Official Thread - Wizards vs Pacers (5/11/14)

[WallToWall]

How many easy layups did we miss? I counted 4. There may have been more. We would have been in the game if we got those.
Our FTs were good! Glad to see we can hit 80+% when we want to.
Ariza didnt have a good defensive game. Or maybe George was just gonna get his points today no matter what. One or the other....or both.

That last play where we had the ball... I am actually going to put it on Witt. That was a silly play.

The games wasnt lost there though. It was the silly 3 point shots that we kept taking because we were looking for the dagger.

[dlts20]

the most disappointing thing right now is that even when Wall makes shots, he's still not gaining confidence. In the 1st half he made that floater (which he only took because he was forced to) and the next play he got the steal and layup. Any other time he would get agressive after that and atleast take 2 shots soon after. He didnt even look at the rim after that.

Then at the end of the game he makes a 3 and then 3ft's. I use to call him heat check Wall during the season because anytime he makes a 3 or makes a couple of shots in a row, you know he's going to take another one right after. Tonight he did that and again didnt even look at the rim despite being wide open at the end. Confidence is completely gone and back ot back makes isnt even giving him confidence. Now its turned into fear

[MikeTheKid]

Being in the crowd tonight was the worse, even Rodney on the Mic knew it with about 3:30 left in the game. He tried getting the crowd back in it but no dice. I was in 114 by the Pacers tunnel and you could hear Vogel yelling plays, no energy tonight from crowd........sad

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[long suffrin' boulez fan]

I mostly like CWebb as an analyst... But even he is getting caught up in the whole "this team is young. They'll learn from this experience" thing.

He said this while a lineup featuring Al Harrington, Ariza and Nene was on the floor.

I would be incredibly pumped if only it were true that a young core was getting experience in these playoffs.

Amazing... The non sport, WaPo writer in today's Five Washington Myths column in the Outlook section actually debunked the whole youth myth... Why can't the Wiz beat writers actually see this?

[LyricalRico]

Not much to add. The old guys gave it their all, and had us positioned for the win. They even had the crowd into it. But the starters couldn't close it out. I still think a little more Miller late might have been enough late. Either way, complete missed opportunity.

[Earth2Ted]

Wow- after not having watched any of the playoffs, I turned on the game with a minute left, Wiz down 3 with the ball, and you could already tell from John Wall's body language that it wasn't going to end well.

I think part of it is that they are getting a little overwhelmed by the pressure after having handled it so well for the 1st 6 games of the playoffs. Wall and Beal are going to get better at that as they mature. But having said that, they are never going to be enough to carry us to conference finals or beyond.

As well as Ariza and Gortat have played at times this year, maybe it's not the worst thing in the world to let them go, and get us a true all star front court player with that cap space within the next 1-2 years.

[dlts20]

BTW, alot of Wall's turnovers and now coming from the Pacers playing him to pass because even when he shoots down the lane for a lay in, he still always tries to kick it out or dish it. The Pacers play him to pass even when he has them beat and in the lane. They know he wont take shots and its causing turnovers. I rahter see him go 5-21 then for him to play scared. I bet if he got aggressive then his FG% would go up. He was getting bailed out because the guys around him were making shots so he could just dish everything but they arent stars and now when teams shut them down, they look to him and he has no where to turn. He has to do it himself but he's looking to be a role player

[barelyawake]

Losing SUCKS but how awesome is it to see a pumped up crowd cheering for the WIZARDS again? It's been too long.

I would've agreed with this - except the crowd was still lacking: Look back at when Paul George was at the line to take 2 FTs to potentially take the lead for the first time since the 2Q with about 2 minutes left in the game.

You'd expect to have trouble hearing the announcers gush about Paul George over the crowd noise since it was such a pivotal point in the game to potentially take the lead with Wizards up 89-88. I mean, this is a MUST WIN game, right!?

Nope.

Not in DC -- not unless they're giving away free chicken or something.

#SoWizardsFans

Dude, when you've watched this nonsense long enough, it's hard to get excited. Washington fans aren't stupid. They fully understand the system better than most -- after all they live in DC (the ultimate rigged system).

