Wiz 2010 General Season Tracker - Grading - How we doing ?

[hands11]

Ok, get the Nick rabbits feet out and find some wood to knock on, this team may finally have its full roster. Who knows who will start or what the rotations are but at least we finally have all the vets and near vets if we need to go down the stretch for a win. Kirk, Nick, Howard, Lewis, AT, Dray, Armstrong, Yi, and McGee should all be available. So who will be inactive will 15 players finally healthy. I suspect Hudson, Hamady, one of Seraphin or Martin.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 05032.html

Optimism hasn't exactly been in liberal supply of late for the Washington Wizards, who won just three times in December and have won twice over their last 10 games.

Throw in injuries to prized rookie point guard John Wall, veteran guard Kirk Hinrich and former all-star Josh Howard, and the mood at times was downright gloomy for a team that has been seeking anything close to stability since the start of the season.

At least for one day, Coach Flip Saunders and the rest of the club had something positive on which to lean in that regard when all 15 players participated in practice for the first time on Tuesday morning before departing for Philadelphia, where the Wizards are seeking their first road win.

Among the players who participated in practice were Hinrich and Howard, both of whom were inactive in Saturday night's 92-81 loss to New Orleans at Verizon Center. Hinrich missed the game following a left thigh contusion that forced him from a 104-90 victory over the Pacers on Dec. 29 after 12 minutes. Hinrich practiced for a second consecutive day.

Howard, meantime, sat out against the Hornets with a sore left knee 11 days after making his season debut with Washington. Howard joined the Wizards last season during a trade deadline deal but suffered a season-ending knee injury in his fourth game.

He got back on the court this season on Dec. 22.

Neither player appeared encumbered by his ailment during the portion of practice open to the media, and Wizards officials were optimistic that both would be able to play on Wednesday night.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... r-pra.html

"Tommy Heinsohn was saying, 'Poor Doc, he's going through his fifth starting lineup,'" Saunders said. "How he's had to make so many changes and how it's got to be so tough. We were at 15 or 16 or whatever. But it's all a part of it, you know."

"Better than yesterday," Howard said when asked how he felt physically. "Still a little bit sore. Still day-to-day. Hopefully it will get better overnight, and I can come out there tomorrow and play."

[hands11]

Time for an update.

Just beat Utah at home in one of the best games they have played all year. Utah was playing awesome on the road. (27-14, 12-7 away)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310117027

First back to back wins
First win over a .500% team.
Wall season high in assist with 15

The team had been struggling all year with young players and lots of line ups because of injuries but still making progress with individual players. It just hadn't come together but it looked a lot mental. Wall had been struggling with his shot but found it tonight. Nick is dinged but fighting through it while producing. Dray has a hurt shoulder from two games ago and hasn't found his grove all year or his shot but he got it going tonight and looked like Dray from late last year. Great all around effort from Dray on both ends.

Nick has been balln and growing up a lot mentally but he still has been cold on the road. He will get a chance to change that next game. At home he has been amazing in his starting role averaging about 25 pts a game on amazing shooting.

Even Yi is turning it on as of the last couple of games. His shot selection is much better and even playing good defense. Yi seems to be settling in as a reserve after returning from his second knee injury that had him missing games.

McGee has been in early foul trouble the last two games but is bringing his hops and energy and grabbing rebounds and blocking shots. He is still very raw offensively but he has started to shot a across the middle sweeping hock one a game. Now getting 8 rebounds in 27 minutes along with 2.65 blocks and 9.1 pts. And the good news is, the kid is still just scratching the surface of what he could be doing. At time you see a glimpse of a man in there but mostly he is still just a kick growing into his body.

Even AT is contributing nicely as a reserve. AT i country strong and when he is mentally into the game, he drives, finishes hard and can hit the open J. And he is even starting to rebound.

And Lewis is just a steadying influence and solid vet. He is a good passer and team player. Glad we got him. He is giving a little of everything. Some outside, some inside, some boards, but nothing is forced. Nice glue player with veteran experience and some leadership qualities.

