Measuring Tapscott's performance

[hands11]

I know I'm in the minority on this, (but I'm OK with that because I'm so much smarter than most of you Cretans) but I am highly appreciative of Tapscott for his work this season.

With the team at 1-10 and ravaged by injuries, it was clear that they were going nowhere this year. Coaching this team was an utterly thankless job -- and one that Tap did not ask for. But Ernie asked him to take on for the team, and Tap did so with grace and class.

Like most, I was troubled by his rotations at times. But I also understood and respected that he had his reasons (and orders from above), even if I didn't necessarily agree. He refused to lower the bar on professionalism and work habits, and in the long run that is going to help the Wiz. He sat through every tediously depressing press conference and answered every crappy question with th elights on his face, without losing his temper. That's grace and class.

Most importantly -- and inexplicably, frankly -- he kept the locker room together. Has there ever been a team with this bad a record and this strong and unified a locker room with so much hope heading into the next season? I think if you compared us to the Clips in the regards its absolutely night and day. Tap's work in this regard is going to make FLip's transition and job easier -- because despite the disastrous record this season, Flip's going to inherit a situation with a fair amount of stability and leadership.

And hell, he got results. We've got a decent shot at the holy grail in the lottery, in no small part thanks to Tap's handiwork. Thanks Tap for taking one for the team this year. The Wiz are going to be better in the long run due to your sacrifices and efforts!

Now that's what I'm talking about. The man deserves a lot more appreciation then he has received by this board. We should all pitch in and get him a Hug-A-Bear or something. Maybe a Ninja Sword or a Gold Plated Toilet Seat. He definitely deserves our appreciation and thanks.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Speaking of Measuring Tapscott's Performance, I updated my analysis to include data for the entire season. Overall, Tapscott performed just slightly better than EJ.

Our average point differential under EJ was -9.7
Our average point differential under Tapscott was -8.0

Using numbers for the entire season, the strength of schedule under EJ was about the same as the strength of schedule under EJ. The opponents that EJ faced outscored their opposition by an average of 0.6 points. The opponents that Tapscott faced outscored their opposition by an average of 0.5 points.

Offensively, the team fared better under Tapscott than they did under EJ. The team scored 102.9 points per 100 possessions under EJ, and 106.5 points per 100 possessions under Tapscott.

Defensively, EJ outperformed Tapscott. The team allowed 112.6 points per 100 possessions under EJ, and 114.5 points per 100 possessions under Tapscott.

One other interesting observation:
As you might have guessed, the team played much better once Haywood returned. In the 6 games that Haywood played, the team scored 109.0 points per 100 possessions and allowed 113.1 points per 100 possessions. They did so against a tougher schedule. If you adjust for strength of schedule, the team scoring diffential with Haywood playing was just -3.2 (versus -9.7 under EJ and -8.0 under Tapscott).

I won't argue with the numbers, but I do feel the comparison could be even further qualifed.

An advantage Tapscott had was that DeShawn's injury force McGuire in the lineup and that accounted for better stats. I don't know that EJ would have ever given McGuire minutes.

I also think the PG situation for Tapscott, bad as it was, was actually a little better than it was for EJ, who had AD on his very last legs. Jordan had injured DeShawn and broken down Antonio as his Gs. James, bad as he was at times has a bit more left than AD. Crittenton had a few solid games at the end of the season.

I don't think Tapscott was an improvement over EJ.

One thing Tapscott did do was effectively tank, even though I think he was (apparently) trying to win all along.

[hands11]

Speaking of Measuring Tapscott's Performance, I updated my analysis to include data for the entire season. Overall, Tapscott performed just slightly better than EJ.

Our average point differential under EJ was -9.7
Our average point differential under Tapscott was -8.0

Using numbers for the entire season, the strength of schedule under EJ was about the same as the strength of schedule under EJ. The opponents that EJ faced outscored their opposition by an average of 0.6 points. The opponents that Tapscott faced outscored their opposition by an average of 0.5 points.

Offensively, the team fared better under Tapscott than they did under EJ. The team scored 102.9 points per 100 possessions under EJ, and 106.5 points per 100 possessions under Tapscott.

