GT #16: Blazers @ Wizards 6 PM (NBCSW/1500 AM)

[Dat2U]

At 5-11, the Wizards only need 45 wins to get to 50.

45-21 is all the Wizards need to be from here out.

All the Wizards need to do is fire Brooks. Fire Grunfeld. Name Danny Ferry (I think Bob Ferry is still alive) acting GM. Pay Eddie Jordan $1M to finish the season. As coach.

I bet you A LOT the Wizards would start winning and finish with at least 45 wins.

Jordan would G check Wall with the quickness.

Sent from my SM-J337T using RealGM mobile app

Yep, we all know how much of a defensive guru Eddie was

[JWizmentality]

Start this group next game. Send a message.

That's what is so frustrating. No matter how bad this team plays, NOTHING CHANGES! The closest thing we've seen to a shake-up is that Oubre has been getting some of Porter's minutes. That's it. Nothing happens to anyone else. The starting 5 is unchanged. The rotations are unchanged. The scheme is unchanged. It's like the movie Groundhog Day out there.

Starting the bench crew would be a great idea. At least it's doing something different.

This right here!

Brooks lacks any creative thinking whatsoever. He trots out the same lineup night after night.

[nate33]

Although hes right, he sure talks a lot for a way below average player.

He does talk a lot. But his comments are interesting because he comes from an outside perspective. His quotes seem honest and incisive, without actually attacking anyone.

[nate33]

Its very odd to see a 40-45 win team upgrade both the center position and the bench over the offseason...and suddenly come back looking like a 25 win team.

That's a red flag for poor coaching.
Brooks never installed the correct fundamentals with this team .. they have no cohesive system on either end, and after 3 seasons of doing the same thing opponents seem to have thoroughly scouted them out. The entire league is taking advantage of Brooks' lack of attention to detail.

Indeed. It's always been something that has bugged me about this team's offense. Every bucket seems like it is so much work and it requires great individual talent from someone to generate the shot. Usually it's Wall penetrating and dishing in a manner that few other PG's can duplicate. Other than an occasional backdoor alley-oop lob to Beal, there don't seem to be any "system points" generated by simple ball movement forcing confusion of the defense.

And the defense is even worse this year. There are constant miscommunications, missed rotations, and lazy on-the-ball defense when the on-the-ball defender dies on a screen way too easily.

It's troubling that Sato stands out so much as the one guy doing the right thing on both ends of the court. His constant movement, effort, and quick decisions make it look like he was used to playing on varsity and somehow got stuck on the JV team. It shouldn't be that way. EVERYONE should be playing like Sato, but even better because some of these guys have a lot more talent than Sato.

[Ruzious]

Its very odd to see a 40-45 win team upgrade both the center position and the bench over the offseason...and suddenly come back looking like a 25 win team.

That's a red flag for poor coaching.
Brooks never installed the correct fundamentals with this team .. they have no cohesive system on either end, and after 3 seasons of doing the same thing opponents seem to have thoroughly scouted them out. The entire league is taking advantage of Brooks' lack of attention to detail.

Indeed. It's always been something that has bugged me about this team's offense. Every bucket seems like it is so much work and it requires great individual talent from someone to generate the shot. Usually it's Wall penetrating and dishing in a manner that few other PG's can duplicate. Other than an occasional backdoor alley-oop lob to Beal, there don't seem to be any "system points" generated by simple ball movement forcing confusion of the defense.

And the defense is even worse this year. There are constant miscommunications, missed rotations, and lazy on-the-ball defense when the on-the-ball defender dies on a screen way too easily.

It's troubling that Sato stands out so much as the one guy doing the right thing on both ends of the court. His constant movement, effort, and quick decisions make it look like he was used to playing on varsity and somehow got stuck on the JV team. It shouldn't be that way. EVERYONE should be playing like Sato, but even better because some of these guys have a lot more talent than Sato.

He's the kind of coach who's philosiphy is to tell players to try harder rather than instruct them on how to play smarter.

His brand of bs might have a chance with a young team, but veterans understand that he's clueless.

[Illmatic12]

That's a red flag for poor coaching.
Brooks never installed the correct fundamentals with this team .. they have no cohesive system on either end, and after 3 seasons of doing the same thing opponents seem to have thoroughly scouted them out. The entire league is taking advantage of Brooks' lack of attention to detail.

Indeed. It's always been something that has bugged me about this team's offense. Every bucket seems like it is so much work and it requires great individual talent from someone to generate the shot. Usually it's Wall penetrating and dishing in a manner that few other PG's can duplicate. Other than an occasional backdoor alley-oop lob to Beal, there don't seem to be any "system points" generated by simple ball movement forcing confusion of the defense.

And the defense is even worse this year. There are constant miscommunications, missed rotations, and lazy on-the-ball defense when the on-the-ball defender dies on a screen way too easily.

