Last second game thread Wizzles vs Grizzles 8PM Friday 2/1

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I love how on a night when John hit three Js, its still about his J. Lets ignore the fact that Randy is trying to play mid 90's Knicks basketball. Néne, Okafor, and Seraphin scored 32 pts on 33 shots. The entire offense is running through them. There's no weak side movement and the ball is stopping in the post...but let's keep blaming John.I'm sure any competent coach would make a 30 yr old center who can't jump or run the focal point of the rebuilding effort. Makes all the sense in the world. It's almost comical too see all the bodies on D and from our front court who are clogging things up. It's like bumper cars in the post

I can only hope this is part of an effort to showcase Néne for a trade...although what team would want him based on what they've seen??

jivelikenice, I admit that is on the coach.

Nene's contract, his status as the team leader, and the fact that Nene has at times looked fantastic are reasons Wittman might be running through Nene. Okafor has shown signs of life. Seraphin did score double doubles nightly, and pretty efficiently last season. But none of that absolves Wittman from what is not working right now.

I agree that this team can't win grinding it out, 90s Knick style.

What should Wittman do, jivelikenice?

[jivelikenice]

I would do what Nate suggested. I would start Wall, Beal, Webster, Okafor...the 4 is an issue. I know this sounds crazy, but I'd think about starting Jan. He stinks, but he does run the floor, hes willing to pass, and he moves without the ball....I think Nate suggested Seraphin, and that could be an option, but his passing and off ball movement is horrible and he just loves his own shot too much. Néne should come in off the bench to anchor the second unit. Give him 10 minutes a half where the offense runs through him. With him going against backup bigs, he might actually get some calls. Minimize the time he shares the floor with Wall and Beal, because they're basically being wasted out there with him.

I'd also give Singleton another shot at the 4. He showed some promise at first before regressing. To that point, no matter how badly Singleton played, there's no way he's earned being in the doghouse to the extent he is now. It's ridiculous.

[tontoz]

There is no offensive style that would work on a team full of guys who can't shoot.

[jivelikenice]

What Wittman is doing is similar to what a lot do D league coaches got accuses of early on. Instead of developing young players, they relied on vets to boost their Win/loss record thinking this was their shot. Randy seems to have fallen under the same trap.

[tontoz]

What Wittman is doing is similar to what a lot do D league coaches got accuses of early on. Instead of developing young players, they relied on vets to boost their Win/loss record thinking this was their shot. Randy seems to have fallen under the same trap.

So you think he is going to sit Okariza/Nene even though the team is paying them huge money? EG put this team in win now mode by trading for Nene/Okariza. The quickest way for Randy to get fired is to bench them in favor of young guys who suck.

[jivelikenice]

There is no offensive style that would work on a team full of guys who can't shoot.

Wall hit 3 of his 5 Js last night...they didnt even leave him open on those attempts so its not as though they packed it in and dared him to shoot. The problem is behind Bayless or Conley was Allen ready to cheat, and Gasol and Randolph in the lane. That's what happens when Temple is your starting 2 and your big a are standing in the way. Wall could have hit all 5 attempts and the end results would have been the same...another L. We're not going to win consistently scoring in the 70s and low 80s. Our D is ok, but benefits by how slow we play. We're skewing the stats by slowing the game down to crawl, then have to read about how much better they are on D.

[jivelikenice]

What Wittman is doing is similar to what a lot do D league coaches got accuses of early on. Instead of developing young players, they relied on vets to boost their Win/loss record thinking this was their shot. Randy seems to have fallen under the same trap.

So you think he is going to sit Okariza/Nene even though the team is paying them huge money? EG put this team in win now mode by trading for Nene/Okariza. The quickest way for Randy to get fired is to bench them in favor of young guys who suck.

The quickest way for him to get fired is lose a few more games with the score in the 70s. If he found a way to maximize what he was getting out of that salary, without them getting in Wall and Beal's way, Randy might actually earn respect.

[tontoz]

There is no offensive style that would work on a team full of guys who can't shoot.

Wall hit 3 of his 5 Js last night...they didnt even leave him open on those attempts so its not as though they packed it in and dared him to shoot. The problem is behind Bayless or Conley was Allen ready to cheat, and Gasol and Randolph in the lane. That's what happens when Temple is your starting 2 and your big a are standing in the way. Wall could have hit all 5 attempts and the end results would have been the same...another L. We're not going to win consistently scoring in the 70s and low 80s. Our D is ok, but benefits by how slow we play. We're skewing the stats by slowing the game down to crawl, then have to read about how much better they are on D.

