Round 1: GT #3: Raptors @ Bullets 8 PM (ESPN2/NBCSW/1500 AM) [4/20/18]

[FAH1223]

YOUR WASHINGTON BULLETS CAN'T PLAY ANY DEFENSE!

With the series shifting to DC, The Wiz have not taken anything away from the Raptors offensive game plan. The 3rd quarter of Game 2 was where we saw the most resistance defensively.

Marcin Gortat's decline has manifested with the worst pick and roll defense you'll ever see.

Bradley Beal looks finished as he had to carry the scoring load most of the season and defenses are actively game planning to limit him. Brooks has no counter.

Otto Porter also has shown zero aggression in weeks. Where's the guy who was putting up 20 and 8 in February? Is he playing hurt? It's the playoffs buddy.

The bright spots? John Wall seems to be getting his rhythm back offensively though we want more defensively. Ty Lawson was a relevation in his first game back in the NBA. Can he continue to push the pace for the bench unit?

Does Brooks make any starting lineup adjustments? Does he stick with it and go early subs? Does it even matter?

I have a hunch the Bullets come out firing this game to give the city some hope... only for it to crash on Sunday.

Let's get this started:


-------------------------VS-------------------------



LAST GAME

Wizards @ Raptors - 119-130 (L)

Lineups:










Bench:

[MelosSoreWrist]

The bench played better but the Raptors bench is superior so I dont think the Wiz can win games unless both Beal and Wall play well. Beal needs to be better on both ends. Wall needs to finish at the rim more to create more chaos in the paint. Whoever DeRozan is guarding needs to punish him more on that end. Post him up, run him through screens. Make him work.

Gortat losing his matchup with Valunchunus is inevitable, so Morris's production has to negate Ibaka's or its a front court disaster.

Oubre is out there making some braindead plays. Just be smarter.

Satoransky has been a disappointment after looking solid during Walls absence. Home court should bump up the bench player play though.

[MelosSoreWrist]

Still havent torn up my Wizards series at +500 and Wizards to win Eastern Conference at +3000 tickets. But its not looking good.

[FAH1223]

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[FAH1223]

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[gravytrain24]

Brad and the guy who seems to never get any of the criticism Otto have to show up or else it could be laughable at home.

[gravytrain24]

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Lol at SAS saying that Grunfeld needs to make a trade. I don't trust him to trade a max player and get equal value.

[queridiculo]

So, the Wizards talked about what they needed to do after game 1 and come out surrendering 44 points in the first quarter of game 2

Who knows what these guys do in their film sessions, but whatever it is, it's not very effective.

Now we got Brooks talking about Scott taking Gortat's place in the starting lineup, are we just supposed to ignore that Washington was out rebounded by 14 and got whatever they wanted inside?

Despite no shows from Morris and Beal on Tuesday, offense wasn't the problem, these guys need to nut up and **** stop somebody.

Another beef of mine through these first two games.. can somebody tell Beal and Wall to attack their mismatches?

When Ibaka flashes in front of a guard their eyes should light up.

Instead these guys shrivel up when they see the help defender attempt to close the gap and turn into basketball morons. Attack, attack, attack and please Brooksie, can we get some off the ball action when the Raptors show these looks?

It's absurd, that the Wizards are letting the Raptors get away with disrupting the Wizards offense with such vanilla looks.

[Kanyewest]

So, the Wizards talked about what they needed to do after game 1 and come out surrendering 44 points in the first quarter of game 2

Who knows what these guys do in their film sessions, but whatever it is, it's not very effective.

Now we got Brooks talking about Scott taking Gortat's place in the starting lineup, are we just supposed to ignore that Washington was out rebounded by 14 and got whatever they wanted inside?

Despite no shows from Morris and Beal on Tuesday, offense wasn't the problem, these guys need to nut up and **** stop somebody.

Another beef of mine through these first two games.. can somebody tell Beal and Wall to attack their mismatches?

When Ibaka flashes in front of a guard their eyes should light up.

Instead these guys shrivel up when they see the help defender attempt to close the gap and turn into basketball morons. Attack, attack, attack and please Brooksie, can we get some off the ball action when the Raptors show these looks?

It's absurd, that the Wizards are letting the Raptors get away with disrupting the Wizards offense with such vanilla looks.

