WIZ vs Charlotte

[queridiculo]

Definitely. A win against Cleveland that would ultimately keep them from clinching the best overall record and home court throughout the playoffs would put us over the top.

Either that, or sacrificing a goat. I'm afraid with our mojo chickens simply won't do.

[80sballboy]

You can thank Gerald Wallace for possibly costing us not only Blake Griffin, but didn't he injure Caron or Gil two years ago? Wow, I can't wait for Gil to play and for us to get closer to drafting Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill, Demar Derozan or Earl Clark and then trading a pick.

[BigA]

Clips beat Nix, hey!

[fishercob]

We have a choice. We can say that this is typical Bullets/Wiz -- just good enough to break your heart. Suffer through a disgusting season only to win 5 or 6 of their last 10 to thoroughly lengthen their lotto odds.

Or, we can choose to see a team that a has playoff roster in street clothes tonight (Arenas, Deshawn, Caron, Songaila, Haywood, Juan, Etan) and eight healthy bodies claw back from 20 down -- and drive a stake through the heart of another team fighting to get to the postseason.

I mean, I tried rooting for them to lose, but I just couldn't help pump my fist when good things happened. I love that through this terrible, awful, **** of season that this team has stayed together and kept the will to win. Blatche's primal reaction after his late block gave me goose bumps. I don't know if it's Jamison, Tapscott, or Abraham Polin, dlts20 or Big Gheorghe, but someone is providing leadership to these kids, the way the continue to fight. And it should be noted that Jamison was effusive in his praise of the kids during the postgame interview (for all the talk of bus-throwing and the like).

A win like this brings a little hope. Gilbert and Brendan coming back brings a little more. There's an opportunity to send a clear message to the Eastern conference that they've gotten off easy the past few years because of the Job-like injury trials the Wiz have suffered through (Did he just reference scripture? Leave him alone, he's on a roll) Next year we're coming back with a vengeance and a mission. We're about to get real good, real fast.












And maybe, just maybe, the basketball gods will reward out boldness on May 19th. Pretty please.



Go Wiz.

[queridiculo]

Very well put fishercob, can't deny that the tennis fist made an appearance despite my hopes of seeing yet another late collapse.

It's tough to root against this team when you see some of the younger players stepping up and responding late in the game.

I'll never be a big fan of Blatche, but if him, Young and McGuire continue to mature and bring that same swagger into next season we finally have the depth this team has lacked. Add McGee with a year under his belt and the 1st overall pick and we may just be a small step closer to contending for a title.

As much as this franchised has suffered, it would only be right if we finally get rewarded after that cruel joke in 2001.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

I don't think we'll get the first. Too much competition from other sucky teams. EG really needs to come through with a quality #5 pick. You should be able to get a starter there.

[no D in Hibachi]

This would have been a tanktastic loss, but at the end of the day I'm glad they didn't add yet another shameful record of futility.

Doing my captain obvious impression here, but Young had one heck of a game. Aside from the scoring I was most impressed by how he's continued to play within the offense. He didn't force anything, dished the ball on occasion and showed a lot of effort on defense.

Two key plays here, the block on Marion and the strip from behind on the final possession.

Good stuff, over the past few weeks it almost seems as if the light bulb finally came on for Young.

Which is why I feel it would be a bad mistake to draft another wing this year. N1 has really impressed me over the last 10-15 games. He's getting it.

[nate33]

Young is a backup until he can learn to rebound, pass, and play off the ball. At this point, he's an instant offense guy off the bench. We need a true starting-caliber SG to replace Stevenson.

Even if you like Young, SG is still our biggest position of weakness. In this draft, we're not going to find a center better than Haywood, a power forward better than Jamison (assuming we don't pick #1), a small forward better than Butler or a point guard better than Arenas. However, the odds are pretty good that we can find a SG better than Young/Stevenson.

[queridiculo]

Even if you like Young, SG is still our biggest position of weakness. In this draft, we're not going to find a center better than Haywood, a power forward better than Jamison (assuming we don't pick #1), a small forward better than Butler or a point guard better than Arenas. However, the odds are pretty good that we can find a SG better than Young/Stevenson.

