GT Wiz vs Raps, the TreJ era begins

[DCZards]

Whitmore believes he can get downhill on anybody. I like that about him. He won’t always score or get to the line, but he’ll put a lot of pressure on the defense and that’s a good thing.

Riley has real skills with the ball in his hands. Looking forward to seeing his development.

[closg00]

We are in the hole BIG on the Demi - Bub trade

Hmmmm … and it’s taken how long to say this?

One meaningless preseason game.

There will be plenty of games where Bub will shoot well, but he doesn't have the quickness to shake defenders, that's why he can't penetrate, and why he struggles to set-up an offense, and get assists.

[payitforward]

Sadly unable to see the game.

The box score tells a completely different story than this thread does.

We gave them 18 more shots than we had. Mitigated somewhat (not a lot) by our having 10 more FTAs. All the same, that kind of difference makes it essentially impossible to win a game. The fact that we only lost by 1 point, despite that differential, is a terrific result.

They missed 71 shots! Yet, only 48 of those misses ended up as defensive rebounds by us.

IOW, 23 of their missed shots went somewhere other than to the Wizards. Only 12 of our missed shots failed to wind up in the hands of an opponent. That's the game right there.

Oh, & we also turned the ball over 9 times more often than they did.

[dobrojim]

We are in the hole BIG on the Demi - Bub trade

Hmmmm … and it’s taken how long to say this?

Especially since it'll be years before we get the
other FRP.

[Despy]

yeah i dont think we have to worry about losing our pick

[payitforward]

We are in the hole BIG on the Demi - Bub trade

Hmmmm … and it’s taken how long to say this?

Oh, absolutely! Demi is -- obviously! -- by far a better player than Bub -- both now & it'll be a huge surprise if he doesn't stay much better.

In fact, if we'd had Deni last year, we'd probably have won 25 games rather than 18. Given the ping pong ball result, it doesn't seem like it would have mattered. Be a good chance as well that we'd lose our R1 pick next year if Deni were a Wizard. Oh, & the chance at a pick swap as well.

No doubt about it.

[doclinkin]

Sadly unable to see the game.

The box score tells a completely different story than this thread does.

We gave them 18 more shots than we had. Mitigated somewhat (not a lot) by our having 10 more FTAs. All the same, that kind of difference makes it essentially impossible to win a game. The fact that we only lost by 1 point, despite that differential, is a terrific result.

They missed 71 shots! Yet, only 48 of those misses ended up as defensive rebounds by us.

You missed the game thus missed the reason they missed those shots. The on ball defense was remarkable. Every shot challenged with position, crowding their space physicality. Bub picked up 3 fouls in the first quarter in large part because he was using his new size to bully up on players. Blocking shots and bumping them off their comfort zone.

Really though Kyshawn was a revelation. He and Sarr were smothering players. Ubiquitous and overwhelming. Thing is yeah we have no rebounding up front when these two are snuffing shots on the perimeter and forcing players to put up high degree of difficulty shots.

Definitely a situation where your boy Champagnie could be cleaning up underneath, except that he didn’t really play next to them. These two with Bilal are going to ugly up some games. On both ends really if those shots don’t start falling. On defense though this team is going to be frustrating to play for opposing offenses.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Bub looks worse than he did a year ago. He's slower. Going form 19 to 20, he should be improving physically. Kyshawn is making that leap. But Bub is going the other way. Too much weightlifting? Not sure why. But he looks worse.

Right. Looks to me like Bub is adjusting to his added size and recalibrating his jumper etc based on new height, muscle, etc. I think he’ll be fine once he adjusts.

Reggie Williams and Darius Miles are two players who, if my memory is correct (and this is a huge if), did not get better with added muscle mass.

Over lifting is liable to result in an injury. In the women's game, Caitlin Clark put on mass after her first season. She played relatively injury-free as a rookie. Just like Bub didn't. Caitlin first had an ankle problem and then had a severe groin injury in year two. She barely played all season.

I don't get see Wizards games often. The Bub i saw today was several steps slowm

[9 and 20]

Keefe utilizing the preseason well, getting his tanking strategy down for when we really need it. Way to put a short fat guy on a bouncy center with less than a second left, down by one.

I was underwhelmed by Tre this game. Whelmed at best. He looked a step slow and/or too small a lot of the time. Not great. But it was his first real game so we'll give him a pass.

Bub looked like Eric Maynor. Just not able to do really anything. Hopefully it gets better from here.

