Official Thread - Wizards at Heat (10/29/14)

[pineappleheadindc]

____VERSUS____


The 14-15 regular season is here. YOUR Washington Wizards begin their season in South Florida versus the Lebron-less Miami Heat. Coming off of a successful 13-14 season that saw Washington advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2005, expectations are high for better levels of success for the squad. The offseason saw the loss of swingman Trevor Ariza but an influx of new talent for the frontline with the signings of SF Paul Pierce, PF Chris Humphries, and PF/C Dejuan Blair.

YOUR Wizards will be shorthanded for this opening game. SG/SF Martell Webster is recovering from off-season back surgery. SG Bradley Beal is recovering from surgery to the wrist of his non-shooting hand. PF Chris Humphries may or may not be able to go after surgery to repair nerve damage to his hand following a laceration against the rim while trying to block a shot in the preseason. SG/SF Glen Rice Jr is rehabbing his ankle after spraining it in the preseason is hopeful for the game. Rice hopes to play, but as this is written, not definite word has been released on his availability. C DeJuan Blair and PF/C Nene will be unavailable while serving a one-game suspension following an on-court scuffle vs the Chicago Bulls in preseason.



Projected Lineups:

Point Guard

__

_______________John Wall_________________________________Norris Cole



Off Guard

__

____________Garrett Temple____________________________Dwyane Wade



Small Forward

__

________________Paul Pierce_____________________________Shawne Williams


Power Forward

__

_________________Drew Gooden_____________________________Luol Deng


Center

__

_________________Marcin Gortat __________________________Chris Bosh



This game marks the front end of a Florida state back-to-back for your Wizards. They play the Orlando Magic the next evening. Schedule makers have done the Wizards no favors with five sets of back-to-back games in their first month of play.


What: Wizards at Heat
When: 7:30 p.m. (EDT)
Where: American Airlines Arena -- Miami, FL
TV: Comcast Sportsnet, NBA League Pass
Radio: WNEW 99.1 FM / WFED 1500 AM

----------------------------------------------------

The games count from now. Can YOUR retooled Washington Wizards get off to a good start, albeit with a depleted roster? Post your thoughts, predictions, and comments below.

Go Wizards!

[MarcoPolo]

So opening game we will have just 9 available players? That's tough task.

Wall, Miller,Temple, Lucas III
Pierce, Porter
Gortat, Seraphin, Gooden

doubt: Rice, Humphrise

[TGW]

[JWizmentality]

Who makes the cut? At this point I'm probably most comfortable with Butler, but D.James played really well also. God please no JLIII.

[montestewart]

Pine, I forget your game thread record. Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Wizards are missing quite a few players, but Heat are missing LeBJ. Advantage: Wizards.

Somewhat OT, but I wonder if Deng goes off when Heat face the Hawks and/or maybe the Cavs.

[nate33]

Yeah, with our relatively healthy depth chart at PG (Wall, Miller, Temple), I don't see how JLIII makes the roster ahead of Damion James, who addresses a real need. We're either going to keep James, or, if Rice is healthy, we might just stick with a 14-man roster. Wall, Miller, Temple, Rice, Porter and Pierce can handle the PG, SG and SF positions until Beal and Webster get back.

[nuposse04]

I expect GR JR to be back in time..not sure he'll start (although I think he should). Pretty interesting to read around that Hump is actually trying to come back for the season opener even though his time table is for mid November.

Wall/Miller
GR JR/Temple
Pierce/Porter
Hump/Gooden?
Gortat/Seraphin

is probably the lineup they'll trot out, but I think they're better off opening with

Wall
GR JR
Porter
Pierce
Gortat

against

Rio
Wade
Deng
McRoberts
Bosh

I'll pick us in an "upset."

102-96

[SA37]

Too bad about Beal and Nene. It really makes this game a rather uninteresting one from Miami's perspective, although it would be good for Miami to start off with a W even if it comes at the expense of a short-handed opponent.

I'll take a stab at the score: Miami 104- Washingto 95.

Good luck!

[dlts20]

I expect GR JR to be back in time..not sure he'll start (although I think he should). Pretty interesting to read around that Hump is actually trying to come back for the season opener even though his time table is for mid November.

