GT #12: NY Knicks @ Bullets 7 PM (MSN/980 AM) [In-Season Tournament Game #3]

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

You sit Deni here?

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

I love watching WUJ making himself looking stupid after benching Deni down the stretch. We haven't even looked viable without him.

[TGW]

The 4th quarter woes is coaching 100%.

On a side note, the Knicks suck. They are awful to watch and they are going nowhere with that roster.

[AFM]

2-10 lol, I feel like a dumbass predicting 26 wins or whatever I said

[montestewart]

2-10 lol, I feel like a dumbass predicting 26 wins or whatever I said

The guy who predicted 2 wins is feeling pretty smart right about out now.

[DaGawd]

The 4th quarter woes is coaching 100%.

On a side note, the Knicks suck. They are awful to watch and they are going nowhere with that roster.

our best player was out as well as a valuable starter

[Jimmy Recard]

Is Deni our best all around player? And why the hell did WUJ sub him off with 5 mins to go in the fourth?

[badinage]

Deni is the only one on this team who plays smart ball, and who doesn’t make my eyes hurt when I watch. Whenever the ball goes away from him for stretches, the team collapses.

[tontoz]

What is up with Deni's offense? He looks like a different guy this year.

[GoneShammGone]

The only logical explanation is that WUJ has been instructed to tank. Every time the Wizards look like they might make it close in the fourth, Deni goes to the bench.

[montestewart]

The only logical explanation is that WUJ has been instructed to tank. Every time the Wizards look like they might make it close in the fourth, Deni goes to the bench.

What if he carved out a reputation as the guy you bring in when you need to tank? Every few years some team would come calling for The Tanktician. He's tops at bottoming out.

[badinage]

What is up with Deni's offense? He looks like a different guy this year.

He’s just evolving, baby — continued evolution into what some of us saw in him all along.

It’s so wonderful to see.

Clearly he’s put in the work. It’s showing.

Can’t give up on young players who show flashes and who work hard and — this is big — who actually know how to play the game.

[tontoz]

What is up with Deni's offense? He looks like a different guy this year.

He’s just evolving, baby — continued evolution into what some of us saw in him all along.

It’s so wonderful to see.

I was expecting to see some improvement last year but it didn't really happen. It was almost like he had a mental block.

Now he actually dunks the ball when he gets the chance which he rarely used to do.

[nate33]

Is Deni our best all around player? And why the hell did WUJ sub him off with 5 mins to go in the fourth?

I still believe Kuzma is our best player because scoring is the hardest thing to do and he can actually do it. But it’s becoming pretty clear that Deni is our second best player, and maybe on his way to becoming our best.

[penbeast0]

But if Kuzma is regressing to his normal self on efficiency, his scoring becomes far less valuable. I'd rather trust Poole to be my main shot taker than Kuzma (though not for anything else). And the last 2 games I watched, Kuzma is not moving the ball well or playing good defense (he did in the 1st game I watched). So I have Avdija as our best player so far this year.

[nate33]

But if Kuzma is regressing to his normal self on efficiency, his scoring becomes far less valuable. I'd rather trust Poole to be my main shot taker than Kuzma (though not for anything else). And the last 2 games I watched, Kuzma is not moving the ball well or playing good defense (he did in the 1st game I watched). So I have Avdija as our best player so far this year.

The team’s Ortg is 110.1. And in reality, it’s actually worse if you ignore a couple of garbage time offensive explosions. I’d be willing to bet the true Ortg in minutes that actually matter is down around 108.

Kuzma, who always plays against starting caliber opponents, and as the focus of the opposition’s defense, has an Ortg of 106. That’s not easy. Avdija could not come anywhere close to that type of efficiency on that much usage as a focus of the opponent’s defensive strategy.

And defensively Kuzma may not be exceptional, but he is competent. When he gets switched onto a good offensive player, it’s not an emergency. Indeed, it’s part of the game plan. Kuzma guards the opposition’s best forward and Avdija guards the opposition’s best guard, so that when they run pick and roll, it’s an easy switch.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m extremely impressed with Avidja too. I just think it’s misguided to downplay Kuzma’s offensive contributions just because its efficiency isn’t elite. Without him, our offense is dead in the water.

[penbeast0]

As I've said before, at this moment, Kuzma is looking better than his career numbers. He's also starting to regress to the norm. I'm not as impressed with below team average efficiency on high usage; usually it's a bad thing and indicates selfish play.

So, as long as Kuzma is better than team average (not league average, this team sucks too badly for that) efficiency, I will buy that he's our best offensive player. I think Deni's defense makes up for the difference, you don't. Let's just hope Bilal continues to look like a good choice and our guards start to develop as well. I'm also good with a donut at center leading the tank charge.