Kobe Bryant gave a good breakdown of what the Raptors had to do against the Wizards from game one of the series https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/kobe-bryant-derozan-needs-carry-threat-versus-wizards/

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[FAH1223]

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No one at ESPN wants to talk about Ernie?

[nate33]

Satoransky has been a disappointment after looking solid during Walls absence.

Sadly, this has indeed been the case so far. He has withered under the bright lights. Let's hope he rallies.

[nate33]

Another beef of mine through these first two games.. can somebody tell Beal and Wall to attack their mismatches?

When Ibaka flashes in front of a guard their eyes should light up.

Instead these guys shrivel up when they see the help defender attempt to close the gap and turn into basketball morons. Attack, attack, attack and please Brooksie, can we get some off the ball action when the Raptors show these looks?

Excellent point. Whenever we do get a mismatch, Beal and Wall back it out, take a few seconds, size up the defender, and then try to do something in isolation. They're not good enough for that (particularly Beal). They need to take a page out of the San Antonio book (or Miami, or Boston, or Toronto, or Utah, or any other well-coached team). When you force the defense to get slightly off balance, ATTACK! Drive to the rim, kick it out if necessary, but then the next guy has to drive hard too. Sato, and Scott seem to be the only guys who really get it. The moment they receive the ball, they DO SOMETHING. They either drive, shoot or swing it immediately. Morris, Beal and Wall are the worst. They never take advantage of an off-balance recovering defender. It's like they don't think it's honorable or something. They want to be the ones who personally beat the defender rather than relying on a system to do much of the work for them.

[dlts20]

I say it all the time. They always wait. Another thing that bothers me is that Beal loves to say that everyone eats. Wall has the ball a lot but if someone is open for a split second, John is firing a pass. Beal might come off a pick and someone may be wide open calling for the ball. Beal will give it to him but only after he takes another dribble or holds the ball for a sec to look for his own shot. By time he passes, the shooter isn't that open anymore.

[dlts20]

I will say this, worse comes to worse, I would love to see us give Wall a chance to prove doubters right or wrong about him being a 40mil man. We don't have a great coach and both of our Centers suck at finishing and catching lobs.

Therefore if nothing else works, I want to see us go small for nearly the whole full time Wall is on the court. Give him an open lane with shooters at every spot. I could see him going off for efficient 30 & 15 games on the regular. I just want to see it one time

[Dat2U]

So, the Wizards talked about what they needed to do after game 1 and come out surrendering 44 points in the first quarter of game 2

Who knows what these guys do in their film sessions, but whatever it is, it's not very effective.

Now we got Brooks talking about Scott taking Gortat's place in the starting lineup, are we just supposed to ignore that Washington was out rebounded by 14 and got whatever they wanted inside?

Despite no shows from Morris and Beal on Tuesday, offense wasn't the problem, these guys need to nut up and **** stop somebody.

Another beef of mine through these first two games.. can somebody tell Beal and Wall to attack their mismatches?

When Ibaka flashes in front of a guard their eyes should light up.

Instead these guys shrivel up when they see the help defender attempt to close the gap and turn into basketball morons. Attack, attack, attack and please Brooksie, can we get some off the ball action when the Raptors show these looks?

It's absurd, that the Wizards are letting the Raptors get away with disrupting the Wizards offense with such vanilla looks.

The biggest reason is our bigs cannot defend in the modern space & pace era. Especially when it comes to the P&R. Our P&R coverage is why Toronto has shredded us. We were sending traps at the ballhandler and literally getting eaten alive by the Raps simply making a pass or two. We then switched everything in the 2nd half of game 2 which helped limit the 3 pt shooting but creates tons of mismatches that Toronto can take advantage of.

Bottom line, we cannot play Gortat. If Brooks starts Gortat again, it's coaching malpractice. Heck, we can't even really play Markieff but we have no choice. I think the best option is to go super small. Whether its Scott, Oubre or Porter at C. We'll get killed on the boards but we do already. At least guys shouldn't have wide open looks with us switching everything and having the foot speed to do so.

[NatP4]

Satoransky has been a disappointment after looking solid during Walls absence.

Sadly, this has indeed been the case so far. He has withered under the bright lights. Let's hope he rallies.

He has played 25 total minutes, NOT at the PG position. I lose brain cells from these posts.

He had 3-4-1 with no turnovers on 50% shooting in 15 minutes and was +12 in game 2. Unreal

[nate33]

Satoransky has been a disappointment after looking solid during Walls absence.

