"Linning" at The Great Wall Of China Town 2/8/12 7pm NBATV

[dobrojim]

All I have to say is...**** the tank tonight, **** the knicks and their transplant fans.. take back the phone booth DC.

+1000

My daughter didn't take it well at all.

It really sucks when your team (and the refs!!!)
allow you to be ridiculed in your own house.

[dobrojim]

McGee at times has played miserably and he seems to be very unhappy this season. Let him go elsewhere, preferably to a team with solid veterans and smart, patient people around him. Keith Smart is getting the best out of Cousins. Let Javale go play for Mark Jackson at GS. Javale isn't solid in a lot of areas, but he used to play with all his heart and he used to go for the spectacular play. Now, he's playing not to be called a knucklehead.

Trade him while you can.

Seems to me his play has really suffered after being criticized
for 'the dunk'.

He needs to get back to trying to have at least a little fun.

That and as Consor said in the post game, Javale struggles with
concepts. That's a diplomatic way of saying he really doesn't understand
some fundamental things about the game. It's not getting better
and it should have by at least a year ago.

[dobrojim]

Wall's D has been putrid tonight

not sure it's all on Wall but it's clearly true that we have been
horrible at denying penetration for most of the season. Wall
has to take at least some responsibility for that.

[JonathanJoseph]

I'm still not understanding how all you pysch majors are figuring this all out.

When everyone except you has figured it out, maybe it's time to do what Michael Jackson said and look at the man in the mirror.

Here's a pro tip, if you think you can accurately pyscologically profile someone you've never met, you might be wrong.

Just out of curiosity, since CCJ has started saying the same things I've been saying, is he part of my secret agenda? How about Greg Anthony?

FYI, when I have the conversation about Wall with fans offline, they couldn't agree more with my take. Here, where there used to be the most intelligent Wizards discussion, it's an elaborate conspiracy theory complete with name calling. Oh well.

[dobrojim]

Figures the one jumpshot Mason has connected on this season, he had his foot on the line.

our season in a nutshell

[dobrojim]

It's not so much that McGee makes bad mistakes.

It's that he looks absolutely ridiculous doing them.

the worst part about it is that he fails to learn from
his mistakes

[dobrojim]

even more funnier is that weve been in foul trouble all game against them. No Melo & Stat yet they seem to be in the penalty with 5 min or more left every single quarter. How is that possible? We still cant defend the screen or pick & roll

the refs really sucked in this game

they probably forgot the home team was in white
due to the Nix getting more (not really) cheers for their good
plays than the Wiz.

[dobrojim]

The biggest difference in this game is Novak. He's the guy that creates so much space for Lin and Chandler to run the pick and roll. This is why we need Ryan Anderson or some other jumpshooting big really bad. It would make Wall so much better.

I totally agree Novak was the difference maker but I believe
that was because we didn't force him to move in order to score.
I think pretty much all 5 of his 2ndQ 3s were just stand still,
catch the pass, shoot. There was one were we flew at him
and he ball/shot faked and was even more open.
Why not deny him a pass or at least force him to move
around to catch the ball. Novak is no mystery. This isn't rocket science.

[MDStar]

CCJ and JJ,

I can't disagree with you guys more on this issue. I was at the game last night and no, Wall didnt play lights out defense but to say that he was the problem with Lin going off, is completely off base. Wall played "ok" on D, not great but just "ok". Sure, a handfull of times Lin beat him one on one, which shouldnt happen (the other guys get paid too though) but if you watched the game, the main problem was how we played the PnR. The big never and i mean never stop Lin from turning the corner and essentially Wall was not only having to go behind the pick setter but also his own teammate. What player can play good defense that way? And I'm sure the 8,000 uncontested layups where Walls fault. Where's was the big man protecting the rim? For every crtiique of Wall you have for getting beat and allowing his man to get to the rim, you could say the opposite and give him praise for doing the same at the other end. The only difference is that you won't praise him because Wall will get into the paint and guess what, there will be a defender there and it won,t be so easy for him. So when he misses or gets called for a charge, you'll be the first to say it was his fault and he should have been more under control. It really does seem like the two of you have a point to make and will do anything with the information to make it. There are two sides to every story. Tell me how many times a defender stepped up and took a charge last night or contested a shot in the paint? No very many if any at all. Now tell me how many times the Knicks were actually in the paint? A whole lot. But Wall is the problem and not the rediculous lack of BBIQ that the entire team has or the lack of a good defensive system.

[dobrojim]

This is rock bottom. Worse than the clippers loss

I don't think so. Washington is fighting. They just don't fight SMART.

New York is executing darn near flawlessly.

fixed

[GoneShammGone]

CCJ and JJ,

I can't disagree with you guys more on this issue. I was at the game last night and no, Wall didnt play lights out defense but to say that he was the problem with Lin going off, is completely off base. Wall played "ok" on D, not great but just "ok". Sure, a handfull of times Lin beat him one on one, which shouldnt happen (the other guys get paid too though) but if you watched the game, the main problem was how we played the PnR. The big never and i mean never stop Lin from turning the corner and essentially Wall was not only having to go behind the pick setter but also his own teammate. What player can play good defense that way?

