Game Thread - Washington Wizards vs Chicago Bulls

[GhostsOfGil]

An undersized Singleton >>>>> Armstrong

this. i think lossing singleton was huge

[no D in Hibachi]

Great game for Gil. Glad to know he has it back. Refs giving him the A.I. treatment. He get's no calls, in fact when he gets fouled they call fouls on him. Shameful officiating.

[507Mack]

McGee is out bc he's not crashing the boards. He's good for some sick highlight dunks, but he's getting abused by the Bulls front line and plays matador D so he can bait people into getting blocks. If he only used his athleticism to play solid D, he'd be in there right now.

...and Armstrong was? It's good and all if you want to sit McGee and punish him, but you can only keep the popcorn boy in for so long.

Please don't take my comment as an endorsement of Armstrong. There was that article about Armstrong in the Post about how he struggles with confidence. In the first half, I actually thought he was playing aggressive and decent. But you're right, he was garbage in the 2nd half. Normally Yi would be in.

[dopeismarcus]

Go #wizards! another loss closer to drafting Perry Jones.

Isn't he a headcase?

Really? I haven't heard anything about that.

[nate33]

I don't get all the hate for Armstrong. I thought Neck played pretty well. He's outmatched physically, but at least he was rotating properly and hitting the glass. He had 10 boards in 18 minutes and the team was just -1 when he was on the court. McGee makes so many terrible mistakes on defense that I can totally understand why Flip is afraid to play him down the stretch.

All that said, I'm beginning to dislike Flip a bit. I hate the offense. Too many jumpers and not enough off-the-ball screens. It just so damn hard for the team to score. If Arenas didn't hit about 5 three pointers from 28 feet, we would have lost by 15. The problem might not be the system though. I think the biggest problem is that nobody knows how to set a screen.

Great to see Gil have a good game. He still isn't finishing well when he gets into the lane, but he was getting to the lane whenever he wanted. Running the offense through him is a great change of pace compared with Wall. Teams back off Wall and pack it in the paint to prevent his penetration. They can't back off Arenas.

I'd like to see Arenas play more PG. Ideally, we move Hinrich for a decent big man and let Wall play PG and Arenas swing between SG and PG. I really wish there was a Joel Pryzbilla type of player available - preferably with a 2012 contract.

[507Mack]

Great game for Gil. Glad to know he has it back. Refs giving him the A.I. treatment. He get's no calls, in fact when he gets fouled they call fouls on him. Shameful officiating.

Our bigs get flustered when they play against good, defensive front lines. Blatche played like he did against Orlando: scared and soft.

[CaPtaiN eYeSaNo]

Our bigs get flustered when they play against good, defensive front lines. Blatche played like he did against Orlando: scared and soft.

+1

[dlts20]

Detroit fans before last season said that any time they played a team with good defense they got shutdown and thats why they never won in the playoffs. They said a good Defensive team exposes Flip's offensive system. They said its based off of all jumpers. Thats what it looked like so far this season.

Im not going to fully blame him because we have some top guys who are injuried or just coming back and we always have the worst IQ basketball team in the league but he has to make some adjustments. Us running that same double curl play is so redundant. Its all pick & roll or double curl.

Also, Ive said this since the 1st day Gil came back. He should start and I think he should be the PG in the halfcourt. Its not so much about being the PG as it is positioning. The PG is pretty much always at the top & the SG is on the wing. When we throw it into the post, they double down & leave Wall open up top, which is not his game because he cant shoot. It would be so much better to have a shooter like Gil there. They cant double our bigs then or Gil will kill them. Not only that but if they run out on Gil, he can then swing it to Wall who can slash. Its hard for Wall to do that at the top because the D is sagging off so far but on the wing he could do it all day with Gil at the top.

Gil is also a great passer/playmaker now while Wall still struggles in the halfcourt at times. This would also take pressure off the kid and make it easier for him to go through the whole season. I would love for us to be healthy and have Gil at the top with Wall & Howard on the wings. Dont get it twisted though. Wall is great and he could easily learn it soon enough & be good at the top. Either way its time for them to start playing together more, which means we have to start Gil

[507Mack]

I don't get all the hate for Armstrong. I thought Neck played pretty well. He's outmatched physically, but at least he was rotating properly and hitting the glass. He had 10 boards in 18 minutes and the team was just -1 when he was on the court. McGee makes so many terrible mistakes on defense that I can totally understand why Flip is afraid to play him down the stretch.

