RealGM

Time: 7:00
Location: Verizon Center

It's the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. The bad and injury-depleted Wizards play the even worse but healthier Cavs. The Wizards should win this at home under normal circumstances, but Wall isn't playing and I'm starting the game thread, so that tilts the odds in Cleveland's favor.

This is a must lose game for the Wizards.

No Wall. I think we should be good.

Breakout game for Shakur...rips our tanking hearts out with a winner at the buzzer!

Man, a loss here would be tanktastic! I know we can do it.

mad props to Wall for getting suspended before the biggest game of the year.

Recipe to a good tank loss:

Step 1: show some fight.


Step 2: lose.


Step 3: toast.

Cleveland has actually been playing pretty well of-late with Davis. Jordan already had his game of the year, so you can be sure he'll be shooting his normal %......still can't predict loss with confidence.

Don't tell Jordan Crawford he's supposed to tank tonight. I predict at least 35 points from him tonight.

closg00 wrote:Cleveland has actually been playing pretty well of-late with Davis. Jordan already had his game of the year, so you can be sure he'll be shooting his normal %......still can't predict loss with confidence.

Let me help then. Consider this roster for a moment.


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


Out. Wall, Nick, Lewis, Howard, Booker

So they are starting a rookie PG who has 24 game under his belt with a DL backup
Both SGs are DL players
Mo has been balln. He is a vet
Dray has just returned and Yi is Yi
McGee then two more rookies.

3 Rookies
3 D Leaguer
Dray. McGee and Yi
1 honest vet

If Cleveland doesn't win, they should be fined by the league.

hands11 wrote:

closg00 wrote:Cleveland has actually been playing pretty well of-late with Davis. Jordan already had his game of the year, so you can be sure he'll be shooting his normal %......still can't predict loss with confidence.

Let me help then. Consider this roster for a moment.


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


Out. Wall, Nick, Lewis, Howard, Booker

So they are starting a rookie PG who has 24 game under his belt with a DL backup
Both SGs are DL players
Mo has been balln. He is a vet
Dray has just returned and Yi is Yi
McGee then two more rookies.

3 Rookies
3 D Leaguer
Dray. McGee and Yi
1 honest vet

If Cleveland doesn't win, they should be fined by the league.

Or demoted to the D-League...

hands11 wrote:

closg00 wrote:Cleveland has actually been playing pretty well of-late with Davis. Jordan already had his game of the year, so you can be sure he'll be shooting his normal %......still can't predict loss with confidence.

Let me help then. Consider this roster for a moment.


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


Out. Wall, Nick, Lewis, Howard, Booker

So they are starting a rookie PG who has 24 game under his belt with a DL backup
Both SGs are DL players
Mo has been balln. He is a vet
Dray has just returned and Yi is Yi
McGee then two more rookies.

3 Rookies
3 D Leaguer
Dray. McGee and Yi
1 honest vet

If Cleveland doesn't win, they should be fined by the league.

Normally true, however don't underestimate the motivation of Wall's team to try and win the game for him. I do expect Crawford to pull-out the L for us tonight, streak-shooters almost never put together two hot games.

hands11 wrote:3 Rookies
3 D Leaguer
Dray. McGee and Yi
1 honest vet

If Cleveland doesn't win, they should be fined by the league.

Nice breakdown hands11.

I'll add that it's 3 non-lotto rookies.

And that Mo Evans is a career journeyman who has started just 115 games despite being 32 years old.

And Yi deserves his own category. It's disingenuous to include him alongside Dray and McGee as if he is actually a capable rotation player. Yi wouldn't get minutes on any team in the league unless they had major frontcourt injuries.

So it's:

3 non-lotto rookies
3 D-Leaguers
1 journeyman vet
Blatche and McGee
Yi.

Basically, the only guys on the floor who would play more than 10 minutes a game on a .500 ball club are Blatche and Mcgee. McGee is the only player who could start on an average team.