Defensively, EJ outperformed Tapscott. The team allowed 112.6 points per 100 possessions under EJ, and 114.5 points per 100 possessions under Tapscott.

One other interesting observation:
As you might have guessed, the team played much better once Haywood returned. In the 6 games that Haywood played, the team scored 109.0 points per 100 possessions and allowed 113.1 points per 100 possessions. They did so against a tougher schedule. If you adjust for strength of schedule, the team scoring diffential with Haywood playing was just -3.2 (versus -9.7 under EJ and -8.0 under Tapscott).

I won't argue with the numbers, but I do feel the comparison could be even further qualifed.

An advantage Tapscott had was that DeShawn's injury force McGuire in the lineup and that accounted for better stats. I don't know that EJ would have ever given McGuire minutes.

I also think the PG situation for Tapscott, bad as it was, was actually a little better than it was for EJ, who had AD on his very last legs. Jordan had injured DeShawn and broken down Antonio as his Gs. James, bad as he was at times has a bit more left than AD. Crittenton had a few solid games at the end of the season.

I don't think Tapscott was an improvement over EJ.

One thing Tapscott did do was effectively tank, even though I think he was (apparently) trying to win all along.

I see what your getting at CCJ but not sure I'm along for the ride.

A one legged AD alone was more pg then Crit when he first got here. Crit didn't even play for almost a month because he couldn't even bring the ball up the court. That left us with only James a PG.

Half an AD and an injured DS I believe is a lot more PG then James trying to rebuild his career.

I actually think Tapps had it way worse then EJ.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

CCJ may hate me for this but I think the question needs to be asked....

Is Caron suffering from having to move from SF to SG?

His play of late has not been nearly the AS level we become
accustomed to. But other factors may be involved.

Nah, I gotta man up, jim.....

Caron can play spot minutes at SG, but that's not his best position by a lot.

[no D in Hibachi]

Is there anything worse than an 'F'? If so, sign me up. Here is an interesting read from the front page of REALGM.com

http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/762/20090417/losing_season_puts_wizards_at_epicenter_of_player_development_debate/

Player development questions about the Wizards naturally gravitated toward McGee.

“I love Javale,” says the former Eastern Conference player development executive. “He will be an All-Star. He’s someone who’s going to lead you deep into the playoffs, maybe to a title. So when I see Javale getting 10-15 minutes and someone like [Darius] Songaila getting 28-30, I don’t know what that is. Their roles should be reversed. Javale should be getting 30 minutes a night, minimum.”

Ridiculous how all the fans see it, all the players see it, all the other teams executives see it, yet the Wiz are so stuck in their ways. They were a laughing stalk of the NBA, not because they were losing, but because of the players they were losing with.

[hands11]

CCJ may hate me for this but I think the question needs to be asked....

Is Caron suffering from having to move from SF to SG?

His play of late has not been nearly the AS level we become
accustomed to. But other factors may be involved.

Nah, I gotta man up, jim.....

Caron can play spot minutes at SG, but that's not his best position by a lot.

Don't give in so soon CCJ. CB can play SG with the right players around him ie a PG who can drive and hit the 3 ball ( Gilbert ) and with a true center ( Haywood ). He can't play SG as effectively as the number one scoring threat. He has moves but he doesn't have Nick Young moves that he can do at any given moment. CB is an in the flow type of player. Not a flow creating player. Well he can be sometimes but not like a Wade or Kobe.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/caron_but ... stats.html

CB had a good year. We didn't loose because of CB at SG. We lost because of no PG and no center.

Given who we have and who we are going to keep, AJ, CB, GA is the way to do. CB is a huge upgrade to either DMAC or DSleezy at SG.

I would start.

Haywood, DSong, AJ, CB, GA

That's a rock solid starting line up. If he can get that 3 ball working better again it would be all the sweeter. Haywood and DSong wll be warriors in the paint. DSong has range and he has nice moves off cuts the rack. He can actually rebound from the PF. Haywood does the heavy lifting and blocks and dunks. AJ rebounds, dips and daps and have range to the 3 line. CB is just glue. He give you want you need. Passing, shots, drives, rebounds, assists. And GA does the same only he is running the show and nailing 3s with is eyes closed. Then he closes the game out for you.

