockets is the 2nd shortest starter for the Rockets. Luis Scola, Battier and Kevin Martin are all taller than him.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:30 PM

7 assist for the wizards nice steal by qunotn ross

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:32 PM

wizards 10-0 run

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:37 PM

blatche 10 points

Comment from Gilfanatic
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:39 PM

I like the energy tonight so far. Hopefully we won’t get sloppy.

Comment from Gilfanatic
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:42 PM

We’re starting to get a little lazy on defense. We’re allowing them to get too many easy FTs. We gotta tighten up on D there.

Comment from dlts20
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:44 PM

Dray is still settling way too much lately. He’s turning into AJ with all the jumpers. Back these guys down. Even the couple of turnarounds he hit werent that great because he’s only like taking 2 back down dribbles and then shooting a hard fadeaway. Man, Hayes is like 5′2. Dont pick up the dribble until you have to. Keep backing him down until you get to as close as you want to get

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:44 PM

good call gilfanatic

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:46 PM

wizards just had their first free throws

Comment from Gilfanatic
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:48 PM

Thanks for the shoutout!

Yeah, I just think that too many fouls early on is a good way to loose these kinds of games. I think we’ve lost quite a few games that could have been won easily because of letting the other team get to the line too much.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:51 PM

jordan hill looking good for the rockets

Comment from Gilfanatic
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:52 PM

I’ve got to go to eat dinner. I’m going to eat out with my family. Good luck to the Wizards.

Comment from jg004
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:52 PM

Glen and Dave you both mentioned it earlier but these offensive boards are really hurting the Wizards. 6 O-Boards to 2 for the Wiz. Not gonna win games if you can’t protect your own basket.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 8:59 PM

best d of the night

Comment from dlts20
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:01 PM

jump shot, jump shot, jump shot

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:02 PM

yeah and jg004 that has been a difference ofr the rockets…their work on the offensive boards got the, going….they are fifth in the league in offensive rebounds

Comment from dlts20
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:11 PM

Blatche just backed JJ down deep, turned inside, and went straight up instead of fading away. Thats what I want to see. Thats all I want. Forget playing like a guard all the time. We started hating AJ because of all his jump shots. Atleast put the ball on the floor and go to the hoop. Just dont settle. Thats why we went from 1st place to sucking. Even Gil started to settle all the time a couple of years ago and never changed back. If Blatche backs those guys down and goes in to them or straight up sometimes then he will score or get fouled, or force a double. More of that and if not then drive. Only take the J if its in rythm

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:12 PM

rocckets only shooting 37 percent rom the field….but 10-4 second chance points and 13 of 14 from the free throw line

Comment from wizguy
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:15 PM

Hi, first blog here. But I watched ESPN Sunday and hopefully the wiz are getting better refs at home. I can’t remember the last time I saw such a series of blatant fouls not called: in the last minute, Mike Miller got an O.board near foulline and was tripped bigtime. Then when the Celtics went for an Oboard at the other end one of our guys was horsecollared over the back and thrown down–no call.
I also noticed Mike Miller was blanketed around the arc all night. Do you think we can set picks for him tonite?

Comment from Wizards4Life
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:20 PM

Were is McGee i just turned the game on and i did not see him the last 5 or so mins

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:25 PM

ball movement not good

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:26 PM

ouch nissed layup

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:26 PM

nice attack of the basket

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:31 PM

livingston is in

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:33 PM

four points this qtr four tunrivers

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:41 PM

missing open players

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:45 PM

8-0 run by the wizards

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:46 PM

ooOOH WHAT a difference having a point guard makes, now the guys have to get used to playing with a point guard instead of trying individual moves

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 9:51 PM

as bad as it was wizards only outscored by three

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:00 PM

strange game… free throws makinng for rockets poor shooting from the field

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:12 PM

sweet pass by livingston

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:16 PM

it is possible

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:16 PM

in a game like tonight, nick young needs to play more.

blatche had no help for the longest time and he himself is not shooting well.

breaking news – mike dunleavy has been fired from the clippers.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:19 PM

wow – nick has 16 points and no other stats! not even a rebound.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:20 PM

He got a charging foul….

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:21 PM

he got an offensive rebound right when i typed the comment lol

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:21 PM

miller with his suspect decisions again….

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:22 PM

exactly wiz_fusion, he’s playing a good game, some players get rebounds and no offensive points, so what’s the point.

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:22 PM

we have had chances/…..but we make mistakes at the wrong time…that was not a good foul by nick young

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:23 PM

lol – was that comment directed to mike miller fans like tom m?

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:24 PM

Dray is/was playing soft. He’s the tallest player on the court and trying jumpers, and below the rim (reverse layups)….not good showing tonight.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:24 PM

nick is good at scoring and his team needs points tonight and he did his job.

if flip rips nick during postgame, i swear i will throw bags of urine at flip’s car thursday after the hawks game at verizon center.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:25 PM

player of game NY/Livingston?

