Pistons at Wizards 7:00 PM ET, March 28, 2009 - Heeess Backk

[P'Oed]

I am so sick and tired of watching Blatche play. With every jumpshot he takes I get closer and closer to puking. Would anyone miss this guy at all? Sure he might go somewhere else and become a star (like everyone else does) but obviously he doesn't really give a crap about playing here. Or at least that's the feeling I get when I watch him. How is this guy ever going to develop his post game if he never takes any shots from that position? It's either him being lazy and not wanting to score with his back to the basket or no one running any plays for him to do so. It's incredibly frustrating watching a dude with such physical talent suck so much.

side note about Griffin...I think the guy is a great player but don't you think he relies a little too much on overpowering his competition? He won't be able to push around KG in the NBA that's for sure. I just don't see him being a dominant NBA player despite all the hype. I watch his defense sometimes too and very often see him standing there doing nothing but stretching his arms out while standing stationary in one spot. I guess my question is, what specifically would he bring to a team like the Wizards? He's a great rebounder but hey, so is Jamison. He's a leaper who can give you the alley-oops and Sportscenter highlights but hey, so is McGee.

[tsherkin]

Hey, good to see Arenas back and playing really well. Too bad he couldn't get a win in his first game back but it was great to see him passing that well and generally finding a flow after a long, long lay-off. Good stuff. He looks like he'll be top-flight next year.

[lupin]

Joseph White, the local AP beat writer [and not some national know-nothing chatterbox], seems to think the no-call was correct:

Alas, the ball barely made it out of his hands. Former Wizards flop Kwame Brown, of all people, blocked the shot. Agent Zero threw up his hands asking for a foul as he landed on his rump, but he knew that the official had made the correct no-call. The comeback game would end without his perfect ending.
...

I didn't see it, obviously, but maybe the fans just had a bad angle?

(more quotes)
“I saw Gilbert already going into his shot,” Brown said. “He was loading up before he got the went up for the shot, so I just jumped. Then he tried to kick his leg out to get the foul. Good job by the ref not calling it. He tried to initially throw it off me, but I kind of blocked it a little bit. Caron got a clean look. That was the longest 4 seconds I’ve ever seen.”

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I am so sick and tired of watching Blatche play. With every jumpshot he takes I get closer and closer to puking. Would anyone miss this guy at all? Sure he might go somewhere else and become a star (like everyone else does) but obviously he doesn't really give a crap about playing here. Or at least that's the feeling I get when I watch him. How is this guy ever going to develop his post game if he never takes any shots from that position? It's either him being lazy and not wanting to score with his back to the basket or no one running any plays for him to do so. It's incredibly frustrating watching a dude with such physical talent suck so much.

side note about Griffin...I think the guy is a great player but don't you think he relies a little too much on overpowering his competition? He won't be able to push around KG in the NBA that's for sure. I just don't see him being a dominant NBA player despite all the hype. I watch his defense sometimes too and very often see him standing there doing nothing but stretching his arms out while standing stationary in one spot. I guess my question is, what specifically would he bring to a team like the Wizards? He's a great rebounder but hey, so is Jamison. He's a leaper who can give you the alley-oops and Sportscenter highlights but hey, so is McGee.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... eam_report

• So far in the NCAA Tournament, sophomore forward Blake Griffin is averaging 30.3 points and 14.7 boards while shooting an eye-popping 78.7 percent from the field. He has only missed 10 shots in three games (37-of-47).

P'Oed, keep in mind Griffin's just 20 years old and no doubt still improving.

[P'Oed]

Very good point. He's only going to get better. I guess I can't stop comparing him to Hansboro who I'm convinced will be a pretty crappy NBA player. They both have those physical, muscle-through-the-defender styles of offense. I guess what puts Griffin over the top is pretty simple; he's just a lot bigger and a lot stronger. I just have a hard time seeing him replacing Jamison because he doesn't really have a jumper. But like you said, he's a young and a jumpshot is something that can definitely be improved with time. And no doubt, his defense HAS to be better than Jamison's. Oh well, none of this really matters if we don't get him anyway. We'll probably end up with Dave Neal.

[miller31time]

The real question is - would Dave Neal play better defense than Jamison? Because at UMD, he was a really smart defender and one of the team's best.

[gowiz999]

Yes, Blatche is a lost cause and will never get it. The only reason people aren't critical of him is because he is still young and his contract is cheap.

I like Griffin but his FT shooting is worrisome.

[miller31time]

Yes, Blatche is a lost cause and will never get it. The only reason people aren't critical of him is because he is still young and his contract is cheap.

I like Griffin but his FT shooting is worrisome.

Blatche is soft as a pillow but let's not make him out to be a bad player.

He's an average player on the average (if that makes sense). On good nights, he's above-average. On bad nights, he's below-average.

I don't think we should expect him to become a dominant player or even an All-Star, but he IS young and he already IS a pretty good player, especially taking into consideration his contract.

[P'Oed]

The real question is - would Dave Neal play better defense than Jamison? Because at UMD, he was a really smart defender and one of the team's best.

actually, you know what? he probably would! Plus he shoots the 3 and has the leadership quality. Ok, forget Griffin


with the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft the Washington Wizards select....THE MAYOR

[miller31time]

The real question is - would Dave Neal play better defense than Jamison? Because at UMD, he was a really smart defender and one of the team's best.

actually, you know what? he probably would! Plus he shoots the 3 and has the leadership quality. Ok, forget Griffin


with the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft the Washington Wizards select....THE MAYOR

That's it....start the petition!