[hands11]

Is there anything worse than an 'F'? If so, sign me up. Here is an interesting read from the front page of REALGM.com

http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/762/20090417/losing_season_puts_wizards_at_epicenter_of_player_development_debate/

Player development questions about the Wizards naturally gravitated toward McGee.

“I love Javale,” says the former Eastern Conference player development executive. “He will be an All-Star. He’s someone who’s going to lead you deep into the playoffs, maybe to a title. So when I see Javale getting 10-15 minutes and someone like [Darius] Songaila getting 28-30, I don’t know what that is. Their roles should be reversed. Javale should be getting 30 minutes a night, minimum.”

Ridiculous how all the fans see it, all the players see it, all the other teams executives see it, yet the Wiz are so stuck in their ways. They were a laughing stalk of the NBA, not because they were losing, but because of the players they were losing with.

From the same article.

“The typical fan sees the good stuff, but wouldn’t even know where to look to see the bad,” says one Eastern Conference scout. “Nice dunk. Great block. Great athlete. What they don’t notice is the missed rotation on defense. Does he talk on defense? Does he make contact on a screen? When he sets up on the wrong side of the lane. Turns left when he should go right. Coaches see that stuff.”

How do youngsters develop into quality NBA players? It’s a question frequently asked in whichever cities have a bad NBA team that year, but it’s one that’s growing in importance for every NBA team as fewer players apprentice in college. As the league harvests an increasingly younger player crop, the need for good player development only grows.

For fans, the process is often maddening. For many, “development” is a simple matter — get the young players on the floor and let’s see what they can do. After all, the team can’t possibly do any worse by playing the youngsters, some think.

Yet coaches — even those like Tapscott, a player development executive before he replaced Eddie Jordan — resist the call to give young players a set number of minutes.

“The young guys are going to get their opportunities," Tapscott told the Washington Post recently. “But they are going to earn their opportunities. Anything that's worth doing is worth doing well and is worth working hard to do. You've got to earn this.”

Who’s right? Well, it’s more than a long range debate between coaches and fans; it’s also a matter of considerable debate within the NBA.

-------------

So you quoted one unnamed person while he also says there is a debate within the NBA.

How about considering this as a reason for that one unnamed player development person. If I was that person, I would say the same thing. Hell, why not. No one is putting my name to it. What do I have to loose. Nothing. What do I have to gain. Several things. I let this awesome talent that I would love to coach that he is being miss treated and maybe he should start not trusting him management and looking elsewhere. Plant a seed is discontent. Maybe he will get full of himself and frustrated and want to leave. Look what happen to J Howard when he was here. I also puts the question into other young talented players who are going through the same thing. ie Nick.

Come on, guy work women against their boyfriends like this all the time. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. But they figure, what the harm in trying. They have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

So what I'm saying is instead of just taking what these unnamed people say, consider the game that is most likely being played. Corporate warfare.

[TheSecretWeapon]

I wrote the article being referenced here. The FORMER player development executive is pursuing a career outside the NBA and has zero interest in pursuing a coaching or player development position -- which is exactly what he's been saying for the past few years since he decided to leave the NBA. He loved his time there, but now he loves the life he has -- he gets to live in the same house in the same city; he gets to work a more regular schedule; he gets to see family and friends just about every day. And he's making assistant coaching/player development exec money right now. He's still well-connected throughout the league and he's still smart as hell.

He offered that opinion of McGee because it's his opinion of McGee, not because he wants to coach him someday.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

McGee would solve a lot of his pt problems by gaining about twenty pounds of muscle. The missed assignments and so on aren't the problem. The fact that just about anyone can shove him under the basket and force a double team is.

Can't wait to see McGee after three months of heavy weight training and instruction in defensive basics.

[nate33]

Don't give in so soon CCJ. CB can play SG with the right players around him ie a PG who can drive and hit the 3 ball ( Gilbert ) and with a true center ( Haywood ). He can't play SG as effectively as the number one scoring threat. He has moves but he doesn't have Nick Young moves that he can do at any given moment. CB is an in the flow type of player. Not a flow creating player. Well he can be sometimes but not like a Wade or Kobe.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/caron_but ... stats.html

CB had a good year. We didn't loose because of CB at SG. We lost because of no PG and no center.

