Official Game Thread: Wiz vs Mavs Jan 21st 1pm

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

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whats the difference? Is it scheme,chemistry or is this team just better without Arenas. Even last year, when we had the top record in the east at the all star break, we were winning games like 123-120 and having a tough time blowing anybody out.

I believe all of the above.

Defense, scheme, and even chemistry are better now as is the team.

[dobrojim]

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I believe all of the above.

This board is very argumentative now and I don't like it that I can't say what I feel without being sure it will start yet another rift, but I think it's all of the the above.

Defense, scheme, and even chemistry are better now as is the team.

I don't want to start anything either....we're friends here mostly at least

but here's where I differ from you, when Gil comes back, if he doesn't
start D'ing up he's going to stick out like a sore thumb 'cause everybody
else is. Etan I worry more about not because of effort which he does
give. but results which unfortunately he does not. Although it's possible
he could in the right situation which could be for brief periods at PF
as you have suggested. But as a reg thing, it's not where I would go
because AB and OPec are just better players than Etan (OPec may
not be yet but will be soon).

[miller31time]

Gilbert was "D'ing up" prior to his injury. He was playing better defense than Antonio Daniels was at the time, and better defense than Antonio Daniels is currently playing.

The only thing Gilbert is going to do when he returns, other than slightly making our defense better and picking up our offensive pace, is to make the 12th best offense in the NBA around the 3rd - 6th best.

[P'Oed]

here we go with the Gilbert stuff again. Didnt they say he'd be coming off the bench when he returns anyway? Anyway...everyone pull for Portland right now and Detroit tonight

[MJG]

here we go with the Gilbert stuff again. Didnt they say he'd be coming off the bench when he returns anyway? Anyway...everyone pull for Portland right now and Detroit tonight

Arenas himself said he'd come off the bench if the team is still playing this well, so he wouldn't screw up the chemistry. I have my doubts that he'll still feel that way a month from now, and I'd be shocked if EJ let him do that anyways.

[dobrojim]

Gilbert was "D'ing up" prior to his injury. He was playing better defense than Antonio Daniels was at the time, and better defense than Antonio Daniels is currently playing.

The only thing Gilbert is going to do when he returns, other than slightly making our defense better and picking up our offensive pace, is to make the 12th best offense in the NBA around the 3rd - 6th best.

No argument from me

I think all this talk about being better without Gil is pretty foolish

OTOH, his absence has created an opportunity that we have been
fortunate in that players have made affirmative contributions in
those absences. Etan's absence has been a blessing for AB and now
OPec as well. Gil's absence has allowed AD, Mason and N1 to get
minutes they never would have otherwise seen. They've turned lemons
into some pretty tasty lemonade.

[queridiculo]

Gilbert was "D'ing up" prior to his injury. He was playing better defense than Antonio Daniels was at the time, and better defense than Antonio Daniels is currently playing.

The only thing Gilbert is going to do when he returns, other than slightly making our defense better and picking up our offensive pace, is to make the 12th best offense in the NBA around the 3rd - 6th best.

Thanks. We'd been playing pretty solid defense even before Gil went out. Where we were struggling early was on the offensive side.

There's no doubt going to be an adjustment period for Gil, but with the team playing well together it shouldn't be too hard for Arenas to come in and pick his spots.

Gilbert keeps defenses honest, and when he gets his legs back teams won't be able to crowd Butler as much and we'll be able to turn the FT attempts back into our favor with somebody that's a constant threat to attack the rim.

What has really changed on the defensive side is the rotations and the fact that we went away from this ridiculous doubling players on the wings and perimeter. The defensive concepts are a lot more fundamental now and execution is a lot better as well.

If anything I think the Wizards success so far this season will make Arenas a better team player because he's been able to see first hand that he can trust the guys around him to get it done.

[Ruzious]

One thing that really caught my eye today. I know we've talked about the coaching staff, but the bench braintrust is head and shoulders better than anything I can remember in recent memory. Ayers is another head coach out there who has finally gotten this SAME bunch to buy into a defensive system. We know how valuable Hopla has been. And Eddy Tapscott I think is having a very positive impact in whatever role he's in...player development? He's a good guy to have around. And kudos to Eddie for embracing these guys and making them an integral part of what he's trying to do. I don't know what happened with Thibodeaux, but whatever, I have a hard time imaging he'd be better at getting the team to play defense than what they're already doing out there.

EG did a Dan Snyder (with Abe's money) and hired a crew of the best assistants out there - just without paying them each millions and millions of dollars - even creating positions they never had before. The reason it's so much more effective for the Wiz than for the Skins is that EG is a GM and knows what he's doing. If Snyder hired a GM with EG skills and let him run things, he'd likely be having a LOT more success.

[dobrojim]

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EG did a Dan Snyder (with Abe's money) and hired a crew of the best assistants out there - just without paying them each millions and millions of dollars - even creating positions they never had before. The reason it's so much more effective for the Wiz than for the Skins is that EG is a GM and knows what he's doing. If Snyder hired a GM with EG skills and let him run things, he'd likely be having a LOT more success.

I'm not sure about the skins, but it does seem more than evident
that the coaching staff is working really, really well. Kudos to the
new guys, kudos to the old guys who made adjustments.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Good win. We outplayed them and are the better team this year. Good effort from the bench. Great defense by everyone.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I don't want to start anything either....we're friends here mostly at least

but here's where I differ from you, when Gil comes back, if he doesn't
start D'ing up he's going to stick out like a sore thumb 'cause everybody
else is. Etan I worry more about not because of effort which he does
give. but results which unfortunately he does not. . Although it's possible he could in the right situation which could be for brief periods at PF as you have suggested. But as a reg thing, it's not where I would go
because AB and OPec are just better players than Etan (OPec may
not be yet but will be soon).

