First you win, then you get good.
As we get healthy it's nice to see the squad playing as predicted and hoped for back when a few of us were optimistic about the season and happy about the Okariza trade. Granted one should never underestimate the injury vortex round these here parts. The fact that Oke was recovering from a knee injury that forced him to miss the final ~40 games in the lock-out shortened season should have suggested he was going to take some time to round into game shape, at the very least. Good to see him recovering his strength. But player combo numbers show hints that the Oke-Nene pairing lives up to positive expectations.
http://www.82games.com/1213/1213WAS2.HTM[ ^^^ Actually the [blank]-Beal-Webster-Nene-[blank] combo posts some of our only winning match-ups. Makes sense since B-Real and 'Tell both evince a bit of outside shooting and Nene is a solid passer, we get good spacing. Tough to say if this carries over with the addition of John to the line-up since an additional outside shooter really gives more room to operate underneath for whichever low-post Big shares the court with them. Suggests we look at stretch-capable 4/5's to allow John to drive and kick. Retaining 'Tell might not be a bad idea, but we should look at what he does well and seek those qualities in any replacement/supplemental we add SF at that spot: 3pt shooting and athleticism]
I expect new trends to emerge as Wall gets more time on the floor. Uptempo players will score more (Vesely and Ariza emerging here). Still with key starters out or limited the Wiz have used the time to experiment with their bench players and see who fits. Granted the depth of same-level frontcourt players has meant one or the other has gotten pinched from playing time (Jan first, now Csing) it also has meant there is little difference between bench and starters. Not necessarily a good thing but at least the coaching staff has had a chance to get minutes to see who works better out there. A side benefit can be shown in the blow-out win over ORL earning ~20+ mins for 10 players.
I maintain that some part of the slow timetable for recovery for the starters has been a deliberate caution by the front office. Teddy has made clear his belief that top draft picks are the only way to win a championship is with lucky picks (in the right year) added to a base culture of defense and hard work. Veteran role players balance out your top talent. But with unlucky bounces in the lotto you add solid players like BReal but not the transcendent talent needed to contend at the highest level. Suck long and suck lucky is the only plan, the rest is about massaging expectations. Booker was recently quoted as saying he would have been back sooner but the caution of the training staff encouraged him to take his time and not play hurt but only come back at 100%. Wittman has made noises about having to be careful to limit players minutes (Nene, Wall) and not focus on immediate wins as the only goal. Teddy intimated early on that aside from top franchise star talent he wants players who will fight hard and be easy to root for even while they are not necessarily winning. If we have a built in injury excuse to suck into high talent, then take advantage of it.
The majority of next season ticket plans and renewals are sold at the end of the current season, and then in the offseason. If we finish up with a strong late push from a healthy squad (as usual) and then add another high draft pick that people are excited about, well now, you can always sell hope if not success. Okay there may be no clear cut franchise talent in the top lotto. Oh well, still gives you more bites at the apple.
One benefit (and possible cause) to sucking is that it costs little to give experience to key young players. It should speak clearly where we are as a team that our leading player in minutes per game is our 19 year old rookie 2-guard. Beal is playing over 30 minutes a game. And much like in college where he came on strong late he has needed the minutes in order to get comfortable and acclimated. Clearly he's learning what he can and cannot do at this level. Love to see his confidence grow as he figures it out.
Are we there yet? No son, but we'll stop at the next rest stop if you need to pee. But we can begin to see a few hints and intimations of what else we might like to add in order to improve. I do appreciate the defense we've been able to muster, should be interesting to see how and where we can add a bit of scoring to supplement that without losing the focus on it. In my draft hunting or eyeballing available players (trade or elsewhere) it makes me search for frontcourt players who both hit from outside and rebound on the interior (SF and C especially). I like the passing we get from many on our current roster (especially when shotjacker Crawford is out...) so I'll keep my eye out for players who can pass too, regardless of position they play.
Now if only we could get a Phoenix-style next level medical/training staff, and our own D-League affiliate, I'd be actually hopeful if not confident in our future.