Trevor Booker starting permanently could fix this team

[hands11]

Poor game from Booker vs Cs but the road win streak survived.
The starters don't really count on Book for much more than rebounds.
And the other Trevor, the one that is playing close to AS level, took
care of things and covered for him.

I didn't see it that way. What covered up for Booker was him not playing and Kevin handling Sully much better then he did.

Trevor A has a great game no doubt. Wall has a great 2nd half. Nene really anchored the second unit and helped Gortat a ton when they played together. But it was Kevin and made up for Booker getting man handled, not Trevor A.

[dobrojim]

Book didn't score, wasn't guarding Sully, he was on Bass who scored modestly.
Also Book didn't play much. I'm not sure he got a board in the first half and
only ended up with like 3.

Seraphin played very well and scored efficiently, 6-9 FG. If he can
figure out how to take advantage of defenses keying on Nene/Gortat,
they'll get him easy buckets (like he got in this game).
Sera also got an assist! Woo-hoo.

[dckingsfan]

Initially, I thought this post a joke - my apologies to the OP.

Wittman has settled on a rotation. And that is a good thing. Stability will help this team enormously.

Wall/Beal/Ariza/Gortat - is kind of a no brainer. It was pointed out by someone (sorry for not remembering the poster) that Ariza plays much better with Wall and Webster is just ballin' (his numbers are as good with our without Wall) so end of story there.

Bench production was a huge issue. With Nene and Webster off the bench, Temple is not as much a liability. Bench issue solved Nene/Webster/Temple.

Which leaves the final issue of who to start at PF. PIF's post in "Official Thread (SFW) -- Wiz at Cs (12/21/13)" answers that question - Booker.

So there you have it with an 8 man rotation with Wittman going to the rest of the bench as needed. I think other than end-of-game management - Wittman has done a decent job this year. We could easily be 2 or 3 games over .500.

Well done Randy.

[dckingsfan]

I think Dark Faze is right that we are better off with Booker starting, and I'm really kind of surprised at the negative reaction he has received. I think part of the problem is that Dark Faze made it sound like the starting unit would actually be better with Booker than with Nene.

There is no question that Nene is a better player than Booker and the starting lineup would be better with Nene rather than Booker, but that's not the question. The real question is: given that Nene and Booker will each play X number of minutes, how best should we allocate those minutes for the good of the team? When phrased that way, it's pretty clear to me that the answer is that Booker should start, but Nene should still get as many minutes as he can handle (which, unfortunately, isn't enough).

The reasoning is simple: Booker is a "garbage man" type of player who scores in the flow of a game on putbacks, rolls to the basket, fast breaks, and other similar situations. A guy like that does best as the 5th option - which is what Booker is when he starts. Booker is far less effective with the backups where he is asked to create more offense. Likewise, Nene is a very good player with the ball in his hands, but is a little less effective as an off the ball player, so his skills will be maximized on the second unit.

The bottom line is that subbing Booker for Nene hurts the starting unit a lot less than subbing Nene for Booker helps the 2nd unit.

Missed this one... could have just quoted your post with a cosign.

[JWizmentality]

I understand bringing Nene off the bench, but in my opinion you are playing with fire starting a severely undersized PF. Booker is no Dennis Rodman by any stretch of the imagination. Going up against solid frontcourt will put us in a hole early and then we are effectively brining Nene on to somehow stop the bleeding. I keep remembering that Detroit game when Gortat was dressed and ready but Whitty trotted Booker out there anyway. I was screaming at my T.V that we were going to get molested by Drummond and Monroe and sure enough. I don't care that Gortat didn't know the system yet, because as soon as things started going south he tossed Gortat in like "Duuuuh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Feed a couple sharks like Drummond and Monroe red meat early and they are going to feast all game long. We had a good thing last year. Why are we tinkering around with it? Ariza or Webster is a wash, but I'll never be comfortable with Booker starting. Nene will effectively be a "Break glass in case Booker getting raped out there" button. And with how long Whitman usually takes to make changes, we'll be down double digits and have to be exerting too much energy coming back.

[nate33]

I understand bringing Nene off the bench, but in my opinion you are playing with fire starting a severely undersized PF. Booker is no Dennis Rodman by any stretch of the imagination. Going up against solid frontcourt will put us in a hole early and then we are effectively brining Nene on to somehow stop the bleeding.

Name me 7 starting PF's who are too big and strong for Booker to handle. I'll give you Aldridge, Duncan, Monroe and Randolph, but I'm struggling to come up with any others (and all but Monroe play out west). Maybe David West or Anthony Davis?

The point is, there aren't that many oversized PF's these days and there are a lot more stretch fours. Booker should be fine on most matchups. As fishercob said, when we play against one of the rare behemoth PF's, we go to the bench early and get Nene or Seraphin in.

