The Javale McGee Appreciation thread - part deux

[The Consiglieri]

If you're not getting enough air in your lungs you're also not getting optimal air to your brain, either. Right? This young man has been getting roasted for lack of effort when he has been struggling with lack of oxygen???

Mental lapses and lack of stamina that the casual fan might attribute to stupidity and/or lack of conditioning, could be mostly brought on by pure fatigue.

I felt that McGee was emotionally down during his slump. My best friend growing up used to have asthma attacks a lot more frequently when stuff wasn't right with his emotional well being. I thought stress might have contributed to McGee's asthma.

Regardless of the cause(s), I hope the adjustment provides sustained relief and McGee feels better.

I will add this though, that showboat dunk when we were getting rolled as usual and were like 2-14 or whatever? That's inexcusable, and his complete confusion over why it was a big deal in a negative sense? That's not on asthma, that's straight up stupidity. Asthma effects thinks like detailed and nuanced thinking and attention to detail and focus, it doesnt effect mental make up/character decision making (should i show boat when we suck and are losing again, or should i play it cool, and just take care of business? and for the record, i didnt think it was the end of the world, it was just one more stupid thing the second big 3 continually do in games and in their out of game chatter (NY, Baltche and McGee).

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The dunk might have been stupidity but the backlash could have caused humiliation, depression, and/or anger. All those could have contributed to stress, self-created or not, that made the asthma worse.

The national media attention being very largely negative didn't help his emotional state IMO.

I have never seen McGee as the type to laugh at his own missteps. He seems very much the opposite--sensitive. My theory was the guy has been moping about that and the Wizards not picking up his option. That is all I was saying--not that the asthma caused the guy to do an ill-advised dunk.

The ill-advised dunk, intense criticism and media scrutiny, his mother sounding off in JaVale's defense, Flip getting fired, and Wittman becoming coach -- all these coincided with McGee's slump; and, asthma-related breathing complications.

In one word, stress happened to McGee IMO.

[Benjammin]

Worst part from Mike Lee's blog post is that McGee apparently decided himself to go to his doctor. The Wizard's medical staff seemed to have nothing to do with it...

After the Wizards lost to New York last week, McGee finally decided to get checked out and his doctor discovered that the Wizards center was having some complications with his athletic asthma.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/post/javale-mcgee-playing-better-after-getting-new-asthma-medicine/2012/02/13/gIQAr3zsAR_blog.html

Yes, Javale is a grown man and responsible for his own health, but seriously, if you are paying somebody several million dollars a year for what is in no small part competitive breathing, shouldn't you try to stay on top of his asthma problems? Why does Javale have to decide on his own to go seek more treatment?

Agreed. I've been critical of unproven criticism of the Wiz medical care before, but this is factual stuff. And it's not really the medical staff at fault; it's the coaching staff and management - for not getting this looked at before. I just sent a scathing note to Ted about it, and it'd probably be good for others to do so.

I think there have been several, if not many examples given of questionable Bullets/Wizards handling of injuries, but some people for whatever reason have chosen to be querulous about it. But that's fine, as the late great Richard Pryor said, "Who are you going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes?"

[The Consiglieri]

The dunk might have been stupidity but the backlash could have caused humiliation, depression, and/or anger. All those could have contributed to stress, self-created or not, that made the asthma worse.

The national media attention being very largely negative didn't help his emotional state IMO.

I have never seen McGee as the type to laugh at his own missteps. He seems very much the opposite--sensitive. My theory was the guy has been moping about that and the Wizards not picking up his option. That is all I was saying--not that the asthma caused the guy to do an ill-advised dunk.

The ill-advised dunk, intense criticism and media scrutiny, his mother sounding off in JaVale's defense, Flip getting fired, and Wittman becoming coach -- all these coincided with McGee's slump; and, asthma-related breathing complications.

In one word, stress happened to McGee IMO.

Could certainly be, but if they finally got him the right meds now, that could be it too or a combo. As I said earlier, having the wrong meds can make all the difference. When i got set up with a new insurance company and surgery was being considered for my sinuses, i was given an asthma prescription, the second i saw what the med was i was prescribed i knew it was worthless, it is the sort that only works for people with exceedingly mild issues since its a very mild acting inhaler, i never used it period. If McGee was givine similar prescription he'd have a similar result which is why im so irritated right now. It's not difficult at all to monitor this sort of thing, and if he himself was the only person on top of it, it's really a true indictment of the organization.

[pancakes3]

The ill-advised dunk, intense criticism and media scrutiny, his mother sounding off in JaVale's defense, Flip getting fired, and Wittman becoming coach -- all these coincided with McGee's slump; and, asthma-related breathing complications.

In one word, stress happened to McGee IMO.

