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Tomorrow night, on February 22nd, 2011, at 7:00 EST, our Washington Wizards will have to defend their home court against the current-playoff team, the Indiana Pacers.

Likely Starting Line Ups:
WAS--
PG: John Wall, Rookie Challenge MVP (with Challenge record 22 assists)
SG: Nick Young
SF: Rashard Lewis
PF: Andray Blatche
CE: JaVale McGee, Dunk Contest Runner Up

IND--
PG: Darren Collison
SG: Mike Dunleavy
SF: Danny Granger
PF: Josh McRoberts
CE: Roy Hibbert

Match Up Of The Night:
McGee v. Hibbert--
Two up and coming centers who both have all-star potential. Who will win the match up on this night? Hibbert has been on a tear,but McGee has his own high based off his great performance on the WWE-style Dunk Contest last weekend. Look for McGee to give us a few highlights and decent numbers.

X-Factor:
John Wall--
Can Wall stop Collison and can he continue to score well, as he has shown in past weeks. Or will he look to break the single game assist record for a regular game, as opposed to an exhibition featuring merely rookies and sophomores of this league. Or, better yet, can he do both?

Call me crazy but I actually think we finish the season pretty strong. McGee had started to play better recently and I think this dunk contest will make him so confident that he plays great in the 2nd half. The same with Wall. Wall seemed like he hit the rookie Wall and then finally got his 2nd wind a few games back and I think with him winning the MVP of the rookie/soph game, it will give him confidence to play great in the 2nd half of the year. Then I think Dray will also magically start playing harder because he now feels that he's "2nd Half" Dray after last season. You also have NY who played great in 2 of his last 3 games, and we should be more healthy then we have been all season.

I think we could look a ton better but the real question is how much of a good thing is that? Last year Dray finished great which I think gave him a big head and it didnt carry over like we had hoped. Playing great may give this team & EG a false sense of hope going into the Offseason. People might think that weve finally put it together and the young guys will be older and ready next year. Worst of all it may seem like Flip is still the right guy even though I think his thousand play, half court, jump shot, crap system sucks and he doesnt demand enough of the players let alone himself who never takes in responsibility. Who knows. That doesnt even include us hurting our draft pick

I dunno.

We're either a bad team that has tuned out its coach and is now playing out the string. Or we're a team of young players who will finally put it together and take advantage of more forgiving schedule over the remainder of the season.

Back to the grind we go.

As far what you said Nate, Im am truly hoping for the latter.

At this point, I just want my lotto balls.

I wouldn't mind an entertaining game or two along the way to the lottery. I think we are currently a bad team that has tuned out their coach (which might be a good thing b/c he keeps insulting them to the media) but I also, crazily don't believe we are all that far off from being much better, not championship or even EC finals better but much better. I would accuse myself of being a homer but I don't feel this way about the Skins so I have a hint of realism left in me somewhere.

The bottomfeeders of the league are solidifying into three distinct tiers.

TIER 1
Indiana 24 - 30
Charlotte 24 - 32
Milwaukee 21 - 34
LA Clippers 21 - 35
Detroit 21 - 36

TIER 2
New Jersey 17 - 40
Washington 15 - 39
Toronto 15 - 41
Sacramento 13 - 40
Minnesota 13 - 43

TIER 3
Cleveland 10 - 46


Of the Tier 1 teams, the only team I think might falter and slip back to our group is Detroit. Of the Tier 2 teams, I think Washington is the only team that has any chance of surging late and breaking into Tier 1. Tier 3 is Cleveland, in a class by themselves. They're 5-41 after a 5-5 start.

I wouldn't mind playing well down the stretch and being the best of the Tier 2 teams. The 6th or 7th pick isn't much worse than the 3rd or 4th pick in this draft. I just don't want to see us break into Tier 1. If we play .500 ball from here on out (going 14-14), we'll finish 29-53. If Detroit plays at their current win pace, they'll go 9-16 down the stretch and finish with 30 wins.

That would be an ideal outcome. We build some confidence without hurting our draft position.