[JWizmentality]

I understand bringing Nene off the bench, but in my opinion you are playing with fire starting a severely undersized PF. Booker is no Dennis Rodman by any stretch of the imagination. Going up against solid frontcourt will put us in a hole early and then we are effectively brining Nene on to somehow stop the bleeding.

Name me 7 starting PF's who are too big and strong for Booker to handle. I'll give you Aldridge, Duncan, Monroe and Randolph, but I'm struggling to come up with any others (and all but Monroe play out west). Maybe David West or Anthony Davis?

The point is, there aren't that many oversized PF's these days and there are a lot more stretch fours. Booker should be fine on most matchups. As fishercob said, when we play against one of the rare behemoth PF's, we go to the bench early and get Nene or Seraphin in.

I'm not saying he couldn't handle them, I'm saying we set ourselves up for disaster playing an undersized front court. Who goes to war with a bazooka and a side arm, takes a look at the enemy and says...meh think I'll use my side arm for this. Then when a mortar hits your ass, you're running back to Whitman screaming for the bazooka (where was I going with this)

My only concern is putting ourselves in a hole early. The way we were using Nene earlier this year was perfectly fine.

[nate33]

The way we were using Nene earlier this year was perfectly fine.

Other than the fact that we lost more games while simultaneously running Nene into the ground.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. With Booker starting and Nene coming off the bench, we are 2-0. We are 3-0 with Booker starting and at least 5 of our top 6 guys healthy. Don't let the slow start against Boston fool you. Boston has some kind of ridiculous record in the 1st quarter of games. They are well coached and exploit other teams' weaknesses early. They've won the last five 1st quarters in a row including huge disparities against us (30-14), Detroit (42-23) and Minnesota (29-21).

[hands11]

Book didn't score, wasn't guarding Sully, he was on Bass who scored modestly.
Also Book didn't play much. I'm not sure he got a board in the first half and
only ended up with like 3.

Seraphin played very well and scored efficiently, 6-9 FG. If he can
figure out how to take advantage of defenses keying on Nene/Gortat,
they'll get him easy buckets (like he got in this game).
Sera also got an assist! Woo-hoo.

Booker and Gortat was not a good match for Bass and Sully. Kevin and Gortat, Kevin and Nene or Nene and Gortat was better.

[hands11]

I understand bringing Nene off the bench, but in my opinion you are playing with fire starting a severely undersized PF. Booker is no Dennis Rodman by any stretch of the imagination. Going up against solid frontcourt will put us in a hole early and then we are effectively brining Nene on to somehow stop the bleeding. I keep remembering that Detroit game when Gortat was dressed and ready but Whitty trotted Booker out there anyway. I was screaming at my T.V that we were going to get molested by Drummond and Monroe and sure enough. I don't care that Gortat didn't know the system yet, because as soon as things started going south he tossed Gortat in like "Duuuuh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Feed a couple sharks like Drummond and Monroe red meat early and they are going to feast all game long. We had a good thing last year. Why are we tinkering around with it? Ariza or Webster is a wash, but I'll never be comfortable with Booker starting. Nene will effectively be a "Break glass in case Booker getting raped out there" button. And with how long Whitman usually takes to make changes, we'll be down double digits and have to be exerting too much energy coming back.

That is what is going to happen some nights. And that is also my fear regarding Randy. Like the DET game you mentioned. And like this last game.

I expect MIN is going to be a problem as well.

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400489029

http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gamef ... ame=MINWAS

One thing that would help is attacking them with our SFs. Brewer is light in the trunks. And we will have Trevor A this time. And Kevin is coming off the strong game. Hopefully he bring is big boy pants. And Beal is stronger then Martin. But MIN post combination is a handful.



I would expect Booker and Gortat to get chewed up pretty good by Love and Pekovic.

Back to back against DET shouldn't look any better.

[Ruzious]

Notice Seraphin is playing better recently - to the point where he's been a solid reserve the last 4 games. Now that the backup group has Nene and Webster, it's bound to help the other backups - and maybe we see the revival of Seraphin's career.

[nate33]

Notice Seraphin is playing better recently - to the point where he's been a solid reserve the last 4 games. Now that the backup group has Nene and Webster, it's bound to help the other backups - and maybe we see the revival of Seraphin's career.

Good point. I really hope Randy is seeing this - that Nene is making a lot of bench players a lot better.

[dobrojim]

there was good chemistry btw Nene and KS in the BOS game each getting an assist
on a bucket by the other one. KS appears to have gotten slightly better at grabbing
boards, a glaring weakness in his game. He also seems to be benefiting from
the attention that Nene and Gortat get when they're on the floor.

To repeat what Nate and I have both said, it would seem as though putting
Book with the starters hurts them less than the amount of help putting Nene
with the reserves provides. We can minimize the minutes Nene plays this way
to a lower default number, especially when Book (or KS) happens to be
playing well. As long as Book and KS play well and/or the team continues to
win, don't fix what ain't broke.

