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Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 3:09 pm
by fishercob
Zach Lowe again.

This time on those Israeli heat-seeking cameras that Ted has blogged about a few times.

The article is dense, but it provides some insight into how these cameras are useful. And a wiz mention (oy).

Hilarious confirmation of the eye test: If Kevin Seraphin gets the ball in the post, he’s shooting — 66 percent of the time, to be exact. He’s dished only six assists from the post in recorded games, and almost never draws fouls.


Tom Ziller gave the article this shout-out this morning:

Most interesting to me were two items. The first is that there are still only 15 teams using the service. And something tells me the other 15 franchises don't have their own rig and staff doing the same thing. I'm not sure it's a huge advantage for the teams that subscribe, but it's certainly an advantage. Yet so many of the worst teams in the league (Charlotte, Sacramento, Detroit, the Lakers) don't utilize it. It's not cheap. But when you're dropping $50 million on a set of players at the low end, any other investment pales. The second interesting point: teams are on average more efficient on drives (defined as when a player dribbles a ball from at least 20 feet from the rim to within 10 feet) than on non-drives, even when not including transition possessions. Having watched the Kings so closely, I would have thought the exact opposite!


The Lowe piece talks about how drives really seem to help even with the turnover factor (hi John Wall). The Ziller piece actually initially focus on the Wiz, sure to enrage many here given the ages of Okafor and Nene:

good things happen when Nene, Emeka Okafor and John Wall play together. The crew has 200 minutes under its belt now, and is outscoring opponents by five points per 100 possessions in that time. Particularly important for Okafor has been Nene's presence: Emeka is a +3 overall but a +7 with Nene. The Brazilian has an off-the-charts plus-minus (+15), thanks largely to how stunningly awful (-10) the Wizards have been when Nene sits. Wall is a +14 after 400 minutes, including a +6 when playing.

Forget about Beal for a second. Just those three core Wizards -- with the shot creation and scoring of Wall, the efficient scoring and defense of Nene and the defense of Okafor -- are making a big difference for the team. Based on the numbers, which are admittedly limited due to Wall's long injury recovery, the Wizards can be a good team with this three-man core, barring injury.


Lots to discuss!

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 3:32 pm
by tontoz
The problem with the Wall/Nene/Okafor trio is that none of them are reliable jump shooters. They need other guys to be making jumpers otherwise the offense can really bog down.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 3:34 pm
by fishercob
You play 5 guys at a time though. Adding Beal and Webster -- and maybe some more shooters this summer -- and it seems to work ok.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 3:39 pm
by tontoz
fishercob wrote:You play 5 guys at a time though. Adding Beal and Webster -- and maybe some more shooters this summer -- and it seems to work ok.


If the two guys are hot from 3 it can work. If they have an off game the spacing can be a mess. I think this is why Randy frequently goes small late in games, to open up the floor. Three non-shooters in the same lineup can make the spacing tough.

Defensively obviously that trio brings it.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 3:47 pm
by nate33
fishercob wrote:You play 5 guys at a time though. Adding Beal and Webster -- and maybe some more shooters this summer -- and it seems to work ok.

I still think the solution is to get a quality stretch-four and start him. Play Nene off the bench to carry the second unit, and bring him back with the starters during crunch time at the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters. He would still average about 28-30 minutes a game a la Manu Ginobili.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:12 pm
by Kanyewest
Jordan Crawford was interviewed on the Dan LeBatard show. His conversation starts at 9:51.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8928234

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:23 pm
by doclinkin
nate33 wrote:
fishercob wrote:You play 5 guys at a time though. Adding Beal and Webster -- and maybe some more shooters this summer -- and it seems to work ok.

I still think the solution is to get a quality stretch-four and start him. Play Nene off the bench to carry the second unit, and bring him back with the starters during crunch time at the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters. He would still average about 28-30 minutes a game a la Manu Ginobili.