It's troubling that Sato stands out so much as the one guy doing the right thing on both ends of the court. His constant movement, effort, and quick decisions make it look like he was used to playing on varsity and somehow got stuck on the JV team. It shouldn't be that way. EVERYONE should be playing like Sato, but even better because some of these guys have a lot more talent than Sato.

He's the kind of coach who's philosiphy is to tell players to try harder rather than instruct them on how to play smarter.

His brand of bs might have a chance with a young team, but veterans understand that he's clueless.

Brooks got tuned out in OKC for the exact same reasons.. "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it"

Read on Twitter

[truwizfan4evr]

Ted just as dumb as Brooks and Ernie.

[Kanyewest]

Bad effort from the Wizards other than a meaningless 4th quarter. But BTW the Blazers have the best record in the Western Conference and 3rd best in the league. Wizards have put themselves in a major hole at this point with some bad losses

[owneroz]

Shocker.....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

At 5-11, the Wizards only need 45 wins to get to 50.

45-21 is all the Wizards need to be from here out.

All the Wizards need to do is fire Brooks. Fire Grunfeld. Name Danny Ferry (I think Bob Ferry is still alive) acting GM. Pay Eddie Jordan $1M to finish the season. As coach.

I bet you A LOT the Wizards would start winning and finish with at least 45 wins.

Jordan would G check Wall with the quickness.

Sent from my SM-J337T using RealGM mobile app

Yep, we all know how much of a defensive guru Eddie was

Eddie Jordan did more with less.

Sent from my SM-J337T using RealGM mobile app

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Its very odd to see a 40-45 win team upgrade both the center position and the bench over the offseason...and suddenly come back looking like a 25 win team.

That's a red flag for poor coaching.
Brooks never installed the correct fundamentals with this team .. they have no cohesive system on either end, and after 3 seasons of doing the same thing opponents seem to have thoroughly scouted them out. The entire league is taking advantage of Brooks' lack of attention to detail.

Indeed. It's always been something that has bugged me about this team's offense. Every bucket seems like it is so much work and it requires great individual talent from someone to generate the shot. Usually it's Wall penetrating and dishing in a manner that few other PG's can duplicate. Other than an occasional backdoor alley-oop lob to Beal, there don't seem to be any "system points" generated by simple ball movement forcing confusion of the defense.

And the defense is even worse this year. There are constant miscommunications, missed rotations, and lazy on-the-ball defense when the on-the-ball defender dies on a screen way too easily.

It's troubling that Sato stands out so much as the one guy doing the right thing on both ends of the court. His constant movement, effort, and quick decisions make it look like he was used to playing on varsity and somehow got stuck on the JV team. It shouldn't be that way. EVERYONE should be playing like Sato, but even better because some of these guys have a lot more talent than Sato.

Please stop calling run and jump athletic ability talent.

Satoransky makes great decisions. He plays efficient basketball. He fits in seamlessly with others. He has enough size to defend 2 or 3. He's a good enough playmaker to be the 1.

When Wall was out last season Satoransky stepped up huge. He's TALENTED.

Sent from my SM-J337T using RealGM mobile app

[nate33]

That's a red flag for poor coaching.
Brooks never installed the correct fundamentals with this team .. they have no cohesive system on either end, and after 3 seasons of doing the same thing opponents seem to have thoroughly scouted them out. The entire league is taking advantage of Brooks' lack of attention to detail.

Indeed. It's always been something that has bugged me about this team's offense. Every bucket seems like it is so much work and it requires great individual talent from someone to generate the shot. Usually it's Wall penetrating and dishing in a manner that few other PG's can duplicate. Other than an occasional backdoor alley-oop lob to Beal, there don't seem to be any "system points" generated by simple ball movement forcing confusion of the defense.

And the defense is even worse this year. There are constant miscommunications, missed rotations, and lazy on-the-ball defense when the on-the-ball defender dies on a screen way too easily.

It's troubling that Sato stands out so much as the one guy doing the right thing on both ends of the court. His constant movement, effort, and quick decisions make it look like he was used to playing on varsity and somehow got stuck on the JV team. It shouldn't be that way. EVERYONE should be playing like Sato, but even better because some of these guys have a lot more talent than Sato.

Please stop calling run and jump athletic ability talent.

Satoransky makes great decisions. He plays efficient basketball. He fits in seamlessly with others. He has enough size to defend 2 or 3. He's a good enough playmaker to be the 1.

When Wall was out last season Satoransky stepped up huge. He's TALENTED.

Sent from my SM-J337T using RealGM mobile app

Sato doesn't have great shooting mechanics, he takes forever to get off his jumper, and he isn't very strong. These issues really hamstring him as a player. It's why I say he is less talented.

Many of the things he does well seem to me to be things that everyone should be able to do well. Sato has great habits, not necessarily great talent. Without even thinking about it, he fights through every screen. Without thinking, he recognizes that when he has the ball, he should do something immediately, or swing it to the next guy. Without thinking, he cuts hard immediately after passing the ball. When a shot goes up, he puts a body on somebody. When a guy is squaring up for a 3, Sato rushes out hard to close out. Lots of these things shouldn't even be characterized as decisions. They're just... habits.

