Official Thread -- Wiz vs Bobcats (4/4/17)

[Kanyewest]

Zeller's inadvertent shot to Oubre's face doesn't even get a foul call. Wall's inadvertent elbow to Kaminsky as he's protecting the ball on a drive in the lane is an offensive foul. BS refs!

I feel like if the Wizards would have been called for a flagrant foul for what Kaminsky did.

[queridiculo]

Charlotte is definitely the toughest team we have left to play.

It has to be Miami. The Heat have beaten the Wizards 3 times and their record has been ridiculous during the past couple of months.

Both of those Miami games are going to be tough, but it's also a good test heading into the playoffs with the Heat being in full on desperation mode to make the playoffs.

If Washington games out like they did against Charlotte they might drop both.

[Mojo Amok]

The Miami games should be tough based on them being desperate, but they seem to have lost their edge without Waiters. They're now 3-5 in their last 8 with a home loss against a tanking Knicks team that started Vujacic and sat Anthony.

Still, should be similar to Charlotte with the cornered rat angle and Waiters could be back - he's ruled out against Charlotte, but he could be back when the Wizards games roll around from what I can see.

[tontoz]

I can't remember my opinion changing so much on a player during the course of the season. In November Smith was an abomination. Now he is a money 3 point shooter hustling all over the floor.

[dobrojim]

I can't remember my opinion changing so much on a player during the course of the season. In November Smith was an abomination. Now he is a money 3 point shooter hustling all over the floor.

Agreed. With the increased range he's developed, he's a valuable player.

Speaking of valuable though, KOjr.

His dad sits about 15 feet from my seat. I spoke to him yesterday for the
first time this season. Me "Mr Oubre, we're seeing your young man grow up before our eyes"
KO Sr - "Thanks"

Seems like a good guy. He's not very emotional watching the games which is maybe
the 'safe' way for him to be.

[sfam]

I can't remember my opinion changing so much on a player during the course of the season. In November Smith was an abomination. Now he is a money 3 point shooter hustling all over the floor.

Agreed. With the increased range he's developed, he's a valuable player.

Speaking of valuable though, KOjr.

His dad sits about 15 feet from my seat. I spoke to him yesterday for the
first time this season. Me "Mr Oubre, we're seeing your young man grow up before our eyes"
KO Sr - "Thanks"

Seems like a good guy. He's not very emotional watching the games which is maybe
the 'safe' way for him to be.

Oubre was terrific last night. As his shot develops, he has the chance of being a top-shelf 3&D.

[queridiculo]

I can't remember my opinion changing so much on a player during the course of the season. In November Smith was an abomination. Now he is a money 3 point shooter hustling all over the floor.

The Wizards resurgence sort of coincided with Smith going from awful, to serviceable and productive.

In last nights game the Mahinmi/Smith pairing in particular looked really effective.

Smith is also quite underrated as an athlete. He's got legit hops and does a good job challenging shooters on the perimeter with his length and quicks.

Given how poorly and disengaged Morris seems to be on the defensive end most of the time, I'm not sure we'd lose much with having him as our starter.

[80sballboy]

I can't remember my opinion changing so much on a player during the course of the season. In November Smith was an abomination. Now he is a money 3 point shooter hustling all over the floor.

The Wizards resurgence sort of coincided with Smith going from awful, to serviceable and productive.

In last nights game the Mahinmi/Smith pairing in particular looked really effective.

Smith is also quite underrated as an athlete. He's got legit hops and does a good job challenging shooters on the perimeter with his length and quicks.

Given how poorly and disengaged Morris seems to be on the defensive end most of the time, I'm not sure we'd lose much with having him as our starter.

Everybody seems to think we should start this guy or that guy because the starters are struggling and bench is not. However, if these guys are playing at the end of games, why does it matter? We're a better team if Morris is engaged and I don't think you help that situation by bringing him off the bench (maybe next season). Gortat is another story. I would start Mahinmi in the playoffs, but I don't think Brooks pulls the trigger. Smith is fine in his role but he's not a better defender than a focused Morris (not close), though he does a better job of sorta protecting the rim. It almost seems like the bench is playing their asses off, even on D, to get more playing time. Even Bogs is hustling his ass off on D and I think it's like an audition for more playing time with the playoffs coming up. Let's face it, you are going to go with nine men in the playoffs so somebody will be left out.

