nate33 wrote:Frichuela wrote:DCZards wrote:Yup….Brad needs to see that and Wes Jr. needs to enforce it.
He needs to revert to how he played when Wall was around. Focus on being Ray Allen 2.0 and let others handle the rock at crunch time.
If (and BIG if) he can put his ego aside and do that, and Wes gets his shite together, this team could certainly be of playoff caliber…making Turd a happy chap..
I honestly don't think he is a good enough shooter to do that anymore.
I think Beal is doing the things he does best right now - being a slasher, cutter, and a secondary ball-handler in the pick-and-roll. And it shows in that he is playing his most efficient basketball of his career. The trick is, to put the right combination of spacing and defense around him, since Beal is neither a spacer nor a top notch defender. For spacing, we need Kispert, and to maintain our defense, we want Kispert at SG so we can have our versatile, switchable defenders (Avdija, Kuzma, Rui) at forward. So I think we need Beal to man the PG position, but only nominally. Play him at PG, but have Kuzma and Avdija initiate the offense.
nate33 wrote:- I don't care what anybody says, I'm really starting to like Kyle Kuzma. He probably tries to do a little more than he should, but man, he is a really skilled player who can do everything pretty well. His game has no weakness, other than perhaps an irrational confidence. He'll post up small guys; he'll slash against slow guys. He has very good touch on that floater and pretty good vision, which makes him a threat as the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll. And he has a pretty good turnaround fadeaway. It's not good enough to be a primary option, but it's useful as a bailout shot when an offensive set breaks down. I like how Wes is taking him out of the starting lineup early (bringing in Rui) so that Kuz can be a fulcrum for the 2nd unit.
- Having Deni and Kuzma at forward really gives Wes a lot of flexibility. The both handle the ball as well as a typical shooting guard, so Wes can go with a big lineup and not really face any consequences.
- I think the Wizards are playing better without Beal because of Kispert. Kispert is no where near as good as Beal in the abstract, but he provides exactly what the team needs better than Beal. Kispert's off ball activity and quick release provides just enough off-ball gravity, that it opens up things for everyone else. Meanwhile, Kispert has the size on defense to fit in with the Wizards' switching scheme seamlessly. He was guarding Olynyk for much of the night with no issues. That's our SG guarding their center. With Beal in the lineup, Kispert has to play SF, and we lose the defensive benefits of our huge front line, which is usually 2 out of Deni, Kuz and Rui, plus a center. When Beal comes back, we might be better off with him replacing a lot of Morris' minutes. But rather than have him be the primary ball handler, let Kuzma and Avdija initiate the offense.
This. From the Utah game thread.
I'm liking the Kispert, Deni, Kuzma, Porzingis chemistry. Still works when Rui is subbed in as well. We can go ultra big and get things done.
In fact if Beal and Delon stayed out I'd like to see what happens with Jordan Goodwin at the point of attack. Kuzma and Deni would carry much of the playmaking duties, but Goodwin makes good things happen. I can see Beal at point, some, but I agree that Kispert adds necessary spacing, and really does not need touches to have an effect. HIs defense is passable, but next to Beal I think our D would suffer, and I'm not sure if the offense is better. With a bulldog defender at the point of attack, it slows the action enough that Kispert has time to recover, makes Kuzma even more effective if he doesn't have to reach and chase. Where Beal hurts us most is in transition defense. He really can't seem to help but have conversations with referees complaining about calls, which ends up costing us a few possessions each game where he is trailing behind the action. That's the difference between a win in regulation vs a loss in overtime. Goodwin plays with aggressive desperation, he's in the action on every play. That energy is contagious. (Delon was the same but only on defense, on offense he deferred to absolutely everybody, only taking a shot if there was no alternative, so the offense lacked pop).
On offense, Beal has been scoring efficiently everywhere inside the 3 line, but he tends to be a magnet for the ball to whom Deni and Kuzma defer. We lose ball motion, reducing the efficiency of players around Beal even when he himself is scoring well. And lose confidence from Deni, cockiness from Kuzma. Sometimes that cockiness results in those late clock clutch threes he hits. You've got to have someone willing to take that shot.
Morris has good chemistry, decent efficiency. But with Beal and Kispert together our defense would be back to abysmal. It would take a ballsy move for the coach to demote Beal, even Morris, but I can see resting Beal an extra few minutes with Goodwin holding that spot. I expect we get Beal back shortly so may not see that line, but I get the feeling it would work.
)