All that said, I'm beginning to dislike Flip a bit. I hate the offense. Too many jumpers and not enough off-the-ball screens. It just so damn hard for the team to score. If Arenas didn't hit about 5 three pointers from 28 feet, we would have lost by 15. The problem might not be the system though. I think the biggest problem is that nobody knows how to set a screen.

Great to see Gil have a good game. He still isn't finishing well when he gets into the lane, but he was getting to the lane whenever he wanted. Running the offense through him is a great change of pace compared with Wall. Teams back off Wall and pack it in the paint to prevent his penetration. They can't back off Arenas.

I'd like to see Arenas play more PG. Ideally, we move Hinrich for a decent big man and let Wall play PG and Arenas swing between SG and PG. I really wish there was a Joel Pryzbilla type of player available - preferably with a 2012 contract.

Thank you. For such an "offensive genius", we should be getting easier shots. Hopefully we can ditch the Arenas-off-the-bench nonsense and see what Wall and Arenas can really do. There is the potential to be like the Golden State backcourt, only faster and more lethal (and those guys are already fast). I's Flip's job to figure this out.

[RickRoll_inDC]

Great game for Gil. Glad to know he has it back. Refs giving him the A.I. treatment. He get's no calls, in fact when he gets fouled they call fouls on him. Shameful officiating.

Our bigs get flustered when they play against good, defensive front lines. Blatche played like he did against Orlando: scared and soft.

Blatche needs to learn that he's actually talented. It's a confidence thing. He needs to stay aggressive against tougher competition. Sure, he won't be getting 25 and 15 against the Howards, Duncans, and Gasols of the league, but I'll bet he could do better than 4 and 7.

[nate33]

Great game for Gil. Glad to know he has it back. Refs giving him the A.I. treatment. He get's no calls, in fact when he gets fouled they call fouls on him. Shameful officiating.

Our bigs get flustered when they play against good, defensive front lines. Blatche played like he did against Orlando: scared and soft.

Blatche's post game isn't anything like what it was last year. He immediately resorts to the fadeaway without ever trying a more aggressive jump hook or spin move. He had and a height and weight advantage over Gibson. I wish he would have just taken it right to him.

That's one thing I like about McGee. He offensive game is raw as hell, but at least he is willing to just jump hard right into the defender and shoot right through him.

Gibson is becoming a very nice role player. He reminds me a little of Haslem. He doesn't really do much on his own, but he fits into the scheme well. And he plays D. I'd swap Yi for him in a heartbeat.

[closg00]

Great game for Gil. Glad to know he has it back. Refs giving him the A.I. treatment. He get's no calls, in fact when he gets fouled they call fouls on him. Shameful officiating.

Our bigs get flustered when they play against good, defensive front lines. Blatche played like he did against Orlando: scared and soft.

In AB's defense, he isn't conditioned yet to play a b2b. Booker got some burn with his fresh legs, I would like to have seen Seraphin get a little also.

Nate is right about the offense, when we're not running it's not good and takes waay too-long to set up.

[pancakes3]

I don't get all the hate for Armstrong. I thought Neck played pretty well. He's outmatched physically, but at least he was rotating properly and hitting the glass. He had 10 boards in 18 minutes and the team was just -1 when he was on the court. McGee makes so many terrible mistakes on defense that I can totally understand why Flip is afraid to play him down the stretch.

i agree. one bad play trumped 15 previous minutes of a yeoman's job at C.

also, thornton is having a really tough time finding good touches. he can get out on the fast break well enough but nobody's setting off-ball screens for him, which is a shame because he's darn good off-the-ball. our big men are too busy setting screens for ballhandlers. as a result, most of thornton's looks are coming from kick outs, and Al's not much of a "spot up" shooter but rather an "off-the-dribble" guy.

we lost because of blatche, really. a bunch of jumpers that clanged, and got beat by Noah a bunch early on. maybe that's what he's talking about - guys not figuring out defensive assignments. mcgee can't handle playing the C in a zone so blatche has to pull double duty as the low post defender AND the low post option on offense. it's really asking a lot from AB.

[JWizmentality]

I don't get all the hate for Armstrong.