...

But Wall is the problem and not the rediculous lack of BBIQ that the entire team has or the lack of a good defensive system.

Great points. I'd really like to know what the Wizard's coaching staff teaches in terms of defending pick and rolls. The other night I was watching the Toronto feed on League Pass during the Wiz game, and the Toronto TV guys spent some time talking with Bryan Colangelo. They were asking him why Amir Johnson was having such a big game, and he responded that Amir was "putting our core principles into practice... things like showing hard on the pick and roll, and rolling hard to the basket ... all the things that Dwayne Casey constantly teaches." So these things that you are talking about---showing hard to prevent the dribbler from turning the corner---are points of emphasis for the Raptors. In fact, they are so fundamental, that team management talks about them in TV interviews. My question is: have you ever heard Ernie or Randy mention the importance of showing hard on a pick and roll in an interview?

I mean, its obvious the Wizards big men don't know how to defend the pick and roll, nor do they know how to run it properly. But I still question how much is the player's fault vs the coaches.

[Nivek]

The big showing on screen/roll is ONE way of defending screen/roll, but not the only way. How teams defend screen/roll often varies depending on the opponent and who's in the game. An agile big might be asked to show or trap the ball handler. Other options:

- switch -- usually works best when defenders are about the same size
- sag -- big man sorta sinks back toward the paint. It basically concedes a jumper, but it protects the paint. Wiz did this a fair amount when Haywood was around because he was slow.
- crowd the screener -- basically the big bodies up to the guy setting the screen, which makes it easier for the guard to get past the screen and stay with his man

Meanwhile, the guard has three basic choices -- through the screen, under the screen, or over the screen. "Through" is tough and not done much because it's a lot of physical contact and hand fighting and doesn't really help achieve the goal of stopping the other team from scoring. "Under" works best against guards who don't shoot well. "Over" is better at defending against the jump shooter, but allows for easier penetration.

[dobrojim]

At the moment Wall and Booker are the the lone Zards I can look at and feel are real pieces to this teams future. Mack, Vesely and Singleton can certainly get there as well and have had some bright spots during their rookie campaigns, but each has quite some growing to do. Young, Blatche and Lewis are players that almost certainly need to be jettisoned. Seraphin could still be a keeper, but he does play like a football player often. Evans and Mason are what they are, roster fillers. Turiaf is a player I wouldn't mind keeping around as a fifth big. Lastly I think of Crawford. While he can drive you absolutely insane, I think each team need a player like him. He can get hot and he could be the perfect "Vinny Johnson" player for us. When he's playing bad glue his butt to the bench, when he's hot take the reigns off. He's also a decent passer when he decides to get others involved, rare I know, but still the case.

+1

[jivelikenice]

I trule don't get all the criticism of Wall from last night. Wall & Booker were the only two Wizards to play NBA caliber ball yesterday on ouyr roster. My only criticism from Wall last night was that he should have seen the lack of help he was getting and really tried to score 40 last night, realizing that was the only way we were going to have a shot at the win. I was there last night and really there was no way they could have stopped him from scoring at least 35 if Wall chose to. Lin may have been greant on in the pick & roll game but his defense was abysmal. In regards to Wall setting up teammates, he did the best he could given what he was working with and the offensive sets we ran. Frankly it was a miracle he had 6 assists given what we did on offense. On top of that he could have easily had two more but Singleton missed a fast break lay-up and Young missed an alley-oop.

My criticism last night was of the coaching. They really need to coach their bigs up well enough so that they can guard the pick & roll. If folks paid attention to this team, they wouldn't be that impressed with what Lin did because EVERY team that can pick & roll effectively with their pg has done this to us because our bigs just don't know how to play it. New York ran the same play every offensive series from the 1nd quarter on and we never adjusted. It was a pathetic job by Wittman and only further magnified the need to trade McGee before he becomes a RFA.

I haven't paid to much attention to Tyrun Thomas, but if he is available for Dray and can p[lay any semblance of pick & roll D we have to make the deal.

[Zonkerbl]

When the wizards DID do a big show on the PnR, Lin split it. So later in the game they didn't show as hard and he was able to get around it. That's why they run the PnR so much in the NBA -- once you get Ph.D. bbiq pgs running it, like Stockton, or I guess Lin, there's basically no way to defend it.

