Game Thread - Wizard vs Toronto in DC 7PM Fri, Jan 3

[stevemcqueen1]

I wish I'd missed it. Probably the worst game we've played all season. A truly embarrassing third quarter.

Toronto looks like a good bet for the third seed post Horford injury.

Aside from the Detroit games, this team has played like complete ass the last several games. Offense has looked terrible and the defense has never been particularly sound this season.

We don't have anyone on a bargain contract right now. Well except Wall technically since his extension doesn't kick in until next season. The best we're hoping for is that our guys play up to what they're getting paid, and more nights than not, most of our guys fall short. That's a big part of why we can't stay at least .500.

[queridiculo]

Randy rarely makes excuses, give him credit for that at least.

Wizards didn't play hard and smart enough, but ultimately this team is reeling from not having its best player on the court to match other starting units.

Gortat and Booker simply don't cut it out there, they make for an awful combo.

[stevemcqueen1]

It's pretty safe to say that Gortat has been exposed as the sole starting center.

Should be paid 10M or more right ?

No. He hasn't earned that so far. 10 & 5 on 4 of 9 shooting tonight. 4 turnovers. An awful start that put us in a hole immediately that we spent the entire game trying to climb out of.

He's had too many nights like that this season, too few where he's been a really positive difference maker.

And our defense has definitely taken a step back as a unit since last season with the switch from Oak to Gortat.

Right now Gortat is just a guy. Competent enough to start, but our fifth or sixth best player on any given night.

[verbal8]

If Toronto gets the 4th seed and we get the 5th but have a better record, who gets home court advantage?

The team with the better record gets home court. So it would be the Wizards in this example.

What is the point of having seeds if we are just going with absolute winning percentage? I'm pretty sure regardless of record the 4th seed will have the home court advantage over the 5th seed.

In 2012 the Hawks(5th seed) had a better record than the Celtics(4th for winning the Atlantic). The Hawks had home court advantage.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... ml#BOS-ATL

[dandridge 10]

Just got back from the game. The funny thing is I saw this night coming from how the team came out for warm-ups. They came out cracking up and goofing around and I told my wife that they didn't look very focused before the game. Turns out I was right.

Aside from the lack of intensity, three other things stuck out tonight. First, why in the god's name did they continue to trap the pick and roll despite getting picked apart all night. As soon as the Wizards tried to trap the ball, the Raptors would make them pay by immediately passing it to the open man. I normally don't question coaching decisions during losses but I have to give Wittman some blame for not making any adjustments in the defensive scheme. The Wizards should have just played straight up instead of trying to trap every dang time.

Second, there was absolutely no ball movement, especially when Nene was in the game. They would dump it down to Nene and he would frickin hold the ball until he either tried to drive to the basket or pass the ball to someone when the shot clock was almost expired. The ball was stickin' and The Wiz made it too easy for the Raptor's defense.

Third, our guards, particularly Beal, need to stop settling for long jumpers and take it to the hole. Too many times it appeared that Beal had an open lane to the basket, and he instead pulled up for a long 2. This has to stop.

I think I am becoming more convinced that this team will be at or below .500 all season. They simply just don't seem like they have any kind of killer instinct to take it to another level. It appears that they are content to hover around .500, because whenever they get there they seem to take the foot off the peddle. They are what they are...a mediocre team.

[hands11]

I'm glad I missed the entire game. Good God! We were down 92-66 at one point. At home!

Only 4 pts from

99-66

At least there would have been some entertainment value in that.

[hands11]

It's pretty safe to say that Gortat has been exposed as the sole starting center.

Should be paid 10M or more right ?

No. He hasn't earned that so far. 10 & 5 on 4 of 9 shooting tonight. 4 turnovers. An awful start that put us in a hole immediately that we spent the entire game trying to climb out of.

He's had too many nights like that this season, too few where he's been a really positive difference maker.

And our defense has definitely taken a step back as a unit since last season with the switch from Oak to Gortat.

Right now Gortat is just a guy. Competent enough to start, but our fifth or sixth best player on any given night.

So what do you think he is worth ? What would be good value for him if the Wizards wanted to resign him?

[popper]

Like I mentioned after the last game. The Wiz are a .500 team that is poorly coached and poorly constructed. That's on EG. Wrong combination of players and wrong coach. So many stupid mistakes but like Bobby D posted earlier, the biggest tell is the laughing and party atmosphere before tip-off. I wish they would bring in some Navy Seals to talk to the players about focus and commitment to mission.

[noworriesinmd]

I don't want to get too low or too high with this team.
One stats should tell us where this team is
5-11 vs +.500 teams
74% of their wins come against garbage teams.

At least Wall is driving.
I'm tired of the long twos.
Beal, if he works on it, can get to the basket. Will try to find the video.
Webster is worth every penny we pay him. He appears to take every minute he plays seriously.
Seraphin is a black hole. I'm tired of him holding the ball and taking some wild shot that misses.

[MarkH]

This team is a joke the way they playing now GS will win by 30 on Sunday.

It doesn't work like that with the Wizards. They will probably beat GS by 12 then get blown out by the Bucks.