George was great - probably our best player. Sarr was much, much better but still needs to make strides in being more aggressive with the ball. Need to see more dunks and attempted dunks from him. On defense, he was good.

Whitmore with a real point guard would be a force. As it is, seems like you can throw him the ball and he'll try to make something happen on his own, which is something not many else on this team can do.

Vuk looks better than last year.

Mids and CJ are about what I expected. CJ is a gunner for sure.

Will Riley didn't look completely overmatched against Toronto's deep bench. I though he would be, even against NBA scrubs. He needs an all cheeseburger diet and some time in the G League.

Overall, I can't say I'm excited about our prospects this year - I think we'll struggle to break 20 wins. If Sarr looks good, KG takes a step forward, and Bilal and/or Whitmore cement themselves as pieces, I'll be satisfied. If Tre or Bub show something, then even better. Then we just need to win the lottery, yadda yadda, champtionship.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Sadly unable to see the game.

The box score tells a completely different story than this thread does.

We gave them 18 more shots than we had. Mitigated somewhat (not a lot) by our having 10 more FTAs. All the same, that kind of difference makes it essentially impossible to win a game. The fact that we only lost by 1 point, despite that differential, is a terrific result.

They missed 71 shots! Yet, only 48 of those misses ended up as defensive rebounds by us.

You missed the game thus missed the reason they missed those shots. The on ball defense was remarkable. Every shot challenged with position, crowding their space physicality. Bub picked up 3 fouls in the first quarter in large part because he was using his new size to bully up on players. Blocking shots and bumping them off their comfort zone.

Really though Kyshawn was a revelation. He and Sarr were smothering players. Ubiquitous and overwhelming. Thing is yeah we have no rebounding up front when these two are snuffing shots on the perimeter and forcing players to put up high degree of difficulty shots.

Definitely a situation where your boy Champagnie could be cleaning up underneath, except that he didn’t really play next to them. These two with Bilal are going to ugly up some games. On both ends really if those shots don’t start falling. On defense though this team is going to be frustrating to play for opposing offenses.

Clearly, a starting four of CJ, Kyshawn, Khris, and Alex will wreak havoc on opponents defensively.

As for a fifth player, who would you pick?

Will Riley loooked more NBA-ready than Tre.
Watkins can defend the best.
Whitmore is a bucket.
Bilal is another stopper.
Bub didn't impress today.

[doclinkin]

Clearly, a starting four of CJ, Kyshawn, Khris, and Alex will wreak havoc on opponents defensively.

As for a fifth player, who would you pick?

Will Riley loooked more NBA-ready than Tre.
Watkins can defend the best.
Whitmore is a bucket.
Bilal is another stopper.
Bub didn't impress today.

Bub will be fine. But forget the vets I’d like to see a young line like:

PG Riley
2G Cam
SF Bilal
PF Key
C Sarr

Granted this works better if George and Bilal can hit threes. Sarr too. But still. Size athleticism defense. 2-3 lob threats. Passers at 4 positions.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Sadly unable to see the game.

The box score tells a completely different story than this thread does.

We gave them 18 more shots than we had. Mitigated somewhat (not a lot) by our having 10 more FTAs. All the same, that kind of difference makes it essentially impossible to win a game. The fact that we only lost by 1 point, despite that differential, is a terrific result.

They missed 71 shots! Yet, only 48 of those misses ended up as defensive rebounds by us.

You missed the game thus missed the reason they missed those shots. The on ball defense was remarkable. Every shot challenged with position, crowding their space physicality. Bub picked up 3 fouls in the first quarter in large part because he was using his new size to bully up on players. Blocking shots and bumping them off their comfort zone.

Really though Kyshawn was a revelation. He and Sarr were smothering players. Ubiquitous and overwhelming. Thing is yeah we have no rebounding up front when these two are snuffing shots on the perimeter and forcing players to put up high degree of difficulty shots.

Definitely a situation where your boy Champagnie could be cleaning up underneath, except that he didn’t really play next to them. These two with Bilal are going to ugly up some games. On both ends really if those shots don’t start falling. On defense though this team is going to be frustrating to play for opposing offenses.

Clearly, a starting four of CJ, Kyshawn, Khris, and Alex will wreak havoc on opponents defensively.

As for a fifth player, who would you pick?

Will Riley loooked more NBA-ready than Tre.
Watkins can defend the best.
Whitmore is a bucket.
Bilal is another stopper.
Bub didn't impress today.