[artest420]

cant wait to see arenas in the playoffs next year. hes the kinda guy that can win a series on his own if he gets hot. hopefully he comes back and takes out the cavs next year.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Yes, Blatche is a lost cause and will never get it. The only reason people aren't critical of him is because he is still young and his contract is cheap.

I like Griffin but his FT shooting is worrisome.

Is Blatche soft? Yes.

Does that bother me? No. Why? Because he's versatile.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... can01.html

Per-36: 15.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.6 blocks, 2.5 turnovers.

Very good handle for a player his size and also an excellent touch passer.

In the past defended the C position well.

Most of all: HAS NOT PLAYED FOR A GOOD COACH, YET.

I would hold off on dumping Blatche because he can play SF, PF, or C and he's still real young. (22)

The next coach might figure out how best to use Andray.

[BigA]

Didn't someone on the Wizboard say that Nick Young should spend the summer watching film of Rip Hamilton and working with Arenas? Nick is more athletic than Rip and perhaps stronger even now. If he could incorporate some aspects of Rip's game he'd be a great complement to Gilbert.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Yeah, I noticed the pistons running the same play over and over again too, and it was Arenas who was getting caught up in the screen and forcing jamison to run out to the three point line. I was cursing Arenas' mother by about the third time they ran the play. the fourth time Arenas did a good job slipping around the screen finally and that's when they managed to stop the bleeding.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

[quote="Higga"]Man did Gil look good. I'm not too concerned about the FG % because he missed a lot of tough buckets inside, buckets that he'll make once he gets his feet wet again. And some of those assists were just beautiful. They weren't lucky junk assists, he really was putting the ball in perfect places for his teammates. Gil with some of our young athletes could be dangerous. All in all a perfect tank night. [/quote

I'm not quite drinking the Kool Aid just yet. I guess I went into last night's game looking for some resolution... will the old Gil be back?

The answer, right now, is no. For better and for worse. He is clearly a better passer and has spent enough time watching the game now that you can see he is trying to do things that good pgs do, like dictate tempo.

His shot will be fine. He has probably even more range than before the injury given how much muscle he has added.

Out and out speed going forward... probably not changed much.

Lateral speed and explosiveness? This is the big, big , big unresolved issue right now.

A Gil who can't regularly finish at the rim is not a $111 million man. If we were to build a team around a pass first, control the pace pg, there are a lot better alternatives at bargain prices.

It was really a great feeling being excited about watching a Wizards game again... mostly for the anticipation of seeing whether Gil can come back. However, I sit here, still, unresolved in my mind as to the future.

[Ruzious]

Yeah, I only caught the 3rd quarter, but this game was great for the Wiz. The band is back together - though Caron looks like the one who hasn't played in 2 years. I can't speak for the 1st 3 quarters, but what great defense by Critter and Dom in the 4th. Just have both of them spend the offseason shooting 3's, please. If either of them could hit them, they could have destroyed the Pistons. Our young bigs... really still... gotta get tougher - go after rebounds harder. It's frustrating - and that's not coaching. That's about the desire to compete to win. Anyway, a loss is fine now.

[dobrojim]

agree with Ruz

Caron looked rustier than Gil. Missing the first of 2, down by 2 with like a minute
left. Shooting badly all night, forcing things. Noted that he was going against
Prince who is a nightmare for him. I was surprised that the Wiz didn't
put Butler on Rip and have Dom guard Prince at one point.

And Caron almost got a double-double in spite of all that.
But he shot _really_ badly including from the charity stripe.

[Dat2U]

[

I'm not quite drinking the Kool Aid just yet. I guess I went into last night's game looking for some resolution... will the old Gil be back?

The answer, right now, is no. For better and for worse. He is clearly a better passer and has spent enough time watching the game now that you can see he is trying to do things that good pgs do, like dictate tempo.

His shot will be fine. He has probably even more range than before the injury given how much muscle he has added.

Out and out speed going forward... probably not changed much.

Lateral speed and explosiveness? This is the big, big , big unresolved issue right now.

A Gil who can't regularly finish at the rim is not a $111 million man. If we were to build a team around a pass first, control the pace pg, there are a lot better alternatives at bargain prices.

It was really a great feeling being excited about watching a Wizards game again... mostly for the anticipation of seeing whether Gil can come back. However, I sit here, still, unresolved in my mind as to the future.

Wow, talk about jumping the gun. The man hasn't played with two good legs in over two years. Let's just cut him abit of slack.

Sure, the explosiveness wasn't there but honestly that's to be expected. With Gil's injury it should normally take about a year or so to regain his full abilities. I suspect next season we'll start to see the real Gilbert. Even without it, he shows promise as a very good player and difference maker. He displayed excellent court vision and created easy shots. His skillset is so developed and his footwork is so good that he can still get to the basket and draw contact.

The man had 15 pts & 10 assists in 29 minutes. That might not be worth $111 million, but its pretty damn good start for a guy that's more than a bit rusty. And no, there's not alot of better alternatives at bargain prices putting up those numbers on a per 40 basis.

[Higga]

From what I saw, it seemed like he was beating his defender off the dribble and getting to the bucket, but was hesitant and not as aggressive when it came to finishing, which is to be expected. I was actually glad to see Gil get hit and fall down a few times, because he needs that to be 100% psychologically.