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:26 PM

lol…might want to ask sportswiz to erase your last comment.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:26 PM

no @ dcbutler

there are no player(s) of the game for washington. it is a total team failure, like what dj said. messed up at the wrong times.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:26 PM

Ok, we lost this one, but I think the point guard should start the rest of the season.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:28 PM

there will be no urine bags as long as flip keeps his mouth shut

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:28 PM

Livingston deserves praise for coming in and fueling steady/good basketball. NY for coming in and shooting good, everything doesn’t have to be doom and gloom.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:28 PM

Scosia or whatever his name is made mince meat of our inside guys.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:30 PM

GARY WILLIAMS NAMED ACC COACH OF YEAR

GO TERPS

Comment from DJ-WizardsRadio
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:30 PM

1 800-636-1067 for post game show

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:32 PM

Oh. his name is Scola

Comment from gray16
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:32 PM

andray blatche after that great start didn’t have a good game, he struggled through the rest of it.

foye again just wasn’t hitting shots and couldn’t distribute the ball.

miller couldn’t hit the shots he was taking, so taking more didn’t help the team. plus his usual turnovers were still there. and his defense still wasn’t.

good finish from nick young, he got the ball in good places (i think livingston helped with that) and he made the most of it. wish he would drive to the basket more though with all of that athleticism.

livingston also had a great finish, he had the ball moving quickly, set a good tempo, made smart decisions, he just had the offense looking much smoother than foye and boykins did. he played well.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:32 PM

you know who mike miller has turned into? the bulls version of ron harper.

both guys were scorers when young and then after they hit 30, he is/was on the way down. but, both guys did everything else (i.e., rebounds, assists) besides scoring the ball.

maybe this is the new mike miller, no matter where he’s going to be.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:36 PM

foye is now the team’s caron butler — up one game, down one game. how can flip start this guy anymore?

houston didn’t play particularly well. if the wiz could buy a bucket, the game may have been theirs. alas, it was not meant to be.

lol – my urine comment was a sarcastic response to flip talking about “pissing” during last postgame.

Comment from neal
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:39 PM

Livingston sure looks like a better PG than Foye to me. If he’s lost some explosiveness due to his injury he sure must have been super quick before because he definitely ain’t slow now.

Young definitely plays better when he’s not in for 3-5 minutes, then jerked out. He shot well tonight for a change. And he’s hustling more on D, though he still doesn’t look very good at it to me. We know what Foye and Miller can do – I say play Young 30 minutes the rest of the year. Last chance to sink or swim.

I guess Flip had his reasons for not playing Blatche or McGee in crunch time. He wanted to see how Singleton and Thornton would respond to playing out of position?

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:43 PM

there shouldn’t be any shock that livingston is better at running the offense than foye. just because he’s freakishly tall doesn’t mean he lacks court vision and ball handling skills.

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:49 PM

GREIVIS VASQUEZ ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Comment from tyrone2000
Time March 9, 2010 at 10:53 PM

i missed the last 5 minutes of the game but really like that lineup with Blatche, Thornton, Young, Singleton, and Livingston even though there was no real center…

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:11 PM

Basically, we got beat by a better team. They got more rebounds and steals and committed fewer turnovers.

The result of that is they got 86 shots on basket and 26 FTAs. We got 83 shots on basket and 16 FTAs. If you give a team 3 more shots and 10 more Free Throws, you won’t win a lot of games.

Shawn Livingston got some burn, made some assists, and showed some flashes, but he was a bit rusty as well and didn’t really help while on the floor. Watching him, it’s obvious what a shame it is he got so badly hurt. He’s very fluid.

Andray has regressed over the last few games. I hope he is studying film on what teams are doing to him now, so that he can figure out some new wrinkles. Don’t want him going back to the old Andray.

Nick had his usual 1 rebound, 2 fouls and no assists or blocks, 1 turnover and no steals game, but most of you will think he played well because he scored 18 points.

Singleton played exceptionally well. On the Rockets side, Jordan Hill looked much better than I expected.

Oh well…

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:26 PM

From my viewpoint singleton came in and the players found better looks, than playing one on one and trying to create their own shots. Livingston gave the players easier shots. NY did what he needed to do, which was score. We lost due to our inside game more-so than anything else. If we look for the bad in anyone, we will find it.

Comment from HardCoreFan
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:30 PM

I am a season ticket holder and our agent got us moved to seats behind the Wizards tonight. It was great to be so close to the action tonight. I even got to met Glenn tonight. Nice meeting you Glenn. (You have really soft hands).

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:37 PM

lmao @ the soft hands comment from HCF

Wizards girls were all bouncing their stuff at my face telling me to renew my tickets.

There were no one there at the verizon center. I think the novalty of this new team is over.