Kirk has been playing a little below his ability but he has a new set of goggles he is wearing because of an old eye injury and I think he is still getting used to them.

Team D is looking better all the time.
On offense, something seemed different tonight. There was more interior passing and they ran some nice breaks. Wall played great and looked like he regained some confidence. He forced the issue without forcing his shot. 15 assist and 7-12 shooting with 5-7 FT and against Deron Willams. Nice. Exactly the way I expect a pro level PG to play. D Wiliam still had a great game but Wall did also.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310117027

I have no idea if this back to back win and first win against a .500 team will light a fire for this team to play at a new leave but there is a chance it might. This is a new line up with Lewis on board and if Dray and Wall have actually turned the corner, we could be watching a new level of basketball from this team. They don't lack talent, they lack experience and confidence so while a few wins won't teach them everything they need to learn, it could give them the added edge they need to relax while also helping to give them more fight.

Still lots for them to learn but as of today, things are looking brighter.

Injuries.
Howard is back out until the end of Jan. Getting another scheduled shot in the knee.
Dray - shoulder but playing though it. He is in pain sometimes but always keeps playing.
Nick - I think a knee or ankle from weeks ago but he has been playing
Wall - Knee and hand but been playing

They have still only practiced with the full roster including Howard just a few times but they have settled into a rotation.

Wall
Nick
Lewis
Dray
McGee

Bench
Kirk, Yi, AT

Martin, Booker, Seraphin and Armstrong only play in situations.

Hamady is in the developmental league now.

In games with Wall, Nick, Lewis, Dray, McGee and Kirk all healthy ( first game was 12/27 @Hou ) they are 5-3 and 4-4 in January regardless of injuries but it has been an easy Jan so far up until they just beat Utah at home.

Maybe they go for 3 in a row and the first road win next. MLK is (14-24) they are only 8-9 at home and on a 3 game losing streak.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

They are better with Lewis at SF.

The second half of the season will be a lot better.

[dobrojim]

^+1

moving Gil puts N1 @2

getting Lewis gives us a very long (as fugop points out elsewhere)
frontline. Generally speaking, that's a good thing.

Tough stretch coming up, we'll see how we do.

[hands11]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03505.html

So this team may finally have a solid vet core of vet leaders with Lewis, Howard and Kirk to go along with Nick, Dray, McGee, Wall and others. We may finally get to see what they look like. They have had the core of vet and key youngs together for only two games this season. They are 1-1

Looking like Howard may be ready for the home game against Orlando. Feb 4 th.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301218027
The game they almost beat Miami they didn't have Wall, Gil or Lewis. But had Howard, Kirk, Nick and Dray

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301220027
W -Then the crushed Charlotte 108-75 the next game without Wall, Gil or Lewis and line up as above.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301222027
L - Then they played Chicago to a seven pt lose on a night Dray had a terrible game. Howard and Lewis first game together off the bench with no Wall but with Kirk.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301231011
L - to SA, Kirk, Nick, Lewis and Howard. Wall off the bench. No Dray or McGee. Lewis first start.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301227010
L - at Houston lost by 7. Core Available. Kirk, Nick, Howard, Lewis, Dray, McGee with Wall of the bench

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301229027
W - Core Available. Beat Indy 104-90 with Kirk, Howard, Lewis, and Wall off the bench. Howard aggravated knee and started shutting it down the following game.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301231011
Back to back at Indy but we lost Kirk and Howard was dinged.


Howard made his season debut on Dec. 18, the day Gilbert Arenas was traded, and nearly helped the Wizards pull off an upset of the Miami Heat. But after playing eight games, Howard said he had to shut himself down when tendinitis prohibited him from doing any squats without discomfort. Two weeks ago, Howard elected to have a platelet-rich plasma injection to help promote a healthier, more natural recovery process. He is expected to return some time in the next week or two.

"It's going to be nice to have him back," Coach Flip Saunders said. "He's vocal. He's got very good leadership, trying to help out our young players. I think it's really hurt us, that we haven't had a chance to try to get some consistency with him because of that. It's funny, because he'd like to even do more. But when you're not playing, you can only say so much."

