Preseason game thread Wizards @ Knicks

[DCZards]

If your best shooter has a hot hand you ride it until it's no longer hot. You don't ask him to pass it to a 30% 3pt shooter so that that player can feel more involved.

[doclinkin]

This is fun. Deni and Coulibaly love playing defense

Yeah its satisfying to know we have multiple 'coolers' to drop on any opponent that is starting to heat up. Seems like you can patch together a number of line-ups that cover up for a deficient defender like Poole, or at least slow down opposing attackers enough for the next guy to adjust.

The glaring hole is at center, but it was good to see 2nd line defenders like Muscala and Gallo at least scrapping hard trying to make up for their deficiencies.

Grr. I want Izan Almansa and Zach Edey in this draft. Smarts and size in the front court, with long switchable defenders outside. Suddenly the weak spot in the armor is covered by a tower shield.

[doclinkin]

Deni, you do not shoot well enough to be demanding the ball

I'm not sure that's exactly what is happening. The fact is, Deni wasn't really open and there's no reason for Deni to think he was wide open. DiVincenzo was in position and able to rotate over to Deni is the swing pass was made.

I think both perspectives are valid here. On the one hand, Poole was on fire and you want the hot hand to shoot. On the other, any of us who have played ball have played on a team with a chucker who never allows others to get into the flow. Add in that Deni is a former soccer player where quick and continual ball movement is a central part of any attack - it allows others to move forward into better attacking positions, it forces the defense to shift etc - and you can understand his frustration.

I played both soccer and bball at reasonably high levels and I always shot and scored better on bball teams that moved the ball a bit on every possession. Frankly, I also defended harder when I was involved possession by possession on O.

This rings true. However, in the NBA stars playing like stars significantly benefit the team by bending defenses around them and forcing teams to overweight that side of the floor. There is a reason Deni looked wide open. Poole was hitting everything, no matter what the defense did. A player who can both draw the defense and still make the shot will elevate the play of everyone else. You can live with one player who calls his own number and scores in volume.

The rest of the team was playing excellent team ball around him, many possessions where every player made the right adjustment in movement off ball or quick decisions on the pass. That part will keep us in games that we might otherwise be overmatched in. I watched the NY feed and they remarked on it throughout the game, especially how quick Jones was to instantly make the smart pass as soon as the ball touched his fingertips. No hesitation. I liked Deni in place of Kuzma for a similar reason, he knows the right play even when he is not the guy to take the shot. He will call for the ball as if its his open shot but almost always then swing it to the cutter or the better shooter in the corner.

That was a beautiful move by JP on this play though. And he made the shot. He was stopped, with a nifty quickdribble he made just enough room to sink it. Fun to watch.

[badinage]

Yep Poole is a younger, cheaper Beal. He will probably put up better stats than Beal this season too.

Comes without baggage.

Uh...lol. I was with you until you dropped this one.

Ha, yeah. Should have been clearer: he’s got baggage — but it’s different baggage.

His is personal baggage, whereas Beal’s was ours and the city’s.

Unlike Beal, he doesn’t carry the burden of our expectations; we haven’t learned to dislike him for all that he isn’t and can’t be; we haven’t come to associate him with a choking contract and failed promises.

And, let’s hope, he won’t burn the bridge when he leaves and make us (or many of us) despise him for his avarice and cunning on the way out.

[payitforward]

Unfair to Beal.

What "avarice & cunning?"
There was no competitor for his services. No one to outbid. All Tommy had to do was say, "no."

[badinage]

Unfair to Beal.

What "avarice & cunning?"
There was no competitor for his services. No one to outbid. All Tommy had to do was say, "no."

His exit.

He would accept a trade to one team only. Leaving the team — that raised him, developed him, nurtured him, and made him the face of the franchise — with no leverage in a trade and no options to pursue.

Now, you could say: well, he’s just acting on the NTC that TS/TL stupidly gave him.

But he didn’t have to act in a letter of the law way. He could have acted in a spirit of the law way — one that left him AND the franchise in excellent shape.

The fact we managed to get something decent out of a horrible circumstance — that’s immaterial. Because it was still horrible.

And it didn’t have to be.

Yes, this is a business, and in that sense BB acted purely as a businessman would. And does.

But look at how the team treated him for ten years. Ten years. They treated him like a prince. Then made him the king. When, by any measure, he didn’t deserve it. They invested in him and showered him with love and adulation. They put him forth, to the city, as an example of their values.

And in the end, he left them — and I’m trying not to engage in provocation — he left them in a bad place.

I could’ve said: he effed them.

But he made — as they say — a business decision.

No, the ones he effed, were us. I don’t care about his personal aspirations. Or the money that he believes is his due. What rankles is that he exited in such a crass and brutalizing way, that he made certain to get his.

The fan letter he wrote was telling. It was from the heart, and sounded (from its lack of polish) genuine, like the words of a ballplayer. I appreciated the way he thanked people in the organization. That was great. And then — the fatal flaw; he couldn’t resist; had to get that in there. The scoring record he so badly, badly wants. Dangling the prospect of a return one day.

