wiz@nyk

[WadeKnicks2010]

Man you guys got a lot of open looks on us. We gave you plenty of chances to get back in the game. I would have actually liked getting a better chance at drafting Michael Beasley. You looked really flat out there. Good luck with the division..

P.S. Caron Butler is an all star in my books. Third best small forward in the East, without question really.

[nate33]

Man you guys got a lot of open looks on us. We gave you plenty of chances to get back in the game. I would have actually liked getting a better chance at drafting Michael Beasley. You looked really flat out there. Good luck with the division..

P.S. Caron Butler is an all star in my books. Third best small forward in the East, without question really.

Who is 2nd best?

[80sballboy]

No surprise about the loss, but no excuses for the bench guys. Yes rookies will struggle and maybe Young hit a wall (the Great Wall of China), but you have to get something from these guys other than a rusty Pech.

[Tough Juice]

Frustrating loss to a bad team, but there's no reason the Wizards shouldn't win four of the next five.

[no D in Hibachi]

The Celtics are only slumping because the Wizards beat them twice.

[closg00]

Funny, the Knicks winning 2 games in-a-row is big news on every hoops page.

[WadeKnicks2010]

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Who is 2nd best?

Has to be Pierce I thought, no? Though I'd say its really debatable now because I love Butler. I can't believe my Knicks passed up on him, that was the beginning of the end. And I can't believe you traded Kwame Brown for him. Great work there.

[nate33]

Most of around here, in our totally unbiased opinions, consider Butler to be better than Pierce this year. It's kind of hard to compare the two because Pierce's role has changed. Butler got the best of him in those two Boston games though.

[charlie32]

guys were tired. Good effort though. They just weren't quick and fast enough.

given that it was the Wiz 4th game in 5nights I'm surprised EJ didn't try to find a few minutes rest for AJ and CB in the 2nd half. Both of them played the entire half until the last 1:19 when it was over. They were both playing hard but they were clearly gassed. Also, it worries me that these guys are going to be burnt by the end of the season logging these heavy minutes, especially for AJ when he's being asked to guard the likes of Randolph.

The Wiz went on a run at the end of the 2nd qtr with the line-up of AJ, BTH, Pech, CB and DS. Putting AJ at the 3 and CB at the 2 gives them both a chance to go up against smaller guys which helps them on both ends of the floor for stretches depending on the match-up. I would like to see the same combo but with Blatche instead of Pech in spots because then Jamison doesn't have to bang with the 4's on D.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

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given that it was the Wiz 4th game in 5nights I'm surprised EJ didn't try to find a few minutes rest for AJ and CB in the 2nd half. Both of them played the entire half until the last 1:19 when it was over. They were both playing hard but they were clearly gassed. Also, it worries me that these guys are going to be burnt by the end of the season logging these heavy minutes, especially for AJ when he's being asked to guard the likes of Randolph.

The Wiz went on a run at the end of the 2nd qtr with the line-up of AJ, BTH, Pech, CB and DS. Putting AJ at the 3 and CB at the 2 gives them both a chance to go up against smaller guys which helps them on both ends of the floor for stretches depending on the match-up. I would like to see the same combo but with Blatche instead of Pech in spots because then Jamison doesn't have to bang with the 4's on D.

The worst thing about Jordan was demonstrated when Gilbert averaged 40 minutes after an injury and ended up injured again.

I believe he's one of the worst at managing minutes.

I like the way he coached against Boston, because he did rest AJ and CB some and used his whole bench. Those were exceptions to the rule. Jordan generally plays his starters 40 mins plus, which is about 4-6 minutes more than optimal IMO.

Jamison and Butler are 10-15% more likely to get hurt than other starters averaging around 35 minutes a night for other teams.

What exasperates me most is instead of getting Pecherov, McGuire or Young minutes at Jamison's expense (I know this would hurt on the scoreboard) Eddie will play Brendan less then 20 minutes to fit the subs in and will in the same game ride Jamison for 42.

Not wise in the long run.

[fishercob]

For everyone banging the "rest your studs" drum, don't complain about Eddie. Complain about the bench. Eddie would happily rest his horses if the bench could come in and hold the fort down. They haven't shown they can do that.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Big Picture: If he rides his starters to injury, then his bench will be all he has to play.