@ Tom M – Blatche has not regressed at all. The team couldn’t make a shot and thus he took a lot himself. We never complained when Gilbert went 9/22, so why put the issue on Blatche now? Flip sat his butt down the last 4 or 5 minutes of the game during the mini-comeback.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:42 PM

Nick was efficient at scoring tonight when the team needed his points. I disagree with Tom M. blaming Nick for not having other stats. His teammates, like Mike Miller, grabbed rebounds and such and Nick focused on firing the ball at the basket. Nothing wrong with that.

Now, if Nick was like 2 for 13 and did nothing else to help his team, then I would favor the “nick is a terrible player motiff”. Since he didn’t, I’d give the kid a break.

So yes, I think he played well and his 18 points were sorely needed.

Comment from gray16
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:48 PM

i agree wiz fusion, it’s not nick’s job to get assists and rebounds.

we all know when rebounds go nick’s way he will grab them, but it’s hard to get them when you are running off of screens or spotting up in the corner for 3 the whole time. plus on d, he’s usually not around the basket to get the rebound, so can’t blame him for that.

assists, well it’s hard to get them when the offense is run with you handling the ball. guess we should blame javale for not getting assists too lol. nick is a finisher, he doesn’t get the chance to get assists like others do, and when others aren’t aggressive and aren’t scoring, he’s not going to wind up with assists, because he is going to be the one who will be aggressive no matter what.

it’s nick’s job to score. when he does is well, he’s doing great. roles play into stats more than people realize sometimes. heck deshawn would get you some rebounds and assists, that didn’t mean he was doing his job out there lol.

Comment from gray16
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:49 PM

*meant to say hard to get them when the offense ISN’T run with you handling the ball

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 9, 2010 at 11:50 PM

If you’re going to compare player by player, Singleton did much better than Miller tonight. But, Mike is doing all these intangible things except score. There is nothing wrong with that EXCEPT the team’s scoring prowess is down to nothing after the trades and if all the second-rate players are told to play mop-up duty and are being “energy players”, then Mike doesn’t have to do the same things.

Mike’s now the best shooter on the team and he doesn’t shoot. This makes no sense at all. He’s not the best rebounder on the team but he’s getting a lot of those – rather strange. Mike’s no longer playing his role and that’s why guys like me are upset.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 12:01 AM

caron irked me a lot this season for not being a team player. mike is doing the same thing now.

it is very hard for me to root for 2 guys, 2 vets no less, making 9-10 million dollars this season, to do his own thing because coach won’t do a lick about it.

as much as i have spoke negatively about miller and his game the last month, i would like him back on the team next season IF he makes half as much as he does now. he does have good size and i think he still has a good shot. and as we all see, he can rebound and make good passes.

as mike continues to age, i hope he doesn’t all of a sudden want to turn into lebron and tries to be a playmaker – which he’s not. i cringe everytime i see him drive to the hoop, jumps in the air, gets caught because there are 2 defenders in the paint completely blocking him, tries to throw a desperation pass out, and then turns over the ball.

sorry mike – you’re just a jumpshooter from south dakota. love your role and stick with it. your time to be lebron was … well … never.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 12:57 AM

When you play your butt off, especially against your idol, and you shut him completely down and then your own coach throws you under the bus for speaking up for yourself, you probably are going to have a problem getting that same energy level up for the next game. I’m amazed that Blatche played as well as he did. Although it was obvious that the entire Wizards team was flat tonight, they still should have beaten the Rockets by 10+. It just didn’t happen.

Once Flip put Earl in the game in the second quarter, things went south fast and the Wizards never got their game going after that.

I’ve been saying this for quite a while, but I’ll repeat it, Mike Miller is really horrible. He can’t pass; he can’t play defense, and he refuses to take anything but a wide open three because, IMO, he doesn’t want to jeopardize his 3-point shooting percentage which his agent will use to get him a job next year. We can all see through the faux hustle of running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Sit him down.

McGee was listless; Foye doesn’t understand what a point guard should do. ‘Dray took some ill-advised shots, but most of them were after watching the shot clock run down as he was double-teamed while waiting for somone, anyone, to move anywhere so he could pass the ball.

The Wizards are desperately in need of another scorer…AND lo and behold, from the far reaches of the Wizards bench, like a Phoenix rising from his own ashes, came Slick. He hit his shots; he drove the basket; he hustled; he put some life in the offense; he created; he almost pulled it off.

Livingston, even on one good leg and with one leg still in rehab, is the best point guard on the team. He knows how to move the ball…he can see over the opposition to make the good pass; he can score.

The starting team should be:
point – Livingston
2 – Slick (and let him play and make as many mistakes as it takes to get his confidence going)
3- Thornton
4 – Blatche
5 – McGee

with Foye, Singleton and Ross filling in where needed. That’s a eight-man rotation coach. It’s what you said you would use for each game.