Yeah because your team blows. That was evident by today. We swept your team to the side with a flick of our wrist. Rolled you over and now the real schedule begins after we take care of bottom feeders like the teams you have put together for 20 years. I love how you talk like you are a good team and you should be "winning easy games". Listen, nothing is easy for a team as poorly run as yours. What really matters is what you do on the court, not this illusion that you think you're a good team and can look down on the Raptors, who have proven to be a better team than you. Let this be a lesson to you.

[dlts20]

lets not be too hard on them fellas. You cant look at everything in just plain black & white terms. They have been playing some good ball. They were due to hit a bad stretch or get in a funk. Sometimes you just forget how to play and nothing works. Its like you are playing in mud. You just gotta find your groove again. They will find it. I would be upset if we were scoring like 100 and still losing or playing solid but losing but I dont get too upset about stuff like this because its just a clear bad spell that will pass at some point

[dlts20]

This team is a joke the way they playing now GS will win by 30 on Sunday.

It doesn't work like that with the Wizards. They will probably beat GS by 12 then get blown out by the Bucks.

Yeah because your team blows. That was evident by today. We swept your team to the side with a flick of our wrist. Rolled you over and now the real schedule begins after we take care of bottom feeders like the teams you have put together for 20 years. I love how you talk like you are a good team and you should be "winning easy games". Listen, nothing is easy for a team as poorly run as yours. What really matters is what you do on the court, not this illusion that you think you're a good team and can look down on the Raptors, who have proven to be a better team than you. Let this be a lesson to you.

1.5 games up with more than 50 games to go proves you are better than us? lol...... we are now getting trolled by the Raptors of all teams. Go read your game thread. It was 100x worst disrespect and looking down on the Wiz than vice versa

[jivelikenice]

Worst game of the season. The players came out with no energy. We were completely out coached. We trapped unnecessarily over and over again leaving Ross, Patterson and Johnson wide open. I've never seen so many uncontested jumpers in my life. It was like shootaround. And what exactly was the gameplan offensively? I forgot, our only offense is based on running off misses.

[jivelikenice]

It's just disgusting how relaxed they come out at home? It's like they're trying too hard to show they're under control. Offenses get what they want because of how ridiculously bad our defense is and we make the game much harder than it needs to be when we play offense. Maybe these guys have too much fun at home and need the road to focus. Who knows....just some garbage tonight,

[DANNYLANDOVER]

I absolutely envy the Toronto Raptors. They have a GM who is not only analytical but tactful and seemingly always one step ahead.

Talk about a team on the rise with leadership who can take them there.

They are, at this moment, the anthesis of the Wizards.

I'm sorry but the Raptors aren't going anywhere. They need some real star players not fringe starters. If they were smart they would be tanking this season.

you mean like the Wizards?

[DANNYLANDOVER]

I absolutely envy the Toronto Raptors. They have a GM who is not only analytical but tactful and seemingly always one step ahead.

Talk about a team on the rise with leadership who can take them there.

They are, at this moment, the anthesis of the Wizards.

I'm sorry but the Raptors aren't going anywhere. They need some real star players not fringe starters. If they were smart they would be tanking this season.

That would be true if they were winning with the help of some veterans who are not part of the team's future. Instead, they are winning with their young core (DeRozan, Ross, JV, Lowry, Amir). This means that they are developing their talent WHILE winning. You can't complain when your young, up and coming players are actually delivering. It's possible that one of those young players does in fact become that 'real star' that you are talking about...that's what happened to the Pacers.

Spot On! That's why I have been for the tank. The Wizards aren't really developing any young talents. They're winning with a bunch of overpaid aging vets, who are already declining/will be declining soon. If we had at least 4/5 legit young guys that are contributing and are gonna be here long term, then I don't mind going all in for the 8th seed.

[DANNYLANDOVER]

Why are the RAps starters still playing?

Padding their stats because they know they will never win another game by this amount for awhile.

WOW! Hopefully, you've calmed down by now, but all your posts have been very, very salty. Giver the better team their props and move on.

[MarkH]

It doesn't work like that with the Wizards. They will probably beat GS by 12 then get blown out by the Bucks.

Yeah because your team blows. That was evident by today. We swept your team to the side with a flick of our wrist. Rolled you over and now the real schedule begins after we take care of bottom feeders like the teams you have put together for 20 years. I love how you talk like you are a good team and you should be "winning easy games". Listen, nothing is easy for a team as poorly run as yours. What really matters is what you do on the court, not this illusion that you think you're a good team and can look down on the Raptors, who have proven to be a better team than you. Let this be a lesson to you.

1.5 games up with more than 50 games to go proves you are better than us? lol...... we are now getting trolled by the Raptors of all teams. Go read your game thread. It was 100x worst disrespect and looking down on the Wiz than vice versa

No I find it sick what this one guy is saying. I'm certain your overall fan base is good and intelligent but this one guy with the Chris Paul picture is a fool and needs to learn a lesson.

[truwizfan4evr]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BdHSq5cCEAEvf80.jpg Looking at this pick make's me sick.

[C_Money]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BdHSq5cCEAEvf80.jpg Looking at this pick make's me sick.

I know what you mean. That girl looks hot but the words are covering her face.