Or a similar back-up big with range and passing skill. I'd take a flyer on Mike Muscala of Bucknell with a 2nd round pick.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 11:19 pm
by closg00

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Wed Apr 3, 2013 7:20 pm
by fishercob
From Rob Mahoney at SI.com:

Examining the habits of the league’s most potent shooters

You know, guys like Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Ryan Anderson....and Martell Webster:

Webster has proved to be one of this season’s most pleasant surprises. He’s rebounded wonderfully from a season of injury and underwhelming outside shooting in Minnesota to become one of Washington’s most important players. Nothing that Webster does may seem all that crucial to the casual observer, but his ability to space the floor has been essential for a team that often uses a range-less point guard (John Wall) alongside two conventional, basket-centric big men (Emeka Okafor and, to a lesser extent, Nene).

He accomplishes that feat largely by camping out in the right corner, a valuable piece of real estate for right-handed shooters to take advantage of the slightly shorter bend of the three-point arc. In a league with many skilled long-range threats, Webster ranks as the most accurate shooter from the right corner, according to Vorped, making an astounding 59.7 percent from that spot. Durant’s return on every attempted above-the-break three may have been impressive, but Webster in the right corner is so efficient that it’s batty. Set him up with a look from that tiny hardwood nook and Webster offers a jaw-dropping 1.8 points per shot in return — as sure a bet as you’re likely to find in the NBA this season.

Paired with Bradley Beal on the opposite wing (who, interestingly enough, leads the league in accuracy from the left corner), Webster opens up tons of room for Wall to work off the dribble. Coach Randy Wittman still has some spacing kinks to work out before these Wizards can climb above the league average on offense, but Webster helps contribute to a terrific foundation — provided that Washington can re-sign him as a free agent this summer.


Amazing about Webster's accuracy from the right corner and Beal's from the left. Also another mention of spacing issues. Would love to nab Ilyasova and execute nate's plan of bringing Nene off the bench.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Wed Apr 3, 2013 7:45 pm
by Nivek
doclinkin wrote:
nate33 wrote:
fishercob wrote:You play 5 guys at a time though. Adding Beal and Webster -- and maybe some more shooters this summer -- and it seems to work ok.

I still think the solution is to get a quality stretch-four and start him. Play Nene off the bench to carry the second unit, and bring him back with the starters during crunch time at the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters. He would still average about 28-30 minutes a game a la Manu Ginobili.


Or a similar back-up big with range and passing skill. I'd take a flyer on Mike Muscala of Bucknell with a 2nd round pick.


Even if Muscala ends up below average in length, strength, leaping and agility, he'd still rate as being worth a 2nd round pick in YODA. He made a big jump from his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Wed Apr 3, 2013 8:01 pm
by DCZards
fishercob wrote:You play 5 guys at a time though. Adding Beal and Webster -- and maybe some more shooters this summer -- and it seems to work ok.


There you go. I think the Zards have built a decent nucleus...especially if you add Ariza, assuming he doesn't opt out. There's a definite need for more depth and that stretch 4 posters here keep talking about. And, of course, it would be nice if Booker, Ves or Seraphin could become a solid contributor off the bench. But what I've seen the last couple of months has indeed been encouraging.

It's noteworthy that the Zards seem to be getting a lot of good press lately, particularly Wall and Beal.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 5:48 pm
by Upper Decker
Not sure where to post this but I wanted to comment on the NBA draft coverage by BSPN.

1) I hated Shane Battier, he was so terrible. I muted every minute he was on air. Could the four letter word not come up with a better person to ask terrible interview questions?
2) I know the uproar has been pretty negative against Simmons, but I don't think he did a bad job with the draft coverage. I find it refreshing that someone is an actual fan on the coverage. I really disliked the way Doc called Simmons an idiot in such an insulting passive aggressive manner. It really made him look like a douche.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:03 pm
by GhostsOfGil
Just tried to listen to the Tony Kornheiser pod cast about the draft. Wow.. The guy is clueless. Is every ESPN NBA personality terrible? It sure seems that way.