It would really help if, instead of simply saying that Blatche has to learn how to pass out of double-teams, the coaching staff would devise some simple offensive maneuvers that might place folks in a position where ‘Dray could get them the ball. When ‘Dray is double-teamed with the ball: (1) send a cutter down the middle and into the off-side elbow; (2) rotate someone from the off-side to the point as a safety release and for floor balance; (3) exchange the positions of the strong-side players so that you have movement and two good shooters on the ball side for the outlet pass. If the double-team stays on him, ‘Dray will know where he can throw the ball; if the double-teamer leaves to get after his own man, ‘Dray is one-on-one. Without the movement, the defense has little trouble defending the outlet pass while maintaining the double-team.

WAKE UP FLIP! If you are having trouble trying to figure out how to attack out of a double-team and turn it from a liability to an asset, solicitate the opinion of one of your assistant coaches, or give some local high school coach a call.

Comment from datonypony
Time March 10, 2010 at 6:33 AM

Jeez honestly, KG I’m sure was doubled ALL the time, and (Note the trend) KG was (and is) a very good passer for his height. IM SURE THAT FLIP you can do the same for Blatche and get some guys to run some plays??? Seriously.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 10, 2010 at 8:30 AM

I’d be fine w/ that starting 5, Gotabig. But although Nick scored pretty well, what he didn’t do contributed to the loss too. Time to face facts; he’s not much of an NBA player.

You thought Dray had trouble coming up w/ energy for the game (because of Flip in Boston)? I didn’t see anything like that — he was *extremely* active and effective in the first quarter. His problem started when they began to double him.

I also don’t get why you have it in for Mike Miller. You seem to want to find all kinds of *moral* faults in guys whom for some reason you don’t like. I am having a problem with that. Guys play to the best of their ability.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 10, 2010 at 8:31 AM

The one weird thing to me last night was that Fab played *extremely well* in his 5 minutes on the floor… so how come he got pulled and never got back in?

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:04 AM

@ Tom M.

it is obvious no current nba roster is going to satiate your tastes and also your bias for the WP48 metric. however, i think i’ve found the team that’ll do so.

turn back the clock 40 years to when you were a lad. the celtics during their dynasty days have exactly what you were looking for – all 5 guys getting stats in all categories; all 5 selfless guys promoting team; all 5 guys caring about defense; all 5 guys displaying strong fundamentals; and all 5 guys that listened to coach.

the 1958-59 celtic starters

cousy
sharman
ramsey
heinsohn
russell

i make this point with you, like i have with GABBO a couple months ago (basically suggesting the college game promotes everything GABBO cares for and not the NBA), because i don’t think TODAY’s NBA will ever be satisfactory in your eyes. you watched the NBA when the game was near its infancy and now, it has turned into a 5-time divorcee. you can’t apply the same rules over and over again on something/someone that made perfect sense 40 years ago but they don’t now.

with that said, i just don’t think your constant bashing on nick young is validated at all. he is, imo, the prototypical 21st century NBA player. you either have to accept it or move away from it. as much as nba complainers blame the game on salaries being out of control as the sole reason why they can no longer watch, i believe, deep down, these complainers just don’t like how the game is played today when compared with yesteryear.

we can harp on fundamentals and blah blah blah all day long, but the final product is what it is.

Comment from neal
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:12 AM

I like your starting 5 too, gabbo. If Slick gets his confidence back he can shoot. What he seems to lack in my opinion is (1) confidence on D – he seems a little lost and always trying to catch up, and (2) “basketball IQ” – he doesn’t seem to see the whole court IMO, rarely gets assists and when the ball hits his hands it usually stops. He needs to shoot, drive or pass when he gets the ball. Miller, Livingston and Ross seem to do that. Young, Foye and Arenas seem to me to slow things down when they get the ball.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:13 AM

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 10, 2010 at 8:30 AM

I also don’t get why you have it in for Mike Miller. You seem to want to find all kinds of *moral* faults in guys whom for some reason you don’t like. I am having a problem with that. Guys play to the best of their ability.

- – -
i thought both GABBO and i made it clear that mike’s best basketball ability is shooting the ball. i don’t think you have a problem with this assessment.

when he doesn’t shoot, didn’t he just take his own “best ability” away? he’s not being triple teamed every time he has the ball, so there is no argument against him not shooting.

flip has told mike to shoot more and be less selfish. heck, even dave johnson posted in this blog several times that mike needs to be more aggressive offensively. these are observations coming from 2 guys that know a lot more basketball than me and we’re all arriving at the same conclusion.

GABBO’s words on mike may have been stronger in flavor, but the bottom line is that most of us are disappointed because we expect more from him.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:14 AM

oops, i meant ^

“flip has told mike to shoot more and be *MORE* selfish.”

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:19 AM

My quickies on Nick Young:

1) I don’t think Nick should start.

2) I think Nick should still relieve Mike Miller (starter).

3) I don’t think Nick should play only 2 minutes a game.

4) I think Nick should play about 15-20 minutes a game.

