GT #18: Wizards @ HEAT 7:30 PM (NBCSW/980 AM) [11/23/22]

[Jimmy Recard]

I remember thinking when we signed Gafford to that extension that he’d be a bargain within a couple years. Boy was I wrong.

[queridiculo]

I am pretty much done with this franchise at this point.

Glad I've resisted the urge to watch this mess of a team, but a bit upset that I've yet again wasted money on the league pass.

The leadership of this franchise has no pride, backbone and absolutely no vision for sustained success, they're the antithesis of the Heat.

**** Leonsis, and **** me for continuing to support his shenanigans.

It's been real guys, so long.

[Frichuela]

Needed Goodwin in at the end. As good as Herro and Martin were… and they were very good… we needed a dawg on the perimeter to make them more uncomfortable getting to their spots.

100%. Wes went with Barton who defensively is sub par.

[Frichuela]

I am pretty much done with this franchise at this point.

Glad I've resisted the urge to watch this mess of a team, but a bit upset that I've yet again wasted money on the league pass.

The leadership of this franchise has no pride, backbone and absolutely no vision for sustained success, they're the antithesis of the Heat.

**** Leonsis, and **** me for continuing to support his shenanigans.

It's been real guys, so long.

Amen brother. I feel your pain. We Wiz fans need to be masochists to endure decade after decade of this crap.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I am pretty much done with this franchise at this point.

Glad I've resisted the urge to watch this mess of a team, but a bit upset that I've yet again wasted money on the league pass.

The leadership of this franchise has no pride, backbone and absolutely no vision for sustained success, they're the antithesis of the Heat.

**** Leonsis, and **** me for continuing to support his shenanigans.

It's been real guys, so long.

We have never been good. Wall and Beal one time advanced by sweeping Toronto only to crap the bed against Boston. During Gil and the big three era they got past Chicago once. We haven’t seen even 50 wins since…

The 1970s

So, with that in mind and with Beal being super maxed; I accept this team just wants the play in or a real low playoff seed.

What I noticed is they got down 21 and came all the way back to lead on the road. This one game after winning a game where they were down 5 well under a minute to play only to win in overtime.

I do not regret buying league pass because SO FAR the team competes. There’s signs that Kispert is solid. Beal hasn’t jacked shots too much. Kuzma tries really hard. Porzingis also gives effort. Goodwin is a joy to watch. Gill and Gibson have actually been decent.

I want to see how they play against Miami on Friday.

[doclinkin]

So, with that in mind and with Beal being super maxed; I accept this team just wants the play in or a real low playoff seed.

What I noticed is they got down 21 and came all the way back to lead on the road. This one game after winning a game where they were down 5 well under a minute to play only to win in overtime.

I do not regret buying league pass because SO FAR the team competes. There’s signs that Kispert is solid. Beal hasn’t jacked shots too much. Kuzma tries really hard. Porzingis also gives effort. Goodwin is a joy to watch. Gill and Gibson have actually been decent.

This. It's Stockholm syndrome I'm sure, but with lowered expectations this is actually a fun team to watch. I suppose that is the lesson of that double bottom line: if you can't expect to win, at least you can like watching some of the time. These players are scrappy and in some cases improving. Deni in particular. Rui has moments of growth. Cool to see KP sometimes playing dominant. Beal has been more efficient and less of a ball hog. And Kuzma is Kuzma: streaky, but when he is on he is fun to watch.

Goodwin, Wright, Taj, it is good to see players who care about defense finally. And I'm always startled by Deni's ability to make things difficult for the other team's best player. He doesn't look like he should be shutting them out, they beat him with footspeed and get up their shot, but miss. If Deni is on you, the ball doesn't go in.

Yes we have been feasting on teams that are tanking. In a year when we have no business trying to win. Unless we are in the lotto we lose our pick. But still, facing the opponent's 3rd string players is good for the confidence of guys like Deni who has shown himself to be more assertive since being benched. Having an extended run against the practice teams of the NBA can help guys like Kispert improve on defense and find his role. The moments of competitiveness and fight in the team make it clear: we would dominate the G-League.

So as always it is a mixed feeling being a Wiz fan. You root for wins in the game, and losses in the standings. The team itself is a mental condition. Crazy-making. But I'm a fan: yay team yay losses. Woo! and Booo, both. Either way I appreciate a good streak, win or lose. The middle is what is maddening.

[gambitx777]

Now, talk all the **** on Rui you want but we really anchors that bench. We were missing two key players tonight and it was still a winanle game. I'm not gonna get negative. KP doing KP things is nice and watching Deni grow is amazing. We probably win this with Beal or Rui.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

[AFM]

I am pretty much done with this franchise at this point.

Glad I've resisted the urge to watch this mess of a team, but a bit upset that I've yet again wasted money on the league pass.

The leadership of this franchise has no pride, backbone and absolutely no vision for sustained success, they're the antithesis of the Heat.