That is just ridiculous. Defensive efficiency is not effected by pace of play. It is points allowed per 100 possessions.

[jivelikenice]

You play slow, teams play out of rhythm or out of character. They don't play to their peak offensive efficiency, but they're still comfortably in control of games against us.

How come in all these close games where we play good D, do teams have no issue scoring when it matters? They can get what shot they want when they want it in the last few minutes....it's happened time and time again.

[tontoz]

You play slow, teams play out of rhythm or out of character. They don't play to their peak offensive efficiency, but they're still comfortably in control of games against us.

How come in all these close games where we play good D, do teams have no issue scoring when it matters? They can get what shot they want when they want it in the last few minutes....it's happened time and time again.

The Wizards are 14th in the league in pace of play yet you think the Wizards slow pace helps their defensive efficiency?

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamst ... paceFactor

Other teams are comfortably in control against us because the Wizards have the worst offense in the league by far. Their offensive execution late in games has been a joke. They turn it over or force up bad shots and the other team capitalizes. It is not complex.

[tontoz]

The wizards are allowing only 21.7 ppg in the 4th quarter, 3rd best in the league.

http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/op ... s-per-game

They score only 21.6 ppg in the 4th quarter, tied for last in the league.

http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/4t ... s-per-game

It is pretty clear what their problem is in the 4th quarters.

[jivelikenice]

It's laughable that you think a team can't get any shot they want, whenever they want it against us. And I think this new pace has been emphasized since the Utah game. I don't think we were playing this pace to this degree prior to that...if youre going to spit out stats, why don't you tell me what our pace of play looks like since then since that's what I've been saying all along. But keep telling yourself that if John knocked down a couple more jumpers a game with this same group. playing this same style, that that would make a difference...LOL

[jivelikenice]

Yes it is clear. We're playing a half court O that runs through Néne and we we can't get stops when we need it. The late game defensive breakdowns have been a constant in Wiz land and hasn't changed. How many times have we watched an ugly 4th quarter unfold, only to have the opponent stretch the lead out to 6 - 8 pts or so in the last couple of minutes? It happens all the time...that isn't a coincidence! The O is a problem too. But you like to put a lot on John while you feed me full season stats of our 4th quarter O even though John missed most of the season. What has been the 4th quarter offensive constant though? Néne and playing inside out....

[dandridge 10]

I think I am with tontoz on this one. Teams are not scoring at ease on us at the end of games. It just appears that way because of our inepitude on offense. We are getting stops on the defensive end during the end of games....we just can't capitalize on those stops because of the lack of offensive weapons or poor decisionmaking and turnovers.

The main problem with this team is not Wittman...its the talent deficiency, particularly with respect to ball players that can create their own shots or actually put the ball through the hoop when open. Take Beal out of the equation, who was actually shooting pretty well prior to his wrist injury, and our inepitude is just that much more amplified.

Taking Nene out and subsituting players like Ves and Singleton are not going to open the lane anymore for Wall. Opposing players guarding Ves or Singleton will simply sag off of them and dare them to take jump shots. At least Nene's presence requires someone to guard him. Substituing Seraphin for Nene also has shown it does not make any difference. If anything, ball movement stalls more because Seraphin does not pass the ball unless he has no other options. Moreover, we tend to give opposing teams multiple offensive rebounds when Seraphin is in the game.

Most of the people that criticize Wittman's rotations are the same people that recognize the talent deficiency on this team. As I have said all season, the talent deficiency, particularly on the offensive end, is the real problem on this team. That is the reason why I never bought in to the fact that this team was "turning it around." The lack of players that can create their own shots and make open shots, together with turnovers caused by players trying to do stuff they are not capable of doing, will continue to plague this team for the rest of the year.

Once again, changing rotations will simply be shuffling chairs on the titanic.

[jivelikenice]

Chicago- 50 first half pts, 36 second half points

Sacramento-57 first half points, 37 second half points

Philly- 28 first Q points, 56 the rest of the game

Memphis- 30 first Q points,46 the rest of the game

Wittman doesn't hold any responsibility? What track record of his is this based on?

[dandridge 10]

Yes it is clear. We're playing a half court O that runs through Néne and we we can't get stops when we need it. The late game defensive breakdowns have been a constant in Wiz land and hasn't changed. How many times have we watched an ugly 4th quarter unfold, only to have the opponent stretch the lead out to 6 - 8 pts or so in the last couple of minutes? It happens all the time...that isn't a coincidence! The O is a problem too. But you like to put a lot on John while you feed me full season stats of our 4th quarter O even though John missed most of the season. What has been the 4th quarter offensive constant though? Néne and playing inside out....