Wall/Miller
GR JR/Temple
Pierce/Porter
Hump/Gooden?
Gortat/Seraphin

is probably the lineup they'll trot out, but I think they're better off opening with

Wall
GR JR
Porter
Pierce
Gortat

against

Rio
Wade
Deng
McRoberts
Bosh

I'll pick us in an "upset."

102-96

most will probably agree with you but I dont. I think its a very bad idea to give Wall, PP, and anyone around them a taste of that lineup. You dont want Wall to experince having all that floor space only to go back to Nene the next night. You dont want PP getting use to getting these wide open looks at the 4 and then go back to the wings the next game. If Nene and Hump were out for a long time then I may be up for it but its only one game.

I dont think Hump plays and if he does, I think he still maybe too rusty to start. I actually think we go with KS on opening night, just so everyone has someone who plays similar to Nene's style. If Hump is ok to start then he will but Im pretty sure we will stay big. I also think Witt is a big Temple fan but his lack of J or pg skills made it hard to play him but we are healthy at PG now and we have a hole at the 2 with the injuries. Most of all he has hit his open 3's. I think in Witt's mind, he took the starting SG spot away from Rice even if healthy.

I still like Porter at the 2 but Im ok with Rice starting for now, especially in this game because of the thing with his father being a former Heat star. I think it could be one of those things where he plays big where his father use to. Im also ok with Temple starting but on a short leash. I think it forces Wall to be more of a scorer and he probably will be by far our best defender on Wade which is another reason why I think he starts. However, for guys like Wade, sometimes the best defense is a good offense. I would rather have a guy like OP or Rice what would make Wade work on the other end.

All in all this game comes down to one thing and people use to hate when I say it but this is why Wall is the #1 pick in the draft. I would feel super confident if fully healthy or even just Nene but Wall and even Dre for that matter should dominante Cole, Chalmers, Napier. We have no one to stop Bosh unless Hump plays. Bosh will eat up Gortat if they start the same lineup theyve been doing but on the other end, our bigs should be able to score at will on there starting unit also if they stay small. Either way, Im banking on Wall to have a big enough game to atleast give us a shot in the 4th

[dlts20]

crap, Wade is going off again tonight. Bosh has been solid all preseason but Wade looked a lil past it until the last 2 games where he looks like a beast again. It would make me mad to lose to basically a 2 man show but those guys are capable. Hopefully Temple can lock Wade up and Rice can score on him. That would offset them some. One things is clear. Both teams will be super confident going into that game but they are at home. They will want to prove that they are still elite without Leboron but we can put doubt in there mind if we start strong. If Wall is great then we will follow

[FreeBalling]

I'm not sure what your point was TGW but you made me laugh. Where do you get those short clips?

[FreeBalling]

Too bad about Beal and Nene. It really makes this game a rather uninteresting one from Miami's perspective, although it would be good for Miami to start off with a W even if it comes at the expense of a short-handed opponent.

I'll take a stab at the score: Miami 104- Washingto 95.

Good luck!

Do you miss the 10s of thousands of posts when Le-Quit left? Your mods booted me for a week for saying the booing drove James from Mia.

We might be down a few players but you'll get a fresh look at Glen Rice Jr. I want to see how Bosh will respond being the main guy now.

[dangermouse]

This game is on Wall, if he shows up like he did against NY, game over Heat. Game over.

[SA37]

Too bad about Beal and Nene. It really makes this game a rather uninteresting one from Miami's perspective, although it would be good for Miami to start off with a W even if it comes at the expense of a short-handed opponent.

I'll take a stab at the score: Miami 104- Washingto 95.

Good luck!

Do you miss the 10s of thousands of posts when Le-Quit left? Your mods booted me for a week for saying the booing drove James from Mia.

We might be down a few players but you'll get a fresh look at Glen Rice Jr. I want to see how Bosh will respond being the main guy now.

Miami is not a basketball town. The big 3 brought a circus and the games became a place to be seen, which meant lots of non-basketball types would go fashionably late and leave disgustingly early.

