WAS @ IND 7 PM EST - Continue the tank amidst opportunity

[closg00]

not going to win games with wall playing as bad as he has been the last 4 or 5 games.

he has been complete crap lately. 2 assists and 5 turnovers tonight.

Our position is weakened because Wall doesn't have a back-up who can threaten to steal his job. We really need to address this during the off-season.

[Ed Wood]

Kemba isn't efficient playing for the Cats, but at-least he has hit clutch-shots in college and for the Cats. Kemba is going to improve. I would take him over Vesely.

I would also, which is the softest of softball endorsements. Also

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

They moved the ball around well for 3 quarters then just fell apart. I think they just start to panic a bit when they have a chance to win.

Another strong defensive performance though. Indy scored only 93 on 39% shooting. Some bad calls by the refs gave them some unearned foul shots. Also the dumb turnovers by the Wizards gave them some easy points.

The defense was exceptional. Even with Granger, Hibbert, Hill, Collison, and George on the court it felt to me the Wizards matched up real well. Seraphin and Nene moved well and the rotations were really good.

The Wizards were sunk by Wall and Crawford's decision making in the fourth.

Wittman sitting Martin for Singleton did not help things, either.

But the team defense was really good.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Well, we've gone from double digit defeats every night pre-all star break to single digit nailbiters.

Thats progress.

+1

Much as I'm bothered by that fourth, these losses are for the best and the team (except for Wall) is getting better.

[Jay81]

I dont get why crawford dosent get to the line more. He is a good ball handler and his herky jerky movement should be able to get him to the line 4-5 times a game

[FAH1223]

I dont get why crawford dosent get to the line more. He is a good ball handler and his herky jerky movement should be able to get him to the line 4-5 times a game

He settles way too much for jumpers and he still hasn't figured out something called shot selection.

[DCZards]

You're right,ccj. Wall played terribly down the stretch...as he has pretty much the last few games. But he'll be fine. Wall is far from a finished product...a work-in-progress if you will. He needs to spend the off season working on the fundamentals, like shooting and feeding the post, and not touring the country creating summer league game highlights.

[hands11]

Wall has had a 2 and a 3 assist games in the last 5. The other three games were 9 assists.

Those 2 and 3 assists games were his worst of the year.

Has he spoken to this in any interviews ?

As for Crawford, numbers rarely tell the entire story but he has been putting up decent numbers the last 5 games. Some games back he went on a role. Then he cooled down. Not he seems to have it going again.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/4243/jordan-crawford

20 pts per game on .466 shooting. And thats which below average 3 pt shooting.

[closg00]

Kemba isn't efficient playing for the Cats, but at-least he has hit clutch-shots in college and for the Cats. Kemba is going to improve. I would take him over Vesely.

I would also, which is the softest of softball endorsements. Also

What can I say, I wish we could un-do our draft. I think Singleton is going to fine eventually, but Ves and Mack? BUZZER!!!

[Higga]

We are the masters of tanking. Anyone can get demolished by 20 from start to finish but it takes real skill to constantly find ways to screw things up late. We deserve Unibrow just for that.

[nate33]

not going to win games with wall playing as bad as he has been the last 4 or 5 games.

he has been complete crap lately. 2 assists and 5 turnovers tonight.

This.

The team has lost the last 5 games by 4, 2, 8, 3, and 2 respectively. Wall has been dreadful in all five games, averaging just 12 points on 31% shooting. If Wall had been playing like he did in February, we would have won at least 4 of those 5 games.

So for the most part, the team has played pretty darn well. If Wall can find his shot, and if Crawford can be replaced, we should be a solid team next year.

[nate33]

Wall has had a 2 and a 3 assist games in the last 5. The other three games were 9 assists.

Those 2 and 3 assists games were his work of the year.

Has he spoken to this in any interviews ?

As for Crawford, numbers rarely tell the entire story but he has been putting up decent numbers the last 5 games. Some games back he went on a role. Then he cooled down. Not he seems to have it going again.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/4243/jordan-crawford

20 pts per game on .466 shooting. And thats which below average 3 pt shooting.

20 points per game of .466 shooting isn't so hot when we're talking about a guy who only gets to the free throw line 2.6 times a game. His TS% over those 5 games is just .538. While that's certainly a heck of a lot better than his season average of .490, it's still not much to write home about, particularly if this is supposed to be a good stretch for him. Nick Young averaged that for an entire season last year, but with much better D and fewer turnovers.

I just can't understand why Whitman doesn't discipline Crawford for the wild shots he takes. I'd start Roger Mason if I were Whitman.

[llcc25]

I'm still on the Wall train. Haven't given up on him yet. I think year 3 will be key for him in determining whether he is a franchise cornerstone for us or whether we are better off w/o him. Nonetheless, I do think we need to bring in more capable backup than Mack this summer and possibly someone who can start if Wall struggles. Aaron Brooks of who is playing this year in CBA b/c of lockout comes to mind. Word is he is having a great year there leading his team to finals. He is technically an RFA of PHX but word is its unlikely they sign him to multi-year deal. He is 2 years removed from being the most improved player in NBA when he was at HOU and PHX thought so highly of him they trade Goran Dragic and a #1 pick for him. I think he would be a great backup PG addition for this ballclub next year. He's only 27 year old and I just remember him having a great feel for the game when I saw him play in HOU. I think that is the biggest know on Wall right now more than anything.