I suspect that Sacramento will make the biggest surge out of the Tier 2 teams. In March they have an 11 game stretch where they play GS, Clev, Philly, Minny, Chi-town, Milwaukee, Indy, Philly, Phoenix, Den (post Melo), and Den again. Out of those 11 games I say 10 can be classified as winnable or very winnable. In addition, I believe they've figured out how to run the team with DC and Evens. It seems like DC is becoming the focal point and they're modeling the offense similarly to the early 2000 Lakers.

In addition, if NJ picks up Gallo at the deadline I think that move will really help them out. He's a decent player and with more touches he'll be a 20ppg scorer. It'll also open things up for Favors and Lopez.

The Wiz have an easy schedule, but I see Lewis being out for a while, I see Howard sulking and becoming a ball stopper to get a new contract. I don't see Blatche having a late season surge like he did last year and more of the same from Javale.

Lastly, K-Love gets an astounding amount of press for being the front man of a team with a terrible record. However, if you look at their roster can you really say they are completely void of talent like Cleveland? Ridnour and Telfair are both solid PGs, Webster, Johnson, and Brewer are all good shooters/defenders, Milicic is a pretty decent center and is above average defensively, and Beasley is a 20 ppg scorer? How can an 'all-star' like K-Love have a team with legit talent be only 3 games better than one of the worst teams in NBA history?? I'm not trying to hi-jack the game thread, but Love was the worst player selected to the all-star team this year and his stats are immensely more empty than Jamisons were the last few seasons. Aldridge would have that team in the play-offs.

I actually think Howard will play well for us for the rest of the year. He is a solid defender and hasn't been a ball stopper yet for us--why would he start now?

DallasShalDune wrote:I actually think Howard will play well for us for the rest of the year. He is a solid defender and hasn't been a ball stopper yet for us--why would he start now?

This will be his last chance to get any sort of pay day. If he misses out on getting a 3/15 type deal this off-season (whenever it is) he's basically destined for one year contracts for the rest of his career. He'll just keep getting older each off-season. So he can either boost his stats and prove he's healthy to get a modest contract...or play within the team average 7-9 ppg and not show much of anything on a terrible team while the young'n get their burn.

W. Unseld wrote:I wouldn't mind an entertaining game or two along the way to the lottery. I think we are currently a bad team that has tuned out their coach (which might be a good thing b/c he keeps insulting them to the media) but I also, crazily don't believe we are all that far off from being much better, not championship or even EC finals better but much better. I would accuse myself of being a homer but I don't feel this way about the Skins so I have a hint of realism left in me somewhere.

Consider me a co-signer to this entire post.

W. Unseld wrote:I wouldn't mind an entertaining game or two along the way to the lottery. I think we are currently a bad team that has tuned out their coach (which might be a good thing b/c he keeps insulting them to the media) but I also, crazily don't believe we are all that far off from being much better, not championship or even EC finals better but much better. I would accuse myself of being a homer but I don't feel this way about the Skins so I have a hint of realism left in me somewhere.

I think we root for a young, talent-laden team, that has an exceptionally poor coach. Flip will rule autocratically as always. Mistakes will be punished. Eventually, Wall will speak out and Saunders will deservedly be fired.

After that people will see how talented the Wizards are.

I think anyone who realistically thinks this team as currently composed can finish .500 through the final games is drinking some serious kool-aid. The team is terrible in the worst way, nothing short of a trade or high lotto pick or free agent signing will improve their record. There is no magic button to press to get them to play harder, they are playing hard. They just suck.

John Wall could show some improvement, but expecting the other players to magically transform into something better is just wishful thinking. It's not happening this year.

I think we could see better play from McGee. Being around All-Stars and that atmosphere can inspire him to play harder on most nights from here on out.

Besides McGee and Wall, I don't expect much to change.