I hope that's true, but I worry more about his quantity of shots more than his defense. I think guys play better when they get the ball on offense. I think the big three was all about offense and shots, but the culture of the team is different.

In addition to the quantity of shots (note, I didn't say his offensive efficiency, because he's a great offensive player when healthy) I also worry about the individual eclipsing the team. It's not Gil but the other players standing around and not playing as energetically at either end when he's in there. But that MIGHT NOT EVEN HAPPEN if Gil comes back and plays defense and shares the ball, which HE CAN DO if he chooses.

But where we definitely agree is that we both are more concerned about Etan's return.

Gil's a great player and it's hard for a great player to hurt the team.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Jamison is really starting to worry me. If we can hold on to him, we could have a chance at the finals next year. But the way he's playing, I don't know how we're going to be able to sign him and sign gil to a max contract...

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

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Thanks. We'd been playing pretty solid defense even before Gil went out. Where we were struggling early was on the offensive side.

There's no doubt going to be an adjustment period for Gil, but with the team playing well together it shouldn't be too hard for Arenas to come in and pick his spots.

Gilbert keeps defenses honest, and when he gets his legs back teams won't be able to crowd Butler as much and we'll be able to turn the FT attempts back into our favor with somebody that's a constant threat to attack the rim.

What has really changed on the defensive side is the rotations and the fact that we went away from this ridiculous doubling players on the wings and perimeter. The defensive concepts are a lot more fundamental now and execution is a lot better as well.

If anything I think the Wizards success so far this season will make Arenas a better team player because he's been able to see first hand that he can trust the guys around him to get it done.

Great post, hermitkid.

That's what was different! Very few open perimeter looks for the Mavs. There wasn't any collapsing and doubling inside and the rotations were really good.

This team's like a new team and it's really exciting to see Pecherov and Young play good defense. We know they can score, but goodness, they played some smothering defense today.

This team's got a lot of potential!

[ppp000]

Star players will usually get theirs. Dirk & Howard scored 53. AJ and Caron chipped in 48, nearly exactly equal to their season averages.

The difference today was in the supporting cast.

Dallas got diddly from anyone else except Devin Harris (14 pts). Their other starters were 2-9 for 5 pts, Stack shot a poor 4-12 off the pine, and the only other guy to score was Terry (4 pts).

Our guys? Deshawn was lights out from 3 in the 4th, hitting several in a row while the Mavs were trying to mount a comeback. Daniels added 13. Nick had 9 off the bench. We even got 14 from the combo of Wood, Blatche, Songaila an Opec.

Can you give a gameball to "the supporting cast"?

My exact thoughts. Your supporting cast really played well especially Deshawn with all his 3 bombs.

Good game, you guys certainly own us this season 2-0 without Arenas, impressive and good luck.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Jamison is really starting to worry me. If we can hold on to him, we could have a chance at the finals next year. But the way he's playing, I don't know how we're going to be able to sign him and sign gil to a max contract...

I'm thinking the same thing. Some team with space like the Bobcats might throw money at him. Look at all the money Rashard Lewis got and he isn't even a good player! The only thing working for us is Jamisons age and that he loves his role with our franchise.

[closg00]

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My exact thoughts. Your supporting cast really played well especially Deshawn with all his 3 bombs.

Good game, you guys certainly own us this season 2-0 without Arenas, impressive and good luck.

Good luck to you guys, I certainly wouldn't mind playing the Mavs for the Championship Somehow we match-up well with you guys.

[gowiz999]

Outlaw just owned the Hawks on a last second shot in OT. Nice. Now it's time for Detroit to destroy Orlando.

[yungal07]

Wow..this is a stunning victory. Not that we won but the domination. This team appears to be for real. They are hardworking and are playing with 110%.

Add a superstar(arenas) to this team and we may have a team that is playing Boston or Detriot in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. I think we were all wrong about Deshawn

Not everyone was hating on Deshawn. "We" only applies to maybe 3 or 4 posters. Yall know who you are...

[tkunit]

This was definitely a good win. More importantly I was semi calm as I watched the game.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

.

I loved EJ's rotations in this game. I doubt if I ever said that last
year. Play OPec as the first C off the bench, then AB, each for limited
minutes, then coming back with Wood although in the 2nd half,
he was able to simply rest BTH. .

Having the big Pecher really allows for solid rotations if EJ continues to use his bigs the way you describe (I didn't see the game today).

Etan and Songalia could foul things up... I love our bigs rotation without them.


Here's my dream rotation for the last month of the season:

Starters: Gil, DeBargain, TJ, AJ and BTH

First sub: Pech for BTH
Second sub: Blatche for AJ
Third sub: AD and Mason for Gil and DS

This will get us midway through the second quarter w/o any major scoring or defensive lapses (we'll always have a decent balance of scorers, size and defenders on the floor) while allowing us to rest four of five starters.

After that, put BTH, AJ and Nick Young in for TJ, Pech and Blatche... then follow up with Gil and DS...

Finish the half with the starters.

Approximate minutes: Gil (16), DS (16), TJ (18), AJ (16), BTH (16), Pech (8), Blatche (8), AD (10), Mason (8), N1 (4)