Predict the Eastern Conference Standings

[hands11]

(Leonard and Faried played for) ...playoff teams. Those are very different situations from what the Wizards were going through.

And ...Lots of teams passed on those players. Not just the Wizards.

Had it happened (that we picked L and F), I don't believe they would have Beal now.... Would those other two players be better vs Beal, C Singleton and Ves.... Maybe... Much of that will be determined by how good Beal is. If you had to decide today, you would rather have Faried and K Lenard for sure.... But it didn't go down like that and we really don't have that crystal ball to see how it will work out.

So... this is the kind of thinking and (to me non)analysis that I'm often puzzled by, Hands.

Do you think that playoff teams exist independent of the players they draft and otherwise acquire? The opposite is true. Leonard and Faried are better than Ves and Singleton. Full stop. Better players. A better GM picks better players.

As to "we wouldn't have Beal..." this too is specious. It reduces to "it's better to be worse," which is nonsense. Moreover, who knows, we might have had to draft Andre Drummond, and who knows we might see him turn out to be a star, in which case we'd have Leonard, Faried and a star center.

And it's not "if you had to decide today...", it's not hindsight in which e.g. Faried looks like a better player than Singleton. I would have picked him *then* over Singleton. In a minute. I didn't like Vesely then either. I would have picked Leonard w/ a sense of disappointment, and then I would have been delighted by how he showed.

Stop with your non analysis BS. Nothing to be puzzled by.

Most of what happens here is speculation. You included.

Sure there is good analysis of what players have done and some good chooses for who to draft or add. But most the trade ideas are WAGs as are projections of what players will do this year. But that's ok. We are here to do that stuff. Just get your head out of your rss thinking you aren't doing the same damn thing.

Tons of if and buts.

What I do know is we have the players we have. We have the owner we have and he isn't going anywhere. I am going to cheer for my team. Its not the team of the picks I would have made either. But I am looking forward to see them tonight and the rest of the season. I wanted Beal. We have him. I wanted them to keep the younger players. They did. I wanted Randy as the HC. He is. I wanted a few more vets, that added them.

Being a Wizards fan, that a lot more to run with then the crap I have had in past years so I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I'm more positive about this build that I was with the Gil EFJ Abe build. That I am sure of.

[hands11]

hands, I was just talking about the strike-shortened season, but you're right that Leonard and Faried came into better situations (better systems and mix of players) than our draft picks. I'm not giving up on them after one year, but as a group, they have yet to show they were worth their picks.

Fair enough Mont

I was just reminding you that Booker didn't look great his first year. Nor did Kevin. And their first years included summer camp and a preseason. And they came a bad team like Ves and C Singleton did. This is why they added vets. And not just any vets. They added vets that want to teach the younger players. Vets that understand what is what here. Player development isn't all about the coaches. Its about the players getting taught and the players on the team that connect with them to teach them. Its all 3 things.

Just trying to frame the situations with more of the details.

Now if neither show the progress they need to show this year, we may want to cash in for better options.

For me, I think Ves is a good longer term piece. I don't expect him to be a starter on a good team for at least 2 more years.. age 24. As for Chris. I think he has a chance to step it up this year. He doesn't have the starter personality I look for, but he might be able to show he has game. A lot of that in my view will depend on how hard he takes it to the rack. He is a SF. He should be able to slash. Last year he was handed the position. Now he has to prove he deserves it.

If not, he will be a roll player or off the team. We will see.

[hands11]

From the General Board:

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/10/10/howard-eskin-bynums-injury-perhaps-more-serious-than-sixers-indicate/

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Andrew Bynum will miss all of Sixers training camp, and will likely not see any playing time during preseason games as he rests his knees. According to the team, Bynum not playing is a precautionary measure “in order to maximize the therapeutic effects of the Orthokine therapy he received earlier this month.”

The Sixers did also say that Bynum was “diagnosed with a bone bruise of the medial femoral chondyle of his right knee.”

94WIP’s Howard Eskin says that he is “getting the sense there is a more serious injury with Andrew Bynum’s knee than the Sixers are telling us. I will go as far as saying I think the Lakers may have given the Sixers damaged goods.”

The grass always looks greener doesn't it. McGee isn't starting either. Gil isn't even playing on a team. Okafor and Trevor A for Gil and Lewis rental during the tank years is a steel.

The Wizards haven't done so bad. Nene only have planters. And I believe they caught the Wall issue early. Of all the injuries, Booker actually worries me the most. He just always seems to come up lame.

[montestewart]

I was just reminding you that Booker didn't look great his first year. Nor did Kevin. And their first years included summer camp and a preseason. And they came a bad team like Ves and C Singleton did.

Seraphin frequently looked horrible, out of shape, and out of his depth his first year, but he also looked like he was willing to learn, and occasionally showed footwork and awareness beyond the level of the other young big men. I was patient with him, and I'll be patient with Vesely too, because despite his shortcomings, he's shown similar determination and court awareness.