Sadly, this has indeed been the case so far. He has withered under the bright lights. Let's hope he rallies.

He has played 25 total minutes, NOT at the PG position. I lose brain cells from these posts.

He had 3-4-1 with no turnovers on 50% shooting in 15 minutes and was +12 in game 2. Unreal

You are being selective with your numbers. In 26 total playoff minutes, he has a total of 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers on 1/5 shooting.

Per 36 minutes, that means he is averaging:

6.9 points
5.5 rebounds
2.8 assists
2.8 turnovers
TS% of .370

How can you possibly spin that as good play?

[NatP4]

Sadly, this has indeed been the case so far. He has withered under the bright lights. Let's hope he rallies.

He has played 25 total minutes, NOT at the PG position. I lose brain cells from these posts.

He had 3-4-1 with no turnovers on 50% shooting in 15 minutes and was +12 in game 2. Unreal

You are being selective with your numbers. In 26 total playoff minutes, he has a total of 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers on 1/5 shooting.

Per 36 minutes, that means he is averaging:

6.9 points
5.5 rebounds
2.8 assists
2.8 turnovers
TS% of .370

How can you possibly spin that as good play?

It’s literally 2 damn games playing a grand total of 25 minutes. He was really good in game 2 and one of the main reasons they didn’t lose by 50 points. He took 3 damn shots in game 1, one was a halfcourt launch, another was a post up hook shot at the end of the shotclock after Beal deflated the ball for 20 seconds.

You have lost your mind and are trying to find any reason to push the blame away from Brooks.

This is ridiculous

[nate33]

He has played 25 total minutes, NOT at the PG position. I lose brain cells from these posts.

He had 3-4-1 with no turnovers on 50% shooting in 15 minutes and was +12 in game 2. Unreal

You are being selective with your numbers. In 26 total playoff minutes, he has a total of 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers on 1/5 shooting.

Per 36 minutes, that means he is averaging:

6.9 points
5.5 rebounds
2.8 assists
2.8 turnovers
TS% of .370

How can you possibly spin that as good play?

It’s literally 2 damn games playing a grand total of 25 minutes. He was really good in game 2 and one of the main reasons they didn’t lose by 50 points. He took 3 damn shots in game 1, one was a halfcourt launch, another was a post up hook shot at the end of the shotclock after Beal deflated the ball for 20 seconds.

You have lost your mind and are trying to find any reason to push the blame away from Brooks.

This is ridiculous

Relax. Nobody is blaming Satoransky for the poor play of the team. He is just one very small component. The Wizards have just had their asses handed to them. There's plenty of criticism to go around.

It's true that it's small sample size theater at this point and I don't deny it. That's why I said in my original post that it has been the case so far and followed up by saying let's hope he rallies. Every minor criticism of Satoransky does not have to met with screams of outrage.

[NatP4]

You are being selective with your numbers. In 26 total playoff minutes, he has a total of 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers on 1/5 shooting.

Per 36 minutes, that means he is averaging:

6.9 points
5.5 rebounds
2.8 assists
2.8 turnovers
TS% of .370

How can you possibly spin that as good play?

It’s literally 2 damn games playing a grand total of 25 minutes. He was really good in game 2 and one of the main reasons they didn’t lose by 50 points. He took 3 damn shots in game 1, one was a halfcourt launch, another was a post up hook shot at the end of the shotclock after Beal deflated the ball for 20 seconds.

You have lost your mind and are trying to find any reason to push the blame away from Brooks.

This is ridiculous

Relax. Nobody is blaming Satoransky for the poor play of the team. He is just one very small component. The Wizards have just had their asses handed to them. There's plenty of criticism to go around.

It's true that it's small sample size theater at this point and I don't deny it. That's why I said in my original post that it has been the case so far and followed up by saying let's hope he rallies. Every minor criticism of Satoransky does not have to met with screams of outrage.

Fine, but “he’s withered under the bright lights” when he’s just been victim to a dumbass coach jerking his playing time around and playing him out of position, and throwing him to the side in favor of a dude that they just signed form China, bothers me.

I complained all season about how Brooks would just throw him back on the bench come playoff time, it’s exactly what has happened. No withering under bright lights.

Wasting a good player. Could be a different series if Satoransky played the amount of minutes Oubre has