Pre-Season: Wizards VS Bucks @ 8:30PM

[J-Ves]

Because he's short and fat the Wizards should cut Blair. (Many of you have posted as much).


Get Blair out and put that big stiff Jaleel Roberts in.

Josh Harrelson for Blair, get it done.

I do want Harrellson on this roster but Webster or Temple are the guys I would consider cutting.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Temple is useful.

Webster is generally injured. I could see buying his contract out to make room for Harrelson.

Humphries is the guy who I think could be traded. Gooden hits threes. Nene and Blair can each play PF in big lineups, while Porter and Dudley can play small ball PF. Kris is a bad defender next to Gortat. Moving him makes some sense to me.

[JWizmentality]

Blair and Neal suck...cuz their defense.

Henson is scoring pretty much whenever he wants, and Neal isn't exactly Pat. Beverly out there. Nor in his career. Are you watching the stream or just commenting because the stats don't back up either of the two for the last few seasons? C'mon, surely you don't think one preseason game is the beginning of a trend for two career journeymen.

Dude, just stop. They've been decent. I know their history. You've proclaimed them the second coming of fart.

[nuposse04]

Biggest takeaway from that is the starters save for Sessions all had a net + on their on/off and scored alright in the absence of Wall, sans hump since he wasn't so much an offensive factor. Didn't really look for his shot at all. Blair had a good game offensively, kudos to him.

KO had some nice steals but rarely converts them save for one time late in the 4th, clutch there. His 3 pt shot will come I guess in time.

Also the space that Hump, Gooden and I'm sure Dudley are affording Gortat is going to give him a great season offensively. Everything seems so easy for him.

[nuposse04]

Blair and Neal suck...cuz their defense.

Henson is scoring pretty much whenever he wants, and Neal isn't exactly Pat. Beverly out there. Nor in his career. Are you watching the stream or just commenting because the stats don't back up either of the two for the last few seasons? C'mon, surely you don't think one preseason game is the beginning of a trend for two career journeymen.

Dude, just stop. They've been decent. I know their history. You've proclaimed them the second coming of fart.

BS, when did I say they are as bad as Eric Maynor... he is legit the worst player I've seen as a wizard... >.> Legit had a legendarily bad season. Nobody comes to his level of suck.

Neal is a mediocre, one way player. That I don't think is arguable. Blair HAS been decent in the past, but it didn't manifest here last season. I think the floor spacing may help him as well offensively, but I'm not going to get overly optimistic about his ability to protect the rim come regular season. I'd LOVE for him to prove me wrong.

[jangles86]

Ramon Sessions has quietly put together a very impressive pre season and has made me have a bit of optimism for him to be a quality back up point guard.

Blair looked as though he felt in charge tonight. He was great on the boards as he played serviceable defense. He's an experienced vet who knows how to take care of garbage time. He still doesn't have a role on this team but maybe tonights game may give Randy a bit of trust in him.

Oubre Jnr is very VERY raw. Doesn't really look like he is able to contribute much more then garbage time for this up coming season. I expected that to be honest as he is coming out of a freshman year and was one of the youngest players drafted this year. To be honest, his game would've developed a lot better if he had stayed in college for another year and would've beeb likely a top 10 pick this up coming draft.
He looks a touch lazy at the moment. He settles far too much for the 3 and doesn't look to cut or create space. He's incredibly left sided which he needs to work on asap as he will be eaten alive by good defenders.

Milwaukee were pretty terrible I must say. Although Monroe has found his niche. MCW has gone from exciting young prospect to a massive liability very quickly. I don't see Milwaukee doing much damage this season unless Jabari Parker and Giannis Anterkompo can become elite.

Beal, Porter and Gortat have looked solid as a rock all pre season which is exciting. Porter looks like he will step into the starting role with ease. I think his big minutes in the playoffs last season has done wonders for his confidence.

I honestly see us winning 50+ games this season.

[Sluggerface]

Ramon Sessions has quietly put together a very impressive pre season and has made me have a bit of optimism for him to be a quality back up point guard.

Blair looked as though he felt in charge tonight. He was great on the boards as he played serviceable defense. He's an experienced vet who knows how to take care of garbage time. He still doesn't have a role on this team but maybe tonights game may give Randy a bit of trust in him.

Oubre Jnr is very VERY raw. Doesn't really look like he is able to contribute much more then garbage time for this up coming season. I expected that to be honest as he is coming out of a freshman year and was one of the youngest players drafted this year. To be honest, his game would've developed a lot better if he had stayed in college for another year and would've beeb likely a top 10 pick this up coming draft.
He looks a touch lazy at the moment. He settles far too much for the 3 and doesn't look to cut or create space. He's incredibly left sided which he needs to work on asap as he will be eaten alive by good defenders.

