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YOUR Washington Bullets are 25-12! They return home after a rough Sunday afternoon blowout to the streaking Atlanta Hawks! The Wizards turned the ball over too much and didn't defend the three point line vs. the Hawks and if they want to get a W over the defending NBA Champions, they must clean that up. Because well, they just played the East's version of the Spurs with Coach Budenholzer implementing the San Antonio way in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the defending NBA Champions come to the nation's capital and will no doubt be hosted by President Obama to reminisce on their dominant 4-1 series win over the LeBron era Miami Heat in last year's NBA Finals rematch. However, these Spurs in 2014-15 have struggled over the past month with December being the worst in the Duncan era since their 1999 title run. The Spurs are 23-15 and are 7th in the West. They didn't lose their 15th game until early February last year in a 62-20 campaign. They still sit a few games away from having homecourt advantage in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Tony Parker is back in the lineup, but is he still injured, declining, or both? Manu Ginobili and Marco Belinelli are also hobbled. And of course, NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard (who should been the Wizards #6 pick in 2011) will also sit out with a mysterious hand injury that has kept him out of action for weeks.

As the Wizards saw last weekend with the Spurs, Cory Joseph and Patty Mills can beat you and the Wizards have to come up with an answer to stop dribble penetration and open threes.

CAN the Wizards finally beat the Spurs? The last Wizards win vs. this franchise came in November 2005. It was at Verizon Center, Gilbert Arenas scored 43 points, and Tim Duncan had perhaps the worst shooting game of his Hall of Fame career. And as most of you recall, the Wizards fell in Double OT to the Spurs in the last matchup at Verizon Center last February. Wall went crazy, Tim Duncan went vintage, and DC couldn't slay one demon that night.

So without further ado, here's your projected lineups!






-------------------------AT-------------------------

Last game:
Wizards vs. Hawks (L) 89-120
Spurs vs. Timberwolves (W) 108-93


Lineups:











Bench:

Finally, a game thread that doesn't suck.


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Miller vs Mills would be real disaster

I was too hype yesterday vs Atlanta, now I don't have illusions. We will be outcoached again and will loose by 10.

Wonder what the line is on this game? Whoever the dog is, I'd put money on them. This is a tossup IMO.

John Wall was the talk of the NBA with his December play and he had the cherry on top with the big stage Christmas performance which pretty much made him a lock for player of the month. The problem is that since then we have played 9 games and Wall hasnt reached 20pts in any of them. Infact he's only scored more than 15pts twice and in those games he only had 16 and 18 while seeing his average about to fall into the 16's ppg. We are only 5-4 in that stretch.

What's weird is that you would assume that he's in a slump but really he's shooting like 46.5% in that stretch yet only averaging 14.3ppg. Basically he just wont shoot. He's starting to look like Lebron last year where he's just worried about his FG percentage. He has games where he gets like 8pts in the first quarter, sits, and hardly shoots the rest of the game.

Most say they dont want him to shoot more because his effiency will drop but I think thats bs. He's older, is maturing, and is learning how to take better shots. He can take more shots while still being pretty efficient. He should be atleast an 18ppg player especially while Beal is always 50/50. The team will follow him. If he's more aggressive or looking to take over then everyone's confidence rises.

Say what you want but we wont beat elite teams consistently with Wall shooting well but only getting 14pts. Its flat out not enough and he let Lowry steal player of the month because of it. He shouldve been ready to go off after all the praise he got on Christmas especially with the tough sked we had coming up. Instead he went conservative and that is not going to get it done because we arent good enough to win with him doing that. We would drop in the seedings and lose in the 1st round.

Bottom line is its time for him to crank it back up

Holy mother of God! I turned off the game yesterday when they fell behind by 16 midway through the 4th. How did we get reamed by 31?!?! Jesus Christ! How many times have we been blasted by 30+?? Cleveland, Dallas, Atlanta, Toronto.

JWizmentality wrote:Holy mother of God! I turned off the game yesterday when they fell behind by 16 midway through the 4th. How did we get reamed by 31?!?! Jesus Christ! How many times have we been blasted by 30+?? Cleveland, Dallas, Atlanta, Toronto.

What you missed was a valiant comeback from down 20 to just a 2 point deficit in the 3rd. Of course, that stretch was followed by a predictable and massive collapse. I made it until 5 minutes left in the 4th, then clicked the tv's power button of shame.

