BACKUP Game Thread - Wizards vs Magic (12/2/13)

[JWizmentality]

We're killin it playing basically five players. Or starting five kicks ass!!

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[80sballboy]

Ariza has been playing great since coming back from the hamstring injury, but let's get a grip. He's still a role player with no handle and is turnover-prone. At least Webster knows he has no handle so he just spots up.

But I digress. It was nice to see the bench at least hold onto the lead. We have no backup big men but when Beal comes back and if Al every gets back on the court again assuming he doesn't retire, it help our bench. We just need Vesely and a combination of Singleton/Seraphin/Booker to just defend and rebound.

Witt needs to bring Beal off the bench when he returns. Play him 25 mpg instead of 40.

[Hidden Eye]

Singleton contributed tonight.. surprise

[hands11]

Was real happy with all factors of the game tonight. The starters were great... especially Ariza and Wall. Was also encouraged by Booker off the bench. He looked pretty good when in there. And as said even Ves and SIngleton contributed some. Once we are at full health we'll be a nice 8 or 9 deep... lookin forward to it !

No. The bench still stinks.

When Beal gets back, we will be 6 deep. Vesely and Booker are slightly better than useless on good days. Everyone else sucks and would not play on a .500 team. And I'm not betting that Porter will be useful either, not for a good 20 games or so, anyhow.

I don't see Porter providing any meaningful minutes honestly. Ariza can play 32 MPG at SF and occasionally PF. Martell can play 16 MPG at SF and 14 MPG at SG. Beal can play 34 MPG at SG. There simply won't be any PT for Porter. If we resign Ariza, it simply baffles me why we drafted Porter.

Otto was Trevor A insurance. Trevor can walk if he wants. If he wants to stay and they wants to keep him, you can always trade Otto. He would just be stored value at that point.

What's missing in that formula is figuring out his value.

Personally, I didn't like Wall a ton this game. Way to many shots early in the clock. They need to move the ball. That same shot will be there later in the clock. To much hero ball.

Rotations looked a little off to me but may have been in part because they wanted to keep everyone's minutes down. Webby played the most at 34 min.

Lastly, nice to see Singleton was productive. Hopefully he can keep it up.

Oh, and that Maynor air ball was majestic. Bring back Crawford.

[WizardsWorld]

Was real happy with all factors of the game tonight. The starters were great... especially Ariza and Wall. Was also encouraged by Booker off the bench. He looked pretty good when in there. And as said even Ves and SIngleton contributed some. Once we are at full health we'll be a nice 8 or 9 deep... lookin forward to it !

No. The bench still stinks.

When Beal gets back, we will be 6 deep. Vesely and Booker are slightly better than useless on good days. Everyone else sucks and would not play on a .500 team. And I'm not betting that Porter will be useful either, not for a good 20 games or so, anyhow.

Porter will be fine and will definitely provide useful minutes off the bench which would make a strong 7 deep. I liked how Booker looked in this game and think he can be an ok 8th. Vesley I have very little hope for, so any little thing he does is an extra bonus. But I'll call us 8 deep fully healthy with optimism. Cant have an all star squad coming off the bench.

[mhd]

Was real happy with all factors of the game tonight. The starters were great... especially Ariza and Wall. Was also encouraged by Booker off the bench. He looked pretty good when in there. And as said even Ves and SIngleton contributed some. Once we are at full health we'll be a nice 8 or 9 deep... lookin forward to it !

No. The bench still stinks.

When Beal gets back, we will be 6 deep. Vesely and Booker are slightly better than useless on good days. Everyone else sucks and would not play on a .500 team. And I'm not betting that Porter will be useful either, not for a good 20 games or so, anyhow.

Porter will be fine and will definitely provide useful minutes off the bench which would make a strong 7 deep. I liked how Booker looked in this game and think he can be an ok 8th. Vesley I have very little hope for, so any little thing he does is an extra bonus. But I'll call us 8 deep fully healthy with optimism. Cant have an all star squad coming off the bench.

How? Porter is rail thin and can only play SF. He won't be deserving of any PT over Ariza or Webster. My minutes distribution that I point out above doesn't allow for any PT for Porter. He was a stupid pick by our inept GM, especially if we resign Ariza.

[WizKid25]

Counting on an unproven rookie who missed nearly all of summer league, training camp, the preseason and the first month and a half of the regular season to bolster your bench is probably not wise.