Take off those kid gloves, CCJ. McGee is all of 24 years old now. If getting bashed for showboating and a few yo-mamma jokes is all it takes to keep him from playing basketball, then McGee should probably look into another profession. I think the asthma thing is probably overblown as well. He looks tired at the end of games but it's a far cry from being asthmatic. I think the recent slump was just an effect of trying to do too much after too much early success. He tried to force things offensively and slacked defensively. Then the minutes started shrinking and he got frustrated and to paraphrase Keanu in the Replacements, got trapped in "quicksand". A few good games now can help bounce him back, but I don't think deeper psychological/physiological factors are at play here. As much grief as we give the med staff, they are still doctors. Even interns in med school right now can keep asthma in check.

[Illuminaire]

It's not difficult at all to monitor this sort of thing, and if he himself was the only person on top of it, it's really a true indictment of the organization.

EG has always seemed to want to be hands-off with our players. I know not everyone is going to be Miami, running the team with an iron fist, but the entire tenor of our organization is "let the kids play."

That has to end. Presently. I don't mind EG's draft history. I actually think he's done well in trades (Abe's marching orders considered). But his approach to leadership is indefensible. It's time for a change.

[hands11]

Agreed, did a quick lookup.....Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, Dennis Rodman all had asthma. They played in their prime 20 years ago. Paul Pierce has asthma as well.

To me....the asthma angle sounds like an excuse for poor play/effort. Obviously I could be wrong, but asthma isn't a debilitating affliction these days. You take your meds, have your inhaler and go about business.

But should they be monitoring it? Of course........

Yeah, that's why I thought in the past when the asthma excuse was used it was a crock, but in this case - it sounds like it wasn't being monitored. If he's all of a sudden able to play harder for more minutes, ya gotta wonder if this was a problem all along - that was very treatable.

Ok. What I want to know is why was Pam asleep at the wheel. The way she is all about her little boys game and monitoring his shots, etc. How did Momma not get her meal ticket to the doctor. I know damn well my mother would have been on it. Even at my age. Mom is mom. And I thought Pam was super mom.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The ill-advised dunk, intense criticism and media scrutiny, his mother sounding off in JaVale's defense, Flip getting fired, and Wittman becoming coach -- all these coincided with McGee's slump; and, asthma-related breathing complications.

In one word, stress happened to McGee IMO.

Take off those kid gloves, CCJ. McGee is all of 24 years old now. If getting bashed for showboating and a few yo-mamma jokes is all it takes to keep him from playing basketball, then McGee should probably look into another profession. I think the asthma thing is probably overblown as well. He looks tired at the end of games but it's a far cry from being asthmatic. I think the recent slump was just an effect of trying to do too much after too much early success. He tried to force things offensively and slacked defensively. Then the minutes started shrinking and he got frustrated and to paraphrase Keanu in the Replacements, got trapped in "quicksand". A few good games now can help bounce him back, but I don't think deeper psychological/physiological factors are at play here. As much grief as we give the med staff, they are still doctors. Even interns in med school right now can keep asthma in check.

No kid gloves from me. Overall, McGee is what we see right now IMO. He has been in the league 4 years and I think while he might improve some aspects of his game, this is who he is. The good and the bad are what to expect henceforth.

I appreciate the good, but realize the position the Wizards are in. They don't want to pay him what another team will. Something like a health concern might make the Wizards even less committed to re-signing McGee than they appear to be. The player that McGee is is one the Wizards have CLEARLY shown they don't have much faith in.

I think JaVale McGee will be traded, either before the deadline or at the end of the season.

[hands11]

Im pulling for the 75% O2 levels being the cause for the WTFs being so high with him.

Lets hope at least more air helps some. And someone send him to Gils house so he can hang out in the O2 room.

http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail. ... -_-product

Cant they get him hooked up like Riggo used to do.

[Nivek]

I find it hard to believe McGee's asthma was severe considering he played 27 minutes per game in college and it took another couple years in the NBA before it was diagnosed. I do believe that his meds were wrong or inadequate, because that's the Wiz medical staff's move. But whatever. Hopefully they have it right now. If nothing else, hopefully it removes a psychological barrier and he's able to perform closer to his capabilities.

[Earth2Ted]

If you take Mike Lee at face value in his article, he (Lee) credits the coaches for noticing JaVale's fatigue after the NY game and talking him into getting himself checked out. So maybe they're doing something right.

Whatever meds they changed, I'm hoping that it helps him focus not only during games, but also in practice- hopefully this will help him get closer to the number of reps he needs (post moves, pick and roll defense, boxing out, etc, etc) to make him a consistent and dependable player.

Probably just setting myself up for more disappointment but, hey, he looked pretty good against the Pistons last night.

