GT #25: Wizards @ Suns 9 PM (NBCSW/1500 AM)

[NatP4]

turn gortat into deandre jordan somehow and this team is dangerous.

No ..please no...turn the hammer into boogie...and the teams in the east will be on notice.

I don't want Jordan for a half of a season either but I'd like a poor man's and younger Jordan. Somebody that is athletic and can protect the rim. That's not Boogie but I know he can rebound like a monster. Would probably need Gortat and about 3 first rounders.

I agree with you, but I can't figure out who that player is. Was thinking Nerlens Noel for awhile, but that's a rental also, and he's hurt.

[Ruzious]

I wouldn't go that far. But we are at a point where Gortat and Mahinmi can split the minutes more evenly. Instead of 32 and 16, it can be 26 and 22. And there will be games where Mahinmi is the better option. Like tonight.

More like the last 5 or more games as Mahinimi has gotten better, esp. on the boards. He's defending bigs so much better. It's not even close. You can't look at the contract. Look at the player. This is what he was two years ago at Indiana. Maybe he's finally healthy and playing with more confidence than he was at the beginning of the year. I don't need to see the opening of every game to watch Marc miss a 12-foot jumper to get him involved. He's used to being the backup. Maybe he'll have more energy coming off the bench just like he used to.

Let's not forget that Mahinmi is going against backups. Also, don't overlook Gortat's contribution with screens and passing. Beal doesn't score 51 if Mahinmi is at center. Finally, Mahinmi is too foul prone to start.

I'm really happy that Mahinmi is playing well and I'm fine with him taking more minutes. I just think it's premature to call for him to start.

One other thing, Gortat is a pick-and-roll player. His style of game meshes with Wall very well. Not so much with Frazier.

When Wall gets back, maybe it'll be a good time to rest Porter for a couple of weeks. He was favoring one of his calfs - looked like a stress thing - don't want it to become a stress fracture thing. And it probably does make sense to start Mahinmi over Gortat. It'd give Gortat a chance to take advantage of backups, and Mahinmi's the more effective defender.

[dcstanley]

Gortat has been pretty frustrating.

[Illmatic12]

turn gortat into deandre jordan somehow and this team is dangerous.

No ..please no...turn the hammer into boogie...and the teams in the east will be on notice.

I don't want Jordan for a half of a season either but I'd like a poor man's and younger Jordan. Somebody that is athletic and can protect the rim. That's not Boogie but I know he can rebound like a monster. Would probably need Gortat and about 3 first rounders.

Derrick Favors might be someone to look at.Reportedly the Jazz have been open to shopping him because he doesn't fit next to Gobert. he's 3 years younger than DJ and has always put up great defensive numbers (some injury concerns though)

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01.html

[NatP4]

No ..please no...turn the hammer into boogie...and the teams in the east will be on notice.

I don't want Jordan for a half of a season either but I'd like a poor man's and younger Jordan. Somebody that is athletic and can protect the rim. That's not Boogie but I know he can rebound like a monster. Would probably need Gortat and about 3 first rounders.

Derrick Favors might be someone to look at.Reportedly the Jazz have been open to shopping him because he doesn't fit next to Gobert. he's 3 years younger than DJ and has always put up great defensive numbers (some injury concerns though)

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01.html

Gortat and a 1st gets it done for Favors due to his expiring contract? Makes some sense for both teams, similar to the Ibaka trade last year. They might ask for Oubre and the pick though.

I think we could get DJ for Gortat/Smith/McCullough/2018 1st/2018 2nd/2019 2nd.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Two very satisfying nights of b-ball for us Wiz faithful.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Are the Wizards better without Sheldon Mac?

[payitforward]

Are the Wizards better without Sheldon Mac?

We had a 21-3 run last year w/ Mac on the roster -- lets see us do that w/o him before jumping to any conclusions, ok?!?!

Then again, that was when he was Sheldon McClellan. Changing his name may have made a difference. Come to think of it, it was with the new name that he got injured too!

Life is complicated. If I were him, I'd change his name back -- twice! "Sheldon McClellan McClellan" might help him avoid injury to his other ACL.

[Illmatic12]

I don't want Jordan for a half of a season either but I'd like a poor man's and younger Jordan. Somebody that is athletic and can protect the rim. That's not Boogie but I know he can rebound like a monster. Would probably need Gortat and about 3 first rounders.

Derrick Favors might be someone to look at.Reportedly the Jazz have been open to shopping him because he doesn't fit next to Gobert. he's 3 years younger than DJ and has always put up great defensive numbers (some injury concerns though)

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/favorde01.html

Gortat and a 1st gets it done for Favors due to his expiring contract? Makes some sense for both teams, similar to the Ibaka trade last year. They might ask for Oubre and the pick though.