Given who we have and who we are going to keep, AJ, CB, GA is the way to do. CB is a huge upgrade to either DMAC or DSleezy at SG.

I would start.

Haywood, DSong, AJ, CB, GA

That's a rock solid starting line up. If he can get that 3 ball working better again it would be all the sweeter. Haywood and DSong wll be warriors in the paint. DSong has range and he has nice moves off cuts the rack. He can actually rebound from the PF. Haywood does the heavy lifting and blocks and dunks. AJ rebounds, dips and daps and have range to the 3 line. CB is just glue. He give you want you need. Passing, shots, drives, rebounds, assists. And GA does the same only he is running the show and nailing 3s with is eyes closed. Then he closes the game out for you.

Butler played SF this year. DMac was our shooting guard.

They tried Butler at SG for a brief period of time after Stevenson went down and it didn't work. In the 10 games after Stevenson went down, Butler played SG. Butler shot just 55/146 from the field (that's a .401 eFG%) while averaging 3 turnovers and just 15.6 points per game. The team went 2-8 during that stretch. After that, they switched DMac and Butler and had DMac play SG on offense. Thereafter, Butler averaged 22.3 points per game with an eFG% of .492. The team went 9-21.

Give it up, Hands. You are wrong. Everybody else, including the Wizards coaching staff, is right. Butler is a SF. He can play some minutes at SG, but it's not the best way to utilize him.

[Dat2U]

Is there anything worse than an 'F'? If so, sign me up. Here is an interesting read from the front page of REALGM.com

http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/762/20090417/losing_season_puts_wizards_at_epicenter_of_player_development_debate/

Player development questions about the Wizards naturally gravitated toward McGee.

“I love Javale,” says the former Eastern Conference player development executive. “He will be an All-Star. He’s someone who’s going to lead you deep into the playoffs, maybe to a title. So when I see Javale getting 10-15 minutes and someone like [Darius] Songaila getting 28-30, I don’t know what that is. Their roles should be reversed. Javale should be getting 30 minutes a night, minimum.”

Ridiculous how all the fans see it, all the players see it, all the other teams executives see it, yet the Wiz are so stuck in their ways. They were a laughing stalk of the NBA, not because they were losing, but because of the players they were losing with.

I totally agree. This is why E-Tap's tenure was an abject failure. He was so stuck in the moment that he was willing to sacrifice player development and run our key veterans into the ground to get an additional win or two in a 19-63 season. There's no excusing Caron & Antawn playing 40 minutes a night throughout the entire season and there's no excusing Javale, the brightest star of our young talent from playing 2nd fiddle to middlin' undersized PF playing out of position at C most of the year.

The bottom line is this. Out of our six young players on the roster. Not one, NOT ONE, of these kids developed into a QUALITY starter. McGuire was the only one that got major minutes (mainly b/c of DeShawn's injury) and outside of Pecherov, he may have the lowest upside of any of our prospects. At best he may develop into a solid role player. No one else improved signficantly. Blatche & Young are still inconsistent backups. Critt got stuck behind Mike James of all people and isn't ready imo to be a rotation level PG yet. McGee didn't get the precious minutes he needed and because of his lack of readiness may rot on the bench next year further stunting his growth. And Pech, even though he's a supposed gym rat and hard worker, rotted on the bench the entire year.

So basically, we began the season where nearly half the roster wasn't ready to compete, and we end the season with half a roster that isn't ready to compete. In words of former presidential candidate John McCain, "that's not change you can believe in".

Injuries happen. I can understand struggling without our best players and ending up in the lottery. What I can't understand or accept is this organization to preferring to run their veterans into the ground instead of proactively developing their young talent.

The sad part of this whole year was that to the bitter end, this team did not tank. We were desperately trying to win games as if we were in a playoff race, and we still could only manage 19 wins in an 82 game season.

[Spence]

Injuries happen. I can understand struggling without our best players and ending up in the lottery. What I can't understand or accept is this organization to preferring to run their veterans into the ground instead of proactively developing their young talent.