John Wall said Howard's presence has been helpful. "He still is a leader on this team, a guy everybody looks up to, and we just got to do what he say," he said. "Josh gives us a lot of advice. He's probably one of the main ones that's talking on the sidelines or when we're in the huddle. He says, 'No matter if you're up or if you're down, you've got to go hard, every minute, every second you're out there.' When we're not doing that, you see the results in the game."

[hands11]

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?id=310213005

Finally got their first road win against Cleveland.

Howard finally made it back on the court and he played great and he started.
Lewis is out with a nagging knee that will likely need surgery at some point but I think we will see him again after the AS break but he will only get like 20-25 minutes a game.

Wall
Nick
Howard
Dray
McGee

Wall has turned the corner on his D and is now jumping over the top of screens. He is also finding his game which is setting up others, coast the coast fast breaks when they are there and the occasional outside shot. His shooting average is finally going up . 29-62 over the last five games and he is rebounding. averaging 5 over those games.

Nick is still cranking it up and playing solid D

Dray is finding his old glue game. Shooting less and passing more. Last 5 games he is taking about 10-11 shots a game and his average is going way up. 29-54 and he is averaging 4 assists a game with 7.6 rebounds. This is where Dray needs to be. Less forcing one on one moves and more letting the game come to him. Just fill the lane and shoot in rhythm. Rebound. Put backs. A few outside shots. The occasional post move. Also he has been doing well is get loose balls and keeping plays alive.

McGee is looking very fresh legged still and seems to slowly be maturing. I still think the kid could be amazing one day. Just a unique talent at his size but he still isn't consistent. He can get 15 rebounds one game and then 2-3 for several games and he still gets in foul trouble to easily.

Kirk is looking healthy again and he is adjusting to his goggles. 28-56 over five games and 6-12 from 3.

Lewis and Howard are both solid vet pros. If both are healthy, that changes the dynamics of this team a lot since they are so young. As it is, you can't count on either because of knee issues.

But when healthy, this team has some solid talent and decent depth.

Wall/Kirk
Nick/Howard/Martin
Howard/Lewis
Dray/Lewis/Booker
McGee/Seraphin

Yi backing up the PF/C and you still have AT and Armstrong in the wings plus prospects in Hamady and Mustfa.

They could work several line ups including Howard and Lewis together or even Lewis starting if Dray reverts back and stops playing his glue game.

If this team were to start the year over today and Howard and Lewis are healthy, there is no way they are not in the playoffs and if McGee has another year or two of seasoning, they would be very good.

[Dat2U]

So one road win against the worst team in the NBA by far and now we've turned the corner?

Funny how hands seemingly only updates this thread after wins, lol.

[Wizards2Lottery]

This team has solid talent?

I must've been living under a rock for the entire season.

[hands11]

So one road win against the worst team in the NBA by far and now we've turned the corner?

Funny how hands seemingly only updates this thread after wins, lol.

Or you can look at it like I update it when something significant happens.

Howards return
The first road win

Seems significant so I posted.

Another loss.. not so much so.

As for the comment about the team not having talent. Sure they do. Don't be blind.

A review of the talent was most of the update. They may not have a Wade, Kobe, KD established type but that doesn't mean they don't have talent.

Wall is clearly an amazing talent and with his new level of D and effective scoring, he is looking good.
Nick is better than some want to admit. He is very talented. 17 PPG season and 21 PPG over last 10
Howard and Lewis are established playoff level talent. Howard has just been injured. Howard has played a lot better than most thought he still could, only he is injured now.
McGee is a freak athlete who has improved and is only going to get better.
Kirk is an established pro level PG who plays solid D.
And Dray while he has disappointed a lot of us, he was being asked/trying to do more than he is capable of doing. He isn't a lead dog. He is a nice compliment big who can pass, rebound and shoot in the flow when there are other viable option on the court with him. He isn't a good iso one on one player you run everything through with few other options.

Thats seven talented players and then they have some role players to fill in from likes of Martin, Booker and Yi. All are useful in limited roles. Problem is they are established as reliable yet.