Crawford is also clearly licking his chops at this opportunity but he is matched up initially against Baron Davis. Would be interested to see who faces him for the game. He will certainly jack up 30+ field goal attempts, but I could see the team giving Jeffers more ball handling duties to make Crawford more rested and play more off the ball.

I think the entire game is up to Crawford pretty much. It actually could be an underrated overall PG matchup as it wouldn't shock me to see B-Diddy and J-Craw go for 30+ each tonigh in tankapoolaza 2011.

It's actually semi sad and funny considering how important to tank and try and lose tonight. The main reason not being to land the number one pick, but to guarantee a top 3 pick. If the Wiz get the worst record they will at worse get the 3rd pick (or is it 4th?) thus guaranteeing them at worse case landing Harrison Barnes via the draft.

If they fall to 4th or 5th, they may have to settle for Enes Kanter...gulp.

eitanr wrote:Crawford is also clearly licking his chops at this opportunity but he is matched up initially against Baron Davis. Would be interested to see who faces him for the game. He will certainly jack up 30+ field goal attempts, but I could see the team giving Jeffers more ball handling duties to make Crawford more rested and play more off the ball.

I think the entire game is up to Crawford pretty much. It actually could be an underrated overall PG matchup as it wouldn't shock me to see B-Diddy and J-Craw go for 30+ each tonigh in tankapoolaza 2011.

It's actually semi sad and funny considering how important to tank and try and lose tonight. The main reason not being to land the number one pick, but to guarantee a top 3 pick. If the Wiz get the worst record they will at worse get the 3rd pick (or is it 4th?) thus guaranteeing them at worse case landing Harrison Barnes via the draft.

If they fall to 4th or 5th, they may have to settle for Enes Kanter...gulp.

Worst record = at worst #4. They only do the lotto balls for the top 3 picks, then it's ordered from worst record to best.

Fun times with Cleveland AGAIN. . .yea Cleveland!

Spence wrote:Don't tell Jordan Crawford he's supposed to tank tonight. I predict at least 35 shots from him tonight.

Fixed.

nate33 wrote:

hands11 wrote:3 Rookies
3 D Leaguer
Dray. McGee and Yi
1 honest vet

If Cleveland doesn't win, they should be fined by the league.

Nice breakdown hands11.

I'll add that it's 3 non-lotto rookies.

And that Mo Evans is a career journeyman who has started just 115 games despite being 32 years old.

And Yi deserves his own category. It's disingenuous to include him alongside Dray and McGee as if he is actually a capable rotation player. Yi wouldn't get minutes on any team in the league unless they had major frontcourt injuries.

So it's:

3 non-lotto rookies
3 D-Leaguers
1 journeyman vet
Blatche and McGee
Yi.

Basically, the only guys on the floor who would play more than 10 minutes a game on a .500 ball club are Blatche and Mcgee. McGee is the only player who could start on an average team.

Playing the role of contrarian on why the Wizards might win this game:

--Did you see the first 2 or three games Mustafa Shakur played after he was called up from D-League? In the game against Boston he seemed to be playing the best of anyone on the floor. He's very capable and a much better defender than Wall IMO.
--Othyus Jeffers gives great effort and is the same kind player DeShawn Stevenson is when healthy. He's tough and active and does little things that help a team win.
--Jamal Crawford can put up 30 or 45 if is his shot is dropping.
--Blatche has had a couple days to get his legs back and knows he had a bad second half.
--McGee is playing the best of his career.
--Washington beat Cleveland in Cleveland and the players think they are better than the Cavs.

Just saying that Cleveland SHOULD win, but they might not, for a lot of reasons.

**** tanking, the worst record is no guarantee anyway(see last year)

Higga wrote:**** tanking, the worst record is no guarantee anyway(see last year)

^ What he said. for the umpteenth time if we hadn't have BEATEN the Pacers with that Cedric Jackson 3 at the buzzer we'd have actually missed out on Wall. The lotto gods cannot be bought.

Let the home crowd get their money's worth. Go hard, and if our glorified D-league roster can't get it done, then so be it.