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pancakes3 wrote:This is why I don't get the Whitman hate. His "lineups" are directly affected by the (lack of) talent he has to work with. The defense is the true testament to his coaching. He can't go in there and force Craw or Ariza to shoot better, but he can coach up the D.

I fully support Whitman and think he's done a great job here. With that said, I think its ridiculously stupid to have Wall and Crawford share significant court time together.

pancakes3 wrote:This is why I don't get the Whitman hate. His "lineups" are directly affected by the (lack of) talent he has to work with. The defense is the true testament to his coaching. He can't go in there and force Craw or Ariza to shoot better, but he can coach up the D.

Does the new coach we have from San Antonio have anything to do with our improved defense?

Bump for the Knicks win. The Wiz are now 6th in the league in DRtg and still 30th in offense. Nate tells me they're 1st in D since Wall's return -- where do you find or how do you compute this? Where are ranked in offense since John's return.

The Knicks were second in Ortg and 15th in DRtg coming into the game. Holding them to 96 looks good. Is there a place to find what their Ortg or points per possesion was for the game?

Anyhow the Knicks are 31-16. The 29-20 Nets are 9th in offense and 17th in D. If the Wizards can add enough offense -- either organically via improvment from Wall/Beal and Nene getting healthy, or via draft/trade/free agency -- to improve to average or slightly below, they could post a good record next year. Perhaps inline with what the Wages of Wins blog predicted for this season: http://wagesofwins.com/2012/06/22/will- ... yoff-team/

I used Nivek's data. He posted our ORtg and DRtg since Wall's return. With Wall on the court, we have a DRtg of 98.3. When he is off, it's 99.8. I figure our actual rating is somewhere in between, but a little closer to the "with Wall" rating because he plays more minutes than he sits. I guestimate about 98.9. Indiana lead's the league in DRtg with a score of 99.5.

The data does not include the Knicks game.

In the 15 games since Wall's return, the Wizards drtg is 98.6, including last night's game against the Knicks. The league's best defensive rating this season: 99.5 by the Indiana Pacers. So yeah, the Wizards have been defending extremely well since Wall got back.

Since Wall's return, the Wizards have an efficiency differential typical of a 50-win team, including that blowout win over Orlando. Drop that, and their differential is consistent with a 45-win team.

If they continue to play as they have since Wall returned, they project to finish the season with 31-34 wins.

And what is their ortg since Wall's return?

JAR69 wrote:And what is their ortg since Wall's return?

102.1

Thanks. I see that would bump us all the way from 30 to 27 (between Orlando and Boston). The post-Wall return differential looks very similar to Indiana.

Considering how infrequently I'm right, I'm really enjoying re-reading the first few pages of this thread. Who knows if the Wiz sustain this level of defensive excellence -- and ride it to continued success in the win column -- but the stylistic metamorphosis of this team is striking.

Per basketball reference, the Wiz are now 4th in the league in DRtg. Still last in offense (offense? we don't need no stinking offense!).

Need to send Singleton along with Jan to the d-l and get them better skill development. They can rock. Imagine Jan with 30 +mins. He will much better . And singleton can get more play time to work on his flaws. I want his shot improved and his drive.

fishercob wrote:Considering how infrequently I'm right, I'm really enjoying re-reading the first few pages of this thread. Who knows if the Wiz sustain this level of defensive excellence -- and ride it to continued success in the win column -- but the stylistic metamorphosis of this team is striking.

I don't see why they wouldn't. The defensive improvement was immediate last year after the trade. Even when Nene was out the D was good.

With Nene and Okafor both healthy i don't think opposing guards are that eager to go inside. Nobody likes getting hit and those guys are huge. Ditto Seraphin. While he hasn't been as physical as in the past he has been fairly good on D near the rim.

Obviously Ariza helps as well.

The Wizards defense got a huge shout out today from a national hoops writer -- Rob Mahoney of SI's Point Forward blog.

Mahoney is effusive if his praise of Nene and Okafor -- both individually and in tandem -- and highly complementary of the Wizards ability to limit high value shots (like corner 3's).

Go read it.

Nice article.

