Wiz 2010 General Season Tracker - Grading - How we doing ?

[dlts20]

Flip seems like he's still running that same crappy Offense again to me. He scrapped the 2 guard offense when we won the lottery. I still think its an Offense that leaves us forced in one on one sitauations with the shot clock running down and is mad easy to defend. I feel like it takes away our PG's penetration. His system is the only one in the league that does that because of the way that he has the bigs set the picks. They are too far away from the guard so its mad easy for the defender to stay in front of him. I just wish that he would start running tight picks & screens in that situation and then both Wall & Gil would look way better. They would put so much pressure on the D. The way he does it now, its mad hard to get to the rim, and when you do get there, the D can see it coming a mile away so its easier for them to defend it

[nate33]

Yi can't guard small forwards. We could use him there on rare occasions, but it absolutely should not be our starting lineup.

[Rafael122]

Apparently we're going to run more zone this year. Do we have the personnel to run a zone defense?

[doclinkin]

Apparently we're going to run more zone this year. Do we have the personnel to run a zone defense?

Yes. We're well positioned for a zone defense. Length is one of our best attributes. We can fill a ton of space. And Flip's zone is a pretty simple smart scheme. You guard a man until he leaves your area (then the next guy picks him up) cheat to the ball side to prevent interior passing, front the post for the same reason and to discourage the drive, and allow long 2pt jumpers but try to challenge everything else. You challenge interior passes but allow side to side passing.

On the interior it works best if you have a roaming shotblocking threat who can shadow the ball and keep in front of slashers, prevent those interior passes. McGee loves this role if we can only keep him inside the arc not chasing outside all the time. The one player who we don't yet have defined is the interior paint defender who needs to be a strong rebounding presence since he may be alone down there. Another player will need to step up as a rebounding small forward for the long bounces. But one of Booker or Thornton should be alright here and Gilbert has always been a good 2nd line rebounder at the point position.

[LyricalRico]

Apparently we're going to run more zone this year. Do we have the personnel to run a zone defense?

Yes. We're well positioned for a zone defense. Length is one of our best attributes. We can fill a ton of space. And Flip's zone is a pretty simple smart scheme.

Agreed. Our length and Flip's scheme are a nice match.

[hands11]

Flip seems like he's still running that same crappy Offense again to me. He scrapped the 2 guard offense when we won the lottery. I still think its an Offense that leaves us forced in one on one sitauations with the shot clock running down and is mad easy to defend. I feel like it takes away our PG's penetration. His system is the only one in the league that does that because of the way that he has the bigs set the picks. They are too far away from the guard so its mad easy for the defender to stay in front of him. I just wish that he would start running tight picks & screens in that situation and then both Wall & Gil would look way better. They would put so much pressure on the D. The way he does it now, its mad hard to get to the rim, and when you do get there, the D can see it coming a mile away so its easier for them to defend it

I read in a WP article that in practice, they are drilling basics like a college practice and part of the drills they do is pick and roll.

[hands11]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teams/schedule?team=was

Tickets for the pre-season

[KiNgSbOi]

Question about the game, is it going to be viewable anywhere online by a stream?

[dobrojim]

was at the open practice tonight -

some observations

guys on the bubble who helped themselves - Hudson and Martin. Hudson was particularly
hot from range. We should hang onto this guy. I like him. Martin showed much the same
of what he did last year. He might help being on the 15 man roster.

Ammo doesn't look like an NBA athlete to me nor did he play like one.
He has toothpick legs and missed most of his shots and showed no ability
to create anything for himself. Hard to believe he was drafted that high.
Him 3rd is WAY worse than KFB first among MJ boners.

Armstrong didn't look half bad. Marks didn't impress much at all.

Gil, Wall and N1 all looked pretty good. Gil limped off the court at one
point but returned later. Hiney look solid too. I think those 4 plus Hudson
form a reasonable backcourt roster.

McGee and Wall continued to show the good chemistry that we saw in the VSL.

7DD didn't play in the full scrimmage but looked OK in the half court
drills they were running.

Yi looked a little shaky at times, OK at others.

[dobrojim]

Yi can't guard small forwards. We could use him there on rare occasions, but it absolutely should not be our starting lineup.

totally agree with this from what I saw. There could always be exceptions
to this but I don't think playing Yi at SF will generally be in our interests.

speaking of SFs - AT looked pretty decent. He may not be dominating
but I think him, Booker and N1 can hold down the fort while Howard
rehabs. They probably won't win a lot of games for us but they hopefully
won't lose us a lot of games either.