Milwaukee were pretty terrible I must say. Although Monroe has found his niche. MCW has gone from exciting young prospect to a massive liability very quickly. I don't see Milwaukee doing much damage this season unless Jabari Parker and Giannis Anterkompo can become elite.

Beal, Porter and Gortat have looked solid as a rock all pre season which is exciting. Porter looks like he will step into the starting role with ease. I think his big minutes in the playoffs last season has done wonders for his confidence.

I honestly see us winning 50+ games this season.

Glad more people are getting on the 50+ win hype train. It's blatantly obvious the teams like MIA and MIL are being overrated to all hell. Cleveland is 1, and then it's a dog fight between WAS, CHI, ATL, and TOR. At least one, possibly two of those teams are going to regress, and I'm not betting on Washington.

[nate33]

Ramon Sessions has quietly put together a very impressive pre season and has made me have a bit of optimism for him to be a quality back up point guard.

Indeed.

Sessions has been very good. It may be kinda funny watching him fling himself into the lane to get the foul call, but it works. The guy really punishes inexperienced defenders on opposing second units. He also pushes the tempo like Wall. His D has been solid too. So far in the preseason, he is averaging 8 FTA's per 36 minutes and has a 6/1 A/TO ratio.

The team should no longer be dead in the water if Wall has to sit out a few games. Don't forget that we beat Atlanta in a playoff game without Wall too.

[payitforward]

Ramon Sessions has quietly put together a very impressive pre season and has made me have a bit of optimism for him to be a quality back up point guard.

Indeed.

Sessions has been very good. It may be kinda funny watching him fling himself into the lane to get the foul call, but it works. The guy really punishes inexperienced defenders on opposing second units. He also pushes the tempo like Wall. His D has been solid too. So far in the preseason, he is averaging 8 FTA's per 36 minutes and has a 6/1 A/TO ratio.

The team should no longer be dead in the water if Wall has to sit out a few games. Don't forget that we beat Atlanta in a playoff game without Wall too.

No question about it. Sessions has played better for us -- last season and so far in these pre-season games -- than anyone could have expected.

Actually, over his career it's been hard to know exactly what to expect from Sessions. Way more than most players, he has had really good years and really bad years. Lets hope he stays at his current high level!

[LyricalRico]

Good to see our offense looks serviceable even without Wall. Hump looks a little lost out there, I don't think he trusts his ability to hit the 3 pointer and his defense on the perimeter is lacking. I've generally been a fan of his, but I think we need to try/find a different starting stretch 4

edit. Of course with that said, its more the threat of the 3 pointer that's important. With Hump out there the team is a force on the boards, something I don't think could be said if a smaller player was out there.

Hump seemed fine when Wall was playing on Saturday. That also could hsve just been the "Sixer effect". But I think he'll be fine. He was mostly solid for us last year without the 3pt shot, so even if he only hits a few of them this year he'll be even better.

Oh and this is the Blair I thought we were gettng last year. I don't see him gettng minutes unless/until Nene gets hurt, but I think he can help us if/when we need him.

[Illmatic12]

Ramon Sessions has quietly put together a very impressive pre season and has made me have a bit of optimism for him to be a quality back up point guard.

Indeed.

Sessions has been very good. It may be kinda funny watching him fling himself into the lane to get the foul call, but it works. The guy really punishes inexperienced defenders on opposing second units. He also pushes the tempo like Wall. His D has been solid too. So far in the preseason, he is averaging 8 FTA's per 36 minutes and has a 6/1 A/TO ratio.

The team should no longer be dead in the water if Wall has to sit out a few games. Don't forget that we beat Atlanta in a playoff game without Wall too.

No question about it. Sessions has played better for us -- last season and so far in these pre-season games -- than anyone could have expected.

Actually, over his career it's been hard to know exactly what to expect from Sessions. Way more than most players, he has had really good years and really bad years. Lets hope he stays at his current high level!

It's because he's always been switching teams and systems.

With ~ two years to settle in and get used to these players, it looks like Sessions is going to do great for us off the bench:

“The floor is open, it’s spread. There’s a lot of gaps, a lot of seams,” said Sessions, who averaged 7.4 points and 3.1 assists in 28 regular season games with the Wizards last season. “There’s more reads. For me, it’s one of those things that I feel like better suits my game, playing in this kind of offense, up-tempo. I mean, it’s fun.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/backup-point-guard-ramon-sessions-settling-in-with-washington-wizards/2015/10/17/ae4d913a-74f5-11e5-8248-98e0f5a2e830_story.html


This is one of those things where you have to give Grunfeld credit, for identifying a player with 'low value' who had the skills/potential to fit in well here - if given the time and opportunity, which he got.