One of my good friends and I are going tomorrow, mostly cause he's a pacers fan and he wants to talk trash. Its funny, in the beginning of the season, he told me he'd love to have Blatche on the pacers, I wouldn't even consider Paul George for him...but now...oh woe is me.

dlts20 wrote:Call me crazy but I actually think we finish the season pretty strong. McGee had started to play better recently and I think this dunk contest will make him so confident that he plays great in the 2nd half. The same with Wall. Wall seemed like he hit the rookie Wall and then finally got his 2nd wind a few games back and I think with him winning the MVP of the rookie/soph game, it will give him confidence to play great in the 2nd half of the year. Then I think Dray will also magically start playing harder because he now feels that he's "2nd Half" Dray after last season. You also have NY who played great in 2 of his last 3 games, and we should be more healthy then we have been all season.

I think we could look a ton better but the real question is how much of a good thing is that? Last year Dray finished great which I think gave him a big head and it didnt carry over like we had hoped. Playing great may give this team & EG a false sense of hope going into the Offseason. People might think that weve finally put it together and the young guys will be older and ready next year. Worst of all it may seem like Flip is still the right guy even though I think his thousand play, half court, jump shot, crap system sucks and he doesnt demand enough of the players let alone himself who never takes in responsibility. Who knows

Ok... Your crazy.

Now get in line behind the other crazy people who have been saying the Wiz are prime to play better after the AS break.... for a while now.

Nice to see you build in a reason to be upset while you were at it because Flip isn't likely going anywhere unless he feel like stepping down and walking away from the money..


So any word on Lewis and Nick ? I imagine both are a go but it would be nice to get an update.

Per WP, Young and Lewis said they'll be playing vs Indy.

pineappleheadindc wrote:Per WP, Young and Lewis said they'll be playing vs Indy.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... retur.html

Thanks. I hadnt seen this.


Guard Nick Young and forward Rashard Lewis, both starters who are nursing ailments, benefited significantly from the time away. Young has a sore left knee that required an MRI exam on Thursday morning after he missed Wednesday's loss to Orlando. The results were negative, and Young indicated he would play on Tuesday night against Indiana, barring a setback.

Lewis has missed the past three games with tendinitis in his right knee, and he also said the plan was to play against the Pacers. Both Young and Lewis practiced on Monday night in the team's first workout in nearly a week.

"Knee's better, most definitely a lot better," Lewis said. "Got rid of a lot of the pain. It still was a little uncomfortable, but at the same time, I think I haven't played a basketball game in like ten days, so not only the knee bothering me, but I was tired. I got to get my wind back up, get my butt back into game shape."

he welcome-back practice included participation from all players on the roster except guard Kirk Hinrich, a top reserve who got kicked in the calf during Washington's victory over Cleveland on Feb. 13. Hinrich's status, according to Coach Flip Saunders, "at best is probably 50-50."

Other injury concerns for the Wizards immediately before the break were to swingman Josh Howard and forward Al Thornton. Howard played two straight games before the break after missing 19 in a row with tendinitis in his left knee, and Thornton was managing a dislocated finger on his right hand.

Saunders said he expected Howard to play and that he considered Thornton "better than 50-50."

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While I believe Thornton may be 50-50, who' is buy the Kirk thing >>>

Sounds to me like Kirk is being protected for a possible trade. 50-50 from a calf being kicked over a week ago ? Ahhh yeah.

hands11 wrote:Now get in line behind the other crazy people who have been saying the Wiz are prime to play better after the AS break.... for a while now..

This is funny, because where will you be when the Wizards fail to play any better? You will be right here making excuses as to why it didn't happen and why it will next year. Get real guy. This roster needs to be overhauled period. There is no .500 basketball being played with these players.

It's one thing to enjoy the growth of John Wall as a player, and even McGee to an extent. However to consistently talk about how the team is going to turn the corner is just getting pathetic at this point. What happened to the Stats thread that said we turned the corner after the Gilbert trade? Yeah, exactly.

Young bad teams tend to play moderately better later in the season. Actually, I haven't seen any numbers on that, but it's a common assumption and should hold true for the Wizards.

We'll also win more than one home game during the remainder of the season, regression to the mean.