Since we're going to end up drafting Griffin it's really a moot point, but if we were in that situation I'd really like to see us pick up Evan Turner.

He'd give us more flexibility with his ability to move between the 2 and 3 spot, and does a whole lot more than just score out there. He's an excellent rebounder and also manages to involve his teammates.

[closg00]

Can't wait for Gilbert to get back, watching Mike James try to run the break is a painful think to watch.

[Ruzious]

I've been a Nick Young critic here, but I've never seen him play even close to as well as he did last night - in crunch time - on defense. Those last 2 fouls on him were... somewhat questionable. In the past, he wouldn't have committed them, because he didn't put that kind of passion on defense. He showed why ET calls him the most talented of our young players. All I want is that kind of effort on a consistent basis. I'm glad he didn't get the tanking memo, so I could see the kind of player he can be.

[hands11]

I think people should be far and give Tapps some credit for cracking the nut that is Nick.

We all know he had talent. He just needed to become a more complete NBA player and that is what we are starting to see.

Add to Tapps contributions are the progress of DMAC.
Blatche has made strides this year also.
McGee has been managed well. He obviously needs a really good off season.
Crit has also been managed well. He had not clue. Now he has some clue. He can drive but needs to add a shot.

We had lots of raw talent and very little quality vet presence to help bring them along and stabilize the team. Given that environment, I think Tapps did well managing the situation and not loosing the team.

[closg00]

I think people should be far and give Tapps some credit for cracking the nut that is Nick.

We all know he had talent. He just needed to become a more complete NBA player and that is what we are starting to see.

Add to Tapps contributions are the progress of DMAC.
Blatche has made strides this year also.
McGee has been managed well. He obviously needs a really good off season.
Crit has also been managed well. He had not clue. Now he has some clue. He can drive but needs to add a shot.

We had lots of raw talent and very little quality vet presence to help bring them along and stabilize the team. Given that environment, I think Tapps did well managing the situation and not loosing the team.

Why should Tap be given any credit at all?

*Nicks minutes have increased only because Tap had little choice but to increase his minutes.
*Tap reaptedly played poorly performing vets (an injured DS) over developing the rookies in a lost season.
*McGee's use or non-use has been baffling. If McGee was playing especially well during a game, he was sure to pulled as-soon as he got hot.
* Crit's weaknesses are obvious, but Mike James weaknesses are just as-bad if-not worse than Crit's

Don't get me started on Taps foolish and hurtful comments he's made about the rooks that have appeared in the press.

Ed Tapscott is an arrogant prick and I can't wait to be rid of him.

[MJG]

I think people should be far and give Tapps some credit for cracking the nut that is Nick.

We all know he had talent. He just needed to become a more complete NBA player and that is what we are starting to see.

What has N1 done these past two weeks that he didn't do the season's first two weeks, when EJ was his coach? He's just an up-and-down player who is currently on his "up" mode.

[dobrojim]

Not sure what all the Blatche hate is for, he's doing pretty good if you ask me.

Further, I'm not sure why everyone wants to trade down in the draft so the Wizards can pick Henderson. N1 has played great lately and he's really had a good game tonight against one of the top SG defenders in the league.

+1 on both points even though I'm on the trade down (unless it's #1 on the pick)
for a swingman. That may have been New York's coming out party not that he hasn't
had better offensive games. Seeing him drive and dunk, hit Js and defend and rebound
was a beautiful thing.

There are a lot of players/scenarios that I could envision happening wrt to the offseason
that have nice potential upsides.

I like Griffin (duh).

But I also like Hill and Blair.

I like Henderson but I also like Curry, Williams, Evans and Turner

We'll have assets and hopefully options. Trading the rights to Rubio or Thabeet
might be 2 options that could be productive for us.

All that said, I still feel the single most important thing that happens this
offseason will be the choice of coach.

bet re last night - THAT's the Nick Young I want to see playing next to Gil.
Scary.

[jholmbe1]

I think people should be far and give Tapps some credit for cracking the nut that is Nick.

We all know he had talent. He just needed to become a more complete NBA player and that is what we are starting to see.

What has N1 done these past two weeks that he didn't do the season's first two weeks, when EJ was his coach? He's just an up-and-down player who is currently on his "up" mode.