[J-Ves]

Good to see our offense looks serviceable even without Wall. Hump looks a little lost out there, I don't think he trusts his ability to hit the 3 pointer and his defense on the perimeter is lacking. I've generally been a fan of his, but I think we need to try/find a different starting stretch 4

edit. Of course with that said, its more the threat of the 3 pointer that's important. With Hump out there the team is a force on the boards, something I don't think could be said if a smaller player was out there.

Hump seemed fine when Wall was playing on Saturday. That also could hsve just been the "Sixer effect". But I think he'll be fine. He was mostly solid for us last year without the 3pt shot, so even if he only hits a few of them this year he'll be even better.

I get the feeling this is going to be PF by committee. Hump will get the start most nights, but the player who gets the most minutes is whoever happens to be most effective any given night. Is Hump making his threes? Leave him in. Is Gooden not being abused on defense? Play him. Is the team not being crushed on the boards with Dudley(or other SF) in there? Fire away. Its why I want Harrellson on the 15 man rotation, just to have one more guy who could possibly get minutes as the stretch 4. Temple or Webster have got to go.

[80sballboy]

Neal is there to spread the floor and knock down threes. If you want defense at the backup 2, just put Temple in and sacrifice offense. If you want a quality two-way shooting guard, you have to pay for it. Neal will be fine in a 10-15mpg and he's something we've lacked for a long time. A streaky player off the bench that can carry your second unit if he gets hot.

[dangermouse]

I thought Hump had an absolute shocker. Terrible game. Made me wish Blair could shoot.

Everyone has an off night. Not going to panic over this unless it becomes a regular thing.

[payitforward]

Neal is there to spread the floor and knock down threes. If you want defense at the backup 2, just put Temple in and sacrifice offense. If you want a quality two-way shooting guard, you have to pay for it. Neal will be fine in a 10-15mpg and he's something we've lacked for a long time. A streaky player off the bench that can carry your second unit if he gets hot.

Yes, we've lacked that "streaky off the bench" guy who "can carry your second unit" for a really really long time -- since Rasual Butler was that guy. Not since way back then.

edit: oh, and I thought we were talking about basketball, a game where you get *everything* a player does and doesn't do when he's on the floor and where every offensive possession is followed by a defensive possession, so that we "want defense" throughout the game, and we want "a quality two-way shooting guard" because if you don't have that, you have a "non-quality shooting guard" -- i.e. Gary Neal.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Ramon Sessions has quietly put together a very impressive pre season and has made me have a bit of optimism for him to be a quality back up point guard.

Indeed.

Sessions has been very good. It may be kinda funny watching him fling himself into the lane to get the foul call, but it works. The guy really punishes inexperienced defenders on opposing second units. He also pushes the tempo like Wall. His D has been solid too. So far in the preseason, he is averaging 8 FTA's per 36 minutes and has a 6/1 A/TO ratio.

The team should no longer be dead in the water if Wall has to sit out a few games. Don't forget that we beat Atlanta in a playoff game without Wall too.

No question about it. Sessions has played better for us -- last season and so far in these pre-season games -- than anyone could have expected.

Actually, over his career it's been hard to know exactly what to expect from Sessions. Way more than most players, he has had really good years and really bad years. Lets hope he stays at his current high level!

I think Neal will do like Sessions, and that is get better and better.

I like Neal's chemistry with Blair, who's going to have a very strong bounce back year if he stays healthy (and he isn't traded or released).

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Good to see our offense looks serviceable even without Wall. Hump looks a little lost out there, I don't think he trusts his ability to hit the 3 pointer and his defense on the perimeter is lacking. I've generally been a fan of his, but I think we need to try/find a different starting stretch 4

edit. Of course with that said, its more the threat of the 3 pointer that's important. With Hump out there the team is a force on the boards, something I don't think could be said if a smaller player was out there.

Hump seemed fine when Wall was playing on Saturday. That also could hsve just been the "Sixer effect". But I think he'll be fine. He was mostly solid for us last year without the 3pt shot, so even if he only hits a few of them this year he'll be even better.

Oh and this is the Blair I thought we were gettng last year. I don't see him gettng minutes unless/until Nene gets hurt, but I think he can help us if/when we need him.

They need to consider a trade Nene, Beal, and two or three firsts for Boogie Cousins and Ben McLemore.

The Wizards could win a championship that easily.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I thought Hump had an absolute shocker. Terrible game. Made me wish Blair could shoot.

Everyone has an off night. Not going to panic over this unless it becomes a regular thing.

Put me on record as saying I would start Blair at PF next to Gortat.

When others go small I say go big, own the boards, punish teams inside.

Specifically, Blair is among the five or so best offensive rebounders in the NBA. Let him crash boards while Gortat flashes to the basket for dunks and layups.

Meanwhile, Gortat is among the top 10-15 best defensive rebounders. Allowing for Blair being not so good in transition, the two players can work together a bit like Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes did back in the day; because Wall, Ball, and Porter are greyhounds.

Blair should be the PF. He will foul out much but so what?