Easy. Bilal

[nate33]

Will Riley has a shiftiness to his game that reminds me a little of Manu Ginobili.

[payitforward]

Sadly unable to see the game.

The box score tells a completely different story than this thread does.

We gave them 18 more shots than we had. Mitigated somewhat (not a lot) by our having 10 more FTAs. All the same, that kind of difference makes it essentially impossible to win a game. The fact that we only lost by 1 point, despite that differential, is a terrific result.

They missed 71 shots! Yet, only 48 of those misses ended up as defensive rebounds by us.

You missed the game thus missed the reason they missed those shots....

Doc... suppose one of those misses -- just one, no more -- had happened to go in. What's the result? A totally different story...

...The on ball defense was remarkable. Every shot challenged with position, crowding their space physicality. Bub picked up 3 fouls in the first quarter in large part because he was using his new size to bully up on players. Blocking shots and bumping them off their comfort zone.

Really though Kyshawn was a revelation. He and Sarr were smothering players. Ubiquitous and overwhelming. Thing is yeah we have no rebounding up front when these two are snuffing shots on the perimeter and forcing players to put up high degree of difficulty shots.

Definitely a situation where your boy Champagnie could be cleaning up underneath, except that he didn’t really play next to them....

Didn't play at all....

...These two with Bilal are going to ugly up some games. On both ends really if those shots don’t start falling. On defense though this team is going to be frustrating to play for opposing offenses.

Great points. Kyshawn looks to be a reliable shot away from star potential in this league!

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Clearly, a starting four of CJ, Kyshawn, Khris, and Alex will wreak havoc on opponents defensively.

As for a fifth player, who would you pick?

Will Riley loooked more NBA-ready than Tre.
Watkins can defend the best.
Whitmore is a bucket.
Bilal is another stopper.
Bub didn't impress today.

Bub will be fine. But forget the vets I’d like to see a young line like:

PG Riley
2G Cam
SF Bilal
PF Key
C Sarr

Granted this works better if George and Bilal can hit threes. Sarr too. But still. Size athleticism defense. 2-3 lob threats. Passers at 4 positions.

The idea of trying to develop Will Riley as a PG is becoming intriguing to me.

[payitforward]

In any case, hey, some of our young guys looked good, others looked promising, Cam was a positive, Vuk looks improved, & Bub had a bad outing.

Result? We lost a preseason game by a single point.

Future looks pretty bright to me.

[doclinkin]

[quote="doclinkin”]
Definitely a situation where your boy Champagnie could be cleaning up underneath, except that he didn’t really play next to them....[/quote]
Didn't play at all....[/quote]

Yeah I was working so caught the game on my phone. Thought I saw him out there but it must have been Watkins or Dillon Jones.

But yeah. It’s a weakness in the fact that we can force misses with bigs on the perimeter. Puts our bigs out of position to grab boards.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Will Riley has a shiftiness to his game that reminds me a little of Manu Ginobili.

Manu is who he emulates.

I remember posting Riley stating this during a pre-draft interview.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Clearly, a starting four of CJ, Kyshawn, Khris, and Alex will wreak havoc on opponents defensively.

As for a fifth player, who would you pick?

Will Riley loooked more NBA-ready than Tre.
Watkins can defend the best.
Whitmore is a bucket.
Bilal is another stopper.
Bub didn't impress today.

Bub will be fine. But forget the vets I’d like to see a young line like:

PG Riley
2G Cam
SF Bilal
PF Key
C Sarr

Granted this works better if George and Bilal can hit threes. Sarr too. But still. Size athleticism defense. 2-3 lob threats. Passers at 4 positions.

I missed most of Whitmore's points. He has a pure stroke from three.

He has a big body. Drew Gooden said that Cam Whitmore is 6'6" and 250. He looks a bit heavy. So does Dillon Jones. Jones looked feisty defending SG. Whitmore is the same size as Ron Artest, aka Metta World Peace (something else now).

NWRoddy, I think Whitmore and Jones will become favorites of mine just based on their body types. Fat guys like DeJuan Blair. And yours truly.

1. "I'm not fat. I'm just big--boned."
2. The technical term, mesomorph, applies.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Chucky Hepburn went undrafted but played like he belonged in round one.

He's going to make their roster.

He's actually a couple of years older than Bub. Like Jahmir Watkins and Walter Clayton Jr., Hepburn is good right now. He is 22 and not someone who you wait to see if he grows and potentially gets very good. Chucky is a player I wish was a Wizard.