[DCZards]

I can't remember my opinion changing so much on a player during the course of the season. In November Smith was an abomination. Now he is a money 3 point shooter hustling all over the floor.

Yup...Smith has gone from being a bad free agent signee to a productive and valuable reserve. And he's a better athlete and shot blocker than I realized.

One thing I must say about Jason is that even when he was struggling early in the season the effort and hustle was always there. That effort, combined with his production, has made Jason a fan favorite. The crowd at the Verizon Center actually gets pumped up when JSmith enters the game. Who knew!

[tontoz]

In 14 November games Smith shot 34.8% from the field and didn't make a 3. In 17 games since the AS break he has made 25 3s shooting 51% from 3.

[Meliorus]

So whose getting cut from the rotation come playoffs? 1 of Jennings, Bojan, Oubre, Smith, and Mahinmi will not be playing in May.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

So whose getting cut from the rotation come playoffs? 1 of Jennings, Bojan, Oubre, Smith, and Mahinmi will not be playing in May.

Ideally, Jennings. I just really haven't cared for his game since joining us. He's helped though by being a ball handler and "distributor."

[benb331]

So whose getting cut from the rotation come playoffs? 1 of Jennings, Bojan, Oubre, Smith, and Mahinmi will not be playing in May.

My vote is to cut Bojan out and severely limit Jennings, with Bradley Beal running the Harden-point to spell John Wall. Only bring in bobuckets if the bench is in DIRE need of a basket.

[Mojo Amok]

I suspect Bogey will be the cut with how Kelly's playing, though he well might get a "do you have your longball on you this evening, good sir?" heat check opportunity.

[J-Ves]

So whose getting cut from the rotation come playoffs? 1 of Jennings, Bojan, Oubre, Smith, and Mahinmi will not be playing in May.

I don't think you can cut Jennings from the rotation. Hes the only guy on the roster who can play PG behind Wall. I know people think Beal can do it, but I don't think his ball handling is good enough to be a PG. If Oubre isn't a dumpster fire on the offensive end he probably gets PT over Bojan due to being a better defender. Smith will probably eat into Morris' minutes assuming he continues to shoot so well. Mahinmi has been better than Gortat for a while now, so I don't think his minutes are going down either.

[penbeast0]

I can't remember my opinion changing so much on a player during the course of the season. In November Smith was an abomination. Now he is a money 3 point shooter hustling all over the floor.

Dion Waiters

[tontoz]

I am hoping that it's Bojan who sees a reduced role. He is a skilled offensive player but if his shot isn't on he brings nothing else to the table.

They pretty much have to play Jennings although i really don't like seeing him in the game at the same time as Wall.

[nate33]

Our real problem is that we don't have a trustworthy backup SG on the roster. Whenever Beal is out of the game, we struggle to fill that spot without causing cascading issues at other positions. When we put Wall at SG, there isn't any shooting. When Bojan plays there, he can't guard the position. When Oubre plays there, we suffer from a lack of a secondary ball-handler.

I hope Beal is ready to play 44 minutes a game during the playoffs.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I can't remember my opinion changing so much on a player during the course of the season. In November Smith was an abomination. Now he is a money 3 point shooter hustling all over the floor.

Agreed. With the increased range he's developed, he's a valuable player.

Speaking of valuable though, KOjr.

His dad sits about 15 feet from my seat. I spoke to him yesterday for the
first time this season. Me "Mr Oubre, we're seeing your young man grow up before our eyes"
KO Sr - "Thanks"

Seems like a good guy. He's not very emotional watching the games which is maybe
the 'safe' way for him to be.

jim, he was a MAN when the Wizards drafted him IMO.

Now, he's becoming a grown-assed-man.

[dobrojim]

He was a man, yes, a young man.

Thing I like about KO is that we never heard any whining about his PT going down
when we got Bo which is good considering KO hadn't been playing that well, esp
on offense and that may have impacted his defensive play as well. Now his D
is back and he is scoring in multiple ways. His 3rd and 4th years in the league
are something to look forward to.