No, thank you, Brad. I’m happy that record still belongs to Elvin Hayes, who delivered a title. Who was petulant, too, at times, but who won, and won often. And whose departure didn’t leave so many of us feeling empty and betrayed.

[DCZards]

Beal is a decent, high-character human being who represented this city and franchise well. He’s also a very good NBA player.

I believe BB desperately and sincerely wanted to stay in DC and win a title in a Zards uni. It didn’t happen.

I’m hoping he wins a championship with the Suns.

[queridiculo]

I played both soccer and bball at reasonably high levels and I always shot and scored better on bball teams that moved the ball a bit on every possession. Frankly, I also defended harder when I was involved possession by possession on O.

I played organized football (no, it's not soccer) from since I was able to walk and started playing a ton of hoops in my teens including some division II juco basketball when I lived in the states.

I've been everything from the best player on my team, to a scrub or just mid, and I just can't put myself in Avdija's shoes here.

I guess it's a mindset thing.

When I played nothing drove me madder than somebody moping around feeling sorry for themselves because they didn't get the ball, the sub, the minutes or the position they'd prefer.

Don't know what it is, but reactions like this just make my blood boil.

What made it worse to me, the dropped head and walk back on defense after he saw the shot go down

[badinage]

You tell a guy: move the ball, fight for the team, make the right play, respect the game, play the right way — you know, all the horseshxt cliches we hear spouted over and over in jock culture. But, to these guys, they mean something.

What’s a guy supposed to do when he does all of the above, but he sees a teammate not doing it? And not only not doing it, but defiantly, willfully not doing it?

Whether that teammate is on fire is not the point. Because there’ll come a time — the next game, perhaps — when he won’t be on fire. JP’s game prior was, what, 3-11?

So, as a player do you move the ball, fight for the team, make the right play, respect the game, play the right way ALL THE TIME or don’t you? Or do you suspend all of that when a guy is on fire? Or do the horseshxt jock cliches only apply to some players and not all? Are all of them equal, but some more equal than others?

[queridiculo]

You tell a guy: move the ball, fight for the team, make the right play, respect the game, play the right way — you know, all the horseshxt cliches we hear spouted over and over in jock culture. But, to these guys, they mean something.

What’s a guy supposed to do when he does all of the above, but he sees a teammate not doing it? And not only not doing it, but defiantly, willfully not doing it?

Whether that teammate is on fire is not the point. Because there’ll come a time — the next game, perhaps — when he won’t be on fire. JP’s game prior was, what, 3-11?

So, as a player do you move the ball, fight for the team, make the right play, respect the game, play the right way ALL THE TIME or don’t you? Or do you suspend all of that when a guy is on fire? Or do the horseshxt jock cliches only apply to some players and not all? Are all of them equal, but some more equal than others?

Is this satire?



Oh boy, but that almost entirely reads like how I expect things to rattle around in Avdija's head.

Being gassed up by the organization as the second coming of Doncic probably didn't help.

[2Fluffy4U]

I guess you also believe winning NBA title = world champions..
World champions of what?
Guess thats just a reflection upon different current views: team, fundementals, joint effort, everybody eat (Jokic style) VS personal talent, superstar teams, players getting hot, franchise players (Lebron/PHX style)..
I like it - the NBA becomes more versatile and different approches to the game are being tested..

[DCZards]

So, as a player do you move the ball, fight for the team, make the right play, respect the game, play the right way ALL THE TIME or don’t you? Or do you suspend all of that when a guy is on fire?

I believe your intent should be to “play the right way all the time.”

But I also believe that at times it is necessary and appropriate to suspend playing a certain way in order to take advantage of something like a teammate who is on a serious roll.

Being flexible is important.

[nate33]

I finally got a chance to watch the game. A few observations:

- I was impressed with Poole's ability to get to the free throw line. And it wasn't an accident. The guy is savvy. In the first quarter, he flopped on an off-ball Knicks' screen because he knew the Wizards were in the bonus. He is obviously going to shoot us out of some games that we should win, and he will shoot us into some games that we should lose; but if he can keep that FT rate up, it will improve his consistency considerably. He also looks bigger and stronger than last year. If that helps him on defense, it would be great.

- The Knicks are a tough matchup for our bigs. Mitchell Robinson is a bigger, stronger version of Gafford and just manhandled him all night, and Hartenstein is a load too. The Wizards will probably give up a lot of offensive boards all season, but the Knicks are going to be a particular problem.

- Deni is a bit undersized to guard a burly 4 like Randle, but Deni adapted as the game wore on. Randle outmuscled him early on, but by the 2nd quarter Deni had him figured out Randle's bully ball and did a better job of holding position. I thought Deni looked pretty good after having a little first-game jitters in the first 5 minutes.

- I thought the starting 5, sans Kuzma, was a pretty intriguing lineup that could work against most teams (though less so against the burly Knicks). It's basically Jordan Poole carrying the offense, while surrounding him with 4 of our best defenders (Gafford, Deni, Coulibaly and Jones).