[Wizardspride]

Gil, Wall and N1 all looked pretty good. Gil limped off the court at one
point but returned later.

Gil's fine. Just a sprained ankle.

[hands11]

was at the open practice tonight -

some observations

guys on the bubble who helped themselves - Hudson and Martin. Hudson was particularly
hot from range. We should hang onto this guy. I like him. Martin showed much the same
of what he did last year. He might help being on the 15 man roster.

Ammo doesn't look like an NBA athlete to me nor did he play like one.
He has toothpick legs and missed most of his shots and showed no ability
to create anything for himself. Hard to believe he was drafted that high.
Him 3rd is WAY worse than KFB first among MJ boners.

Armstrong didn't look half bad. Marks didn't impress much at all.

Gil, Wall and N1 all looked pretty good. Gil limped off the court at one
point but returned later. Hiney look solid too. I think those 4 plus Hudson
form a reasonable backcourt roster.

McGee and Wall continued to show the good chemistry that we saw in the VSL.

7DD didn't play in the full scrimmage but looked OK in the half court
drills they were running.

Yi looked a little shaky at times, OK at others.

Thanks for the update. So is every night open still ? We is the info on this if you know.

[hands11]

Yi can't guard small forwards. We could use him there on rare occasions, but it absolutely should not be our starting lineup.

totally agree with this from what I saw. There could always be exceptions
to this but I don't think playing Yi at SF will generally be in our interests.

speaking of SFs - AT looked pretty decent. He may not be dominating
but I think him, Booker and N1 can hold down the fort while Howard
rehabs. They probably won't win a lot of games for us but they hopefully
won't lose us a lot of games either.

How is Nick looking at SF ? I'm really interested in see if he can finally get over the hump this year.

[dlts20]

Can someone say "By far the best backcourt in the NBA"? That should be so fun to watch all year.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... ve-in.html


John Wall looks impressive in evening scrimmages

The block. That improbable, who-was-that, where-did-he-come-from block that John Wall had on Al Thornton was the lasting image from the Wizards' scrimmages on Wednesday night. Thornton got the ball at the basket and didn't have anyone in front of him as he elevated for a two-handed slam -- until Wall swooped in, seemingly from the rafters, to knock the ball from a stunned Thornton's hands.

By that time, Wall had already established himself as the best player on the floor -- at least during the 30 minutes of practice that reporters were allowed to witness -- as he ran the floor, and his teams, with determination and an uncompromising desire to win. Wall's speed was off the charts, but his motor didn't ever seem to let up as he attacked the basket, found the open man for dunks or jump shots, and sneaked inside for surprising blocked shots.

Kirk Hinrich, Hilton Armstrong and Lester Hudson also had impressive debuts. But the most interesting and dramatic part of the evening came when Wall's red team (featuring Hudson, JaVale McGee, Cartier Martin and Trevor Booker) played against Arenas's white team (featuring Armstrong, Adam Morrison, Kevin Palmer and Hamady Ndiaye). It was the current face of the team against its former face in a six-minute battle and the results were quite entertaining.

The red team took an early 6-0 lead, with Morrison hitting Ndiaye for an alley-oop dunk, Arenas blowing past Wall for an easy layup and Palmer knocking down a long jumper. But the red team quickly bounced back behind Wall, who pushed the ball up the court and got floored by Armstrong. As Wall hit the ground, some of the season ticket holders in attendance let out a collective gasp, but Wall hopped up and made both free throws.

Arenas responded with a nifty runner off the glass, but Wall scored or assisted on the next three baskets, finding Lester Hudson for a jumper, pulling up over the 6-foot-11 Armstrong and making an over-the-shoulder pass to Martin for a jumper that tied the score at 8. Wall would give his team a 14-10 lead when he was fouled making a left-handed layup and made a free throw. Hudson had a wicked crossover to push the lead to six, before Arenas made a solid, veteran move.

With Wall pressuring him above the three-point arc, Arenas extended his elbow to push back the startled youngster, then stepped back to drain a long shot over him to put the score at 16-13. Wall tried to counter Arenas but was called for an offensive foul after trying to create separation with Arenas for a shot.