[JonathanJoseph]

That was a really bad fourth quarter for Wall

--He missed two consecutive FTs.
--Right after two ridiculously early-in-the shot clock misses by Crawford, instead of setting up the offense Wall did a Larry Hughes-like 1 on or 3 fast break where he charged.
--On yet another one-man break he took a jumper and missed badly. No concept of time or situation is bad for a PG.
--Later, Wall over-penetrated with his head down and after getting defended under the basket John Wall threw the ball all the way in the backcourt.

Crawford is a gunner and I expect dumb stuff from him now. Wall really played poorly. The only other thing that stood out in the fourth was Singleton in for Martin.

Regardless, another loss is good for more ping pong balls.

This.

[nate33]

I'm still on the Wall train. Haven't given up on him yet. .

I don't think anybody has given up on him (well, except maybe JJ). Clearly, Wall is a talented player who has shown spurts of excellent productivity. I still expect him to be a top 8 point guard in this league with the potential to be a top 3 point guard.

That said, I'm definitely disappointed in his recent play after he looked so good in February. I wonder if he's hurt?

[montestewart]

Wall has had a 2 and a 3 assist games in the last 5. The other three games were 9 assists.

Those 2 and 3 assists games were his work of the year.

Has he spoken to this in any interviews ?

As for Crawford, numbers rarely tell the entire story but he has been putting up decent numbers the last 5 games. Some games back he went on a role. Then he cooled down. Not he seems to have it going again.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/4243/jordan-crawford

20 pts per game on .466 shooting. And thats which below average 3 pt shooting.

20 points per game of .466 shooting isn't so hot when we're talking about a guy who only gets to the free throw line 2.6 times a game. His TS% over those 5 games is just .538. While that's certainly a heck of a lot better than his season average of .490, it's still not much to write home about, particularly if this is supposed to be a good stretch for him. Nick Young averaged that for an entire season last year, but with much better D and fewer turnovers.

I just can't understand why Whitman doesn't discipline Crawford for the wild shots he takes. I'd start Roger Mason if I were Whitman.

On the plus side of this, Crawford has looked a little better, mostly because they've been dropping, even if they look like the same crazy shots. I hope he's not in the team's future (or at least they plan to keep him only as a backup if they can't move him), but as laughable as it sounded when Buckhantz cited Crawford's longest in NBA 20+ game streak (even he was probably chuckling inside) it might catch the interest of opposing GMs. If Crawford finishes out the season in a like manner, this offseason might be the peak time to move him for any value.

[JonathanJoseph]

not going to win games with wall playing as bad as he has been the last 4 or 5 games.

he has been complete crap lately. 2 assists and 5 turnovers tonight.

This.

The team has lost the last 5 games by 4, 2, 8, 3, and 2 respectively. Wall has been dreadful in all five games, averaging just 12 points on 31% shooting. If Wall had been playing like he did in February, we would have won at least 4 of those 5 games.

So for the most part, the team has played pretty darn well. If Wall can find his shot, and if Crawford can be replaced, we should be a solid team next year.

"Welcome to the party, pal!" (in my best John Maclane)

To that point, any response should be interesting since posters said I "had no credibility" after saying the same thing about 48 hours ago.

Wall can and probably will find his shot but it still won't make up for the dumb play. Judgement isn't something you learn. Late in his 2nd NBA season some understanding of the game should be showing up regularly if it's going to come. He should at least not be regularly costing his team games.

His play wasn't just dumb down the stretch. How about the 2 points Wall gave up to George Hill late in the first half? Hill was in the open court and Wall let him get to the bucket to go for the block (again) yet Hill ran him under the basket and scored uncontested. A simple scouting adjustment by a back-up PG is a free 2 points Wall gave up. Still going for the highlights and doesn't understand that it's a losing play.

Looks a lot like Javale McGee Jr to me.

[llcc25]

I'm still on the Wall train. Haven't given up on him yet. .

I don't think anybody has given up on him (well, except maybe JJ). Clearly, Wall is a talented player who has shown spurts of excellent productivity. I still expect him to be a top 8 point guard in this league with the potential to be a top 3 point guard.

That said, I'm definitely disappointed in his recent play after he looked so good in February. I wonder if he's hurt?

I'm wondering if the trade might of actually hurt his game. When our team was more of an uptempo team that fit to his strength. Now with Nene, Wittman wants to utilize inside out half court game and I just don't think Wall is adjusting well particularly b/c he cant hit that consistent J. I think this summer he needs to stop playing those fast break summer league games and focus more on running the point in the half court set. He needs to watch tape of CP3 and Nash and everyday and commit to improving in this area. I think he can do it and once he does, sky is limit for him.

[montestewart]

^
Agreed. No more wasted summers Wall. Get to work.

[JonathanJoseph]

I'm still on the Wall train. Haven't given up on him yet. I think year 3 will be key for him in determining whether he is a franchise cornerstone for us or whether we are better off w/o him. Nonetheless, I do think we need to bring in more capable backup than Mack this summer and possibly someone who can start if Wall struggles. Aaron Brooks of who is playing this year in CBA b/c of lockout comes to mind. Word is he is having a great year there leading his team to finals. He is technically an RFA of PHX but word is its unlikely they sign him to multi-year deal. He is 2 years removed from being the most improved player in NBA when he was at HOU and PHX thought so highly of him they trade Goran Dragic and a #1 pick for him. I think he would be a great backup PG addition for this ballclub next year. He's only 27 year old and I just remember him having a great feel for the game when I saw him play in HOU. I think that is the biggest know on Wall right now more than anything.

That seems like a mighty significant indictment of the prospects for John Wall.