GT #81: Wizards (46-34) @ Pacers (37-43) 8 PM (TNT/99.1 FM) [4/14/15]

[nuposse04]

Indiana moved the ball. No iso ball. They deserve this game.

The Wizards played their best game against Philly without Wall.

He and Beal learned NOTHING since last playoffs.

You may be correct in regards to Beal, but Wall is a better player this season. That much was obvious. He had a bad game, it happens. But he isn't being done any service with the lack of Xs and Os, not to mention a starting quality 4. I also though it was silly that none of the bench players were utilized in OT.

There is some hyperbole going around.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Indiana moved the ball. No iso ball. They deserve this game.

The Wizards played their best game against Philly without Wall.

He and Beal learned NOTHING since last playoffs.

Indiana stunk most of the game. They did not deserve it. They just played really hard the last five minutes of regulation. Good luck against Atlanta, who will run circles around them.

Washington stunk in OT. They did not share the ball. They held the ball and Wall and Beal shot or at the last second forced passes.

80s, Indiana looked like hot garbage, but the Wizards played really dumb basketball

I think Wittman needs to go because Wall and Beal play dumb ball at times.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Indiana moved the ball. No iso ball. They deserve this game.

The Wizards played their best game against Philly without Wall.

He and Beal learned NOTHING since last playoffs.

You may be correct in regards to Beal, but Wall is a better player this season. That much was obvious. He had a bad game, it happens. But he isn't being done any service with the lack of Xs and Os, not to mention a starting quality 4. I also though it was silly that none of the bench players were utilized in OT.

There is some hyperbole going around.

What is Wall better at?

[nuposse04]

Indiana moved the ball. No iso ball. They deserve this game.

The Wizards played their best game against Philly without Wall.

He and Beal learned NOTHING since last playoffs.

You may be correct in regards to Beal, but Wall is a better player this season. That much was obvious. He had a bad game, it happens. But he isn't being done any service with the lack of Xs and Os, not to mention a starting quality 4. I also though it was silly that none of the bench players were utilized in OT.

There is some hyperbole going around.

What is Wall better at?

He's been a more fluid playmaker this season IMO, and for the most part a better defender than last season. I haven't checked his TS lately, but I think it was mildly better last I checked. I think his WS/48 is better this season. I think you're overreacting to a bad game, in which no one really got the guys to played smartly. Thats on Wall as well.

But it also shows how much the intelligence of Pierce, and even Nene can be missed at times. Cause they ain't gettin nuthin from Randy.

[nuposse04]

Indiana moved the ball. No iso ball. They deserve this game.

The Wizards played their best game against Philly without Wall.

He and Beal learned NOTHING since last playoffs.

Indiana stunk most of the game. They did not deserve it. They just played really hard the last five minutes of regulation. Good luck against Atlanta, who will run circles around them.

Washington stunk in OT. They did not share the ball. They held the ball and Wall and Beal shot or at the last second forced passes.

80s, Indiana looked like hot garbage, but the Wizards played really dumb basketball

I think Wittman needs to go because Wall and Beal play dumb ball at times.

They do play dumb a lot, which is why you need a coach that will hold them accountable. But you also need a coach who can develop them into better players. Wittman lacks both of these qualities.

[nuposse04]

Also, Drew Gooden was useless tonight. If a team smartly takes away his ability to stretch the floor he is **** dead weight out there. We desperately need a stretch 4.

[dlts20]

Wow......I didn't think it was possible but Wall was actually worse tonight the he was in the playoffs against them last year. This game had all the worst case scenerios. Played our main guys, played them big minutes in double OT, and still lost to the team that eliminated us. All that with Wall playing some bad ball after resting when he was looking dominant before then. I hope the rest didn't throw his groove off.

All in all we got what I wanted or atleast we should get what I wanted. That is a Finals path of Tor-Atl-Cle. 3 teams who play uptempo. I sill take my chances with Wall and our guys In that type of game if Witt coaches right. All in all, a lot of it probably comes down to Wall. I gave him a pass last year for hitting the Wall before the playoffs. It happens to a lot of the greats but it can only happen once. You cant have 2 subpar playoffs in a row, especially against teams who fit your style like Toronto.

The bad thing for us is that Wall's crooked J is creeping back on us. The good thing is that he has misses so many that I hope he realizes he needs to attack the rim more for the playoffs. We still have the talent to where we shouldn't fear any team in the East. Its go time. I hope Wall lets this game make him mad and he puts on a show in Canada against Lowry. He better bring his playoff D. He's been playing like Arenas lately on that end. Not even trying at all, like he's too cool for skool. Ill give him that pass but he gets no playoff pass anymore. Time to step it up.

[FAH1223]

Washington stunk in OT. They did not share the ball. They held the ball and Wall and Beal shot or at the last second forced passes.

