Utah Jazz @ Washington Wizards 11/12/08 Begin the win streak

[The Consiglieri]

Does anybody know why McGee dropped so low in the draft? I never saw McGee play before the summer league, but I would have thought a super athletic 7 footer with a nice touch around the basket and apparently a good work ethic would have at least gone in the top 10. What was it that the scouts didn't see in this kid, because it appears as the kid has all the raw ingredients to be a star. Right now, I see the only thing that is holding the kid back is just learning the fine details of the game.

From what I can recall word was "raw as hell", "inconsistent", "some worries about attitude and productivity", "not enough experience because he got few minutes while Fazekas was there". I feel negligent because I actually have been living in the Carson City/Lake Tahoe area since '04 and could have seen him play plenty but generally I didnt watch UNR games much since I'm a Cal alum and tend to ignore college hoops until the tournament. What I do remember is that generally the UNR fans who posted after the draft in here suggested that he has plenty raw potential but that he hadnt really ever converted that potential to anything special.

My guess is that he would have been a top 10 pick in '09 if he had stayed in school this year, and gotten in a second year as a starter. We should be ecstatic, the past two drafts we've basically gotten players who normally would have been selected far, far earlier if the '07 draft was normal rather than deep, and if anyone knew what McGee was capable of. We've definitely been due, over the years since I've been paying attention (since '86), the only draftees I was ever high on & thought were steals were Juwon Howard in '94, and Rip Hamilton in '99, and I nearly sht myself w/rage that we didnt go after Pierce somehow and someway when he dropped like a rock in '98, and after Caron Butler instead of settling for the "jack of all trades master of none" Jared Jeffries. It's about time we finally had some luck considering the busts and mediocrities over the years and the horror show reality that throughout the entirety of our nearly 2 decade long stay in the Lottery we never improved our position and nearly always actually dipped in slotting (other than the MJ Kwame disaster of '01). Feels good to finally land some studs/building blocks.

[hands11]

Hands, I actually think that thinking he's a SF is what has stunted Blatche's development.

This is what me, nate, CCJ, and many others have been saying for years. Just because Blatche can put the ball behind his back when he dribbles doesn't mean he needs to play small forward. It's been obvious from the start that he's a natural 4 who can sometimes be a small ball 5. Why anyone continues to fantasize about anything different is beyond me.

I have also been saying that for years, so we don't disagree. Blatche is a 4. Him not playing primarily as a 4 with a solid 5 on the floor is a key factor in his development. And to that, him not practicing more at the 4 is the next thing that is lacking which is holding him back. He may be a 5 one day in the future or not, but it's not his position today, tomorrow or the next many years. He is 4.

When I listed line up with him at 3, that is part time possible future stuff. I want him to be a 4 right now. As for what part of his game he contributes, I don't limit him there. It depends on who is hot and what is going on in the game. Sure he should focus on the fundamentals. All players should. But I don't mind him trying his expanded skills as long he does it at appropriate situation in the game.
And these things would work best if they were practiced. So lets look at practice.

Some one mentioned that having McGee to practice against is the best thing for Blatche. While our young center can help challenge his offense, since a PF has to score into the post where there is a center, I think AB would primarily be practicing on the same team as McGee. That would put him covering and trying to score on AJ and DSong mostly. I believe in the past he would primarily practice as an against centers.

Right now I image the squads are

ET, AJ, CB, DS, AD
vs
McGee, AB, ?, NY, Dixon

So AB would be practicing against AJ, DSong, or ET when AB is playing center.

Anyone that knows, can you confirm some practice line ups. What are primary and secondary.

I would image on offense he would blow by AJ and get hacked by DSong. Against ET when AB is practicing as a center, I'm sure he would trying to dribble and dance around him instead of taking on his muscle. Sound familiar ?

One defense, he would get good practice trying to cover AJs unorthodox moves and he would probably try to block everything DSong put up while playing lazy D and giving ground. Him covering ET at center would be a waste of practice in my book. ET isnt that great a center and besides, AB won't be playing center as a primary position so that kind of practice isn't and hasn't helped him develop. Keep in mind, he has been primarily practicing as a center since he got here. This is a big reason he hasn't filled his shoes as well as we would like.

