Pre-season game thread

[closg00]

^^^^

I am starting to agree with dlt, just because Andray is nearly 7 ft, doesn't mean that he should play like someone that he is not. No one was expecting Jason Smith to be in there mixing it up and throwing-down jams, that's not his game and it's not Andray's game either (although it would be better if that were naturally part of his game). McGee is in the same boat - although if we had a big-man coach, we would have a better chance of developing him into that kind of well-rounded Center.

I say let Andray focus on his developing and improving shooting game and try and save McGee from turning into the same type of player.

[dlts20]

^^^^

I am starting to agree with dlt, just because Andray is nearly 7 ft, doesn't mean that he should play like someone that he is not. No one was expecting Jason Smith to be in there mixing it up and throwing-down jams, that's not his game and it's not Andray's game either (although it would be better if that were naturally part of his game). McGee is in the same boat - although if we had a big-man coach, we would have a better chance of developing him into that kind of well-rounded Center.

I say let Andray focus on his developing and improving shooting game and try and save McGee from turning into the same type of player.

Not only that but I rewatched some of our game last night against the Cavs and Dray was doing things that all those star bigs only dreamed they could do. He must have went coast to coast like 5 times, dribbling like a guard, and either dishing no look passes or finishing like only a guard could. Sometimes we have to stop ripping guys for what theyre not and start praising what they do well. Its not like he is completely soft. I mean, he has been rebounding pretty darn good and no one is punking him on D. Now there is no doubt he needs to mix it up more, espicaly with the drive but lets not act like he is garbage espicaly when he put up good numbers. They just didnt come the way you might want them to but it was still effective and the main thing is that he rebounds & boards well. Again though, those drives he had in the open court were awesome and those behind the back dribbles & no look passes were great also

[fishercob]

I don't have a problem with the fact that Dray leads the break and shoots mostly jumpers. I don't have a problem with the fact that he's not a low post bruiser.

What I have problem with is that he too often dribbles without a purpose. In general, he dribbles too much in a half court setting. He should seldom if ever be shooting jumpers of the dribble; he's much more effective off the catch and should be working to perfect that PJ Brown/Oakley/Popeye Jones 15-20 footer. I think that he has in his head that he's quicker than most bigs and can therefore blow by them off the dribble. The problem is that help gets there way too soon and the ball is often deflected/turned over. If he's using the dribble to go by someone it should be one or two dribbles to the cup. He needs to lose the behind the back/crossover junk in traffic.

The other bigtime bad habit he has is putting the ball on the floor right after defensive rebounds. This is basketball fundamentals 101 (that he clearly lacks from skipping college and getting by in HS on talent alone) Secure the ball and make an outlet pass to a primary ball handler. Not only is it much lower risk, it advances the ball up court much faster.

[I'll never forget when a high school coach had us decide who our fastest sprinter was and line him up on the baseline. He told him to sprint to the other end of the court as fast as he possibly could on the sound of the whistle. He blows the whistle, the kid takes off and the coach proceeds to roll a ball down to the other baseline, beating our fast guy handily. The lesson of course is that fast breaks are always more effective when you pass the ball up court, rather than dribbling it.]

[Kanyewest]

I don't have a problem with the fact that Dray leads the break and shoots mostly jumpers. I don't have a problem with the fact that he's not a low post bruiser.

What I have problem with is that he too often dribbles without a purpose. In general, he dribbles too much in a half court setting. He should seldom if ever be shooting jumpers of the dribble; he's much more effective off the catch and should be working to perfect that PJ Brown/Oakley/Popeye Jones 15-20 footer. I think that he has in his head that he's quicker than most bigs and can therefore blow by them off the dribble. The problem is that help gets there way too soon and the ball is often deflected/turned over. If he's using the dribble to go by someone it should be one or two dribbles to the cup. He needs to lose the behind the back/crossover junk in traffic.