[dangermouse]

I'd put money on Porter being more reliable than Singleton straight off the bat. At least that will let us move Webster to backup SG/SF. Ariza is just playing too good to bench at this point. He needs to be in the starting lineup. Having both of them has really been a blessing for us, right now I think we should keep Ariza unless we are able to move him for something worthwhile.

Back to Porter, the comparisons to Tayshaun were fitting when we drafted him, but I think he may have a bit of Jeff Green in him too. Not so much the sneaky athleticism, he is definitely more Tayshaun psychically, but in his all-rounder game, with the ability to turn it up a notch from time to time and turn heads. Both GTown products, too.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Wow! I missed it but for a good cause.

The Wizards are ... .500!

To hold Orlando to a season-low 80 points is very impressive. What are they, 4-1 sans Bradley Beal!?

This is really great!

Awesome that Chris Singleton, a guy many of us wanted cut, contributed well to the team's win.

I have no idea how Otto Porter works in, but if he is the talent many thought on draft night, he'll improve the bench of what could be a real nice squad.

Wow!

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[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

No. The bench still stinks.

When Beal gets back, we will be 6 deep. Vesely and Booker are slightly better than useless on good days. Everyone else sucks and would not play on a .500 team. And I'm not betting that Porter will be useful either, not for a good 20 games or so, anyhow.

Porter will be fine and will definitely provide useful minutes off the bench which would make a strong 7 deep. I liked how Booker looked in this game and think he can be an ok 8th. Vesley I have very little hope for, so any little thing he does is an extra bonus. But I'll call us 8 deep fully healthy with optimism. Cant have an all star squad coming off the bench.

How? Porter is rail thin and can only play SF. He won't be deserving of any PT over Ariza or Webster. My minutes distribution that I point out above doesn't allow for any PT for Porter. He was a stupid pick by our inept GM, especially if we resign Ariza.

I argued for other picks but I am hopeful that Otto Porter is as talented as he seemed back when Cleveland was rumored to be considering him with their top pick. Trey Burke FINALLY balled so well Utah beat a decent team. Otto might be very similarly productive after some time.

mhd, I also have a real hard time seeing how Porter earns time over Ariza or Webster.

One possibility is Otto goes to a trusted D-League affiliate. Terrence Jones of the Rockets and Jeremy Lamb of the Thunder played in the minors last year .



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[leswizards]

mhd, I also have a real hard time seeing how Porter earns time over Ariza or Webster.

If Otto is ready to play right away and contribute, the Wizards should move Ariza for a PF who can give the Wizards just as much production as Ariza, except the production would come for the PF spot rather than the SF. The Wizards would have a 7 deep rotation once Beal is healthy. The only holes would be about 12 mpg game at the back up PG, and 12 mpg at the back up Center/PF spot.

[noworriesinmd]

The team is playing good. I'm not going to get too high or too low on this team. I'll take this win for what it is, we beat a 6-11 squad whose in a rebuild. I didn't take the Indiana loss hard either.

There are a few constants:
* Wall is getting better
* Ariza is in a contract year....most players tend to do better in a contract year.
* The team is improving
* We have no bench
* The FO still sucks.

You can check, but last month I didn't get too down on the team because their record was so bad. I went game by game and showed why we had the record we had (extremely hard schedule). We now have a very easy schedule. Most analyst predicated a bad opening record and improvement after the initial schedule.

They are not going to win 20 or 50 games. They are going to be a middling team with little upside, unless Porter is amazing and we get a FA in the summer while figuring out what to do with Gortat and Aziza.

During the game yesterday I thought to myself, should I blame EG for the decisions he's made?
But I can't get past
* He swung for the fences with Nene. Nene is really really good when healthy, but probably will be a weight in 2yrs.
* The Oka-Riza trade looks good on paper, however net - net we lost a #1 draft pick to get them.

The reason why the bench looked so good last night...Orlando stopped playing. The game was over. 2Q's of basketball was really sloppy.

In terms of people being at the game....come-on it's a Monday after a holiday weekend. There are few people at my job. I didn't expect a sell out crowd. Also college basketball attendance picks up after January. I would not be embarrassed with the turnout at the Booth.

Highlight play of the game the showcases Wall's speed (not sure how the TV picked it up), but 3Q just before the 4min mark. Wall is so fast.

Plus I loved the competition between Wall and Oli. Was fun to watch.

[Rafael122]

The team is playing good. I'm not going to get too high or too low on this team. I'll take this win for what it is, we beat a 6-11 squad whose in a rebuild. I didn't take the Indiana loss hard either.