Jive, it seemed to me that the Wizards were trying to force the tempo last night. However, most of the times they pushed the ball up the court, they had a turnover or took either a bad shot or missed an open shot. I also think the Grizzlies did a great job of getting back on defense.

Its not as simple as saying that the Wizards should play a fast tempo game and not play halfcourt O. Sometimes, the other team has a say in what the tempo will be. If you are going to be a competent team in the NBA, you have to be able to play halfcourt sets. Unfortunately, the lack of offensive weapons on our team hinders our ability to do that.

[closg00]

I think I am with tontoz on this one. Teams are not scoring at ease on us at the end of games. It just appears that way because of our inepitude on offense. We are getting stops on the defensive end during the end of games....we just can't capitalize on those stops because of the lack of offensive weapons or poor decisionmaking and turnovers.

The main problem with this team is not Wittman...its the talent deficiency, particularly with respect to ball players that can create their own shots or actually put the ball through the hoop when open. Take Beal out of the equation, who was actually shooting pretty well prior to his wrist injury, and our inepitude is just that much more amplified.

Taking Nene out and subsituting players like Ves and Singleton are not going to open the lane anymore for Wall. Opposing players guarding Ves or Singleton will simply sag off of them and dare them to take jump shots. At least Nene's presence requires someone to guard him. Substituing Seraphin for Nene also has shown it does not make any difference. If anything, ball movement stalls more because Seraphin does not pass the ball unless he has no other options. Moreover, we tend to give opposing teams multiple offensive rebounds when Seraphin is in the game.

Most of the people that criticize Wittman's rotations are the same people that recognize the talent deficiency on this team. As I have said all season, the talent deficiency, particularly on the offensive end, is the real problem on this team. That is the reason why I never bought in to the fact that this team was "turning it around." The lack of players that can create their own shots and make open shots, together with turnovers caused by players trying to do stuff they are not capable of doing, will continue to plague this team for the rest of the year.

Once again, changing rotations will simply be shuffling chairs on the titanic.

YES and put me down for giving Ves SOME minutes at C. On-average, Randy still is not getting the best out of his horrible roster.

[dandridge 10]

Chicago- 50 first half pts, 36 second half points

Sacramento-57 first half points, 37 second half points

Philly- 28 first Q points, 56 the rest of the game

Memphis- 30 first Q points,46 the rest of the game

Wittman doesn't hold any responsibility? What track record of his is this based on?

I never said Wittman doesn't hold any responsibility. I said the real problem with this team is talent deficiency.

And, I have no idea what the point is that you are trying to make with the above stats.

[jivelikenice]

Our D is better, but I need to see them execute in late game situations before I say they're good or above average. We're inept on O, but we can't stop teams front getting the looks they want in the last two minutes IMO. This isn't a great offensive group, especially when either Beal or Wall are missing, but Wittman is not close to maximizing their potential or getting as much out of them as he could. Crawfords been an afterthought...what happened to him!? Is Wittman blameless there too?

[dandridge 10]

I think I am with tontoz on this one. Teams are not scoring at ease on us at the end of games. It just appears that way because of our inepitude on offense. We are getting stops on the defensive end during the end of games....we just can't capitalize on those stops because of the lack of offensive weapons or poor decisionmaking and turnovers.

The main problem with this team is not Wittman...its the talent deficiency, particularly with respect to ball players that can create their own shots or actually put the ball through the hoop when open. Take Beal out of the equation, who was actually shooting pretty well prior to his wrist injury, and our inepitude is just that much more amplified.

Taking Nene out and subsituting players like Ves and Singleton are not going to open the lane anymore for Wall. Opposing players guarding Ves or Singleton will simply sag off of them and dare them to take jump shots. At least Nene's presence requires someone to guard him. Substituing Seraphin for Nene also has shown it does not make any difference. If anything, ball movement stalls more because Seraphin does not pass the ball unless he has no other options. Moreover, we tend to give opposing teams multiple offensive rebounds when Seraphin is in the game.

Most of the people that criticize Wittman's rotations are the same people that recognize the talent deficiency on this team. As I have said all season, the talent deficiency, particularly on the offensive end, is the real problem on this team. That is the reason why I never bought in to the fact that this team was "turning it around." The lack of players that can create their own shots and make open shots, together with turnovers caused by players trying to do stuff they are not capable of doing, will continue to plague this team for the rest of the year.

Once again, changing rotations will simply be shuffling chairs on the titanic.

YES and put me down for giving Ves SOME minutes at C. On-average, Randy still is not getting the best out of his horrible roster.

Ves is going to help us on offense?