Totally healthy and at the experience level they are at right now, they are a talented team that needs to stay healthy so they can gel. I'm not saying they are SA, but healthy with Lewis, Kirk and Howard, they are about the 6-7th seed. Most people would say playoff teams are talented. Thats all I was saying. They are more talented today that there record. They aren't old and fading. They are young and on the rise.

Am actually excited again to watch them play. I know it was only Cleveland but I saw them do things individually and as a team that looked very different. Players were fitting into their roles a lot better. And they definitely came out focused and with energy. Now they know if they do that and play with in themselves, it works well. They ran. Right played D mostly. And lost of people blocked shots and rebounded. Lot more for them to learn, but that was a good lesson and experience for them.

I fully expect them to come out with the same energy against Orlando. I don't except the same result because they have no answer for Howard, but not many teams do. If Flip was a river boat gambler, he might want to start Seraphin on Howard to protect McGee from early foul trouble. Let Seraphin get two fouls in 5-6 minutes than maybe roll in Armstrong for a foul or two over the next 5-6 minutes. By then Howard will be coming out. Then put in McGee so he can do his thing. If I as Flip, I would us other players fouls to protect McGee. He needs to be on the court more then 12 minutes. He simply has to much energy and effects the team in a positive way when he is blocking shots, running and dunking.

Jameer and Gil vs Wall and Kirk. I like our chances there.
JR and JJ vs Nick and Marin. If Nick is hot I like our chances there also
Hedo vs Howard. If how plays like last game, I call that even also with J Ho the better defender.
Anderson vs Dray Advantage Dray

The problem in D Howard but that is what they added a big body like Seraphin. He isn't ready for him yet but we need to use his fouls and his size to help.

I don't expect the Wizard to win, but I do expect them so some carry over from their last game.

[AceDegenerate]

So one road win against the worst team in the NBA by far and now we've turned the corner?

Funny how hands seemingly only updates this thread after wins, lol.

Or you can look at it like I update it when something significant happens.

Howards return
The first road win

Seems significant.

Another loss.. not so much so.

As for the comment about the team not having talent. Sure they do. Don't be blind.

Go take your Wizards have talent argument outside this forum and give everyone a good laugh.

[verbal8]

As for the comment about the team not having talent. Sure they do. Don't be blind.

A review of the talent was most of the update. They may not have a Wade, Kobe, KD established type but that doesn't mean they don't have talent.

Wall is clearly an amazing talent and with his new level of D and effective scoring, he is looking good.
Nick is better than some want to admit. He is very talented. 17 PPG season and 21 PPG over last 10
Howard and Lewis are established playoff level talent. Howard has just been injured. Howard has played a lot better than most thought he still could, only he is injured now.
McGee is a freak athlete who has improved and is only going to get better.
Kirk is an established pro level PG who plays solid D.
And Dray while he has disappointed a lot of us, he was being asked/trying to do more than he is capable of doing. He isn't a lead dog. He is a nice compliment big who can pass, rebound and shoot in the flow when there are other viable option on the court with him. He isn't a good iso one on one player you run everything through with few other options.

It is not that the Wizards have no NBA talent. It is that they only have about 1/2 the young talent that they need. Hinrich, Lewis and Howard are really irrelevant because they will be retired when Wall is at his peak. The talent that matters on the Wizards right now is: Wall, McGee, Young and Blatche. Hopefully between Booker and Seraphin they can get one guy who can contribute solid minutes down the road. Shakur and Martin are nice end of bench guys, but I don't think they crack the rotation on a contender.

[Spence]

So one road win against the worst team in the NBA by far and now we've turned the corner?

The Wizards defense almost looks good compared to Cleveland. Only luck and the law of averages allow the Cavaliers to ever get a stop.

[Spence]

I'm not so down on the Wizards. When the season began I thought it looked like a 20-22 win team. If you're building around a 19-year-old a year or so removed from his high school prom, you should be prepared to take some lumps. The Wiz are playing about as well as I expected them to play this year, perhaps a bit better, actually.

[hands11]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2011/2/15 ... #storyjump


Or if you have your own web site, it sounds something like this. Basically the same thing I wrote.