There are a few constants:
* Wall is getting better
* Ariza is in a contract year....most players tend to do better in a contract year.
* The team is improving
* We have no bench
* The FO still sucks.

You can check, but last month I didn't get too down on the team because their record was so bad. I went game by game and showed why we had the record we had (extremely hard schedule). We now have a very easy schedule. Most analyst predicated a bad opening record and improvement after the initial schedule.

They are not going to win 20 or 50 games. They are going to be a middling team with little upside, unless Porter is amazing and we get a FA in the summer while figuring out what to do with Gortat and Aziza.

During the game yesterday I thought to myself, should I blame EG for the decisions he's made?
But I can't get past
* He swung for the fences with Nene. Nene is really really good when healthy, but probably will be a weight in 2yrs.
* The Oka-Riza trade looks good on paper, however net - net we lost a #1 draft pick to get them.

The reason why the bench looked so good last night...Orlando stopped playing. The game was over. 2Q's of basketball was really sloppy.

In terms of people being at the game....come-on it's a Monday after a holiday weekend. There are few people at my job. I didn't expect a sell out crowd. Also college basketball attendance picks up after January. I would not be embarrassed with the turnout at the Booth.

Highlight play of the game the showcases Wall's speed (not sure how the TV picked it up), but 3Q just before the 4min mark. Wall is so fast.

Plus I loved the competition between Wall and Oli. Was fun to watch.

Eh, you beat the teams you're suppose to beat. If they had played like this for a couple of those losses (vs. Toronto and OKC), we'd probably 11-7 or something, rather than 9-9.

[Ruzious]

I gotta give the Wiz credit for last night's win - especially considering the start of this game thread. Hopefully, it doesn't mean we'll see more LuvaBulls populating future game threads - we don't need them to win.

Seriously, I was impressed with the Wiz' defense. It was part Orlando having no leadership and poor PG play, but the Wiz kept the Magic from having any offensive rhythm aside from the second half of the first quarter. Wall and Ariza are especially good at harassing perimeter players, and the Nene/Gortat combo is getting really good defensively. They kept Vucevic (sp?) from getting anything easy - other than a couple of put-backs - which he's going to get on every team. Vucevic actually looks better to me this season - he's in great shape and looks quicker. He took a couple of awkward shots, but I give credit to the Wiz defense for that. Nene abused Big Baby a few times - to the point that he was obviously frustrated and embarrassed - it's especially bad for a young team to have a veteran sulk like that. Vesely was his usual awful self offensively but was good enough defensively to keep him in the game and eat minutes - so that they were able to rest the starters for the 4th quarter.

Also gotta like that Wall and Gortat have obviously worked on the pick and roll - and what better team to break it out on than Orlando. It shows that Wall is open to learning new skills that will help him and the Wizards. The question is - will he continue to have the patience to use it against better teams when more pressure is on - it's new to him and probably a little outside of his comfort zone. This was the perfect game to gain confidence in it.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The team is playing good. I'm not going to get too high or too low on this team. I'll take this win for what it is, we beat a 6-11 squad whose in a rebuild. I didn't take the Indiana loss hard either.

There are a few constants:
* Wall is getting better
* Ariza is in a contract year....most players tend to do better in a contract year.
* The team is improving
* We have no bench
* The FO still sucks.

You can check, but last month I didn't get too down on the team because their record was so bad. I went game by game and showed why we had the record we had (extremely hard schedule). We now have a very easy schedule. Most analyst predicated a bad opening record and improvement after the initial schedule.

They are not going to win 20 or 50 games. They are going to be a middling team with little upside, unless Porter is amazing and we get a FA in the summer while figuring out what to do with Gortat and Aziza.

During the game yesterday I thought to myself, should I blame EG for the decisions he's made?
But I can't get past
* He swung for the fences with Nene. Nene is really really good when healthy, but probably will be a weight in 2yrs.
* The Oka-Riza trade looks good on paper, however net - net we lost a #1 draft pick to get them.

The reason why the bench looked so good last night...Orlando stopped playing. The game was over. 2Q's of basketball was really sloppy.

In terms of people being at the game....come-on it's a Monday after a holiday weekend. There are few people at my job. I didn't expect a sell out crowd. Also college basketball attendance picks up after January. I would not be embarrassed with the turnout at the Booth.

Highlight play of the game the showcases Wall's speed (not sure how the TV picked it up), but 3Q just before the 4min mark. Wall is so fast.

Plus I loved the competition between Wall and Oli. Was fun to watch.