80s, Indiana looked like hot garbage, but the Wizards played really dumb basketball

I think Wittman needs to go because Wall and Beal play dumb ball at times.

They do play dumb a lot, which is why you need a coach that will hold them accountable. But you also need a coach who can develop them into better players. Wittman lacks both of these qualities.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

You may be correct in regards to Beal, but Wall is a better player this season. That much was obvious. He had a bad game, it happens. But he isn't being done any service with the lack of Xs and Os, not to mention a starting quality 4. I also though it was silly that none of the bench players were utilized in OT.

There is some hyperbole going around.

What is Wall better at?

He's been a more fluid playmaker this season IMO, and for the most part a better defender than last season. I haven't checked his TS lately, but I think it was mildly better last I checked. I think his WS/48 is better this season. I think you're overreacting to a bad game, in which no one really got the guys to played smartly. Thats on Wall as well.

But it also shows how much the intelligence of Pierce, and even Nene can be missed at times. Cause they ain't gettin nuthin from Randy.

Yeah, I was going to delete my response...

Fair response. He is more fluid but I don't see a vocal leader or a guy who orchestrates the team in crunch time. Wall attacks the rim and is great in transition. He can slow down his game much better now.

[stopstandthere]

I was rooting for you guy. Wiz well played but missed quite a few chances during the 1st overtime.

[nuposse04]

What is Wall better at?

He's been a more fluid playmaker this season IMO, and for the most part a better defender than last season. I haven't checked his TS lately, but I think it was mildly better last I checked. I think his WS/48 is better this season. I think you're overreacting to a bad game, in which no one really got the guys to played smartly. Thats on Wall as well.

But it also shows how much the intelligence of Pierce, and even Nene can be missed at times. Cause they ain't gettin nuthin from Randy.

Yeah, I was going to delete my response...

Fair response. He is more fluid but I don't see a vocal leader or a guy who orchestrates the team in crunch time. Wall attacks the rim and is great in transition. He can slow down his game much better now.

Don't get me wrong man, he still has lots to improve on. He's a very good player. He single handily wins us games but against elite defense when the rest of the roster isn't working sometimes he cant just overcome it. Our team is devoid of depth and smart plays. Games like this will manifest. My only real gripe with him at times, is that I think he IS a vocal leader, but then goes out and does stuff he isn't suppose to. Also, Randy doesn't seem to ever reprimand him for his propensity to switch on D.

A big name coach might be able to buy in on those little things and galvanize his game.



Lastly, Wittman was trending on twitter....Clicked the name. First images that come up are of him and a dumpster fire...

[dandridge 10]

Bottom line is that this team is just not that good. They are old, Beal has not stepped up, Otto is still not there, they have a pretty bad bench (although they played fairly well tonight), and they just don't make winning plays at the end of games (on both ends of the court). Perhaps Wittman is a pretty poor coach too. But, the Wizards had multiple opportunities tonight to take over the game and they just pissed each opportunity away, whether it was Beal clanging open jumpers or him losing the ball off his knee or Gortat missing layups or Wall ball watching and losing Hill for a 3. We have seen this same ol' play the entire second half of the season and I don't know why anyone will think it will change in the playoffs.

[dckingsfan]

Bottom line is that this team is just not that good. They are old, Beal has not stepped up, Otto is still not there, they have a pretty bad bench (although they played fairly well tonight), and they just don't make winning plays at the end of games (on both ends of the court). Perhaps Wittman is a pretty poor coach too. But, the Wizards had multiple opportunities tonight to take over the game and they just pissed each opportunity away, whether it was Beal clanging open jumpers or him losing the ball off his knee or Gortat missing layups or Wall ball watching and losing Hill for a 3. We have seen this same ol' play the entire second half of the season and I don't know why anyone will think it will change in the playoffs.

This

[Sluggerface]

Indiana moved the ball. No iso ball. They deserve this game.

The Wizards played their best game against Philly without Wall.

He and Beal learned NOTHING since last playoffs.

Indiana stunk most of the game. They did not deserve it. They just played really hard the last five minutes of regulation. Good luck against Atlanta, who will run circles around them.

Washington stunk in OT. They did not share the ball. They held the ball and Wall and Beal shot or at the last second forced passes.

80s, Indiana looked like hot garbage, but the Wizards played really dumb basketball

I think Wittman needs to go because Wall and Beal play dumb ball at times.

This is 100% on the offense. Statements like "these guys are mentally weak" or #effort can all be tied to the offense. Randy's entire playbook (actually flip saunders playbook) is based on read and react. It is completely reactionary. You basically need ELITE midrange shooters, post players, or a team full of savants to actually turn this offense into a top 5 offense. Those three things are like water in the sahara with today's generation of players. If you don't have that the team is extremely prone to stagnation, relying on savior play from the teams stars, because there is no rhythm to the offense. It's like climbing Mount Everest with a blindfold.

