Wizards vs. Cavs, 2/22/08, 8:00 PM

[tsvqt]

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even with Caron, we still wont make it past the 1st round of the playoffs. This team blows this year and all we can do is get "ready to rule" next season.

I disagree, I disagree, I disagree!! We showed how we can play with a healthy Tough Juice when we beat Boston back-2-back. I was there, at the Verizon Center, and witnessed how we played with heart, lead by Tough Juice. We have no leadership on the court right now.....we don't have ANYONE with heart right now. I'm sitting here watching the Boston/Phoenix game and they have several "tough" guys out there. Pierce, Garnett, Allen...they lead and you see it when the other guys come into the game. Same with Phoenix...not as much as Boston, but Stoudemire, Bell, and Shaq are gonna give you some toughness out there. We SUCK when it comes to toughness, and the Golden State game told the story there. The frickin Knicks have more heart than the current Wizards...minus Butler.

[dandridge 10]

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This was a complete team loss, including EJ. The team played with no energy until the 4th quarter, Jamison was horrible, the bench (absent Sangalia) brought us zip once again, we missed a lot of free throws, our defense was putrid, and finally E.J.'s coaching was horrible. The play at the end was just frickin' putrid and E.J.'s refusal to post up Blatche on Brown was just unforgivable. I'm blaming the loss on everyone. This team is really, really bad right now. I don't even want to watch them until at least Caron comes back, because without him, this team has no heart.

AB 29Min 3 fouls 6-8 7 boards 4 blocks
BH 41 min 4-6 5-6
Songaila 20 min 6-11 5 boards

AJ 43 Mins 6-17
DS 41 mins 5-13

Who are you lining up down the stretch?

What play are you calling down the stretch?

AJ from 3 on a quick shot ?
DS iso one on one with the clock running out?

EJ suck Donkey balls. Sorry Donkey.

Are you seriously suggesting that EJ told AJ to take that quick 3? Yeah, I agree the last play call sucked, but I can also ask you:

How did Blatche miss that easy lay-up?

How'd we miss so many free throws?

How many times does Jones have to hit a three before the man that is guarding him determines he aint going to leave him alone?

Why can't someone give Lebron a hard foul?

Why can't Haywood get more than 3 rebounds against a significantly smaller team?

Why can't Nick Young make a move to the basket without traveling?

Why did Mason take that contested three with 8 seconds left?

Etc, etc., etc.

One more question, Hands. How many games have you played in HS or college? If you have played, name me how many times your coach won or lost a game on his own? I played AAU basketball and started four years of HS and I can't recall one frickin' game that I would say my coach lost the game. Yeah, I can name games when the coach made a bad decision...but actually lost the game...NONE. Players win or lose games period.

[hands11]

Are we allowed to simply forfeit games?

If we can't win a freakin ball game without Butler, then let's just sit out all the games until Butler is healthy. At least that way, everyone will be fresh for the stretch run.

Yeah, it called playing your youngs more.

We could just make it a priority to play them all 20 to 30 a game and play with the clay. At least something useful could come of it.

We could also try playing a different offense. If you going to loose, you may as well get something out of it.

For starts, how about just feeding AB and BH the whole first
quarter until someone stops them.

How about a game where you tell AJ he can't shot more them 12 shots the whole game, make them good ones.

How about giving AB the number of shots AJ gets so he can grow his game.

Either EJ has no control as all over this kid or he is ok with how he plays
1 on 5. Either way, it's mind boggling to watch.

[Silvie Lysandra]

Eddie Jordan has a "system". Players, matchups, situations don't matter; the System rules all.

Now, the fact is, we are depleted, we don't have much health. But the fact is that we are losing, though mental mistakes by the entire team, very winnable games.

Physical deficiencies are excusable. Mental deficiencies are not.

I really doubt Arenas is going to look at this mess and think "this is an organization I want to spend my career with."

[hands11]

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I'm drinking the same Tough Juice you're drinking

You'll know you not getting any argument from me.

Tough Juice is our core.

But we really do have some nice pieces. Haywood has been really good this year. Nice to have a 7 foot center you can say that about.

AB has mad talent and is young and again 7-0

Thats 3 nice pieces right there.

As poor a team player as he is, NY has some sick talent. If someone could get his head screwed on right, he would be ball'n. EG isnt letting him go anywhere.

Those are the pieces you can't move. There are others I would rather not move or whos game need to change given the money it would take to keep them but these are our no brainers.

Add a top level coach and we will be fine. I just wish we would get it over with so we can move on.