And I have noticed that about Wall, when he seeps into the paint away from his man, ballwatching the whole time. He's a top tier man defender (apart from the smaller quicker pesky guys like Isiah Thomas) but his team defense struggles for a few plays here and there. Probably he is trying to set himself up ready for a pass intercept using his speed.

I hope Wittman is on his back about it a little bit. He needs to learn to pick his spots, but I think if he watches his team mate, Trevor Ariza, it is something he will learn quickly and he will end up being as prolific a ball thief as Ariza has been lately.

fishercob wrote:The Wizards defense got a huge shout out today from a national hoops writer -- Rob Mahoney of SI's Point Forward blog.

Mahoney is effusive if his praise of Nene and Okafor -- both individually and in tandem -- and highly complementary of the Wizards ability to limit high value shots (like corner 3's).

Go read it.

Too bad it's a little dated. The Wizards currently rank 5th in DRtg, not 8th.

It would also be nice if he pointed out that the offense hasn't been so horrific since Wall's return (and everyone else getting healthy) In the 22 games since Wall's return, the Wizards rank 15th in ORtg, 2nd in DRtg and 8th in overall point differential. You heard that right. When healthy, the Wizards have played like the 8th best team in the league.

But overall, it's nice to get some props from the national media.

nate33 wrote:

fishercob wrote:The Wizards defense got a huge shout out today from a national hoops writer -- Rob Mahoney of SI's Point Forward blog.

Mahoney is effusive if his praise of Nene and Okafor -- both individually and in tandem -- and highly complementary of the Wizards ability to limit high value shots (like corner 3's).

Go read it.

Too bad it's a little dated. The Wizards currently rank 5th in DRtg, not 8th.

It would also be nice if he pointed out that the offense hasn't been so horrific since Wall's return (and everyone else getting healthy) In the 22 games since Wall's return, the Wizards rank 15th in ORtg, 2nd in DRtg and 8th in overall point differential. You heard that right. When healthy, the Wizards have played like the 8th best team in the league.

But overall, it's nice to get some props from the national media.

Just a tad dated, but the overall point remains -- the Wizards are really good defensively, and he goes into why.

I know Kev has cited multiple studies about players starting to decline in their early 30's. I wonder if that decline applies evenly to offensive and defensive production. Could Okafor and Nene start to decline on O but remain elite on D for a few years? It's probably academic because you need to be good on both sides of the ball to win. Just curious.

fishercob wrote:I know Kev has cited multiple studies about players starting to decline in their early 30's. I wonder if that decline applies evenly to offensive and defensive production. Could Okafor and Nene start to decline on O but remain elite on D for a few years? It's probably academic because you need to be good on both sides of the ball to win. Just curious.

If anything, my guess is that it's the other way around. Defense declines before offense. Most 36-year-old geezers remain in the game because they can still get it done offensively (Steve Nash, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Kareem, Reggie Miller). Nobody is hanging onto these guys to be the teams' defensive stopper.

Hmmm. The more I think about it, the more I think that it just varies based on the style of the player. Guys that play defense through length, strength and guile (think Kurt Thomas, Tim Duncan or Dikembe Mutombo) can play good D well into their advanced years. Guys that depend on athleticism to defend (Josh Smith, Michael Finley) are unlikely to have careers that extend past the mid-30's. Likewise, on offense, guys who depend on athleticism to score (Iverson, Arenas, Stoudemire) don't play well in their 30's. Guys that score with skill (Malone, Nowitzki, Jordan) age just fine.

I agree, nate.

Good defense is really about being able to get to the right spot at the right time. Some of that is athleticism, but most of it is awareness and anticipation. If good defense was primarily about athleticism, Javale McGee would be the best defensive player in the league. Get a great athlete who's alert, prepared and focused, and you get Hakeem or Dwight Howard before the back injury.

Sooooo much of defense is about positioning. Experience can help.

Although Kidd, at (38?) is a good defender still and i think has helped him continue to earn minutes, and Nivek said. Kidd understands positioning on the wing and in the post better than most i have ever seen. He guarded KD in Dallas a few times and made things a little more difficult for him than one would think.

Late to this thread, but the Wizards have been much more fun to watch this season. Fewer boneheaded plays and less drama. More sustained effort and intensity. Defensively the Wizards are IMO so much better this year than in many years.