5) I don’t think the team should convert Nick into Rip Hamilton.

6) I think the team should run A FEW iso plays for Nick and have the other guys be on the weak side until Nick makes his move, by which the guys should get in position for a rebound or to bail out Nick getting jammed by the defense.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:34 AM

@ wizards_fusion – I understand your point about the college game. What I don’t like about that game is it is all about the coaches.

@ Tom M – “I also don’t get why you have it in for Mike Miller. You seem to want to find all kinds of *moral* faults in guys whom for some reason you don’t like. I am having a problem with that. Guys play to the best of their ability.” – Tom M.

If you look back at my early posts, I was one of the bloggers who thought that Mike Miller would bring a sense of urgency, enthusiasm, and professionalism, along with his ability to his the three, to the Wizards. I guess by your criteria I might have been moralizing on the positive side of Mike Miller’s game as I saw it at that time. I don’t know if it was the result of his early injuries or the fact that he is now surrounded by players who perform at a higher speed than the AJ, CB and B-Wood crew, but now it looks as though Mike is going through the motions. Despite what you believe that the statistics might indicate (although I think that they are poor for the number of minutes he gets at the 2-spot), Mike is not contributing positive minutes to the Wizards game. He is taking up space on the floor. I believe that he is playing for next year. Is that a moral judgement? Nope, it’s a blogger’s opinion. At this stage of the season, I don’t want him to shoot more, I want him on the bench so that younger guys can play and learn.

Comment from gray16
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:49 AM

i again agree with wiz fusion in that nick young shouldn’t have to keep coming off of these screens for flip. nick has shown in previous seasons what he can do with the ball, and he’s much better at isolation plays. if caron was allowed to run iso’s half the time, why not give nick all those plays, i’m actually confident he would do better than caron at scoring, because he’s just better at isolating.

nick has all this ability but flip is only using part of it. why? just because he would shoot bad at times in previous years and have turnovers at times doesn’t mean you should just change the gameplan up for him, teach him.

unfortunately nick’s last name is young, and that’s what he is, and that’s something flip doesn’t seem to like about players. he must’ve fallen in so deep a love with the veterans in detroit that he forgot about young guys anymore.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time March 10, 2010 at 10:34 AM

Hey just a quick chime in on a comment that wizards_fusion made regarding Tom.

I think Tom would’ve hated to follow those late 50’s celtics teams with the formula’s he uses. Teams then had HORRIBLE shooting percentages. Bob Cousy for instance shot 37.5% from the field for his career!

Comment from dmac
Time March 10, 2010 at 11:18 AM

Tom M. I don’t agree with you on some of your comments last night concerning Nick Young not being a NBA player, and some of the criticism that bloggers have for Mike Miller not looking to score more. Well Nick scored 18 and you think he played a poor game because of the other things he did not do well.
On the other hand does all the other things well and does not score like he should and he has a good game. Man what TV are you looking at when you watch the Wiz.The formula you like using is fantasy related. Let’s see the proof being the puddin.
We all agree that the Wiz are not a good team. Thye are in the midst of rebuilding. There are some things we agree on as bloggers and and some things we don’t.
I believe it would be difficult one on one for any NBA player including King James, Kobe, DWade or Joe Johnson to check Nick one one. Now he is not the player
that those guy’s are. Now look what happened when AB got playing time. Look what happened last year when Nick played more he scored more. There are a lot of NBA players in the league that are not complete all around players. Yet they are in the league for their basic skill set. So to do come down on Nick and say he is not a NBA player desrves and apology. Now Mike Miller has all the skills yet when we need more scoring he finds it hard to place himself in a postion to creat his own shot like Nick can and shoot the smooth stroke that he has. Yes Mike Miller is leading the league in FG pct. for 3 point shooting but it has actually only benefited the Wiz a few games this year.
Tom I think your problem is you over analyze the game instead of just analyzing and sharing your own opiniion.
This is just a blog rebuttal. Nothing personal. You are a good guy.

Comment from tyrone2000
Time March 10, 2010 at 11:19 AM

I think the reason why Miller doesn’t shoot is that his court awareness has him looking for floor balance cause missing a shot could lead to a fast break at the other end. Also, he can’t get his own shot and maybe he is just a spot shooter. That is why he should come off the bench for maybe 15 minutes per game…

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 11:34 AM

Comment from SportzWiz
Time March 10, 2010 at 10:34 AM

Hey just a quick chime in on a comment that wizards_fusion made regarding Tom.

I think Tom would’ve hated to follow those late 50’s celtics teams with the formula’s he uses. Teams then had HORRIBLE shooting percentages. Bob Cousy for instance shot 37.5% from the field for his career!

- – -
true, from an individual statistic tom m. may have had issues.

however, the entire wp48 metric is to predict wins. and those dynastic celtics won like 9 straight titles after one of the joneses (kc or sam, don’t remember right now) came onboard.

i kinda disagree with dmac that the wp48 is “fantasy related”. i tend to think it is more a formula for gambling purposes.