Consider the Wizards cap and the fact that the Wizards can't even afford Mike Wilks, who could have helped against Nate Robinson and the Knicks with Daniels hurting.

EJ can use the disparity in bench play as an excuse to justify overworking his stars, but when AJ or CB go down, turn off the lights, the party's over.

Rather than just criticize, I think he needs to have a game plan to incorporate "pitch count"-type minutes to Antawn Jamison and to a lesser extent, Caron.

I'd like to see cameos by McGuire and Pecherov, earlier in the games. Jamison should average less than 35 minutes but nearly always be available and fresh to end ball games.

Washington should be able to play close if one or two frontcourt subs are in with starters. Don't just rest Haywood for Blatche.

[DCZards]

Jamison and Butler are 10-15% more likely to get hurt than other starters averaging around 35 minutes a night for other teams.

10-15% more likely to get hurt? Do you have some statistical evidence to back that claim up or did you just pull that figure out of thin air?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

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10-15% more likely to get hurt? Do you have some statistical evidence to back that claim up or did you just pull that figure out of thin air?

Didn't take my math degree to figure this one out, nor am I an insurance actuary, DCZ.

If the average starter plays 36 minutes, but Washingon's play 39.6 minutes, then Washington's guys are out there 10% longer.

Thus, I took a WAG. A wild-assed guess that they'd be 10% (at least) more susceptible to injury for playing 10% more minutes.

Players' time in the league and minutes have a debilitating effect much like miles on a tire. The treads are going to worn down more the more you drive on the tires.

To use easy numbers, 42 minutes is 7 minutes playing time more than 35 minutes. 7 divided by 35 is 0.2 or 20%. When you play 42 minutes every night without doing the math any further I'd say you're AT LEAST 20% more likely to be injured than if you average 35 minutes.

I would think a coach would play his guys more like 32 minutes if they had 4 games in 5 nights than to have them play 45 minutes a game. But that's just me, a math and education degrees guy. Maybe a coach knows better.

Funny thing is Dat and I were saying Gil was going to go out injured many games before he did.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I would add that getting players 4 or 5 additional minutes, in conjunction with timeouts and end of quarters could not only reduce injury, but also make them fresh when they need to really perform on the court.

[nate33]

Riding Arenas as hard as he did was a mistake since he knew Arenas was coming off an injury.

I can't complain about the minutes for Jamison and Butler though. EJ has few other options. We don't even have a backup SF for cryin' out loud. Jamison and Butler seem like they're up for it. They remarked on multiple occassions about how they've prepared themselves in the offseason and how they're taking care of themselves during the season.

Sure the odds of injury increase proportionately with playing time; but applying that logic, we should never play our players at all.

I've seen no study that argues that the injury potential rises exponentially with a linear increase in playing time. Until that data is produced, I think EJ should play his star forwards in accordance with whatever gets us wins. That is, he should play them until the point where their fatigue makes them worse than their replacements.

[DCZards]

If the average starter plays 36 minutes, but Washingon's play 39.6 minutes, then Washington's guys are out there 10% longer.

Thus, I took a WAG. A wild-assed guess that they'd be 10% (at least) more susceptible to injury for playing 10% more minutes.

Hey, ccj, I think you just helped us understand why EJ limits BH's minutes--he wants to reduce the chance of him getting hurt.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Guys, I think I don't believe in this strongly enough to continue to argue the point.

Here's a link to the league leaders in minutes:

http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Mi ... ason=22007

Caron is #4 (40.4) and Antawn is #9 (39.7), with many other players upwards of 37 minutes.

This one's not even that important in the big picture. I can understand them playing more with Gilbert injured. Without Jamison on the boards and playing hard this team would really be hurting.

I just think, DCZards, the Eddie should show the same concern for Antawn's health that he does for Brendan's.

[WadeKnicks2010]

Most of around here, in our totally unbiased opinions, consider Butler to be better than Pierce this year. It's kind of hard to compare the two because Pierce's role has changed. Butler got the best of him in those two Boston games though.

Actually you know your player better than I do. I would have no argument with that notion at all based on observation of their games over the course of this season.