He stinks. Now that I'm remembering how solid Singleton was, I'm even more pizzed. I need a drink.

[Wizardspride]

I don't get all the hate for Armstrong.

He stinks. Now that I'm remembering how solid Singleton was, I'm even more pizzed. I need a drink.

Yes, he does stink.

And in fact, I'd rather have Michael Ruffin.

Heck, I'd rather have Kwame Brown.


Yeah, I said it......Kwame Brown.

[closg00]

Didn't we draft two bigs?

[willbcocks]

General Thoughts:

We are a bad team, playing a good, disciplined Chicago team on the road on the second game of a B2B. This game should have been a blowout, and it probably would have been without Gil's 3 point shooting and a lot of offensive rebounding.

Good game from Flip: doomed from the start, Blatche plays terrible from the beginning, Yi is hurt, Wall goes out temporarily, but the team still played hard. Also, I thought the zone was quite effective. On offense, we struggled. But let's face it--Blatche was completely out of it and Wall is a rookie. If those two don't play well, we aren't scoring in any offense.

Armstrong: he's not good, but this was his best game, and Mcgee is just as bad most of the time. The Neck hate should be exclusively aimed at EG, not Flip, as the guy has nothing to work with.

Booker: looked good. It's obvious the roles Flip is going to play him in, and I think he'll be effective there by year end.

Gil: looked very good. Still can't finish inside but his shot was on and he managed to jumpstart our sputtering offense. He did his damage, however, mostly without Wall on the court. I haven't seen them work well together on the court yet, and I am having trouble imagining how it could work. Gil was playing well because the ball was in his hands and he got into a rhythm.

[JWizmentality]

Didn't we draft two bigs?

It must rock to get paid six figures, travel all over the country and sit on your ass.

[JonathanJoseph]

I don't get all the hate for Armstrong. I thought Neck played pretty well. He's outmatched physically, but at least he was rotating properly and hitting the glass. He had 10 boards in 18 minutes and the team was just -1 when he was on the court. McGee makes so many terrible mistakes on defense that I can totally understand why Flip is afraid to play him down the stretch.

All that said, I'm beginning to dislike Flip a bit. I hate the offense. Too many jumpers and not enough off-the-ball screens. It just so damn hard for the team to score. If Arenas didn't hit about 5 three pointers from 28 feet, we would have lost by 15. The problem might not be the system though. I think the biggest problem is that nobody knows how to set a screen.

Great to see Gil have a good game. He still isn't finishing well when he gets into the lane, but he was getting to the lane whenever he wanted. Running the offense through him is a great change of pace compared with Wall. Teams back off Wall and pack it in the paint to prevent his penetration. They can't back off Arenas.

I'd like to see Arenas play more PG. Ideally, we move Hinrich for a decent big man and let Wall play PG and Arenas swing between SG and PG. I really wish there was a Joel Pryzbilla type of player available - preferably with a 2012 contract.

Agree with all of this. Great stuff.

Re: Armstrong, I actually do cringe watching him play. His hands are worse than Kwame Brown's and he's simply awful.

But I do agree that he was trying to be physical, aggressive, hit the boards and tried to be a "big body in the lane". And that's why he was playing down the stretch, because an NBA team needs somebody to do that, sort of like an NFL defense needs some fatso on the DL who can clog up the run game for the rest of the defense to work.

But it drove me crazy to see him take a 15 foot jumper and to decide to make a post move with the game on the line (about 3 minutes left). If he wants to be the "smart" big, then he should realize that he never needs to shoot unless it's a layup or dunk. Don't ever make a post move.

I don't really have a problem with Flip or the offense. It's just very painful when his offense isn't being run correctly. I think this contrast was made clear in every game Flip's coached under the Wizards except the last 10 games of last season. During that stretch, the offense was a well-oiled machine that got nothing but good, effiicient shots, but it took Shaun Livingston some time to get comfortable running it.

Wall needs to learn the NBA AND the offense so plenty of reason for patience. Blatche was a no show today and that's disappointing, but Flip took care of it the right way. Arenas is close to being "back" and that is probably the biggest development of all.

[Jay81]

i watched the game on WGN HD tonight and Stacey King was just dumbfounded at our offense saying all we do is take jump shots.

its time to tank this season and go for another high lottery pick. Flip and EG have no future here. We seemed to be playing better at then end of last year than the beginning of this season so far