**** Leonsis, and **** me for continuing to support his shenanigans.

It's been real guys, so long.

We have never been good. Wall and Beal one time advanced by sweeping Toronto only to crap the bed against Boston. During Gil and the big three era they got past Chicago once. We haven’t seen even 50 wins since…

The 1970s

So, with that in mind and with Beal being super maxed; I accept this team just wants the play in or a real low playoff seed.

What I noticed is they got down 21 and came all the way back to lead on the road. This one game after winning a game where they were down 5 well under a minute to play only to win in overtime.

I do not regret buying league pass because SO FAR the team competes. There’s signs that Kispert is solid. Beal hasn’t jacked shots too much. Kuzma tries really hard. Porzingis also gives effort. Goodwin is a joy to watch. Gill and Gibson have actually been decent.

I want to see how they play against Miami on Friday.

Talk to these fellas Ken

It's not about winning a championship if you're a Wiz fan....it's about something else...if you know, you know...

[nate33]

I watched the game this morning.

I thought the Wizards played pretty well. They were playing on the road against a Miami team desperate for a win. They lost the game because they shot 26% from 3 while Miami shot 39%. In the 4th quarter, the Wizards shot 2-9 from 3 (22%) to Miami's 6-11 (55%). Throw in the 4 or so points we gave away by shooting 58% from the line instead of our usual 77%, and there's your ball game.

I'm not upset about the 4th quarter. The game was really lost with the bad defense in the 2nd quarter.

I was pleased to see Wes make adjustments to attack their zone. The Wizards got to the rim almost at will. One thing they did often was get the ball to the high post at foul line extended, the guy in the short corner would cut baseline, drawing the defender in that corner toward the rim to stop the backdoor pass. That vacated the corner so our floor spacer, who was above the break on the strong side, could cut to the short corner for an open catch-and-shoot. We either ended up with an open look from a corner 3 (which we missed a lot), or Miami had to scramble which opened opportunities elsewhere.

In theory, our team is well-suited to face a zone because we have a high post center, and a bunch of other pretty good decision-makers (Kuzma, Avdija, Kispert) who can make the quick pass before the zone can reset. Miami eventually had to abandon the zone.

Great game from Avdija. He really was our point guard out there, running the offense and making very good decisions. You could see his confidence growing. I was really annoyed at that carrying violation called on him late in the 4th. It didn't look like a carry to me, and even if it was, it gave him no advantage whatsoever. It was then followed up with a really cheap touch foul call on Lowry when Avdija didn't do anything except backpedal away from Lowry.

I really hope this relatively successful experience with Avdija at PG will convince Wes to start Goodwin (or Wright when he gets back) in place of Morris. This team doesn't need a true PG to run the offense from the 1. They need a 3&D guy to knock down shots and defend. Avdija, Beal and Kuzma can initiate the offense.

Kuzma continues to be good, but just not quite good enough. Man, if he could just be a slightly more accurate shooter and boost his TS% from the .540 range to .580 while cutting down on turnovers a bit, he'd be a real good player. The guy does everything except he is too streaky from 3.

[JWizmentality]

Now, talk all the **** on Rui you want but we really anchors that bench. We were missing two key players tonight and it was still a winanle game. I'm not gonna get negative. KP doing KP things is nice and watching Deni grow is amazing. We probably win this with Beal or Rui.

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using RealGM mobile app

Our bench has been shambles without him.

[DCZards]

Kuzma continues to be good, but just not quite good enough. Man, if he could just be a slightly more accurate shooter and boost his TS% from the .540 range to .580 while cutting down on turnovers a bit, he'd be a real good player. The guy does everything except he is too streaky from 3.

Totally second this part. Kuz can be awfully frustrating but he's actually a very good and versatile NBA player. We pretty much all agree that Kuz needs to make better decisions, especially when it comes to the # of 3 that he takes. But he's easy to root for...and can be really tough on defenses when he makes up his mind to attack the rim using his size and quickness.

Kuz had a great game against Charlotte with the chief blemish being those 4 turnovers. Interestingly, last night he had zero turnovers in almost 40 mins of play.

[dobrojim]

Johnny Davis might play 12 of the most irrelevant minutes you'll ever see tonight. I really don't see much that impresses me even on D. Lowry went by him off the dribble like he was a statue.

Just reading the game thread now so others probably noticed this too but the
block he made was a solid NBA play, maybe the first such play of that caliber he's made.

[dobrojim]

So many careless turnovers…

Seems to me the Wiz did a mediocre job in things that they controlled.
The 2 that stand out to me is poor FT shooting and unforced TOs.

I guess it is a truism that good teams don't beat themselves.

[dckingsfan]

Watching the game again... they really struggled figuring out how to play against a zone if the first half but were fine in the second half. I think they could have actually pulled the game out if they weren't 11-19 from the FT line OR 10-38 from 3 point land.