I made it until the Bradley Beal car commercial came on......I could not take any more after that!

Temple, Blair, Gooden, and now Otto Porter will not serve any positive role for this team given Wittman's rotations.

dlts20 wrote:John Wall was the talk of the NBA with his December play and he had the cherry on top with the big stage Christmas performance which pretty much made him a lock for player of the month. The problem is that since then we have played 9 games and Wall hasnt reached 20pts in any of them. Infact he's only scored more than 15pts twice and in those games he only had 16 and 18 while seeing his average about to fall into the 16's ppg. We are only 5-4 in that stretch.

What's weird is that you would assume that he's in a slump but really he's shooting like 46.5% in that stretch yet only averaging 14.3ppg. Basically he just wont shoot. He's starting to look like Lebron last year where he's just worried about his FG percentage. He has games where he gets like 8pts in the first quarter, sits, and hardly shoots the rest of the game.

Most say they dont want him to shoot more because his effiency will drop but I think thats bs. He's older, is maturing, and is learning how to take better shots. He can take more shots while still being pretty efficient. He should be atleast an 18ppg player especially while Beal is always 50/50. The team will follow him. If he's more aggressive or looking to take over then everyone's confidence rises.

Say what you want but we wont beat elite teams consistently with Wall shooting well but only getting 14pts. Its flat out not enough and he let Lowry steal player of the month because of it. He shouldve been ready to go off after all the praise he got on Christmas especially with the tough sked we had coming up. Instead he went conservative and that is not going to get it done because we arent good enough to win with him doing that. We would drop in the seedings and lose in the 1st round.

Bottom line is its time for him to crank it back up

I disagree completely.

During that December stretch you cite, Wall averaged 17.8 points on 14.0 FGA and 4.0 FTA. But the part you didn't notice is that Wall was playing 37 minutes a game. In the last 9 games, Wall is averaging 14.0 points on 11.8 FGA and 3.8 FTA, but he is playing 10% fewer minutes. If you adjust for minutes played, Wall would be averaging 15.4 points on 13.0 FGA's and 4.2 FTA. Basically, he is shooting almost exactly the same number of times per minute as December, dropping just 7%, which is understandable given the superior defenses we have played.

There is nothing wrong with Wall. He continues to play exceptionally well. He's the last guy on the team I'm worried about.

I have a good feeling about this game. Atlanta runs the same system as San Antonio, so Washington should have some familiarity with it by now - only Atlanta has more talent. Washington seemed to settle down and figure Atlanta out after an embarrassing 1st quarter so they should be ready for the Spurs. (That 4th quarter performance in Atlanta was mostly due to unconscious 3-point shooting, errant turnovers, and a poor performance by the garbage time crew.)

I also expect that the team's ego was hurt by the Atlanta performance and they're ready to come back swinging.

In my "who's gonna win" machine, I have the Wizards slightly favored -- 51% chance of winning. Basically a coin flip game.

I actually agree with dlts20, Wall has been okay but a little too passive for my liking. This honestly goes back to the 2nd half of last year. It's not so much the number of shots but just being aggressive in general and continuing to attack the lane off the bounce.

nate33 wrote:

dlts20 wrote:John Wall was the talk of the NBA with his December play and he had the cherry on top with the big stage Christmas performance which pretty much made him a lock for player of the month. The problem is that since then we have played 9 games and Wall hasnt reached 20pts in any of them. Infact he's only scored more than 15pts twice and in those games he only had 16 and 18 while seeing his average about to fall into the 16's ppg. We are only 5-4 in that stretch.

What's weird is that you would assume that he's in a slump but really he's shooting like 46.5% in that stretch yet only averaging 14.3ppg. Basically he just wont shoot. He's starting to look like Lebron last year where he's just worried about his FG percentage. He has games where he gets like 8pts in the first quarter, sits, and hardly shoots the rest of the game.

Most say they dont want him to shoot more because his effiency will drop but I think thats bs. He's older, is maturing, and is learning how to take better shots. He can take more shots while still being pretty efficient. He should be atleast an 18ppg player especially while Beal is always 50/50. The team will follow him. If he's more aggressive or looking to take over then everyone's confidence rises.