Comment from tyrone2000
Time March 10, 2010 at 12:11 PM

Can someone explain what wp28 is?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 10, 2010 at 12:30 PM

Sportswiz — *all* nba shooting statistics, for the whole league I mean, went way up over time. Analysis of how good any given player is obviously has to be in the context of the league as a whole.

Gotabig — Ok, I don’t agree about Mike. He doesn’t look to me like he’s going thru the motions. On the other hand, I’m sure he’s disappointed w/ what’s happened to the promising season we all expected — but then that’s true of all of us. Still, I don’t care if he plays, even tho if we’re trying to win he’s best at the 2.

I don’t care much about wins henceforth, however. I want to concentrate on the future. Hence, I’d like Nick to have all the time he needs to show what he is capable of — that way we know what we have or what we’ll trade or need to get rid of, etc. Whatever the conclusions. Ditto JaVale. Obviously, Andray will not lack for minutes!

Nick has actually become a pretty good on-the-ball defender. He uses his length and quickness pretty well. He’s less good when he has to know where his assignments are elsewhere on the floor. Any progress is good in his case.

As to the rest of his game, I am sure we’d all agree he hasn’t shown an ability to do anything but shoot. How can you judge a shooter w/o looking at his FG%? Nick’s ain’t great. He does have a high FT%. But he doesn’t get to the line enough. So… he is a work in progress; if we don’t see the progress we have to cut his cable.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 10, 2010 at 12:38 PM

Tyrone — WP48 is shorthand for “Wins Produced” (the “48″ just says we’re measuring per 48 minutes, i.e. per whole game).

Wins Produced is a statistical analytical method for judging player performance in terms of how much a player contributes to his team winning games. Actually determining a player’s Wins Produced is beyond you and me — it requires statistical methodology and software. A good approximation is “win score” which can be determined off a player’s box score stats. You have to compare it to others at the same position of course, as bigs put up better numbers in FG% and rebounds easily.

The test of how accurate a methodology WP is is pretty simple — add up the Wins Produced for all the players on an NBA team and see how closely it correlates to their actual number of wins! Across all the teams in the league WP correlates at about 94% if I remember right. Obviously, that’s pretty good.

The methodology comes Dave Berri and his colleagues, all sports economists, who wrote a book called The Wages of Wins (and have a follow-up book coming out this month).

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 10, 2010 at 12:42 PM

More on WP at Dave Berri’s WoW blog: http://dberri.wordpress.com/

Btw, *no one* — not Dave and not I — says WP is a complete picture of basketball or everything you need to know about basketball. But, it is the best single measure of player performance levels; there is none that works better to correlate the performance of players and the results of their teams. That’s all.

Comment from SportzWiz
Time March 10, 2010 at 12:45 PM

Agreed that the stats of yester year are much different than today. However, I think one key to WP48 is the understanding of the importance of each possession, something that wasn’t taken into account as much back in the 50’s (as teams played faster and shot lower percentage shots).

Also several stats had yet to be categorized such as steals/blocks/turnovers.

In the end we know one thing about the C’s of those years, they won. I just wanted to say that 50’s style basketball wasnt necessarily a better product in terms of stats than today’s game is (where teams shoot better from the field and the game is played at a more efficient level)

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 12:50 PM

Nick’s rather cheap (price wise) to the team, so that may be his only sticking point for staying a bit longer.

I believe most of us know that Nick’s time is nearly over in Washington unless he does something miraculous this summer to warrant another look by Flip.

What Nick doesn’t know is that the SG position is wide open for next season. If he truly wants more playing time, he’s got to work harder. Use those millions to get real trainers and real teachers for the off-season. Playing pickup games next to Gilbert’s pool house won’t improve your game.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 1:40 PM

With the exception of perhaps taking a charge, there are no stastics that demonstrate how well, or how poorly, someone plays defense. Steals just indicate that a player gambled and won; blocked shots may look impressive, but they are usually the result of someone helping out (I’d give a little here, but the better defense is to have good positioning that prevents the shot in the first place).

How do you develop a statistic for how well a defender prevents his man from getting the ball in a position where he is comfortable and a threat? How do you develop a stat for how you prevented your man from making the pass he was supposed to make, or prevented him from getting to the spot where he is supposed to set a pick? Does anyone, except perhaps the coaching staff, keep stats on how many times a rebounder tips the ball to a teammate who gets credit for a defensive rebound…how about for the man who boxes out an opponent thereby allowing a teammate to get a rebound? How about the post defender who just keeps battling to stay in front of his man and prevents the pass to the post?

Defense wins games. It creates a team attitude. It pumps up one team and discourages the other. Defense is the big “MO” that changes games. You can’t see it in the stat sheet. You have to see it while it is happening.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 10, 2010 at 2:01 PM

Sure, no question — and there are all these “situational statistics” guys who watch endless film and *do* try to develop stats for those things. Google the phrase “situational statistics” for more.