- There were one or two possessions when Coulibaly guarded Brunson and I thought he did a great job. I hope to see them move Coulibaly onto the point guard more often. I guess it's tough because then Jones needs to guard a much bigger player. Maybe when Kuzma plays, they can go with a lineup of Poole, Coulibaly, Deni, Kuz and Gafford and really smother guys with defense and length while letting Poole just go 1 on 5 on offense.

- Patrick Baldwin was unbelievably awful. He had a stretch there in the 3rd quarter where he bricked three wide-open 3's in a row in utterly momentum-killing fashion. And then on defense he just got systematically destroyed by Randle on-ball, and was useless in rotation when off ball.

- Gallinari can barely move his feet on defense. He is skilled and savvy on offense, and has pretty good hands defensively, but he is going to be a massive liability defending out on the perimeter.

- Muscala is a really good backup center. He's not a shot blocker, but he has good positioning in help defense and is strong enough to hold his own. On offense, he sets good screens. Obviously, the first half shooting was awesome, but he is helpful even if those shots aren't falling. There are going to be nights when he gets more minutes than Gafford.

[badinage]

So, as a player do you move the ball, fight for the team, make the right play, respect the game, play the right way ALL THE TIME or don’t you? Or do you suspend all of that when a guy is on fire?

I believe your intent should be to “play the right way all the time.”

But I also believe that at times it is necessary and appropriate to suspend playing a certain way in order to take advantage of something like a teammate who is on a serious roll.

Being flexible is important.

“Play the game the right way … except when someone’s hot.”

But then — what defines hot? Super-hot only, like Poole the other night? Moderately hot? What if Deni hits three in a row —does he have license then to take the offense out of its actions and jack up the next three?

This is the kind of thing that can kill a team.

Doesn’t matter this year — the point is to kill the team. (Within reason, of course.) But it’s the kind of double-standard shxt that players hate — particularly the players who are not stars; the players, in other words, who make up 87% of the league.

We’ve seen preferential treatment here for a long time. For a diminished Jordan. Then for Wall. Then for Beal when Wall was gone. Players chafed. It only works for super-duper stars, and not always even then.

[payitforward]

Unfair to Beal.

What "avarice & cunning?"
There was no competitor for his services. No one to outbid. All Tommy had to do was say, "no."

His exit.

He would accept a trade to one team only. Leaving the team — that raised him, developed him, nurtured him, and made him the face of the franchise — with no leverage in a trade and no options to pursue.

Now, you could say: well, he’s just acting on the NTC that TS/TL stupidly gave him.

But he didn’t have to act in a letter of the law way. He could have acted in a spirit of the law way — one that left him AND the franchise in excellent shape.

The fact we managed to get something decent out of a horrible circumstance — that’s immaterial. Because it was still horrible.

And it didn’t have to be.

Yes, this is a business, and in that sense BB acted purely as a businessman would. And does.

But look at how the team treated him for ten years. Ten years. They treated him like a prince. Then made him the king. When, by any measure, he didn’t deserve it. They invested in him and showered him with love and adulation. They put him forth, to the city, as an example of their values.

And in the end, he left them — and I’m trying not to engage in provocation — he left them in a bad place.

I could’ve said: he effed them.

But he made — as they say — a business decision.

No, the ones he effed, were us. I don’t care about his personal aspirations. Or the money that he believes is his due. What rankles is that he exited in such a crass and brutalizing way, that he made certain to get his.

The fan letter he wrote was telling. It was from the heart, and sounded (from its lack of polish) genuine, like the words of a ballplayer. I appreciated the way he thanked people in the organization. That was great. And then — the fatal flaw; he couldn’t resist; had to get that in there. The scoring record he so badly, badly wants. Dangling the prospect of a return one day.

No, thank you, Brad. I’m happy that record still belongs to Elvin Hayes, who delivered a title. Who was petulant, too, at times, but who won, and won often. And whose departure didn’t leave so many of us feeling empty and betrayed.

I disagree with this pretty much entirely, badinage -- which doesn't make me right and/or you wrong. But it does highlight a significant fact: for you, Beal's departure came with a high emotional profile. For me... not at all.

Beal left, b/c he wanted a chance at a title. I have no difficulty at all in understanding his desire -- or, for that matter, his frustration with an incompetent franchise that for a dozen years managed to step on its own toes over & over while somehow managing to put its foot in its mouth at the same time!

I save my emotional responses for our Front Office. It's not on Brad that we didn't win a title while he was here (didn't get anywhere close to winning a title -- not in that picture even once, not on the same continent as that!). I don't for a moment blame him for wanting to leave. Or for having exacted a high price to stay, for that matter.

As for what we got for Brad, what makes you think we could have gotten more? Or that any team but Phoenix showed any real interest?

For that matter, TBH, I think we did well in the trade. It was Brad & the #57 pick in the '23 draft (TJ-D) for Poole, Rollins, Baldwin, Shamet, 4 future first-round pick swaps & 6 future second-round picks. That's a lot.

Brad's 30. He's entering his 12th season. He's played over 24,000 NBA minutes. Seems pretty clear that he's in the declining part of his career. Happens to everyone.

Nor do I think that Phoenix made themselves a title contender by adding Bradley Beal. We'll have to see whether I'm right about that.