[BigA]

Many of the things he does well seem to me to be things that everyone should be able to do well. Sato has great habits, not necessarily great talent. Without even thinking about it, he fights through every screen. Without thinking, he recognizes that when he has the ball, he should do something immediately, or swing it to the next guy. Without thinking, he cuts hard immediately after passing the ball. When a shot goes up, he puts a body on somebody. When a guy is squaring up for a 3, Sato rushes out hard to close out. Lots of these things shouldn't even be characterized as decisions. They're just... habits.

And he gets to ride the pine for his troubles.

[payitforward]

Not sure im mad at wall tonight...10 of 21...24 pts...wait -28

I wish he be more of a play maker then trying to get his scoring numbers up.

I’m surprised people looking at Wall and beal but not looking at Otto....if Wall was making 10 mil would he be the problem? I a, starting to understand why beal and Wall seem to have a problem with Otto. Dude is invisible....he has NO impact on the game.

Riiiight....

Otto produces 11 points out of 8 shots, that's "invisible," has no impact on the game.

Beal produces 10 points out of 13 shots -- that impacts the game.

Is that what you mean?

How about Wall making 1 of 5 FTs? Is that what you mean by "impacts the game?" It's certainly not "invisible."

To this point, John Wall is having a season rather like his 3d season or like 2015-16 -- not horrible, but not nearly as good as 2016-17.

Beal is having a really bad season -- back to where he was in his 3d or 4th season: a volume scorer at well below average efficiency. I.e. a guy who helps you lose games.

Porter is significantly down from his numbers of the last couple of years. But those were so good that overall he's really no different from Beal -- I know that few of you will buy that, but it's true all the same.

The real dragsails, however, are Rivers & Morris, who have combined for 750 horrible minutes.

[payitforward]

Many of the things he does well seem to me to be things that everyone should be able to do well. Sato has great habits, not necessarily great talent. Without even thinking about it, he fights through every screen. Without thinking, he recognizes that when he has the ball, he should do something immediately, or swing it to the next guy. Without thinking, he cuts hard immediately after passing the ball. When a shot goes up, he puts a body on somebody. When a guy is squaring up for a 3, Sato rushes out hard to close out. Lots of these things shouldn't even be characterized as decisions. They're just... habits.

And he gets to ride the pine for his troubles.

"Talent" is a word with no specific referent, nate. That makes it hard to use in comparisons. Really, "talented" is just what's called an "honorific" -- i.e. a word of praise not of description.

If I say A is taller than B, there's no ambiguity as to my referent -- what I'm pointing to. & if I put person A next to person B, there is no room for disagreement about which one of them is taller.

But, if I say A is kinder than B, there may be plenty of room for disagreement. Ditto if I say A is more beautiful than B. Or (I'm sure you knew I'd be heading here, ) more intelligent.

It's not that you can never come to agreement in any instance of any use of these words. If I say Marilyn Monroe was more beautiful than Mamie Eisenhower, I won't get much argument. Yet, it's possible to imagine someone responding by saying something like "Well, I think of beauty as more than skin deep; it reflects other qualities. And Mamie Eisenhower was beautiful to me in the ways she..." etc. But, in fact a case like this is precisely what defines the difference between an honorific like beauty or talent &, say, tallness.

For which reason, it's not problematic to talk about Sato having the talent to do the things you mention. &, OTOH, why there are so many empty uses of the word "talent."

[CobraCommander]

I wish he be more of a play maker then trying to get his scoring numbers up.

I’m surprised people looking at Wall and beal but not looking at Otto....if Wall was making 10 mil would he be the problem? I a, starting to understand why beal and Wall seem to have a problem with Otto. Dude is invisible....he has NO impact on the game.

Riiiight....

Otto produces 11 points out of 8 shots, that's "invisible," has no impact on the game.

Beal produces 10 points out of 13 shots -- that impacts the game.

Is that what you mean?

How about Wall making 1 of 5 FTs? Is that what you mean by "impacts the game?" It's certainly not "invisible."

To this point, John Wall is having a season rather like his 3d season or like 2015-16 -- not horrible, but not nearly as good as 2016-17.

Beal is having a really bad season -- back to where he was in his 3d or 4th season: a volume scorer at well below average efficiency. I.e. a guy who helps you lose games.

Porter is significantly down from his numbers of the last couple of years. But those were so good that overall he's really no different from Beal -- I know that few of you will buy that, but it's true all the same.

The real dragsails, however, are Rivers & Morris, who have combined for 750 horrible minutes.

Otto is invisible. Empty calories...or maybe ONLY the advanced analytics people can calculate his value. When you get to that point...aight you right...OTTO is amazing. But if we was so good why we losing so bad?