I think we could get DJ for Gortat/Smith/McCullough/2018 1st/2018 2nd/2019 2nd.

My feeling is that I don’t think we could get DJ without trading Oubre. His demand will be higher simply because he’s been an All-Star & All-NBA player with a strong pedigree

Favors is more under the radar but still a very good player, and could probably be extended for cheaper than Jordan. I think Jazz might ask for a PF who can play next to Gobert, maybe a Morris + Satoransky + 1st ? Then we can ship Gortat out elsewhere in another trade

[payitforward]

Nice win -- & a very nice game from Kieff!

Wins with Wall out & both Porter & Oubre in a little slump -- that's good.

What is with Mahinmi picking up so many fouls, however? He's committing over 9 fouls every 40 minutes this year. ...Actually looking at his career numbers, he's always fouled way too much. Career average = 6.5 fouls per 40 minutes. But this year it's over the top!

[payitforward]

Let's not forget that Mahinmi is going against backups. Also, don't overlook Gortat's contribution with screens and passing. Beal doesn't score 51 if Mahinmi is at center. Finally, Mahinmi is too foul prone to start.

I'm really happy that Mahinmi is playing well and I'm fine with him taking more minutes. I just think it's premature to call for him to start.

One other thing, Gortat is a pick-and-roll player. His style of game meshes with Wall very well. Not so much with Frazier.

I didn't say start next game. I said the clock is ticking. Mahinmi has been playing at the end of games recently. You forget he was there against Drummond. Monroe did nothing against him. It's not only backups. Again, I think your starting center needs to be more than just a good screener and passer.

I just don't think it's an issue. What we have now are options. Continue to start Gortat and play him the first 9 minutes. Then play Ian for 8 minutes. Get a feel for who is looking sharp that night and who has the matchup advantages, and roll with it. On some nights, Mahinmi should get crunch time minutes. On other nights, it'll be Gortat.

Keep in mind that if you start a guy who's getting 9 fouls every 40 minutes, your team will be over the limit quickly & put your opponent on the FT line. I.e. you are digging a little hole for yourself that you don't need to dig.

It's far better for Mahinmi to come in in the 2d half of quarters (which may be one reason why we saw him late in the game last night?).

[payitforward]

Gortat and a 1st gets it done for Favors due to his expiring contract? Makes some sense for both teams, similar to the Ibaka trade last year. They might ask for Oubre and the pick though.

I think we could get DJ for Gortat/Smith/McCullough/2018 1st/2018 2nd/2019 2nd.

Both terrible ideas, but not for discussion here.

[zero2hero]

Nice win -- & a very nice game from Kieff!

Wins with Wall out & both Porter & Oubre in a little slump -- that's good.

What is with Mahinmi picking up so many fouls, however? He's committing over 9 fouls every 40 minutes this year. ...Actually looking at his career numbers, he's always fouled way too much. Career average = 6.5 fouls per 40 minutes. But this year it's over the top!

He's not moving his feet well. Although he's "healthy" this year, he's still working his way back in shape from injuries that held him out of a lot of the offseason conditioning/training before the season.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Nice win -- & a very nice game from Kieff!

Wins with Wall out & both Porter & Oubre in a little slump -- that's good.

What is with Mahinmi picking up so many fouls, however? He's committing over 9 fouls every 40 minutes this year. ...Actually looking at his career numbers, he's always fouled way too much. Career average = 6.5 fouls per 40 minutes. But this year it's over the top!

He's not moving his feet well. Although he's "healthy" this year, he's still working his way back in shape from injuries that held him out of a lot of the offseason conditioning/training before the season.

Here’s my scientific, data-driven perspective.

He’s a hacker, with six hard fouls to give. I’m ok with that.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Are the Wizards better without Sheldon Mac?

We had a 21-3 run last year w/ Mac on the roster -- lets see us do that w/o him before jumping to any conclusions, ok?!?!

Then again, that was when he was Sheldon McClellan. Changing his name may have made a difference. Come to think of it, it was with the new name that he got injured too!

Life is complicated. If I were him, I'd change his name back -- twice! "Sheldon McClellan McClellan" might help him avoid injury to his other ACL.

All excellent points.

Though I might also suggest that we rename ACL “Danny Manning.”

[Shanghai Kid]

Our bench is developing into a true secret weapon, strange turn of events.

Gotta shot out Mike Scott, he's shooting 100% over the last two games.

If our starters can get back to playing like last year with THIS bench, we have a whole different Wiz team.