[hands11]

As for the comment about the team not having talent. Sure they do. Don't be blind.

A review of the talent was most of the update. They may not have a Wade, Kobe, KD established type but that doesn't mean they don't have talent.

Wall is clearly an amazing talent and with his new level of D and effective scoring, he is looking good.
Nick is better than some want to admit. He is very talented. 17 PPG season and 21 PPG over last 10
Howard and Lewis are established playoff level talent. Howard has just been injured. Howard has played a lot better than most thought he still could, only he is injured now.
McGee is a freak athlete who has improved and is only going to get better.
Kirk is an established pro level PG who plays solid D.
And Dray while he has disappointed a lot of us, he was being asked/trying to do more than he is capable of doing. He isn't a lead dog. He is a nice compliment big who can pass, rebound and shoot in the flow when there are other viable option on the court with him. He isn't a good iso one on one player you run everything through with few other options.

It is not that the Wizards have no NBA talent. It is that they only have about 1/2 the young talent that they need. Hinrich, Lewis and Howard are really irrelevant because they will be retired when Wall is at his peak. The talent that matters on the Wizards right now is: Wall, McGee, Young and Blatche. Hopefully between Booker and Seraphin they can get one guy who can contribute solid minutes down the road. Shakur and Martin are nice end of bench guys, but I don't think they crack the rotation on a contender.

Right, they do have that young talent and that is some potentially very nice young talent.
I think most are sold on Wall to be a top PG so that leaves Nick and McGee. Could both not live up to their potential. Sure. Could they both end up being very good to great starters. Yep.

As for only having half the young talent we need. You did mention those other potential pieces in Booker and Seraphin. You need role players also.

But every other starter on this team doesn't have to come from a top draft pick and probably won't. Our vets now are Howard, Lewis and Kirk and two of them are over paid. But they aren't signed forever. They have time to work through their contracts. They can be replaced by established talent by moving their expiring contracts, resigned later for less, or traded for picks. It is not like they are stuck with lots of long contracts.

I like what they have right now and it should be interesting to watch the rest of the year. That is all I'm looking for right now. The other pieces will hopefully fall in place in time. They are not stuck like they were last year when they had to dump players just to have any options. They haven't even had a chance to see how they play with Howard active this year not to mention Howard and Lewis at the same time.

We should know shortly after the AS break. It's always a question until it actually happens but piece by piece there has been progress. Walls D. Nicks overall game. Dray limiting his shots and playing a better overall game. Add the vets and lets see if they can help this machine run more focused. It's what is going to happen anyway. I'm just hoping they start to get some synergy and find their roles. They have a better chance with Kirk then without but even if they move him, they should still shot improvement over the first half.

[hands11]

Ok, another chapter in this season anals

Kurt and Neck are trade to ATL for Mo, Bib, The Craw and a 2011 first.

Most on the board are praising EG for trade.

This just goes to show the war on drug isn't over because the board never praise EG. Well except me and Lyrical and a few other.

Wall just called out some of the team but not fighting enough.

Book looked good last game off the bench but it was another blow out game vs the Sixers.
Lewis was bad.
Martin was also
McGee didnt even play much
Dray started good by going inside then faded to the outside and sucked
Howard was back up PG
Seraphin was tough but didnt enter till late


Flip didnt empress anyone and is on maybe people hot seat.

And we started a fire the next coach thread.

But mostly everyone is happy with the trade even if they played like crap last game.

The trade was the best thing since Wall and McGee showed well int the AS break.

Nick and Lewis didnt play leading into the break because of injuries to their knees

[hands11]

OK

Back to back competitive games against two the best teams in the league. Miami and Dallas.

Dray missed both games out with a hip injury. The question remains, does Dray fit here?
And Howard left the Dallas game with his knee still bothering him.

The roster is better the way it is now after the trade.

Crawford is quick and fearless. Reminds me of a Profit baby Jordan type. No, I'm not saying he will play anything like Jordan. I'm more talking about his swag. Some people are saying he is a Gil type. Nice pick up. He is a PG/SG or SG/PG type.