The other bigtime bad habit he has is putting the ball on the floor right after defensive rebounds. This is basketball fundamentals 101 (that he clearly lacks from skipping college and getting by in HS on talent alone) Secure the ball and make an outlet pass to a primary ball handler. Not only is it much lower risk, it advances the ball up court much faster.

[I'll never forget when a high school coach had us decide who our fastest sprinter was and line him up on the baseline. He told him to sprint to the other end of the court as fast as he possibly could on the sound of the whistle. He blows the whistle, the kid takes off and the coach proceeds to roll a ball down to the other baseline, beating our fast guy handily. The lesson of course is that fast breaks are always more effective when you pass the ball up court, rather than dribbling it.]

I didn't notice this weakness in Blatche at all at least in the preseason game. In fact, he had a very nice outlet pass which led to a fast break points for Butler.

[closg00]

^^^
Blatche also needs to pass out of the double team more quickly, he should be looking for someone to kick-out to, he's gotten trapped a lot on the double-team.

[LyricalRico]

^^^
Blatche also needs to pass out of the double team more quickly, he should be looking for someone to kick-out to, he's gotten trapped a lot on the double-team.

Blatche does need to pass...






















...the Verizon Center on his way out of DC.

[dobrojim]

I've kinda gone up and down with the w/l's this offseason
having been possibly overoptimistic as the season approached.

But last night WAS encouraging, I thought, as we beat a decent
6er team without 3 of our top 8. I think we handle them
that much easier with Gil, AJ and MM in the rotation.
And getting vets in the game in the 4th Q.

I think Haywood will be a beast pretty often this year.
I hope he regains the FT stroke he had going 2 years ago.

A lot of our younger/developing players looked decent.
Yeah they still make mistakes but it's not like the vets
are perfection on the court either.

Oberto looks good; he's really look like he could
help us quite a bit.

Foye looks better than I thought/feared he would.

I think Flip may end up tweaking the lineup/rotation of
players 5 through 8 or 10 on a continuous basis. This will
be a good thing just like Earl Weaver used to get players
in who had numbers against specific opponents. Flip will
have that kind of luxury with the depth of this team.
Mike James(!) is even looking decent (are the end times coming?)

I thought dray looked OK last night. He played mostly with
the second team, got double figures. N1 did OK outside of
the dumb foul with 1 sec. As it turned out, PHL made an
even dumber foul (or the refs gave us a make up call).

[hands11]

After watching a disorganized franchise like the Skins do it for another year, any Wizards game is a blessing to watch.

While Pre-Season doesn't count in the final tally, it was nice watch them play and to get a win.

CB looked good. Wow he slimmed down. Should be available for more 2 if needed.

Philis talent seemed to work better for EJ then what he had here. One things I noticed was there was no weave and heave. What happen to the EJ offense ?

-Haywood - Hopefully he finds his FT touch again. 10-21 for the pre-season. Peee ugggghh
-Nice to see Flip test the younger players down the stretch. Smart move.
-Nick and Blatche look better under Flip. Blatche showed a sweet stroke on a few shoots. I like how his game is coming along.
-McGee should start to put it together more and more. Flip should work him over pretty good over that fast break decision. I like the kids potential still. Mostly he played his role. He looks to have learned more position D. Even saw him hold off on a block once.

No GA, MM, AJ so that was interesting to watch.

PS - I think Crit is going to be useful before this is all said and done. He is fast and strong. Nice spark type player. Very coachable also.

[montestewart]

Philis talent seemed to work better for EJ then what he had here. One things I noticed was there was no weave and heave. What happen to the EJ offense ?

In response to a comment that the 76ers were playing un-Jordan like defense, someone observed (paraphrasing here) that it was the residual effect of pre-Jordan era defense, and that the Philly defense would eventually look very much like the old Wizards, after prolonged deemphasis of defense.