Upper Decker I agree. Bill Simmons was great (although I've been a big fan of his for some time).

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:49 pm
by fishercob
Bump to give Michael Lee a little dap. I have thought that does an okay job as the Post's beat reporter, but he is elevating his game. Consider today's article about Eric Maynor's struggles. The first few paragraphs are your fairly typical banalities typical of this type of article, but then he actually goes a step deeper and gets to the heart of the matter:

The Wizards’ struggles without Wall last season made finding a backup imperative but the former VCU standout has played so poorly that he has left many wondering why President Ernie Grunfeld was in such a rush to give him a two-year, $4.1 million contract, with the second year a player option – especially when alternatives such as Mo Williams, C.J. Watson, Nate Robinson and Darren Collison were available at a similar price tag. Players who filled in for Wall last season – Shelvin Mack and Shaun Livingston – are both having more productive seasons as more than half the cost.


Consider that along with the next passage:

Maynor’s lack of productivity has placed a heavy burden on Wall and the rest of the team to dig out the holes that occur under his watch. The Wizards (9-11) have been outscored by 113 points in Maynor’s 196 minutes on the floor this season. Wall has the best plus-minus at positive-93 in his team-leading 755 minutes played, but Washington has a negative differential this season of negative-0.8. Maynor’s plus-minus per 48 minutes is negative-27.7.


I don't think you would have seen either of those two paragraphs in a Lee piece a year ago, let alone three or four . This where you see the cumulative effects of Bullets Forever, Truth ABout It, here, Nivek's blog, etc., and it is particularly fueled by Twitter. The conversation is (finally) elevating a bit. This matters -- a lot! It's going to harder and harder for certain executives to hide behind bullsh*t excuses and rationale for non-performance. Keep up the good work, Mike!

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:53 pm
by nate33
Good point, fishercob. Mike deserves some credit for writing these things in the Post, although it's really just a rehashing of what Prada put out on BulletsForever a few days ago, which is just a rehashing of what we've discussed on this board for weeks.

It is indeed notable that there is now a fairly direct pipeline starting from intelligent, informed fans like us and leading directly to the mainstream press.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 2:59 pm
by fishercob
nate33 wrote:Good point, fishercob. Mike deserves some credit for writing these things in the Post, although it's really just a rehashing of what Prada put out on BulletsForever a few days ago, which is just a rehashing of what we've discussed on this board for weeks.

It is indeed notable that there is now a fairly direct pipeline starting from intelligent, informed fans like us and leading directly to the mainstream press.


Twitter has changed everything. The information has been out there for years -- here, BF, TAI, Nivek's various blogs. But Twitter elevates the importanr bullet points to where guys like Lee can't help but notice them and needs to write about them.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:22 pm
by tontoz
Pretty rare to see stuff like that in the paper.

His last possession before getting benched for the rest of the night was an eyesore that ended with him firing a one-handed shot from the “W” on the “Wizards” near center court that went about five feet to the left of the basket and was batted down by referee Eddie Rush to protect the cameraman seated along the baseline.



:lol:

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:29 pm
by Ruzious
tontoz wrote:Pretty rare to see stuff like that in the paper.

His last possession before getting benched for the rest of the night was an eyesore that ended with him firing a one-handed shot from the “W” on the “Wizards” near center court that went about five feet to the left of the basket and was batted down by referee Eddie Rush to protect the cameraman seated along the baseline.



:lol:

To be fair, I thought that was a pass; not a shot. He expected the screener to roll to the basket, and he didn't.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:09 pm
by tontoz
I thought it was one of his patented floaters.

Re: Wizards in the Media Thread

Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:37 pm
by dobrojim
I keep meaning to ask MLee if he is on RealGM. His spot just over the tunnel
where the Wiz player enter/leave is just a few rows down from where I
sit.