As to the rookie Booker, I have to disagree. In the beginning, he didn't look so hot, but he soon became a rim attacking energy player. Compare his first year numbers with those of the other four draft picks over the last two years:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... 01&y5=2012
A PER of 15.3 and a WS/48 of .119 in his first year (in more than marginal minutes) confirms what my eyes told me. Maybe it's because he was a four-year college player, arriving more ready to go, but he was justifying his draft position pretty soon into his first year.

[Nivek]

Booker had a good rookie season. Seraphin was a disaster as a rookie.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Flip was the coach. Kevin spoke very little English. Seraphin was also injured and lacked conditioning afterward as a rookie.

Others have already said it, and I agree, that Seraphin made a huge leap improving from his rookie season to the next. I'm not worried about his play. He defends well but is a poor rebounder. Kevin likes his hook shot and will be an effective post scorer. I won't be shocked if he's starting over Okafor before too long.

[nate33]

Seraphin must become better at drawing fouls if he is ever going to be a reliable, high-efficiency scorer. You can't hope to post a TS% above .550 with consistency unless you get to the foul line.

[payitforward]

... Booker didn't look great his first year.

??
Booker had an outstanding rookie year. His productivity was well above average for an NBA 4. Among guys who played 10 or more minutes, WS40 puts him in the top 30%. Overall, playing almost 40% more minutes per game (but fewer games), his numbers went up slightly last year.

He's a much better player than he gets credit for.

[Nivek]

I think Booker suffers from the "he looks funny for a basketball player" malady. He looks more like a defensive end than a PF. His blockiness belies how quick/fast he is, and how well he jumps. I agree that he's a better player than he gets credit for.

[montestewart]

I think Booker suffers from the "he looks funny for a basketball player" malady. He looks more like a defensive end than a PF. His blockiness belies how quick/fast he is, and how well he jumps. I agree that he's a better player than he gets credit for.

Balzac on Booker:

How strange! In every great man whose portrait I have remarked, the neck is short. Perhaps nature requires that in them the heart should be nearer to the brain!

Spoken by the title character in Louis Lambert

[Ruzious]

From the General Board:

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/10/10/howard-eskin-bynums-injury-perhaps-more-serious-than-sixers-indicate/

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Andrew Bynum will miss all of Sixers training camp, and will likely not see any playing time during preseason games as he rests his knees. According to the team, Bynum not playing is a precautionary measure “in order to maximize the therapeutic effects of the Orthokine therapy he received earlier this month.”

The Sixers did also say that Bynum was “diagnosed with a bone bruise of the medial femoral chondyle of his right knee.”

94WIP’s Howard Eskin says that he is “getting the sense there is a more serious injury with Andrew Bynum’s knee than the Sixers are telling us. I will go as far as saying I think the Lakers may have given the Sixers damaged goods.”

Nene or Okafor for Bynum. It's a win win.... except for Washington and Philly... and the players.

[DMVleGeND]

From the General Board:

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/10/10/howard-eskin-bynums-injury-perhaps-more-serious-than-sixers-indicate/

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Andrew Bynum will miss all of Sixers training camp, and will likely not see any playing time during preseason games as he rests his knees. According to the team, Bynum not playing is a precautionary measure “in order to maximize the therapeutic effects of the Orthokine therapy he received earlier this month.”

The Sixers did also say that Bynum was “diagnosed with a bone bruise of the medial femoral chondyle of his right knee.”

94WIP’s Howard Eskin says that he is “getting the sense there is a more serious injury with Andrew Bynum’s knee than the Sixers are telling us. I will go as far as saying I think the Lakers may have given the Sixers damaged goods.”

This is a non-story. This Howard Eskin guy is just speculating.

The doctor actually said that Bynum should wait to get the Orthokine therapy right before training camp instead of the middle of the offseason. Don't know the reason why, but that's why he's missing time.

[hands11]

... Booker didn't look great his first year.

??
Booker had an outstanding rookie year. His productivity was well above average for an NBA 4. Among guys who played 10 or more minutes, WS40 puts him in the top 30%. Overall, playing almost 40% more minutes per game (but fewer games), his numbers went up slightly last year.

He's a much better player than he gets credit for.

He had zero outside shoot. I always liked Booker but he was a self check from outside 6 feet.

[montestewart]

... Booker didn't look great his first year.

??
Booker had an outstanding rookie year. His productivity was well above average for an NBA 4. Among guys who played 10 or more minutes, WS40 puts him in the top 30%. Overall, playing almost 40% more minutes per game (but fewer games), his numbers went up slightly last year.

He's a much better player than he gets credit for.

He had zero outside shoot. I always liked Booker but he was a self check from outside 6 feet.

It's a good thing he's a gritty, bruising, board attacking PF, or his first year might have sucked. But it didn't.

[Nivek]

Given the conversion rates, a significant majority of NBA players should follow Booker's lead and not shoot from beyond 6 feet. Booker wasn't a good shooter from outside, SO HE DIDN'T SHOOT IT FROM OUTSIDE. This is smart. And, he contributed in ways other than shooting. Also smart.