[hands11]

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Are you seriously blaming the loss against a bunch of d-leaguers and third stringers on the coach? I didn't see him out there playing? Listen, I agree that the play at the end of the game was horrible. However, the game wouldn't have even come to that if the Wizards played with more toughness, urgency and effort for three quarters of the game instead of a bunch of sissies taking quick outside jumpshots, failing to get rebounds against a much smaller team, and failing to give any hard fouls on Lebron. If you are so confident this team is that much better than the Wiz, then it wouldn't have mattered who was coaching the team.

[hands11]

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This was a complete team loss, including EJ. The team played with no energy until the 4th quarter, Jamison was horrible, the bench (absent Sangalia) brought us zip once again, we missed a lot of free throws, our defense was putrid, and finally E.J.'s coaching was horrible. The play at the end was just frickin' putrid and E.J.'s refusal to post up Blatche on Brown was just unforgivable. I'm blaming the loss on everyone. This team is really, really bad right now. I don't even want to watch them until at least Caron comes back, because without him, this team has no heart.

AB 29Min 3 fouls 6-8 7 boards 4 blocks
BH 41 min 4-6 5-6
Songaila 20 min 6-11 5 boards

AJ 43 Mins 6-17
DS 41 mins 5-13

Who are you lining up down the stretch?

What play are you calling down the stretch?

AJ from 3 on a quick shot ?
DS iso one on one with the clock running out?

EJ suck Donkey balls. Sorry Donkey.

Are you seriously suggesting that EJ told AJ to take that quick 3? Yeah, I agree the last play call sucked, but I can also ask you:

How did Blatche miss that easy lay-up?

How'd we miss so many free throws?

How many times does Jones have to hit a three before the man that is guarding him determines he aint going to leave him alone?

Why can't someone give Lebron a hard foul?

Why can't Haywood get more than 3 rebounds against a significantly smaller team?

Why can't Nick Young make a move to the basket without traveling?

Why did Mason take that contested three with 8 seconds left?

Etc, etc., etc.

One more question, Hands. How many games have you played in HS or college? If you have played, name me how many times your coach won or lost a game on his own? I played AAU basketball and started four years of HS and I can't recall one frickin' game that I would say my coach lost the game. Yeah, I can name games when the coach made a bad decision...but actually lost the game...NONE. Players win or lose games period.

That didn't read the way I wanted it to. That got tossed in there but is separate from the EJ play calling issue. No, I don't think EJ called that. I think AJ did that.

AB- are you talking about the easy lay up where he came from one side and had to do a 180 while leaning away from the hoop ?

I'm not going to answer that whole list because it has nothing to do with all the reasons EJ sucks. One doesn't exclude the other. Sure, everyone on the court could shoot 100% every night from the field and the FT line.

But EJs mistakes aren't physical. They are mental. I would except the loss and put if squarely on the players but it is so easy to see the failures of EJ in this.

The same stupid crap year after year after year. Not physical mistakes but coaching mistakes. Those are harder for me to excuse because they are easily fixable by someone at his level. And I firmly believe he would be gone by now if he wasn't hand picked by not just an NBA owners, but Abe. The same owner who stuck with Wes for 20 years.

[hands11]

Eddie Jordan has a "system". Players, matchups, situations don't matter; the System rules all.

Now, the fact is, we are depleted, we don't have much health. But the fact is that we are losing, though mental mistakes by the entire team, very winnable games.

Physical deficiencies are excusable. Mental deficiencies are not.

I really doubt Arenas is going to look at this mess and think "this is an organization I want to spend my career with."

So at what point do you have to get ride of EJ if you want to try to keep GA ?

At what point does EG have to show that he really is in charge? If I'm a player, I want to know who is designing my team. The GM or the owner.
Who am I evaluating and trusting to get it done and make the right moves.

IE, see the problem with the Washington Redskins. I wouldn't want to play for them except for the money. LOL. Kind of sounds like something GA said. But so far, EG has let players like that walk.

Kobe may have been pissed at the front office but they got it done and they have Phil as the HC.

[newslowsad]

[LyricalRico]

So you guys are saying that the iso for Stevenson on the last play wasn't a good call?

[TheKingOfVa360]

(picture)

anymore room in there

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Allow me to sum this up for ALL of you.......This team sucks!...wait, wait, wait....let me try that again....This team sucks without Tough Juice!! Without "Tough Juice" this team has no toughness, and no juice! See, didn't that simplify it for you?

I also concluded the Wizards suck about 3 or 4 games ago.

Too many injuries. Too young a bench. Defense was a new thing that couldn't take root before injuries. Caron's greatest season derailed.

These are the breaks....

They'll have to hang in there or blow it up. We'll see.

[keynote]

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This shows just how important Caron is to us. Without Gil we were an above .500 team. Without Caron we are the worst team in the NBA. Anyone who questions who is the Wizards' most valuable player is crazy.

