Are the wizards the leagues worst conditioned team?

[ZonkertheBrainless]

This team lays eggs on the second day of back to backs like no other team in the league, I think. Yesterday's debacle was no excuse -- Toronto had just played the previous night also. Why are the zards so completely lacking in stamina?

[Soup's Uncle]

I just think EJ plays are starters too many minutes, and that leads to being tired. LAst night, they looked tired, and they got got blown out. Then he turns to his inexperienced bench (b/c they don't get consistent minutes) and they don't produce.

It's a vicious cycle. He just needs to give the starters maybe 4-5 more minutes of rest per game.

[keynote]

Well, the Wizards only had 9 players in uniform, so they'll feel the effects of a back-to-back more than a Raptors team w/ 12 available players. Moreover, with 2 starters injured and a third in foul trouble, bench players were asked to play starters minutes.

Besides, TO's players were coming back home and seeking to avenge a loss, whereas the Wizards were heading out on the road. I wonder if the stats bear this out, but I'd suspect that home court advantage (measured by W/L) increases for the second game of a back to back.

I used to worry about the Wizards' lack of conditioning during the Richmond/Strickland/Juwan era--it always seemed like the other team had fresher legs, quicker hands, etc. Of course, that's in part because that Wizards' team was small and slow. But, I think on the whole, the team is in pretty good shape. All of the starters can go; out of the bench, only Blatche seems to get winded from time to time.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Soup's answer seems right to me.

Starters minutes are so high they get tired late in games. (Been this way for years, too.) Huge dropoff comes from less capable, much less experienced subs.

I think more than anything this team's mentally not that tough once they get down or if they make mistakes early. The bench players get tentative if they miss their first few shots or if the other team makes a run on them.

A HUGE HOLE on this team is they don't have a Mike Wilks-type defender off the bench. Nobody quick enough to make opposing players tired and who can get in transition in a hurry.

Backcourt quickness and the dropoff in athleticism make the Wizards IMO a slow team, moreso than a team that's not in good condition.

[Ruzious]

Keynote's answer sounds right to me. Last night was very predictable - based on what usually happens in the NBA and the fact that the Wiz were playing their second straight day without Butler (much less Arenas).

A huge hole on the team is not having an Arenas.

[gowiz999]

I checked our record on the second game of b2bs and we are 5-6. That's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

[Rafael122]

I'm under the impression that if we're winning by like 25 late in the 3rd qtr and control the rest of the game, Eddie will rest his starters. It's kinda hard to put blame on him for trying to win Tuesday's game, and it's not his fault the game went into OT.

But yeah, we're not so good on back to back but most teams aren't anyway.

[closg00]

It's simple, it's EJ's rotation management. Look at the distribution of minutes between the two teams from the b2back games. The Raps minutes are very well spaced with only a few players going over 40 min the first game. The second game their players averaged well under 30 minutes. Brags especially was fresh having played only 16 min the first game.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

You know, I went down to the gym and played basketball for two hours every day when I was in college. Playing 40 minutes vs. playing 35 minutes is not a big deal, and doing it back to back shouldn't be a big deal either if you're in shape. Playing heavy minutes only affects your chances of being injured -- if you're in decent shape, you shouldn't get noticeably tired after working out for only forty minutes.

Puny nba players. I ran six miles every frickin day for three years in hs, don't give me this whiny oh I'm so tired after playing for 35 minutes crap. And the guys who were really good ran six in the morning and another six in the evening.

[Rafael122]

You know, I went down to the gym and played basketball for two hours every day when I was in college. Playing 40 minutes vs. playing 35 minutes is not a big deal, and doing it back to back shouldn't be a big deal either if you're in shape. Playing heavy minutes only affects your chances of being injured -- if you're in decent shape, you shouldn't get noticeably tired after working out for only forty minutes.

Puny nba players. I ran six miles every frickin day for three years in hs, don't give me this whiny oh I'm so tired after playing for 35 minutes crap. And the guys who were really good ran six in the morning and another six in the evening.

You didn't have to travel to another city and finally get some sleep at around 2 AM, only to wake up hours later for practice/walkthrough and then play a game.

Big difference between playing ball at the local gym, and being an NBA player. Not making excuses for them, but that schedule is tough.

[fishercob]

And I'm guessing that the games might be slightly more physically taxing.

[nate33]

And NBA players aren't in high school. And most of them are much bigger and stronger, meaning more pounding on the joints and more overall energy required to move them up and down the court.

There's a reason why little guys like Iverson and Arenas can play 40 minutes a night but big men like Ilgauskas and Yao play 32.

[go'stags]

Not to mention being fouled by guys that size, and having to handle the ball, jump for rebounds, make shots, etc.

[go'stags]

Oh, and also, if your going to blame EJ for the blowout in Toronto, then you have to give him credit for the win in Washington.

He deserves a ton of credit for even getting a split without his 2 best players, and a sick starting center.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Pish posh. I played with guys twice my size and ran em into the ground. And I was a math major doing four hours of math homework every night, which is tons harder than sitting on a plane playing mario.

These guys just party too much and don't run enough miles, that's why they're tired.

[Zerocious]

i think players should be compensated by how the achieve on the court, a game by game evaluation.

[go'stags]

Okay! we get it, your were a much better athlete and better conditioned in high school than Antawn and Daniels are now...Geez

[ZonkertheBrainless]

I shoulda been an nba coach... f*** offensive drills, run wind sprints for two hours!!!!!