[Kanyewest]

I would have loved to win this one and it was frustrating to watch it. Still, you have to imagine the Wizards would have came away with a win if the Wizards had closed the game out with Nene/Pierce (even though Pierce at times looked very old out there, I hope he's conserving his energy for the postseason- all of the Wizards were taking this as a chance to get revenge against Indiana- Pierce wasn't part of the team last season to feel any of that pain).

Bottomline, Wall and Beal are going to have to make shots. Granted the offensive schemes weren't that sophisticated but it does seem like the offense is getting bogged down with a lot of ball holding by both Wall and Beal. I can live with isolation ball if you have an elite player like Gilbert Arenas back in 2006 but the Wizards of 2015 can't afford to play that way. They need to play to its balanced roster and move the ball around- Porter needs to shoot it more than 10 times in 40 minutes especially when Wall/Beal combine to shoot 36% from the field.

On the plus side, I was impressed with Washington's defense- it made Indiana's offense look as inept as Washington's offense and the Wizards were without one of its better defensive players in Nene. Porter was aggressive in regulation but fatigue may have caught up to him in the OT since he's not used to playing that many minutes.

But yeah, if Wall doesn't fix his jumper, I can't imagine the Wizards going very far in the playoffs even if the Wizards had Greg Popovich as their head coach.

[miller31time]

Just finished the DVR.

Beal played the worst game of his career, in my opinion. Just terrible basketball filled with bad turnovers, clankers and hours of needless running around the court without actually going anywhere. His defense on Miles was suspect at best.

Wall just couldn't hit the broadside of a barn tonight. He made up for it with his passing but had too many turnovers. Bad game for him.

And then we have our genius coach who has Bradley Beal iso'ing at the end of the game with 10 seconds left. I think he's intentionally trying to get an early vacation from Ernie. Still get paid and can relax on the beach? Not a bad move, Randy. Not a bad move.

Overall, we're a mediocre team with a bad coach who is only where we are because of John Wall and Marcin Gortat.

[hands11]

Nice warm up for the playoffs.

To bad they lost but it was good for them to get that experience.

Lots of room to tighten things up. They had moments of sweet. And moments of OMG. That was horrible.

Interesting that Randy gave Beal two shots to close it out and ran Wall to the corner instead of going for the win with Wall. Again. Good experience for Beal in a game that really didn't matter but when I saw Beal up top with the ball I was yelling at my TV and then just laughing at Randy. Dude.. What ? Give it to Beal with lots of time on the clock and run Wall to the right corner three to just stand there. I mean he wasn't even a treat to do anything. Randy really needs to go..

But I appreciated that Beal got a chance to be a closer. Just not in that way. Now we know not to do that again. But we know that from the play design before it even happened.

Rasual made some big shot. Nice to see he hitting again.
Hump was stroking it again finally.

But my God. The Refs.. Just like last year they let IND get away with murder. That was horrible reffing. IND was grabbing and fouling all night.

At least they called the 8 sec count.

Otto made a huge play taking it to Hibbert. That was nice to see. Should have been an and 1 though.
And Kevin while making some turnover also made some huge shots.

Gortat missed some he usually makes. But made some nice ones as well.

Sucks to lose it. But happy IND in still in it. Happy for PG. And happy the Wizards got battle tested. I think it will help them. They got a taste of that increase speed of the game. And make no mistake. IND has been hot lately.

For the Wizards. It was a mixed bag. Some really good. Some terrible. But that's what a game like that is good for. Now they got a taste of real playoff basketball and as more tuned up to the playoffs. And they did it without Nene and not much PP

[hands11]

Good warm up and lesson for Wall and Beal. If either played better, we would have won. 2-14 from 3 was brutal though.

And the air balls. Ouch.

But the game meant nothing in the standing and hopefully it helped them warm up to playoff style pressure.

IND had everything to gain. Wiz had nothing to lose. And they still took them to double OT

With Zero pts from PP

[Earth2Ted]

The Beal iso at the end of OT 1- you could see from the body language the entire 20 seconds that Bradley didn't have any confidence he was going to score, and his expression after he lost the ball out of bounds was, like yeah, I knew that was gonna happen.

Wittman, on the other hand, looked genuinely stunned.

That's the only play I watched the whole game, and it was one play too many.

It's been such a train wreck the 2nd half of this year- you almost want to fast forward to the offseason just to get it over with.

[Zonkerbl]

god what an ugly game that was.

if all the bball from this team is going to be of that quality I think i'll skip the playoffs

wake me up if they get to the second round