[dlts20]

one last thing to add about Wall that I havent liked. The last few days in interviews it seems like bad Wall is back. The one who acts like a brat. He had stopped doing that and was always the first to take responsibility but people have been criticizing him the last couple of days and he seems to be getting defensive or doesnt want to take blame. Hope he looks in the mirror tonight.

All I ask is that for game 5 he goes all out. If he does that and we lose then I can take it but I want to see him play one game like he's suppsoe to. He doesnt even have to play well. I just want to see him try to be a star. If he fails and sucks then I can live with it but I want him to go down with his pistols firing and not just fall in the corner like a scared kid

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Wall sucked but so did Nene. Those two cost us the game.

Don't forget about Gortat's no-show. He's been so bad that we had to go to the AARP Club for the majority of the game.

Gortat was on the bench with the lead 19 and he never got back in.

Nene got hammered at least 4 or 5 times with no foul called. He was a lot worse than Gooden or Harrington. I blame Nene more than Gortat.

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[LPHotspur]

This is one of those games where you can't just point to only one reason why they lost. Everything contributed to this loss. Everything from missing free throws, just flat out choking under pressure, Wall playing bad, Nene not doing it, the refs showing why people think the NBA is at least somewhat rigged, maybe some coaching mistakes, the Pacers being good when it counts, etc. Still going to be proud of the team no matter what. I said I'd feel ok if they didn't get swept.

Now though, it's time for the next step. My leash on Wall extends into next year. It'll be interesting to see if they learn from these experiences. It'll be interesting to see if we're in the playoffs next year and if Wall plays better. If he doesn't, I'll be thinking we need something more. I kind of already do. Good year though.

alot of reasons but in basketball, your franchise player has to be great. Witt is a subpar coach and those other guys are role players to second fiddles. Wall is the star so he is the main reason for this loss by far to me but unlike others, I truly have no worries about Wall's future. I still say this is just like Gil being burnt out during our 1st playoff run. He carried us all year, is not use to playing this many games, had no backup for over half the season, didnt miss any games, had to create for everyone all year, Beal sucked most of the year, Nene was hurt, Wall has never played meaningful games, and never been to the show. He's just burnt out if you ask me, right at the worst time.

Again, I would call this a choke job or say that he sucks if it started during the playoffs but he lost his stroke at the end of the season with 5 games to go and hasnt shot good for a whole game since. I have no doubt he'll beast next playoffs and anytime after. I think he's burnt out. I was hoping for a 2nd wind and still hold out slight hope because if good Wall shows up then I still think we can win 3 straight but thats just hope. He'll be fine after this though. Still, I really hate this system. I wouldnt bring back Witt or pay Gortat alot of money but thats me. Get a new system and a stretch big

I'm saying tonight was a bit of choking from the team, not just him specifically. I have no idea if he's burnt out or not. And truth is, none of us know. He did struggle in the last 5 games of the season but he had a lot of rest before this series started like the rest of the team. But even though Wittman would hate me for saying this, I feel it has almost as much to do with inexperience as it does him being burnt out.

I hope I'm not being ridiculous by posing these questions. What if he's just not a star quite yet? Or to put it more accurately, what if he's a star but just not a super star (I think there's a difference). Or what if he's a star but he's not the type of star that can give you 30 when it counts the most? And what if he never will be? I think it's fair to ask these questions. Because tonight, I saw the difference between a star in the making or a star vs a superstar in Paul George.

I just don't think it's Wall's game to light it up from a PPG standpoint. He's about getting others involved. And that's a great thing. I do think Wall will be good in the future. But I just think this team is missing a real go to scorer in the clutch. Beal might be the closest thing that we have to that. And I think that's something most teams need, especially in the playoffs. And that's why I think his development is equally important. Even when Wall was not burnt out (if he is burnt out now), he wasn't lighting it up. He hovered below 20 PPG this season. With nights like these, I just feel like we need a player that can do something even close to what Arenas could do as far as points go. Even a player that could average 25 would be a great boost.