[Ruzious]

I think there have been several, if not many examples given of questionable Bullets/Wizards handling of injuries, but some people for whatever reason have chosen to be querulous about it. But that's fine, as the late great Richard Pryor said, "Who are you going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes?"

I'd guess the reason for "some people" (to quote Benjamin) being querulous is that they realized the people doing the screaming usually didn't have sufficient evidence, but that's been discussed over and over... and over... again.

[Ruzious]

In the 3 games since his asthma was "fixed", Javale's averaged 21.3 points and 11.7 rebounds - while shooting 61% from the field and 63% from the line. In the previous 5 games, he hadn't gotten double figures in either scoring or rebounding. He's the Jeremy Lin of the Wizards - well, not exactly. But it's exciting to finally see him touching on his potential.

[Benjammin]

I think there have been several, if not many examples given of questionable Bullets/Wizards handling of injuries, but some people for whatever reason have chosen to be querulous about it. But that's fine, as the late great Richard Pryor said, "Who are you going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes?"

I'd guess the reason for "some people" (to quote Benjamin) being querulous is that they realized the people doing the screaming usually didn't have sufficient evidence, but that's been discussed over and over... and over... again.

If by sufficient evidence you mean statistically significant studies comparing the Wizards vis-a-vis other medical staffs, then you are correct. There have been so many anecdotal examples however that a simple preponderance of evidence would point to it being more than a mere coincidence. Mais, c'est la vie.

[Ruzious]

I think there have been several, if not many examples given of questionable Bullets/Wizards handling of injuries, but some people for whatever reason have chosen to be querulous about it. But that's fine, as the late great Richard Pryor said, "Who are you going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes?"

I'd guess the reason for "some people" (to quote Benjamin) being querulous is that they realized the people doing the screaming usually didn't have sufficient evidence, but that's been discussed over and over... and over... again.

If by sufficient evidence you mean statistically significant studies comparing the Wizards vis-a-vis other medical staffs, then you are correct. There have been so many anecdotal examples however that a simple preponderance of evidence would point to it being more than a mere coincidence. Mais, c'est la vie.

Ya know what, Ben - we've already had this discussion. You haven't added anything to it, so unless you're getting off on irritating me, you're just wasting my time and your time.

[tontoz]

Now that McGee has his asthma problem under control and is playing better I am back on the fence with him. If i was a GM i don't know what i would do with him. Tough call

[theboomking]

All of this talk about JaVale's issues being an asthma problem is just silly. McGee plays like a stupid player. This isn't because he is hypoxic. How could JaVale's failure to rotate on defense be a result of his asthma. How is sprinting to the wrong end of the court at speed a result of asthma. JV plays like a dummy. JaVale needs Namenda, a dementia medicine, not an inhaled steroid. Maybe an ADHD med is needed.

McGee is in his 4th year. He should be amongst the best defenders in the league, but he is a terrible defender, both as a man to man defender in the post, and as a help defender, which is a travesty. McGee isn't a good defender because he doesn't want to be. Either it isn't important to him, or he is as dumb as a box of rocks. McGee cares about making flashy plays.

We have seen blips of statistical production from JaVale before. He started the season producing at a fairly high level if you only looked at points, rebounds and the like. The fact of the matter is that like Blatche, the team doesn't miss McGee when he is out. Unless he makes a fundamental change in his priorities and the way he approaches the game, some team is going to overinvest for style over substance. I hope that team isn't us, and that we can trade him for a more substantive piece.

[pancakes3]

boomking, i've agreed with just about everything you've typed today! (except for a rookie drummond being better than mcgee)

[theboomking]

boomking, i've agreed with just about everything you've typed today! (except for a rookie drummond being better than mcgee)

The Drummond comment was a qualified statement! "If he rotates, blocks shots, and defends the rim..."
Thanks though Pancakes. I feel bad for harping on McGee. I don't get the sense that he is a bad kid, and he is improving offensively. Minus the stoopid fadeaway hooks, McGee is a pretty decent offensive player compared to what he used to be. I want McGee to succeed and stay here. I just have almost zero confidence in that happening.

[nate33]

All of this talk about JaVale's issues being an asthma problem is just silly. McGee plays like a stupid player. This isn't because he is hypoxic. How could JaVale's failure to rotate on defense be a result of his asthma. How is sprinting to the wrong end of the court at speed a result of asthma. JV plays like a dummy. JaVale needs Namenda, a dementia medicine, not an inhaled steroid. Maybe an ADHD med is needed.

I agree that his mistakes can't be blamed on asthma. But usually, he does all those stupid things while also pulling down 10+ boards in 30 or so minutes. Lately, his rebounding rate has tailed off too, and asthma might have something to do with it.