When I look at all that, I can see more clearly where is game stands.

Then if McGee get moved to starting center, then he would get more reps against him but not directly.

McGee, AJ, CB, DS, AD
vs
ET, AB, ?, NY, Dixon

Then once Haywood returns, he would be back on the same side as McGee.

Haywood, AJ, CB, DS, AD
vs
McGee, AB, ?, NY, Dixon

But the best things for AB in any of this situations is that he is finally getting a lot more minutes practicing at PF. Even if it is against an unorthodox player like AJ. So he will sharpen his skills at blowing by AJ ( every PFs dream ) only he will run into Haywood or McGee at the second level which will be good practice.

But once we move some pieces. i.e. Etan and AD, hopefully we get another PF for him to go against.

AB should get a lot better this year since he is getting more reps at PF. That is the main key beyond the addition of McGee to practice against.

[hands11]

I chuckled a bit in reading the Mike Wise article in the WaPo today about Javale Mcgee. He was talking about the prospect of him starting, but of course Etan has priority at this point. The line that made me laugh was (not verbatim) something to the effect of "If Etan can give Eddie Jordan 5-6 good minutes as a starter...."

My goodness LOL...In thinking about it, the energy that McGee brings with the 2nd unit is EXACTLY what we need. He is a true game-changer, in that people are going to have to start to think twice about coming into the lane and worry about getting their shot blocked or altered. Obviously Etan has the muscle, but that's about it. Like it has been said before, it's going to be downright scary to see McGee's development once he figures out what the hell he is supposed to do. This kid is a freak of an athlete, and we have a potential stud here in DC.

This season may be a wash....however, the future MAY be something to get excited over. Todd's injury could have been a blessing in disguise. Had he not gone down, McGee might have been in the NBDL. You never want to see one of your guys get hurt, but in this case I truly belive things would have been drastically different had Todd been healthy.

EJ would probably turned him into Kwame. Seems for 2 years in a row an injury at center has allowed a center to get minutes which translated into, wow, look what we have.

If not for injury, you would have never known.

[dobrojim]

the thing about calling AB a 4 is that while that would be his defensive
matchup, remember that offensively, EJ likes to just have Gs and Fs
without the pigeonholing to PG/SG, SF/PFs.
So calling AB a 4 means offensively, he's going to be expected to have 3 skills.

but to contradict my own point above, I think AB is a 4/5. He can play either
or to the frustration of many, neither

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

McGee and Blatche both playing well in the same game is very encouraging.

EJ being flexible enough to go BIG with AJ at the 3 and Caron at the 2 is mind boggling to me.

As soon as I saw this lineup, I thought of you and how you had to be smiling.
Against UT, it worked darn well.

That made me very happy, jim.

I never said move them their permanently. Just play AJ at SF and Caron at SG some of the time.

Flexibility is a good thing, man.

[RickRoll_inDC]

A lineup I almost loved in the 3rd quarter:

McGee
Blatche
Jamison
Butler
Stevenson

replace Stevenson with Dixon and that's an amazing lineup. Once Gil gets back, put him in Dixon's spot, and this SHOULD be the starting lineup, but it won't be.

I don't understand why our 5 best players aren't the 5 that start.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The defensive schemes late in the 4th were befuddling. Stevenson was clearly allowing Deron Williams to penetrate at will. He basically positioned himself sideways, facing the sideline, essentially daring Williams to go left and allowing him to penetrate all the way into the lane before applying pressure. I have to think that this was a strategic move designed to exploit some flaw in Williams' game - maybe his gimpy ankle makes going left difficult. Giving him unimpeded access to so much of the court struck me as a risky strategy given Williams' court vision and ability to distribute. but, hey, it worked.

I don't exactly remember the lineups we used in the 4th, but I'm guessing that part of this strategy was due to JaVale being in the game. He's an awfully big deterrent to penetrating in the lane.

I don't remember the exact lineups but I think I remember this much:
4thQ - no Etan, no Songaila, no AD

To quote Emeril, "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!"