GT#1 Round 1 Wizards vs Raptors 4-18-15 12:30 PM on ESPN @ ACC (Canada Eh)

[nuposse04]

Oh, no doubt, when you offer a guy who dislikes you an offer he likes, he'll probably take it. And yeah, GMs are rough-and-tumble: I'm sure they play psychological games in their own private GM circles. But Ujiri isn't trying to one-up Grunfeld here; he's playing to the crowd. Why take the chance of ticking another GM off, just to earn a few points with the fan base?

Why would EG get mad if yelled "he doesn't give a **** about it"...that has no implications on DC, just Pierce. I don't see the connection. I can understand if he said "**** the wizards."

Dan Gilbert's comments about LeBron didn't prevent him from signing LeBron a few years later -- but it might've cost him some tiny bit of leverage on related deals. Now, Gilbert's the owner; there's no one for him to answer to but his customers -- and the CLE fanbase appreciated him sticking up for them back when LeBron jilted them. So, perhaps the risk of ticking off LeBron (and losing incremental leverage down the road) was outweighed by currying favor with his customers and preparing them for an ugly rebuild.

But a GM doesn't work for the fans; he works for the boss. And he's in a human relations business. If friendships can lead to deals (many rumored that to be the case in the BOS-MIN Garnett trade); it stands to reason that coming off like a jerk can sour deals. If a GM wants to engage in gamesmanship to set up future transactions; great. But GMs shouldn't insult other teams just to satisfy the crowd.

At this point: Ujiri's gained a rep for this; he thinks it's expected of him. Re: Pierce, he said "I know everybody wants to hear what I think" about Pierce's quote. The fans and media may want to know, but that doesn't mean that he needed to give it to them.

I still don't buy this changes his ability to GM in any significant way. The only thing FOs care about is getting better, whether or not they are dealing with annoying people doesn't matter.

[nuposse04]

Wizards game-plan strategy

The confidential formula for Game 1 unfolded at raucous Air Canada Centre. Wittman used Paul Pierce at power forward for long stretches after utilizing the veteran there for just 4 percent of Washington’s regular season minutes. He played Marcin Gortat in the fourth quarter after Gortat was absent following the third period in the teams’ three regular season meetings. He elected Kevin Seraphin as his second man off the bench over Kris Humphries when Gortat encountered foul trouble, and he granted Otto Porter Jr. crunch-time minutes in his playoff debut one month after Porter was buried at the end of the bench.

The unforeseen recipe morphed the Wizards into an unfamiliar unit designed to counter the personnel the Raptors have used to torment them the last two seasons, but it didn’t compromise their strength of stingy defense. The Wizards gladly engaged in a grotesque slugfest, holding the Raptors, who had the NBA’s third-ranked offense during the regular season, to 38 percent shooting, including a combined 8 for 30 from DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, and under 90 points even with the extra five-minute session while shooting just 39.4 percent themselves.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... ml?hpid=z4

I suspect we'll actually hit some shots in the next game, (lookin at Wall and Beal). I also suspect the Raps will as well. If Casey is smart then James Johnson might get some burn to try to limit Pierce (which I think he can). So our young guards and Porter will need more productivity. Also more Gortat PnRs. That and Gortat needs to go harder, he passed off on some shots last game he definitely could have made I thought.

Our 2nd rebounding also pretty much gave us a chance. I have to imagine the Rap will crash the defensive glass in order to clean that up, our initial offense has to be crisper. I suspect not as many 2nd chance points :/

[keynote]

Oh, no doubt, when you offer a guy who dislikes you an offer he likes, he'll probably take it. And yeah, GMs are rough-and-tumble: I'm sure they play psychological games in their own private GM circles. But Ujiri isn't trying to one-up Grunfeld here; he's playing to the crowd. Why take the chance of ticking another GM off, just to earn a few points with the fan base?

Why would EG get mad if yelled "he doesn't give a **** about it"...that has no implications on DC, just Pierce. I don't see the connection. I can understand if he said "**** the wizards."

Fair point; I didn't mean to oversell it. But a GM might get annoyed at another GM constantly mouthing off about his team's players.

Frankly, I can't think of any GM (who isn't also a coach or an owner) in any sport that I follow who routinely publicly talks trash about other teams or their players -- at least, not in recent memory. The only thing that comes close is Morey's comments about Cuban...

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/rockets-gm ... 44311.html

...and Morey was fairly guarded with his comments. He didn't say "F Dallas" or "we don't give an ish about what Cuban says"; he sold his team as the better destination for future FAs. His words weren't for his fan base's benefit, they were a subtle pitch to the rest of the league.

Even so, this public back-and-forth means that I'd be *shocked* if HOU and DAL execute a deal over the next couple of years. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't a deal offer from a guy you dislike have to be at least a tiny bit more lopsided in your favor for you to consider it?