But it didn't affect the final outcome. Wall's team scored the final seven points of the game to win easily, with Wall assisting Booker with a ridiculous, full-court bounce pass on the final basket. In the final scrimmage of the night, Wall led his next team (which featured Hinrich, Yi Jianlian, Nick Young, and McGee) to an easy 16-7 victory over another team with Thornton, Hudson, Morrison, Booker and Armstrong. Wall connected with McGee for two dunks and hit the final shot as time expired. But in addition to swatting Thornton's dunk, Wall also caught up to Hudson to reject his layup attempt.

"He can do a lot different things," Coach Flip Saunders said of Wall. "He can do a lot of things that can have an outcome on the game, offensively and defensively. I've been impressed with his ability to play hard, his leadership ability and there is no question that he's a gamer. He loves to get involved in game-type situations."

The Wizards had a brief scare late in the game with Arenas and Wall. Arenas was trying to get around Wall and collided with Armstrong. He stumbled back, then looked over after at the bench and shouted, "Nick, get up." Young replaced Arenas for the final minute of the game.

Arenas went back to the training room, but fortunately, it wasn't anything more than a tweaked left ankle. Arenas returned but didn't participate in the final layup drill, in which players had to run end-to-end, pass the ball, catch it, and score without the ball touching the floor. Arenas stood near the foul line to catch passes and feed the ball to the players. Wall blazed through the drill, finishing one pass with an emphatic dunk.

And, Arenas seemed to be okay a little later. He took jumpers from the top of the key, about 35 feet away, and easily made eight of his first 10 shots.

Also, Sean Marks developed a hamstring injury early in practice and had to sit out the scrimmages.

[dlts20]

Someone who was there last night said this

So I just got home after attending the Wizards practice tonight and here is some opinions on players I have gathered.

Gilbert Arenas – Looks exactly how I remember him. Seemed to be making alot of emphasis on taking the ball to the rim and attacking. He was giving John Wall tips left and right and Wall was definetly seeking Gil out. They stuck Gil with the Q list players tonight lol the only guy he was playing with that will make the team is Hilton Armstrong lol I didn’t like that they had him playing PG all night since he is supposed to be playing the 2 now. I thought Lester Hudson should have been on the same team as Gil so he could play the point. Gil shot about 20 shots from the center court logo and made about 75% of them at the end of practice.

Javale Mcgee – had a few nice oops from Wall of the 1 handed and 2 handed variety lol Mcgee was still taking bad shots and getting yelled at by flip.

Yi – has a really soft touch and a nice stroke. Went up for alot of rebounds but seems to buckle under the contact of the likes of Trevor Booker and such. Received a pass in transition, tried to make a dribble move while changing direction in an attempt to get to the bucket, lost control of the ball out of bounds and emphasized the downfall of him playing SF.

Trevor Booker – can’t go to his right. Made a crazy fade away 3 pointer off the backboard at the buzzer in a end of game drill lol Showed great tenacity going after rebounds and diving on the floor for loose balls. Seems to be the new “funny guy” on the team lol

John Wall – seems like he has been working on his mid range game(still needs more work) still makes a mistake for every highlight play he makes. Looks even faster in person than on TV. Seems to want to challenge Gil on both ends of the court whenever possible. I feel like he looks up to Gil and see’s it as an opportunity to use Gil as a measuring stick to wear his game is.

Kirk Hinrich – Hands down the BEST TEAM PLAYER on the team. Always helping to coach other players on the court and during down time. Seems to have a great up beat attitude. The best defender at the guard position we’ve had since I can remember. Knocked away or stole the numerous times on the dribble and pass from Wall and Arenas. Great drive and kick PG.

Andray Blatche – Totally happy and surprised to have seen him participate in a few drills, very unexpected. Looks like he will be ready at the start of season baring injury. Seems to be Gils best friend on the team these days.

Josh Howard – wasn’t just chillin’ on the stationary bike lol the trainers were adjusting the settings periodically and throwing the medicine ball back and forth with him too.

Al Thorton – seems to be winded and out of shape, very disapointing. When putting forth effort he looked very strong taking it to the hole but I deffinetly saw him getting yelled at to run back once or twice by the coaches.( in all fairness this was the second practice of the day, but if other players aren’t tired………..)