Say what you want but we wont beat elite teams consistently with Wall shooting well but only getting 14pts. Its flat out not enough and he let Lowry steal player of the month because of it. He shouldve been ready to go off after all the praise he got on Christmas especially with the tough sked we had coming up. Instead he went conservative and that is not going to get it done because we arent good enough to win with him doing that. We would drop in the seedings and lose in the 1st round.

Bottom line is its time for him to crank it back up

I disagree completely.

During that December stretch you cite, Wall averaged 17.8 points on 14.0 FGA and 4.0 FTA. But the part you didn't notice is that Wall was playing 37 minutes a game. In the last 9 games, Wall is averaging 14.0 points on 11.8 FGA and 3.8 FTA, but he is playing 10% fewer minutes. If you adjust for minutes played, Wall would be averaging 15.4 points on 13.0 FGA's and 4.2 FTA. Basically, he is shooting almost exactly the same number of times per minute as December, dropping just 7%, which is understandable given the superior defenses we have played.

There is nothing wrong with Wall. He continues to play exceptionally well. He's the last guy on the team I'm worried about.

I still think that is a bigger difference then you are giving credit for but there are other factors. My whole point this whole time is that against the elite teams you have to do more. That is the point. Its not going to work playing like that when he's our star guy. He was also averaging 2apg more so that offset it too. Again, better teams as you say will bring the same type of numbers down but thats why you try to do more against better teams or they will let you neturalize yourself.

Its like Len Bias said Lefty told him, "against the bad teams, focus on getting my teammates involved but against the good teams I had to try to dominate or else we wouldnt win". Thats common sense. So if Wall is successful against the Celtics playing at this level, he should be fine doing that samething against OKC, SA, Atl, etc....? Its not going to work. You cant beat those teams like that unless you play on one of those teams. We arent good enough. He has to do more and hopefully he starts now. I still think he can shoot 45% while scoring 20ppg if you ask me

nate33 wrote:I have a good feeling about this game. Atlanta runs the same system as San Antonio, so Washington should have some familiarity with it by now - only Atlanta has more talent. Washington seemed to settle down and figure Atlanta out after an embarrassing 1st quarter so they should be ready for the Spurs. (That 4th quarter performance in Atlanta was mostly due to unconscious 3-point shooting, errant turnovers, and a poor performance by the garbage time crew.)

I also expect that the team's ego was hurt by the Atlanta performance and they're ready to come back swinging.

b2b games on NBA TV and ESPN so we better be ready

Another game of me wishing we had one of the Spurs backup PGs...

In my numbers, nate looks about right. Wall's been doing the past few weeks about what he's been doing all season.



Basically, since that December 3 update, he's been very steady -- PPA ranging from 167 to 175. That's pretty damn consistent.

benb331 wrote:

JWizmentality wrote:Holy mother of God! I turned off the game yesterday when they fell behind by 16 midway through the 4th. How did we get reamed by 31?!?! Jesus Christ! How many times have we been blasted by 30+?? Cleveland, Dallas, Atlanta, Toronto.

What you missed was a valiant comeback from down 20 to just a 2 point deficit in the 3rd. Of course, that stretch was followed by a predictable and massive collapse. I made it until 5 minutes left in the 4th, then clicked the tv's power button of shame.

No, I caught that. I turned it off in the 4th. Christ, we keep getting blasted like that and we will be the only +500. team with a negative differential.

Nivek wrote:In my numbers, nate looks about right. Wall's been doing the past few weeks about what he's been doing all season.

Code: Select all

DATE    PPA
11/10   185
11/18   180
11/24   180
12/3    168
12/8    167
12/17   175
12/23   171
12/29   171
1/6     167


Basically, since that December 3 update, he's been very steady -- PPA ranging from 167 to 175. That's pretty damn consistent.

ok, lets just all let Wall average 15ppg the rest of the year, into the playoffs and see how well we do. I assure you it wont be a pretty site

Illmatic12 wrote:Another game of me wishing we had one of the Spurs backup PGs...

Cory Joseph was the 30th pick in 2011.

And we selected busts at #6 and #18.

I will say though, Cojo has really improved since being drafted. Spurs coaches put in work with him.

ANd Patty Mills was waived by Portland in 2012, I believe. Got in shape in Summer of 2013 and bam. Wish we had him too.

Both are young, quick, and give effort on D with Cojo being the better defender.