[DCZards]

Honestly, If Temple was healthy I would start him over Beal. Better defense, worse shooting, less boneheaded TOs, and we guarantee either Ses or Wall are handling the ball at all times. Oh and fewer long twos.

In this series, if we can continue to defend well and keep TOs to a minimum we will win, even if the offense continues to take few threes and few free throws.

In the first playoff against Chicago last year, Beal shot 3-11 and scored 13 pts. The next five games he shot almost 50% and averaged close to 22 pts. He also lit up the Pacers in the next round. I'm not starting Temple over a player with that kind of potential.

[Illmatic12]

Temple over Beal...

Temple is not a starting caliber 2 guard, not even in the CBA. Temple at his best is better than Beal at his absolute worst, but I highly doubt Beal repeats that performance again.

[nuposse04]

Beal will get better as the series goes on. I think he felt the pressure yesterday, but now that they got Game 1, he can play a bit more loose. I can understand the missed mid range jumpers...but he missed OPEN 3s, he's usually good on those, just had a bad day. Also would have immensely helped Wall's assist total.

[gambitx777]

Ok, We need to calm down on Beal. People have bad games. Wade, Kobe, Manu, and the list goes on. Those guys have had bad play off games. It happens! Most people are forgetting that Beal played pretty good D yesterday too. RELAX!

[Illmatic12]

Other than that stretch late in the 4th q when Wittman was letting him and Wall throw up garbage, Beal actually didn't shoot that many long twos. He just missed a lot of open threes and some easy attempts in the lane. If he hits his average on those shots, he'd be looking at a 20+ point game on fair efficiency, with active defense and rebounding (and we would've won it in regulation). So I expect him to be much better once he settles down and starts making his normal shots.


If anything there should be more concern about Wall's game, because unlike Beal he wasn't even being aggressive half the time. There's no excuse for him not to be penetrating at will against this defense, this isn't like last year where there's a Hibbert patrolling the paint.

[nate33]

Ouch, 6-23 for Beal...

I'm going to note something that has not been said that I have seen.
Beal had 9 boards and 6 assists today. Yes his shooting stunk.
But BB is no Nick Young. And thank goodness for that.

Was waiting to get to the end of this thread to post the same thing. Beal missed everything, but he did contribute in other ways. Sometimes, the hate on this board is too extreme. Beal doesn't suck. He's not a budding superstar or anything, but he's still a pretty good player who happened to have a really bad shooting night.

[TGW]

Ouch, 6-23 for Beal...

I'm going to note something that has not been said that I have seen.
Beal had 9 boards and 6 assists today. Yes his shooting stunk.
But BB is no Nick Young. And thank goodness for that.

Was waiting to get to the end of this thread to post the same thing. Beal missed everything, but he did contribute in other ways. Sometimes, the hate on this board is too extreme. Beal doesn't suck. He's not a budding superstar or anything, but he's still a pretty good player who happened to have a really bad shooting night.

It just sucks we could have made a play for Harden. People were riding hard for Beal (even saying they'd rather have him over Harden), and he's been a complete disappointment IMO.

[Tricky_Kid]

I thought Ujiri crossed a line -- last year and this year. It's fine for players, coaches, even owners (i.e., Cuban) to occasionally act clownish and talk trash. But I don't want our franchise's lead deal maker and negotiator to become the trash-talking face of the franchise: his priority should be to preserve professional relationships with other franchises in order to make deals in the future.

That being said, saying that we'd take him over Ernie is the straw-man-iest of straw men. Of *course* I'd take him over EG. But that doesn't change the fact Ujiri's antics might adversely impact his ability to do his job down the road. People can be petty, and Brooklyn's GM just might let Ujiri's next phone call ring a little longer than usual after being on the receiving end of public insults and curses last year.

Great post!. GM can't act like that, just can't. Imagne if ther will be chance to trade something with Brooklyn if I were them I would say to Ujiri **** Toronto. Period.

[nate33]

We saw the coaching staff up their game in the postseason last year too. Showed some willingness to make a lot of the adjustments they won't/can't in the regular season. I honestly think that Randy just isn't that good at preparation during the regular season and he and his staff need the extra time afforded by the playoff format to make common sense adjustments for a fixed opponent.

Exactly.

For the most part, coaching in this league is pretty straightforward. You find a system that best suits your players' talents, and then you look to exploit mismatches. Good coaches are the ones who can recognize mismatches and quickly adapt to exploit them. Poor coaches take longer.

In the playoffs, everyone has the time to figure it out, so coaching matters a lot less. As long as you are coached by a guy who isn't a total idiot, it's ultimately going to boil down to talent. The Wizards had more talent than Chicago last year, and I think they have more talent than Toronto this year - particularly when Lowry isn't 100%.