Booker is a monster. So physical, fast and athletic. He is build like LeBron and even looks like him some. Again, I don't think he will turn into LeBron but with that kind of build and leaps he will be able to do some of the stuff he does around the rim. 6-8 240 . LB is 6-8 250. Booker clearly likes to hit the weights so he is only going to get stronger.

Seraphin is very interesting. Another strong, quick footed, tough guy that runs like a deer. And he has a game around the hoop with baby hooks. 6-9 275. Rich Mahornish.

This team is moving in the right direction. They have some power on this team finally. They have quick across the board. They have Wall who will be a star for years. And now they have another nice guard in Crawford to go with Nick. Plus they have two more first picks coming up this year.

I think the next move that will make the biggest difference to start Seraphin. We need that power in the post. McGee still isn't consistence enough. To many mental break downs where he give us momentum breaking easy baskets. McGee an be amazing some night, but he just isn't consistent so bring him off the bench. We need post power every night and that isn't McGee right now.

I think his team a done a lot of rebuilding in just the last year and a half which is pretty quick to get so much done. Should be interesting seeing what they do the rest of the year so we can more clearly see what they need to do moving forward.

Maybe Dray and a first plus whatever for a established athletic strong PF.

[hands11]

Ok, they are in the home stretch of tank for a top pick. Third worst record.

They have two wins on the road having recently won one the last game of a west coast trip on a back to back against Utah and as always, they played short handed.

Nick is still out with a knee issue. He came back for part of a game and got the knee bumped and went out again.

Lewis hasnt played in a while. Got some injection into his knee. May have surgery.
Howard hasnt played in a while. He has injections also.
Booker is now out with a fracture in his foot. Done for the season.
Dray just returned last game after being out of a while with a shoulder sprain.

Wall will miss one game after getting ejected for taking two elbows in the face by Z. Well Wall didnt care for that so he took a shot back at Z and got ejected. Footnote. Juwan Howard is a loser. Miami is the new Cleveland. I hate them.

Crawford is the story of the day. With Wall out he went for 39 pts EG got Crawford in a Kirk trade to ATL plus he got their first round pick.

So it has been a rebuilding year and we have lived through all that comes with that. Plus on top of that, it has been another injury plagued year. Flip has started something like 40 different starting line ups in 70 games.

It is a team of kids and D League players right now but they are still fighting and individual players have shown progress. Flip hasn't lost the team. They just took Miami deep into the 4th and they didn't even have Wall.

Current Roster.

Crawford/Mustafa - Wall out for one game suspension.
Jeffers/ Martin
Mo Evans/
Dray/Yi
McGee/Seraphin/Hamady

WOW
Out. Wall, Nick, Lewis, Howard, Booker

[nate33]

Pace-adjusted per-36 numbers for the past 10 games:

Code: Select all

Player           PTS  REB  AST  STL  BLK   TO  FTA eFG%  TS%  PER
mcgee,javale    16.3 10.8  0.9  0.6  2.9  1.2  4.5 .579 .602 22.5
blatche,andray  26.5 15.5  2.8  2.5  0.7  2.1  7.1 .470 .501 32.4
evans,maurice   14.2  4.8  0.6  1.1  0.6  1.1  2.5 .505 .554 14.3
crawford,jordan 19.0  4.0  4.4  1.4  0.3  2.8  3.6 .438 .482 15.3
wall,john       16.9  3.1  6.8  1.4  0.7  3.3  6.9 .419 .506 16.4
jeffers,othyus   9.3  7.2  2.5  1.9  0.0  2.1  5.1 .453 .517 11.4
jianlian,yi      9.9  6.6  0.7  1.2  0.7  1.4  2.0 .425 .433  8.0
seraphin,kevin   8.7  9.1  0.0  1.5  1.5  2.9  0.7 .500 .482  6.9
martin,cartier  10.3  4.0  3.2  1.2  0.4  2.0  1.6 .479 .505  7.5

Note, Blatche has only played 3 games so there's a sample size problem.

[Illuminaire]

Are you implying that WonderBlatche may not maintain a 32 PER for the rest of the season? >.>