[Rafael122]

Notice Seraphin is playing better recently - to the point where he's been a solid reserve the last 4 games. Now that the backup group has Nene and Webster, it's bound to help the other backups - and maybe we see the revival of Seraphin's career.

This is driving me nuts, if KS had shown any of this in the last 4 years (and he has for a stretch, what...2 years ago?), I would have no problem bringing him back next year, but is he just playing well for a few games or is this a sign of things to come? And if he keeps it up the rest of the way, do you bring him back anyway?

Same w/Booker too. These guys have been too inconsistent or injury prone to make a firm decision on whether or not they are part of a long term plan.

[nate33]

Notice Seraphin is playing better recently - to the point where he's been a solid reserve the last 4 games. Now that the backup group has Nene and Webster, it's bound to help the other backups - and maybe we see the revival of Seraphin's career.

This is driving me nuts, if KS had shown any of this in the last 4 years (and he has for a stretch, what...2 years ago?), I would have no problem bringing him back next year, but is he just playing well for a few games or is this a sign of things to come? And if he keeps it up the rest of the way, do you bring him back anyway?

Same w/Booker too. These guys have been too inconsistent or injury prone to make a firm decision on whether or not they are part of a long term plan.

I would resign Booker for $2-3M a year and be pretty happy about it. Seraphin does not deserve anything more than the vet minimum. And frankly, he doesn't even deserve that except that the possibility exists that he can still improve considerably from his current level.

[hands11]

I understand bringing Nene off the bench, but in my opinion you are playing with fire starting a severely undersized PF. Booker is no Dennis Rodman by any stretch of the imagination. Going up against solid frontcourt will put us in a hole early and then we are effectively brining Nene on to somehow stop the bleeding.

Name me 7 starting PF's who are too big and strong for Booker to handle. I'll give you Aldridge, Duncan, Monroe and Randolph, but I'm struggling to come up with any others (and all but Monroe play out west). Maybe David West or Anthony Davis?

The point is, there aren't that many oversized PF's these days and there are a lot more stretch fours. Booker should be fine on most matchups. As fishercob said, when we play against one of the rare behemoth PF's, we go to the bench early and get Nene or Seraphin in.

The problem isn't one player, its two. PF and Centers have to cover for each other. Its not Booker by himself. Its Booker and Gortat against whatever the other team has.

Some nights that combo will be fine. Other night, they will get crushed. DET, MIN, BOS are nights they will be out maned. But against teams like NY or BRK, they are fine. Well NY without Chandler.

He just isn't an every night starter with Gortat as center. Now if they had D Howard, maybe. I understand people want Booker to be the guy. Hell, I was looking forward to it as well. And I like that he added a better mid range. He is a useful player. He just isn't a reliable starter with Gortat. But he is a good player to have on our team. Specially if you are deep enough that you can have him on your bench.

I have little confidence Booker and Gortat will look good together over these next 3 games.

[hands11]

Notice Seraphin is playing better recently - to the point where he's been a solid reserve the last 4 games. Now that the backup group has Nene and Webster, it's bound to help the other backups - and maybe we see the revival of Seraphin's career.

Why yes.

This is a great opportunity for the team and the bench.

Do I expect Randy to maximize it. Not really. I expect more of what we saw last game.

These next 3 games are big. Tough match ups for Booker and Gortat. If Randy makes the right moves, we can win a few if not all of them. If not, I wouldn't be shocked to see a 0-3 run out of this with Booker not showing very well.

This is why Randy would love to play Nene 35 minutes. But that isn't an option.

Hopefully Wall being a defensive maniac will help.

[hands11]

Notice Seraphin is playing better recently - to the point where he's been a solid reserve the last 4 games. Now that the backup group has Nene and Webster, it's bound to help the other backups - and maybe we see the revival of Seraphin's career.

This is driving me nuts, if KS had shown any of this in the last 4 years (and he has for a stretch, what...2 years ago?), I would have no problem bringing him back next year, but is he just playing well for a few games or is this a sign of things to come? And if he keeps it up the rest of the way, do you bring him back anyway?

Same w/Booker too. These guys have been too inconsistent or injury prone to make a firm decision on whether or not they are part of a long term plan.

Line ups and roles makes all the difference for a player like Kevin who is still learning. Same with Ves.

He and Nene against other teams 2nd units is a good match up for the Wizards.

Clearly Kevin is Nene's puppy and Ves is Gortats. Play them together like that. Both put is good summers. Now give them some playing time.

[dckingsfan]

Dark Faze, you are looking pretty prescient here!

[dobrojim]

This is working well with Booker's need to contribute somewhat less with
the starters (he's the 5th option) and with all the team really requiring from
him being defense and boards.

Putting Nene and Webster on the bench has totally transformed them
from frighteningly weak to modestly (or better) strong.

It's working darn well.