[dandridge 10]

Honestly, I think Wall, Nene and Gortat were equally bad. I think Ariza was decent but had some horrible fouls against George. Beal was solid, but the missed lay-up and free throw were big.

I am the most worried about Wall though. It appears as though he has lost his confidence. Win or lose, I hope he regains it next game.

Bottom line though is I think the series is over. The Pacers are the better, more experienced team. Hopefully, Wall and Beal can use this as a learning experience and come back better next year.

[dlts20]

he doesnt have to light it up but he's shooting like 32% for the last 14 games and he's way more likelty to score 6pts then he is 20 right now when he averaged 20 on the season before the slump

[dlts20]

I would love for Wall to get a call or a visit from Calipari like Hibbert did from JT3. He needs help and I dont trust Witt-Cassell. I believe they give him asz backwards advice

[LPHotspur]

I just realized another thing we have to consider as far as Wall's struggles was that eye injury. Not to pile on the excuses, but who knows how much better he plays without that injury.

[Deivy202]

No doubt we will target melo. Wall isnt clutch and I think beal isnt a elite player till a lomg while. I think we get melo we can win next year or in two we lack an elite player who can acore 20-30 ppg .

Wall mentally is scared its nit his fault people go through it

[Illmatic12]

one last thing to add about Wall that I havent liked. The last few days in interviews it seems like bad Wall is back. The one who acts like a brat. He had stopped doing that and was always the first to take responsibility but people have been criticizing him the last couple of days and he seems to be getting defensive or doesnt want to take blame. Hope he looks in the mirror tonight.

All I ask is that for game 5 he goes all out. If he does that and we lose then I can take it but I want to see him play one game like he's suppsoe to. He doesnt even have to play well. I just want to see him try to be a star. If he fails and sucks then I can live with it but I want him to go down with his pistols firing and not just fall in the corner like a scared kid

To be fair, he's clearly scared ****less and I think the way he's talking is him trying not to show any weakness DURING the series. That's what people do when they're scared, they try to convince themselves that there's nothing wrong. He's trying to hold it together because there are still games to play.

As a competitive athlete, you don't want to show weakness during the heat of battle. But I have a feeling that after the playoffs are over, Wall will probably open up and admit that he was nervous and screwed up

[Darko Miliminutes]

Beal is just not ready to win this kind of game, over PG and the pacers. But he's proving that he's the one that will be capable of it in the future.

Wall has been exposed. Hope i'm wrong, and i really hope to be. But Wall has an inferior bball iq, and no moxy.

[Mickstix]

Meh, blow a 19 pt lead.. Who couldn't see that coming.. Hard part is for the first time in a long time I cringe when Wall and Nene come back into the game. It's like the offense takes a nose dive.. Really hope Wall is mentally strong, cause he looks flat scared to me.. Deer in the headlights scared.. Gets paid too much money to be scared of success.. 1 more game and guess they can join the Caps on the linx.. Yippee!! Back to the normal DC sports scene!

[Illmatic12]

Beal is just not ready to win this kind of game, over PG and the pacers. But he's proving that he's the one that will be capable of it in the future.

Wall has been exposed. Hope i'm wrong, and i really hope to be, but Wall has an inferior bball iq, and no moxy.

I've been hard on Wall, but we can't say he has no bball IQ unless he fails to learn from his mistakes next year.

It's really hard to switch up what you're doing in the middle of the postseason, especially the first time around. Athletes are creatures of habit. Once I watched the first 2 Bulls games I knew Wall was gonna look like crap the entire playoffs. Maybe a playoff-tested vet who knows the ropes can learn to adjust their game, but Wall has basically been holding on for dear life trying not to fall apart on national TV. I doubt he's even spent much time trying to analyze his play or how he should be attacking the defense, etc. Remember, they only have a day in between games and it's not like Wittman knows how to guide the team through the playoffs.

Wall will breathe a big sigh of relief when this is all over, and then I'm sure he'll work on his game even harder over the summer. Next season things will slow down for him in the playoffs.