I have to agree here. Just because Nick had one good game, or even a few in a row does not mean that Tapscott has turned him around. Nick is still incredibly inconsistent and relies on his fade-away jumper way too much. If he can focus on D I think the offense will come much easier with a healthy Gil back in the lineup next season.

[dobrojim]

it wasn't that Nick had a good game. We've all seen that at
one time or another.

to me it was much more how he did it and the relative completeness
of his game.

Of course I may have accidently sipped some KoolAid watching those
2 dunks since earlier in the year I was critical of Nick saying we/I was
tired of hearing what a great dunker he was in practice when he rarely
dunked in games. Recently that has changed. He's been dunking a lot.
But he also been doing things besides scoring which he was often albeit
sporadically good at almost since he arrived here.

Bottom line - it's so welcome (simply on general principles) and helpful
since it opens more possibilities as to what to do with what should be
a very high pick. The only thing it really doesn't change is what to do
if we win the lottery. In saying this, maybe I should add that N1's play
may not have changed EG's thinking, but other GMs have consider multiple
situations when guessing how to deal with EG.

edit to add - Nate, I'd think you'd be a little more positive than saying
Nick is/will be simply instant O off the bench given the stats you have
posted about his defensive effectiveness.

[nate33]

edit to add - Nate, I'd think you'd be a little more positive than saying
Nick is/will be simply instant O off the bench given the stats you have
posted about his defensive effectiveness.

True. The stats do indeed suggest that Nick Young is one of the better defenders on the team (damning with faint praise, perhaps). When I called Nick Young an "instant offense" kind of player, I wasn't trying to denigrate his defense. I'm saying that he doesn't function all that well as part of the offensive system. He can create his own offense when nothing else is working, but he's not very effective as role player within the confines of the offense. And it doesn't help that he gets so little in the way of rebounds, assists and steals. Unless he improves, he is best utilized coming off the bench

[dobrojim]

well I guess my larger point (and this should probably go in the long term
plans or draft pick thread) is how the /possible/ emergence of Nick as
a more complete as well as consistent player might affect our thinking
in the draft.

hypothetically - if Nick were to average say at least 17-18 ppg on good shooting
with solid all around numbers (for the remainder of the season), should this push
us more towards a PF (Hill/Blair) or a PG (Lawson/Evans/Curry)?

I would think it should. That said, we don't know what the options EG
will have are vis a vis trade down.

The Nick we saw last night in a lineup with Gil, Caron, AJ and Haywood
would be at least adequate. Now if you're really drinking the koolaid on
one of the various swing guys (I know you like both Henderson and Turner),
maybe you have to take them anyway. Depth is always a good thing and
we have prospects at the 4/5 already. So the 2/3 is a good place to go.
Conventional wisdom gives highest value to bigs and PGs which might allow
us to draft Thabeet or Rubio for someone else and walk away with extra
value or fewer unwanted contracts in the process.

From where I sit there is a big jumble of possible picks after Griffin. I have
yet to read or see with my own eyes compelling evidence for taking a specific
one from that group. I like many of them but also see a risk in most of them.

[Dat2U]

I think people should be far and give Tapps some credit for cracking the nut that is Nick.

We all know he had talent. He just needed to become a more complete NBA player and that is what we are starting to see.

What has N1 done these past two weeks that he didn't do the season's first two weeks, when EJ was his coach? He's just an up-and-down player who is currently on his "up" mode.

Agreed, but we do this for all of our young guys. Critt had his first good game in weeks the other night and folks were ready to call him a building block.

This is the NBA, anyone on any given night could have a good game and play at a high level. Jahidi White had a string of double/doubles at one time in his career. Kwame had 30/17 followed by 27/10 in back to back games. LaBradford Smith lit up MJ for 30+ back in the day. What seperates a mirage from reality is whether or not guys can bring it every night. For as much as I bash Jamison and his defense & leadership, he puts up 20 & 10 with regularity. His consistency makes him better than Blatche who will give us 17 & 10 one night and 5 & 2 the next.

When Young, Critt or Dom start showing some real consistency, then I'll get excited about their long term prospects.