Actually, it's without Caron *and* Gilbert. The proper question is whether the Wizards + healthy Gil - injured Caron could've also made a run at .500+ ball. Frankly, considering how close many of these games have been, I think having a world-class closer like Gil would make us better than the "worst team in the NBA."

If you like Caron over Gil, fine; but their record with both players isn't probative of that fact.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Ah man... that blown call at the end of the first half DID end up costing us the game... that sux...

[closg00]

Well, there is some good news, I am a RealGm with this post, crown me

[LyricalRico]

^ Congrats on the following:

- becoming a RealGM
- being an original member of the WizBoard Five
- having the best sig I've seen in a while

[WashWiz54]

Since we suck anyway, we might as well let Nick run around and do whatever he wants. Let him and Blatche be the stars of the team until we get a healthy lineup.

And by healthy I don't mean one of Gil, AD, or Caron. Atleast 2/3 have to be fully healthy before any of them check into a game.

[hands11]

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I also concluded the Wizards suck about 3 or 4 games ago.

Too many injuries. Too young a bench. Defense was a new thing that couldn't take root before injuries. Caron's greatest season derailed.

These are the breaks....

They'll have to hang in there or blow it up. We'll see.

But if you were in charge, would you have come up with a plan what would have made a difference? Would you have played a different system? Played youngs more and earlier in a more simple system so you had something to fall back on if your star off knee injury and other star off wrist injury didn't make it back?

Would you have installed an offense that feeds the post more so you had a power game and got the other team in foul trouble more.

This is what drives me nuts. I see so much of this as avoidable.

[dorianwrite]

Folks -- calm the **** down.

The team should suck right now. We're missing two all-stars. We should have been in the game against a depleted Cleveland team, which we were, but there's no way Lebron isn't going to get calls at the end. The Daniels dunk looked good to me, but the refs didn't see it that way and they had the close-up replay. Jamison isn't a #1 guy; his game is finesse, as everyone knows, and other teams can key on him when Butler and Arenas both aren't there, knowing that none of our other players are likely to explode.

Good game from Songaila, hopefully a confidence builder. Good game from Stevenson, who's essentially playing on a busted knee. Good game from Daniels, who must be ready for the hospital with some of the falls he takes.

When we get the other players back and don't have to ride guys like Stevenson and Daniels as heavily, we'll be fine. Hold on, the calvary is coming.

[hands11]

Since we suck anyway, we might as well let Nick run around and do whatever he wants. Let him and Blatche be the stars of the team until we get a healthy lineup.

And by healthy I don't mean one of Gil, AD, or Caron. Atleast 2/3 have to be fully healthy before any of them check into a game.

Exactly. We have had this kind of opportunity several times to some degree or another. At some point you invest in where you need to be instead of just trying to win the next game by wearing out your already injured starters. Let everyone that needs to heal , heal. Your losing anyway. You may as well gain something for it.

Not only are GA and CB out but DS and AD are injured and playing.

We have about 2-3 weeks before GA comes back and hopefully CB sits out 2 more weeks so he can return 100%. We need to sit DS and AD a lot more over the next 2 weeks also.

Let AB, BH and NY be your stars. Feed the post and drive. As I said, NY isn't so different then GA was when he got here but we lived through that. Only we should learn from that. NY needs molded better so he is playing a smarter game. We don't need another Hibachi, we need a smart well rounded scorer.

I would also get a good dose of DMAC in there as the glue rebounder energy guy. You want better D, how about playing players who don't have injured wheels. You have 2 big and an energy shot blocker in DMAC, AB, and BH.

I would tell AJ to take a chill pill and play the vet babysitter. Tell him to let the young guns try to lead while he fills in with more select Js, rebounds, etc. Stop forcing so many shots.

The offense should be run through NY, AB and BH then kick it out to Mason and AJ for open 3's. Add DS to this list in limited mins.

I would at least be excited to watch them play if they did this. I would also gain a lot of respect for EJ. And honestly, if done with the right rotations, this a decent team that would win some games.

For now, we need to turn this upside down. Also, time to get Wilks back for 10 days.

Mason, NY, AJ, AB, BH Start AJ but pull him quickly because he will shoot to much. If he doesn't, then leave him in.

Mason, NY, DMAC, AB, BH
Wilks, NY, AJ, AB, BH
Wilks, Mason, NY, AB, BH

Fill in the rest with OP, Songaila, and

DS and AD should be limited to 10-20 mins a game until healthy

I'd take the losses which we seem to be getting anyway if we got to watch our youngs grow and our vets heal. And you may well get more wins then you expected.

Throw out the EJ offense and just go simple pick and roll and iso by clearing a side and feeding the post.

We can still put some talent on the court with our healthy players.

You aren't going to beat the best teams one way or another but we can beat the bad and average teams.