[stevemcqueen1]

We saw the coaching staff up their game in the postseason last year too. Showed some willingness to make a lot of the adjustments they won't/can't in the regular season. I honestly think that Randy just isn't that good at preparation during the regular season and he and his staff need the extra time afforded by the playoff format to make common sense adjustments for a fixed opponent.

Exactly.

For the most part, coaching in this league is pretty straightforward. You find a system that best suits your players' talents, and then you look to exploit mismatches. Good coaches are the ones who can recognize mismatches and quickly adapt to exploit them. Poor coaches take longer.

In the playoffs, everyone has the time to figure it out, so coaching matters a lot less. As long as you are coached by a guy who isn't a total idiot, it's ultimately going to boil down to talent. The Wizards had more talent than Chicago last year, and I think they have more talent than Toronto this year - particularly when Lowry isn't 100%.

My main gripes about Wittman are in game management issues, lack of development from the young players because they are under-used or poorly used, and regular season underachievement. He's probably never going to be strong on situational coaching like time out usage and line up changes on the fly, but this alone isn't a killer.

If Beal makes an eventual leap and Porter works out, I'll stop a lot of my griping about Wittman because this was the number one thing killing his job performance for me. We need these two guys to reach their potential to have a future of consistent winning. I don't love that we leave a bunch of wins on the table during the regular season. It would be nice to get a high seed and face easier matchups with home court. And it was troubling how, during February and early March, he just didn't have any answers and the players had to dig themselves out. But so long as we reach our potential in the playoffs, you can live with bad coaching in the regular season.

[Illmatic12]

There's no reason why we should continue to employ a coach, who runs an antiquated offense that literally makes him THE running joke among NBA fans and analysts around the league. Wittman's style of basketball is ugly to watch for us as fans, and furthermore it doesn't maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our players.

And if the Wiz never develop into a good regular season team (which simply isn't going to happen under Wittman's myopic style of coaching), we're going to continue to have an apathetic fanbase and mediocre home crowds

Also for people singing Wittman's praises in the playoffs, just wait until we get schooled by Atlanta in 4-5 games because they have an actual coach.

[hands11]

I'I'd still take Ujiri 10 times over 10 over Ernie. Without question. I could care less what Ujiri says at what amounts to a pep rally before the game, it means nothing.

I thought Ujiri crossed a line -- last year and this year. It's fine for players, coaches, even owners (i.e., Cuban) to occasionally act clownish and talk trash. But I don't want our franchise's lead deal maker and negotiator to become the trash-talking face of the franchise: his priority should be to preserve professional relationships with other franchises in order to make deals in the future.

That being said, saying that we'd take him over Ernie is the straw-man-iest of straw men. Of *course* I'd take him over EG. But that doesn't change the fact Ujiri's antics might adversely impact his ability to do his job down the road. People can be petty, and Brooklyn's GM just might let Ujiri's next phone call ring a little longer than usual after being on the receiving end of public insults and curses last year.

Not to mention an even bigger group which is the players. I know some will reply is all about who pays the most but I guarantee their are players who don't respect that kind of conduct and would factor that in when deciding what organization they might consider. I doubt a player like Beal would ever consider signing with an organization with a GM like that.

Hell, you might even be able to get away with an owner being like that more then a GM. ala LAC.

As you said. You don't want to close any doors or create barriers. Just not worth it. And for what. To get some fans to cheer load for 10 seconds. Just not very smart.

[nuposse04]

There's no reason why we should continue to employ a coach, who runs an antiquated offense that literally makes him THE running joke among NBA fans and analysts around the league. Wittman's style of basketball is ugly to watch for us as fans, and furthermore it doesn't maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our players.

And if the Wiz never develop into a good regular season team (which simply isn't going to happen under Wittman's myopic style of coaching), we're going to continue to have an apathetic fanbase and mediocre home crowds

Also for people singing Wittman's praises in the playoffs, just wait until we get schooled by Atlanta in 4-5 games because they have an actual coach.

They also have better players then us 2-5. Possibly 6-9 as well on the depth chart.... >.>

If we get there you can only hope our core shows well, and the pieces EG signed, which he should not have, play like crap (highlighting his incompetence).

[Illmatic12]

There's no reason why we should continue to employ a coach, who runs an antiquated offense that literally makes him THE running joke among NBA fans and analysts around the league. Wittman's style of basketball is ugly to watch for us as fans, and furthermore it doesn't maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our players.

And if the Wiz never develop into a good regular season team (which simply isn't going to happen under Wittman's myopic style of coaching), we're going to continue to have an apathetic fanbase and mediocre home crowds

Also for people singing Wittman's praises in the playoffs, just wait until we get schooled by Atlanta in 4-5 games because they have an actual coach.

They also have better players then us 2-5. Possibly 6-9 as well on the depth chart.... >.>

If we get there you can only hope our core shows well, and the pieces EG signed, which he should not have, play like crap (highlighting his incompetence).