But no one can yet create a real *data* connection between that stuff and wins.

What’s interesting — whatever the reason it happens — is that WP *does correlate* with team wins. That’s just an observable statistical fact.

You could argue that even tho it does this, still it doesn’t distribute the individual *responsibility* for team results correctly. The problem w/ that objection is that guys tend to put up the same numbers (correcting for the up-plateau-descent arc of careers) over the years and teammates and moves to other teams — so how explain that?

Meanwhile, it’s just *a tool* — it’s not reality!! But… when you got a good tool, use it to help build a better team!

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 2:07 PM

Luckily, there’s more than 1 tool in the shed for basketball analysis.

And I’ll take my stats medium rare, MORAY or less.

If I’m still hungry, I’ll take some BERRI sherbet for desert.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 10, 2010 at 2:22 PM

Very imPRESTIve!!

Comment from neal
Time March 10, 2010 at 2:24 PM

wizards_fusion, Slick is under contract to us for another year. But if he plays big minutes the rest of the year and doesn’t improve I presume the Wiz will make signing a top-flight 2 a big priority and Young won’t even play ahead of Ross next year.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 4:42 PM

Sixers coach Jordan on way out, sources say.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/87198237.html

Yet another team sees the light.

Comment from millie mill
Time March 10, 2010 at 5:21 PM

Wow Eddie Jordan looks like he will be on the outs again!!

Earlier in the blog (March 9, 2010 at 5:23 PM) I mentioned who I think the Wizards we go after in the Free Agency.

Who do you guys think the Wizards have a chance at getting.?

wizards_fusion said Chris Bosh. I don’t think we have a chance in hell of getting any of the top three. James, Wade or Bosh

Comment from neal
Time March 10, 2010 at 5:23 PM

Sounds like Jordan has lost his team again, just as here. IMO it wasn’t so much that his coaching wouldn’t work, the bigger problem was that the team quit doing what he said – eventually they were all but ignoring him.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 6:12 PM

Comment from millie mill
Time March 10, 2010 at 5:21 PM

wizards_fusion said Chris Bosh. I don’t think we have a chance in hell of getting any of the top three. James, Wade or Bosh

- – -
If the Wiz throw enough money at Bosh, he’ll come. With 3/4 team not set for next season, there will be money to make big moves.

LBJ is staying Cleveland. And since the Bulls are about as good as the Heat, I think Wade stays in Miami – much nicer weather and much prettier women.

Comment from wizards_fusion
Time March 10, 2010 at 6:13 PM

@ neal

do you think the team is going to get a “top flight 2″ anyways no matter what nick young does in the last 21 games?

Comment from M2
Time March 10, 2010 at 6:21 PM

Catching up on the blog…

I like Gabbo!

Comment from gray16
Time March 10, 2010 at 7:42 PM

i sadly agree with millie mill, d.c. just doesn’t seem like a place that attracts players. i think the wizards are going to have to get lucky like cleveland and draft a phenom to really reach great success.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:15 PM

“I haven’t stopped laughing since I got here.” – AJ on his trade to Cleveland.

I’m glad because I haven’t stopped smiling since your ball-hogging, stat-building butt left town.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:16 PM

@M2 – Thanks Mom…just kidding. I’m glad we agree M2. Welcome back.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:36 PM

“i sadly agree with millie mill, d.c. just doesn’t seem like a place that attracts players.” – gray16

I think that good players will go anywhere provided the motivation is correct. If they are motivated by $, the Wizards can accommodate next year. If they are motivated by championships, we have a problem unless EG can bring in, not one, but, a couple of pieces.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 9:42 PM

As much as I really dislike the personality that goes with LeBronze, I would have to say that a player of his caliber comes along once every 20 years…if that. It will take more than one player added to the Wizards to make us a champion…but with the right coaching and motivation, I believe that we have a start.

Just in case anyone might mistake my post for advocating that we might try to get LeBronze, forget about it! If he’s in DC my season tickets are for sale.

Comment from ChenierFan
Time March 10, 2010 at 10:02 PM

Let’s have a quick check on our old friend Jamison (Mr. First Quarter).

James DNP, Jamison plays – get’s 30 but Cavs lose
James DNP, Jamison out with sore knees – Cavs win

Interesting.

The Wiz made a huge mistake in not making Jamison the 6th man and starting Andray. Things would have been sooo much different. The Cavs are making the same mistake.

Comment from millie mill
Time March 10, 2010 at 10:09 PM

D-Wade is not staying in Miami. My guess is that he is going to Chicago.

Comment from neal
Time March 10, 2010 at 10:25 PM

wizards_fusion, if Young beats the odds and blossums and we are able to resign Howard, then getting a 2 won’t be a top priority IMO. But there are so many variables. If Arenas comes back and Young is still an incomplete player, then our priorities will be a 2 and a 5, rather than a 1 and a 5, IMO.