[GoneShammGone]

The big showing on screen/roll is ONE way of defending screen/roll, but not the only way. How teams defend screen/roll often varies depending on the opponent and who's in the game. An agile big might be asked to show or trap the ball handler. Other options:

- switch -- usually works best when defenders are about the same size
- sag -- big man sorta sinks back toward the paint. It basically concedes a jumper, but it protects the paint. Wiz did this a fair amount when Haywood was around because he was slow.
- crowd the screener -- basically the big bodies up to the guy setting the screen, which makes it easier for the guard to get past the screen and stay with his man

Meanwhile, the guard has three basic choices -- through the screen, under the screen, or over the screen. "Through" is tough and not done much because it's a lot of physical contact and hand fighting and doesn't really help achieve the goal of stopping the other team from scoring. "Under" works best against guards who don't shoot well. "Over" is better at defending against the jump shooter, but allows for easier penetration.

Nice breakdown, thanks!

But its a little beside the point I was trying to make. I'm sure Wittman and staff have strategies that they ask the players to employ on P&R defense, but is it a point of emphasis? From what Colangelo was saying, this stuff is part of the core principles that the Raptors teach their players. What are the core defensive principles that the Wizards teach and are players held accountable for executing them? I've never heard Grunfeld, Wittman, or Flip before him talk about defensive principles.

I'm not saying they don't teach them, I'd just like to know how much they emphasize them. Knowing that would help answer the question of whether the Wizards players are incapable of learning "concepts" or are simply laboring with sub-par teachers.

[GoneShammGone]

When the wizards DID do a big show on the PnR, Lin split it. So later in the game they didn't show as hard and he was able to get around it. That's why they run the PnR so much in the NBA -- once you get Ph.D. bbiq pgs running it, like Stockton, or I guess Lin, there's basically no way to defend it.

Actually I don't remember Lin splitting the defenders, but I'll take your word for it. But in any case I'd rather force him to try that then let him get around the corner on the big. If you force the guard to try to split the defenders he is going to have a much harder time.

The real point of PnR defense is that it requires the big to hustle and move his feet. He doesn't have to be perfect, but he has to put forth effort. He has to do a bit of work to slow down the dribbler, and he has to hustle to get back to his man once the guard who was screened has recovered. This requires effort, and its the main reason that McGee and Blatche are so lousy at defending the play: they are simply lazy on defense. They don't care enough.

The two big guys the Wizards have that actually do a decent (but still not great) job defending PnR are Booker and Vesley. Its no coincidence that these guys are hustlers.

[cwb3]

This team really tests the fans. It's like they're inventing new ways to make hardcore fanatics lose interest, each and every game.

I am feeling you on this one. . .it is getting very hard to get up for watching these games. I channel flipped early to check in on the Gtwn/Cuse game. . .and never came back.

[jivelikenice]

When the wizards DID do a big show on the PnR, Lin split it. So later in the game they didn't show as hard and he was able to get around it. That's why they run the PnR so much in the NBA -- once you get Ph.D. bbiq pgs running it, like Stockton, or I guess Lin, there's basically no way to defend it.

Actually I don't remember Lin splitting the defenders, but I'll take your word for it. But in any case I'd rather force him to try that then let him get around the corner on the big. If you force the guard to try to split the defenders he is going to have a much harder time.

I agree. I didn't see Lin split the pick & roll much at all. I was at the game and may have missed something but I thought 90% of the pick and rolls allowed Lin to go to his right and he did go right. It was rare that he went left (minus the dunk) and I can't recall him slitting it all at, at least effectively. They should have forced him to beat them more with his jumpshot and/ or forced him to the left more with better help D. It was especially frustrating to watch considering he had no ability to beat the defense one on one in an ISO and then I had to watch all of our guys with more physical ability but less bball IQ play ISO ball.- mainly JC & Young last night

[MDStar]

When the wizards DID do a big show on the PnR, Lin split it. So later in the game they didn't show as hard and he was able to get around it. That's why they run the PnR so much in the NBA -- once you get Ph.D. bbiq pgs running it, like Stockton, or I guess Lin, there's basically no way to defend it.

Actually I don't remember Lin splitting the defenders, but I'll take your word for it. But in any case I'd rather force him to try that then let him get around the corner on the big. If you force the guard to try to split the defenders he is going to have a much harder time.

The real point of PnR defense is that it requires the big to hustle and move his feet. He doesn't have to be perfect, but he has to put forth effort. He has to do a bit of work to slow down the dribbler, and he has to hustle to get back to his man once the guard who was screened has recovered. This requires effort, and its the main reason that McGee and Blatche are so lousy at defending the play: they are simply lazy on defense. They don't care enough.

The two big guys the Wizards have that actually do a decent (but still not great) job defending PnR are Booker and Vesley. Its no coincidence that these guys are hustlers.

I'm sorry but I don't by it being unstoppable. Sure, some point guards can split it but when guards like Lin, Augustine and any other average guard does it, I'd be willing to bet my paycheck on it being bad fundamentals on the part of the big. Don't get me wrong, when run correctly the PnR is tough to defend but not impossible and the defense can at least make it tough on the offense. This team is like a hot knife, cutting through butter.