H – will not make this team. Hustles his butt off every play, dives on the floor, goes after every ball, runs as fast as he can in transition and on every drill. Moves extremely well for a 7 footer. Looks lost on the court, gets pushed around alot, and has horrible hands. I question his value as merely a training camp pawn. If Hilton Armstrong yells at you repeatedly and grabs you and/or pushes and throws you into what spot you need to be on the court……………………….you might not be NBA ready lol

Hilton Armstrong – He really gets after it, I was quite surprised. He looks much thicker than he did in NO. He is pretty strong and muscular. Fights hard for rebounds on both ends and can finish with both hands at the basket. Showed alot of intensity on the court.

Adam Morrison – can’t remember watching anyone look more unathletic running on a basketball court lol He moves like the really nerdy kid that got picked last for kickball in PE, you know the one that always kicked the slow dribbler directly back to the pitcher lol Has a nice shot and is actually a good passer, understands basketball offense and thats about it lol

Nick Young – scored alot of unconventional buckets, seems like the same old story.

Lester Hudson – needs to make this team. He was on fire knocking down shots from all over the place today. Fearless.

Cartier Martin – got schooled by Nick Young on a few plays and outmuscled as well. It’s amazing how small he looked next to young. He almost looked like Antonio Daniels. I never realized how long Nick was.

[dlts20]

Someone else also said this:


"Players Who Stood Out":

JaVale McGee - McGee not only had two wicked alley-oops thrown to him by Wall, but was actively involved defensively all night. It is early days yet, but it has to be encouraging to Wizards fans to see McGee willing to mix it up down low.


Players Who Disappeared

* Yi Jianlian - This is probably unfair to Yi, as he was making a real defensive effort tonight. He mixed it up down low, and only rarely lost position against the other Wizards bigs. However, the isolation play that we saw Yi flash at the Worlds this summer was not on display tonight. Yi was content to spot up from 15 feet, and his shot was extremely flat, something that Flip noted after the game. However, Flip also noted that Yi is still recovering from injury and that some rust should be expected.
* Kevin Seraphin - We all may need to take a deep breath about Seraphin. He has all the tools to be a very good NBA player, but he is extremely raw. He had trouble staying within the flow of the game during scrimmage and was often out of position. However the energy and the physicality are there, so it wouldn't completely surprise me if growth progressed quicker than anticipated.
* Adam Morrison - I don't want to say any player was bad since it is only the second day of training camp, but Morrison did not look good tonight. He looked much slower than the other players on the court, was stripped several times, and his shot wasn't falling. He very much looked like a player who was invited to to serve as a warm body during training camp rather than one competing for a roster spot. Hopefully, Morrison will turn it on the next few days of camp and preseason, but as it stands, I don't think he has the athleticism or skill set to earn a roster spot

[closg00]

Someone who was there last night said this

So I just got home after attending the Wizards practice tonight and here is some opinions on players I have gathered.

Trevor Booker – can’t go to his right. Made a crazy fade away 3 pointer off the backboard at the buzzer in a end of game drill lol Showed great tenacity going after rebounds and diving on the floor for loose balls. Seems to be the new “funny guy” on the team lol

Lester Hudson – needs to make this team. He was on fire knocking down shots from all over the place today. Fearless.

Did you write the Draft.net scouting report?

Weaknesses: Lacks the size and skill level to be an effective scorer inside ... Does not have many moves in his low post repertoire and is not very comfortable facing up and attacking ... Attacks strictly to his left hand, making him extremely predictable ... Has a tendency to shoot too many fadeaways, with very mixed results ... Has been able to bully his way around in college, but how effective can he be against bigger athletes at the next level?

I am really hoping that Lester makes the team somehow, he offers a lot of things that Kirk doesn't and I believe he has "clutch" shooting capabilities.

[Dat2U]

How in the world was Adam Morrison the 3rd pick in an NBA draft???

WTF was MJ smoking when he made that pick?

[TheGreatWall]

How in the world was Adam Morrison the 3rd pick in an NBA draft???

WTF was MJ smoking when he made that pick?

The same stuff he was smokin when he picked Kuamee

[WizStorm]

How in the world was Adam Morrison the 3rd pick in an NBA draft???

WTF was MJ smoking when he made that pick?

The same stuff he was smokin when he picked Kuamee

At least Kwame had all the physical skills to play in the NBA. In Ammo, one had to look past all of his shortcomings and pray he might be the next Larry Bird.