I’m presuming some contender will want Miller more than us.

I agree with gabbo. Jamison was better at talking than contributing to a winning team.

The top FA’s are already very rich. If one of them is still all about money I just don’t get it.

Comment from gray16
Time March 10, 2010 at 11:49 PM

neal, we all don’t get it lol.

i remember reading an article where d wade was asked about taking a pay cut so that he, lebron, and bosh could be on the same team and pretty much guarantee another championship for himself.

his response: laughed it off and said “i’ve got kids to feed”…

i completely saw his point, how he had to think of his kids and how 10 million a year wouldn’t feed them…

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 11:55 PM

@gray16 – LOL. Got it. I’ll bet most of us fed our kids on much less!

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 11:57 PM

@neal- glad to see that there are others that understood that AJ was all about AJ.

Comment from Gotabigboyoffense
Time March 10, 2010 at 11:59 PM

Ahead of the 3-11-2010 blog … GO WIZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment from datonypony
Time March 11, 2010 at 4:22 AM

I don’t really want Bosh? I would rather get a young center who plays physical. Bosh is sometimes physical, but I don’t really like him… Wade and Lebron would never come here.

I don’t see us making any OMG moves in the FA, much more interested in all those draft picks we got

But yeah, so many expiring contratcs, we gotta have players backon this team, be interesting to see who is on the new roster next year!

Comment from dcbutler357
Time March 11, 2010 at 8:52 AM

We will probably have a totally new team, since we have so many expiring contracts. I don’t see a reason to sign anyone back, just to say that we have the proper amount of players on the bench. If we have to sign 4-5 new people, so be it.

Nothing against Flip, this particular time, but I would like to see a new everything at this point. Even though we have some players that WE would like to keep, from the recent trades, I hope who/whomever is interested in buying this team is taking notes now, and has some ideas, as to what direction they would like to be going into, if they purchased the team. I want them to buy this team and hit the floor running, with their lunch in their briefcase, and implement that same kind of ethic into the team. I don’t know how the usual bottom feeder’s fans take this year in and year out, in any sport…

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 11, 2010 at 9:02 AM

I really *don’t like* all the negativity around Antawn. The people closest to him — Ernie, Flip, Abe, everyone — had nothing but good things to say about him, the highest praise. They knew him better than you do, Gotabig — much better — and their words are the ones to trust.

As to his smiling in Cleveland — wouldn’t you? He was lifted off a train wreck and might finally get a ring. You don’t think he has a right to be happy about that?

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 11, 2010 at 9:13 AM

Tom’s early sleeper pick in round 2 of the ‘10 draft: Kenneth Faried, Morehead State. Check him out.

Comment from neal
Time March 11, 2010 at 10:19 AM

dcbutler, we’ll have 6 guys next year off this squad because they’re already under contract: Arenas (unless we buy out his contract), Blatche, Thornton, Young, McGee, Ross. I hope we resign Howard (at a much reduced price), Singleton and Livingston (if he keeps playing well). That’s a pretty good group of competent players to start with. Then we have 2 first round draft picks, bringing us to 11. That’s a pretty good group of competent players. Then we have a 2nd round pick and whatever FA’s we bring in to compete.

I’m actually pleased that we ended up with some useful pieces out of the “blow-up” of the team: Thornton and Ross and, hopefully, Singleton and Howard.

Comment from Tom Mandel
Time March 11, 2010 at 10:47 AM

neal — outside of Arenas there’s not a *proven* starter under contract for next year — not even a guy who’s proven he can start for a *bad* team. And Arenas now has multiple question marks attached to him.

Blatche has played well, yes, and maybe he’ll turn out to be an NBA starter. But he hasn’t yet stepped it up again now that the league is actually scouting him, so there’s a question mark there too.

That’s what we have now, and it isn’t much.

Everybody knows Howard can play, but remember he has a reputation for trouble and he’s 30, on the down side of his career. He’s not someone to build around. He’ll be unrestricted as well.

I’d certainly like to keep Singleton — who wouldn’t? — but he’s unrestricted and will go where he pleases.

Livingston hasn’t shown that his leg will hold up to NBA minutes. It’s a long shot.

In other words, I don’t agree we have a core to build around: “a pretty good group of competent players to start with” as you put it. I think we have pretty close to nothing to start with.

Blatche and McGee are the two most valuable pieces — by far. If we lose enough games the rest of the year and pick 4th, we might get an impact player for next year — i.e. Cousins (if he is one). It’s a long shot; we might get Cole Aldrich instead (projected to be a good backup center in the league), someone like that.

It’ll take trades and free agents to reconstruct this team. But who do we have to trade? It would be *great* if we were able to trade Gilbert, allowing him and us to start over, but is that possible?

Can we attract a top-drawer FA to come to a team rebuilding from scratch? We could be in a for a long dry spell.