I was basically absent from the boards once LeQuit joined until a bit after he left, so I kind of missed all of that. It was rather a bizarre thing because the summer of '10 was Miami's chance to add significant talent, but when the Big 3 formed it felt rigged and unauthentic. (I will always assume Riley was pulling strings behind the scenes.) And after watching Miami become a "hand it to LeBron or Wade and get out of the way" team and seeing all the bandwagoners claiming to be Heat fans, I became uninterested. To me, anyway, it was a boring circus to witness. I know James is a great player, but he's not fun to watch. Maybe it's just me.

This past summer I was quietly hoping LeBron would leave and Bosh would go to Houston, to be honest. I think Miami severely overpaid for a second option who doesn't make the game easier for others around him. At any rate, from my perspective things are better because we've shed the bandwagoners and have to build a new team, so it is a more interesting spectacle for me.

I've been keeping my eye on Glen Rice Jr and Otto Porter for my fantasy team I think Washington has an interesting team. Really talented guys in the backcourt (I really hope Wall can develop consistency with his shooting) and a solid, but not glittery frontcourt. If Pierce can be a 12-15ppg guy and provide solid D for 30 min a night, Washington will be very good.

[Hypnotizer]

My fav WAS-MIA moment of the last season:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CikztTZJF8A[/youtube]

[hands11]

Hump got his stitches out the other day and will test the hand in practice today. I expect things will go well. Either he or Gooden will start.

Wall/Miller
Temple/Otto/Butler
Otto/PP
Hump/Gooden
Gortat/Kevin

Temple on Wade
Otto on Deng
Gortat on Bosh

I wasn't on board with Otto starting to start the year before but the more I think about it, it might be easier to PP to blend in with Miller then Wall. Plus its good to have Otto's young legs out there to run with Wall. Specially if Paul is recovering from a knee bruise and Beal is out. Let Paul rest up a little more.

And Temple and Otto did start the last two games. One was without Wall though so that was tough. I think Otto is ready to handle that. He look every bit the TA replacement we needed. And can dribble better.

Once Beal returns, Paul might fit well with the starters. But for now, probably better to let him anchor the 2nd unit with Miller.

Then, who do they keep. Lucas III so they can play Wall some a SG ? Or Butler who has the most experience shooting 3's. Or D James who was a 24th pick and only shot one 3 during the preseason who has little experience over 3 years and has shot the 3 much at all.

I would guess they go with Lucas or Butler useless someone become free from another team thats better.

Updated: Butler is the final piece. Long live the AARP

[JWizmentality]

My fav WAS-MIA moment of the last season:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CikztTZJF8A[/youtube]

I spilled my drink on that play lol! I believe we also dropped 43 on them that quarter, after Lebron had come out and said how he was going to beat us before the game. Epic Beatdown!!

I think we are going to need Porter to have a Durant-esque night and Humphries ready to go though to make this competitive. Who knows, maybe Pierce has one of those nights where he turns back the clock.

[JWizmentality]

I don't know how this got started but it needs to die. Wall has absolutely no business playing SG.

[FAH1223]

I don't know how this got started but it needs to die. Wall has absolutely no business playing SG.

Wall REALLY should study Dwyane Wade's play off the ball.

Honestly, Wall can develop to play some SG. His 3 point shot is already decent at a 36% clip... consistency is always the key with young guys but Wall is fully capable of it.

Right now he has no business playing SG because he does not move without the ball.

With that said, Wall is perfectly capable of guarding 2s.

[JWizmentality]

I don't know how this got started but it needs to die. Wall has absolutely no business playing SG.

Wall REALLY should study Dwyane Wade's play off the ball.

Honestly, Wall can develop to play some SG. His 3 point shot is already decent at a 36% clip... consistency is always the key with young guys but Wall is fully capable of it.

Right now he has no business playing SG because he does not move without the ball.

With that said, Wall is perfectly capable of guarding 2s.

It's all well and good for him to develop his shot, but at no point should he be playing off guard. I loathe Wittless' sets where Beal is handling the ball. It's so useless!! Like you said, Wall does not move well without the ball and each time we runs those sets we are basically playing 5 on 4. Wall is our PG, nobody runs the offense better than him. Leave it at that. End of story. Period. Finito.

Anybody who says otherwise is in the same boat as this tool.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_rCMY8Rwbs[/youtube]