The sad part of this whole year was that to the better end, this team did not tank. We were desperately trying to win games as if we were in a playoff race, and we still could only manage 19 wins in an 82 game season.

I agree with all of this, though I think Run DMc can be a pretty good starter if all you demand of him is defense and rebounding. He's not going to be a star, but he could be the guy who takes pressure off other players by taking the other team's best scorer at the 2 or 3 positions and keeping him from blowing the Wizards out. That's a worthwhile role for a starter, particularly if scoring is coming from several other players in the lineup.

[miller31time]

I totally agree. This is why E-Tap's tenure was an abject failure. He was so stuck in the moment that he was willing to sacrifice player development and run our key veterans into the ground to get an additional win or two in a 19-63 season. There's no excusing Caron & Antawn playing 40 minutes a night throughout the entire season and there's no excusing Javale, the brightest star of our young talent from playing 2nd fiddle to middlin' undersized PF playing out of position at C most of the year.

The bottom line is this. Out of our six young players on the roster. Not one, NOT ONE, of these kids developed into a QUALITY starter. McGuire was the only one that got major minutes (mainly b/c of DeShawn's injury) and outside of Pecherov, he may have the lowest upside of any of our prospects. At best he may develop into a solid role player. No one else improved signficantly. Blatche & Young are still inconsistent backups. Critt got stuck behind Mike James of all people and isn't ready imo to be a rotation level PG yet. McGee didn't get the precious minutes he needed and because of his lack of readiness may rot on the bench next year further stunting his growth. And Pech, even though he's a supposed gym rat and hard worker, rotted on the bench the entire year.

So basically, we began the season where nearly half the roster wasn't ready to compete, and we end the season with half a roster that isn't ready to compete. In words of former presidential candidate John McCain, "that's not change you can believe in".

Injuries happen. I can understand struggling without our best players and ending up in the lottery. What I can't understand or accept is this organization to preferring to run their veterans into the ground instead of proactively developing their young talent.

The sad part of this whole year was that to the better end, this team did not tank. We were desperately trying to win games as if we were in a playoff race, and we still could only manage 19 wins in an 82 game season.

Poetry.

[closg00]

Dat2U wrote:
I totally agree. This is why E-Tap's tenure was an abject failure. He was so stuck in the moment that he was willing to sacrifice player development and run our key veterans into the ground to get an additional win or two in a 19-63 season. There's no excusing Caron & Antawn playing 40 minutes a night throughout the entire season and there's no excusing Javale, the brightest star of our young talent from playing 2nd fiddle to middlin' undersized PF playing out of position at C most of the year.

The bottom line is this. Out of our six young players on the roster. Not one, NOT ONE, of these kids developed into a QUALITY starter. McGuire was the only one that got major minutes (mainly b/c of DeShawn's injury) and outside of Pecherov, he may have the lowest upside of any of our prospects. At best he may develop into a solid role player. No one else improved signficantly. Blatche & Young are still inconsistent backups. Critt got stuck behind Mike James of all people and isn't ready imo to be a rotation level PG yet. McGee didn't get the precious minutes he needed and because of his lack of readiness may rot on the bench next year further stunting his growth. And Pech, even though he's a supposed gym rat and hard worker, rotted on the bench the entire year.

So basically, we began the season where nearly half the roster wasn't ready to compete, and we end the season with half a roster that isn't ready to compete. In words of former presidential candidate John McCain, "that's not change you can believe in".

Injuries happen. I can understand struggling without our best players and ending up in the lottery. What I can't understand or accept is this organization to preferring to run their veterans into the ground instead of proactively developing their young talent.

The sad part of this whole year was that to the better end, this team did not tank. We were desperately trying to win games as if we were in a playoff race, and we still could only manage 19 wins in an 82 game season.

5 - Star post Dat.

Whenever the Wizards were playing an away game, the home-teams announcers were stupified as to why McGee was sitting on the bench with the plodding Song playing out of position. 1st year players Love & Rose were thrown into the mix sink or swim, and they were much better-off by the end to the season because of it.

This was all ok with EG apparently, and Tapscott will go back to heading "Player Development"? Tapscott should be fired, no-doubt about it.