Jordan took over a team very much in transition here, and it was probably pretty easy for his methods to take hold. The Sixers are not a great team, but they also did not just lose their primary player (MJ) or add four new primary scorers in successive years (Hughes, Arenas, Jamison, Butler) who were to varying degrees happy to embrace the defensive deemphasis.

Give the Sixers time, and they may yet embrace "weave and heave" (especially having just lost their point guard) and no defense. Or maybe Jordan will adapt to a current roster still clinging to queer notions of stopping the other team.

[closg00]

Looking forward to our last pre-season game against da-Bulls, they really disrespect us on their board, I hope Miller and Gilbert are a Go.

[fishercob]

Eddie said recently that the Sixers were not very far along in mastering the Princeton, and so they'd be using a lot more "standard NBA sets" until they got up to speed with the Princeton. As to D, Philly has better defensive personnel than we do, no? The have a legit perimeter stud in Iguodola, and while neither Brand nor Dalembert are better than Haywood, the two of them in combination are better than Haywood and Jamison. Right? I dunno.

[fishercob]

Looking forward to our last pre-season game against da-Bulls, they really disrespect us on their board, I hope Miller and Gilbert are a Go.

I'm sure our guys will be extra fired up for that reason alone.

[montestewart]

Eddie said recently that the Sixers were not very far along in mastering the Princeton, and so they'd be using a lot more "standard NBA sets" until they got up to speed with the Princeton. As to D, Philly has better defensive personnel than we do, no? The have a legit perimeter stud in Iguodola, and while neither Brand nor Dalembert are better than Haywood, the two of them in combination are better than Haywood and Jamison. Right? I dunno.

Iguodala plays perimeter defense unlike anyone on the Wizards; only DS and Dom (and on very rare occasions, Caron) even try for similar results. I think even having one talented player who gets consistent PT and shows consistent effort and results on defense can promote similar effort among at least some of his teammates. If the Wiz had a solid defensive stopper in the starting lineup (or at least in the regular rotation) they might benefit greatly from that example. Maybe Jordan lucked out in getting some defenders, and Iguodala will inspire them to give effort on both ends.

[dlts20]

Im looking forward to this game because I want to see how MM does starting at the 2 and will both he & Gil still be aggressive after sitting out. The other reason why I want to see this game alot is because Flip just said that he will probably start Oberto tomorrow so that Dray can get use to coming off the bench. I really like that for 2 reasons. 1 is that it must mean that they think AJ is doing really good and should be back soon or otherwise he wouldnt worry about Blatche being use to the bench. The 2nd reason why I want to see it is because I want to see how our starting group would be with the 2 good defenders in Wood & Oberto & the 3 scorers in MM, CB, and Gil. I want to know if we can play very good D in that unit while still being able to score. I also like it because Im a little worried that Gil may come out passive again like he did at the start of the Preseason after sitting out those 2 games but with this lineup it will force him to be aggressive which is what we need to beat Dallas & Atlanta on the road

[barelyawake]

Eddie said recently that the Sixers were not very far along in mastering the Princeton, and so they'd be using a lot more "standard NBA sets" until they got up to speed with the Princeton. As to D, Philly has better defensive personnel than we do, no? The have a legit perimeter stud in Iguodola, and while neither Brand nor Dalembert are better than Haywood, the two of them in combination are better than Haywood and Jamison. Right? I dunno.

Iguodala plays perimeter defense unlike anyone on the Wizards; only DS and Dom (and on very rare occasions, Caron) even try for similar results. I think even having one talented player who gets consistent PT and shows consistent effort and results on defense can promote similar effort among at least some of his teammates. If the Wiz had a solid defensive stopper in the starting lineup (or at least in the regular rotation) they might benefit greatly from that example. Maybe Jordan lucked out in getting some defenders, and Iguodala will inspire them to give effort on both ends.

File this post under reasons why I want Dom to start.