Noworriesinmind, I predicted 50 initially, because the East is very, very weak. Just defeating eastern teams should put them over .500. Further, they are as good as all but Miami and Indiana. Third seeds win on average over 47 games I would guess-timate.

They might make a minor trade that stokes the bench play. Guys not playing much or possibly disgruntled on other rosters includes Will Barton, Earl Watson, Reggie Evans, Andre Miller, Luke Ridnour, and Brandon Bass.



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[nate33]

Seriously, I was impressed with the Wiz' defense. It was part Orlando having no leadership and poor PG play, but the Wiz kept the Magic from having any offensive rhythm aside from the second half of the first quarter. Wall and Ariza are especially good at harassing perimeter players, and the Nene/Gortat combo is getting really good defensively.

It's become apparent that Nene and Gortat are both exceptional post defenders. Nobody scores on them one-on-one. Heck, Gortat even frustrated Hibbert. They're both pretty good at defending the pick-and-roll too. Their only weakness is that neither guy is much of a rim protector. Nene will step in and take a charge in help defense, but neither guy is going to block a lot of shots from the weak side.

[dobrojim]

impressive wins. Almost no homecourt advantage with the size of that crowd

Puny crowd. Sad.

From the aisle just below my seats which goes down to the tunnel
where the Wiz players enter and leave the court, I went down at
halftime as the players were leaving and made sure I let the
players know that they still needed to win for the fans who
actually DID show up.

My analysis of the game comes down to this bottom line:
John Wall was the best player* on the court. We should win
nearly all the games, esp @ home, where that is true.

3rd seed as of the moment with a cake schedule the rest of the month.
The Clippers at home will probably be the toughest game left in Dec.
The way they are playing, the right way, no reason why they can't be
well over .500 by 2014.

* to Jeff who calls in to the post-game show criticizing Wall...
'he's not an AllStar...yada yada'. John is proving as of right now
to be better than Kyrie as shown by the leadership over his TEAM'S
performance. If it had been necessary, Wall could have gotten
20-22 pts tonight with 15-17 assists. But he left the game with
2 min to play in the 3rd Q and wasn't needed from there. This
following a performance of 26/12/6/5. He's playing WAY better
than Kyrie. Those are the same or better numbers than the ones that
earned him PotW honors just recently. He's like a great conductor
of a well rehearsed orchestra. Or like a surgeon in dissecting
the other team's D.

[dobrojim]

GRJ played with confidence Whit free him

Sorry. In his limited time, GR showed why he needs more seasoning
before he can be counted on were we to actually need him.

I'm glad he got to play. He could be a promising player. But he
is a good ways away from that right now. Witt is wise not to
play him more.

[payitforward]

Bet an obnoxious amount of money on this game (most I've ever spent on any bet).

Why?
Nelson was out.
The losers in vegas all bet on magic.
Knew Gortat could somewhat handle v.
Knew Wall could kill Dipo as a point.
If we won, we would reach .500.

But mostly, because PIF said that Durant would probably rather go to the Magic.

And they covered, and killed, the spread. Celebrating at Picasso in Bellagio watching the fountains.

Woooo flippin' hoooo.

Hey, Barely... -- is that you on the paddleboat? I'm in the main lounge sampling Italian liqueurs, and I think I see you.

(Of course you mean Vegas -- not the real Bellagio!)

(I didn't say KD wd rather go to Orlando, btw....)

[dobrojim]

Ariza has been playing great since coming back from the hamstring injury, but let's get a grip. He's still a role player with no handle and is turnover-prone. At least Webster knows he has no handle so he just spots up.

But I digress. It was nice to see the bench at least hold onto the lead. We have no backup big men but when Beal comes back and if Al every gets back on the court again assuming he doesn't retire, it help our bench. We just need Vesely and a combination of Singleton/Seraphin/Booker to just defend and rebound.

Witt needs to bring Beal off the bench when he returns. Play him 25 mpg instead of 40.

Ariza's been playing better than a simple role player. He's not hot every night
but overall, he's shot well and you can count on him at least once a game to
get a deflection/steal/layup in the open court. He's only TO prone when he
tries to take more than 2 dribbles in the half court. Stop that and his already
good efficiency would be even better. But when Maynor's at PG, Trev doesn't
get the same looks.

Agree with you on Beal, let him come off the bench a la the OKC version of Harden
for a while. Our starters are playing wonderfully.

Our team is a backup PG and a quality 3rd big away from being seriously good.