Yes EG is a bigger issue than Wittman. If Wittman is retained after winning a series I can understand (and he still has one guaranteed year left anyways). There's literally no reason to extend Grunfeld regardless of what happens, unless the Wizards win the 2015 Finals.

[hands11]

Honestly, If Temple was healthy I would start him over Beal. Better defense, worse shooting, less boneheaded TOs, and we guarantee either Ses or Wall are handling the ball at all times. Oh and fewer long twos.

In this series, if we can continue to defend well and keep TOs to a minimum we will win, even if the offense continues to take few threes and few free throws.

If that helps you get through the rotations, a short stint of Temple to start could work. But he is injured and I doubt Randy goes that far. But at some point in the game, he could go to it and he would open up options for Wall.

Wall, Temple, Otto/PP, Gooden, Gortat

I think Temple is projected to be ready soon.

[nuposse04]

There's no reason why we should continue to employ a coach, who runs an antiquated offense that literally makes him THE running joke among NBA fans and analysts around the league. Wittman's style of basketball is ugly to watch for us as fans, and furthermore it doesn't maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our players.

And if the Wiz never develop into a good regular season team (which simply isn't going to happen under Wittman's myopic style of coaching), we're going to continue to have an apathetic fanbase and mediocre home crowds

Also for people singing Wittman's praises in the playoffs, just wait until we get schooled by Atlanta in 4-5 games because they have an actual coach.

They also have better players then us 2-5. Possibly 6-9 as well on the depth chart.... >.>

If we get there you can only hope our core shows well, and the pieces EG signed, which he should not have, play like crap (highlighting his incompetence).

Yes EG is a bigger issue than Wittman. If Wittman is retained after winning a series I can understand (and he still has one guaranteed year left anyways). There's literally no reason to extend Grunfeld regardless of what happens, unless the Wizards win the 2015 Finals.

If somehow they won a championship I'd eat crow an accept a an extension for Grunfeld...but I find the possibility of that occurring to be very...small.

I find that the DC local sports writers don't nearly rip on Grunfeld publicly enough in order for real change to occur. They do rip Randy appropriately at times, but all you ever hear from national and local media heads is "EG has done a wonderful job in rebuilding this team" and you just have to wonder how many sexual favors did EG have to call in. Its been 5 years into this regime and we don't have a convincing team yet. We look like we're destined to be the mid 2000s hawks.

[hands11]

They also have better players then us 2-5. Possibly 6-9 as well on the depth chart.... >.>

If we get there you can only hope our core shows well, and the pieces EG signed, which he should not have, play like crap (highlighting his incompetence).

Yes EG is a bigger issue than Wittman. If Wittman is retained after winning a series I can understand (and he still has one guaranteed year left anyways). There's literally no reason to extend Grunfeld regardless of what happens, unless the Wizards win the 2015 Finals.

If somehow they won a championship I'd eat crow an accept a an extension for Grunfeld...but I find the possibility of that occurring to be very...small.

I find that the DC local sports writers don't nearly rip on Grunfeld publicly enough in order for real change to occur. They do rip Randy appropriately at times, but all you ever hear from national and local media heads is "EG has done a wonderful job in rebuilding this team" and you just have to wonder how many sexual favors did EG have to call in. Its been 5 years into this regime and we don't have a convincing team yet. We look like we're destined to be the mid 2000s hawks.

Lets not set the bar to low now.. just a championship ?

That's all it would take ?

As for the media heads. I don't think that is true. Aren't they the ones that put him in the middle of the rankings ?

As for where they are 5 years in. I think your framing is what makes you feel that way. They did have to blow the entire things up and dump the worst contract in the league. If 5 years in they get out of the first round the last two years in a row that's not bad. Specially given the history of this franchise.

What if they sweep TOR this year ? Then what. All the sudden the rebuild is different ? Reality would be, the rebuild was the rebuilt and the only thing different would be, us getting to see that it worked out better two weeks later.

There are unanswered questions. Otto being the biggest right now. These playoffs will help paint the story. How they do and how their young players do will affect that framing.

And since we are right at the beginning of these playoffs. Maybe this debate should be put on hold. One way or another, we are about to get some more data on this team. And given the plan is staged with a 2016 option, it seems like they are doing pretty well. Funny how one game could change that framing. If they lost last game, people would be focused on that and how they suck because they can't beat TOR. If they beat TOR next game, I suspect some will focus on how TOR sucks and move the target to how ATL is so much better ( already starting to see that after 1 win). Just keep moving the bar. That is what some will do.

Or, just set it at a championship ..like you just did.

So far..we won another game 1 on the road. And they adjusted to play more S4 against a team they had been losing to.

Those are good signs. As was Otto playing the way he did in his first playoff game.

Big game 2 coming up.