[DCZards]

Eddie said recently that the Sixers were not very far along in mastering the Princeton, and so they'd be using a lot more "standard NBA sets" until they got up to speed with the Princeton. As to D, Philly has better defensive personnel than we do, no? The have a legit perimeter stud in Iguodola, and while neither Brand nor Dalembert are better than Haywood, the two of them in combination are better than Haywood and Jamison. Right? I dunno.

Iguodala plays perimeter defense unlike anyone on the Wizards; only DS and Dom (and on very rare occasions, Caron) even try for similar results. I think even having one talented player who gets consistent PT and shows consistent effort and results on defense can promote similar effort among at least some of his teammates. If the Wiz had a solid defensive stopper in the starting lineup (or at least in the regular rotation) they might benefit greatly from that example. Maybe Jordan lucked out in getting some defenders, and Iguodala will inspire them to give effort on both ends.

File this post under reasons why I want Dom to start.

Dom or DS? Seems to me that this makes the case more for starting DeShawn than Dom. DeShawn has more SG skills than Dom, imo, and he has the ability to knock down the open 3...something that Dom has not shown he can do.

Unless you're talking about starting Dom at the SF, and moving CB to SG...which I don't think is a good idea.

[WizarDynasty]

Nick Young is still hands down our best perimeter defender. He has tons of mental lapses but he is very good at fighting through screens and contesting shots. You get the feeling watching him that he doesn't want to play D but when he puts his mind to it, he is a shut down perimeter defender at the two spot that doesn't hurt on you offense like McGuire.. He has excellent lateral quickness and very long arms..the same attributes that allow him to get off his jumpshot on offense. He doesn't have the bulk to fight for post position but he is three times better than foye at guarding sg's. foye is a nightmare matchup trying to guard 6'6 shooting guards.

[montestewart]

Nick Young is still hands down our best perimeter defender. He has tons of mental lapses but he is very good at fighting through screens and contesting shots. You get the feeling watching him that he doesn't want to play D but when he puts his mind to it, he is a shut down perimeter defender at the two spot that doesn't hurt on you offense like McGuire.. He has excellent lateral quickness and very long arms..the same attributes that allow him to get off his jumpshot on offense. He doesn't have the bulk to fight for post position but he is three times better than foye at guarding sg's. foye is a nightmare matchup trying to guard 6'6 shooting guards.

Based on ability and potential, he may be the best, but I'd have to see consistent results to put him over DS and McGuire. Given the offensive weapons this team has, Young needs to either become a more consistent and dangerous scorer or improve other parts of his game. Much of the time, his potential for added offense doesn't offset the defense that DS or Dom might bring. I imagine if he ever gets there defensively, it will be part of an across the board maturation (better off the ball movement, passing, etc.). That may happen this year, but it may need to take place somewhere else, at which time I'll say, "Damn. We shouldn't have traded him."

[barelyawake]

Dom or DS? Seems to me that this makes the case more for starting DeShawn than Dom. DeShawn has more SG skills than Dom, imo, and he has the ability to knock down the open 3...something that Dom has not shown he can do.

Unless you're talking about starting Dom at the SF, and moving CB to SG...which I don't think is a good idea.

It doesn't matter who you call the SG or SF. On D, you put Dom on the best player out of the two positions. On O, Dom is a distributor and rebounder. Again, it's much like what we had with Jeffires (though Dom is going to panout much better than Jeffires). As long as Dom can post and hit the 15 footer; distribute; and defend, he'll be much better as our starter. He can board and incite fastbreaks. You then have tons of firepower off the bench. I also like Doc's idea of Oberto starting, as long as Dom gets plenty of PT.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Nick Young is still hands down our best perimeter defender.

Simply unjustifiable. Did you see Dom shut down Kapono after he got hot the other night? Now, granted, Kapono isn't a threat to drive... but Dom's off the ball defense... hawking, hounding, making every touch hard... was exactly what you need to do to a shooter who is heating up. I haven't seen that much around here the last few years.