Simple Adjustments Flip Could Make (revised)

[nate33]

CCJ, I don't disagree with anything you wrote. Surely, there is no defensible reason to be playing Stevenson over Young. I see no reason at all for Young to be out of the starting lineup - at least while Miller is out (and arguably even when Miller returns).

I think too much can be made about those on/off numbers though. You have to factor that when a bench player has a good on/off ratio, part of the reason is that he is going against bench-caliber opponents. For that reason, I'm not ready to predict that playing McGee will be an improvement. (Young is a different story because he has dramatically positive on/off numbers, and he has spent a significant portion of his time against starters.)

I suspect that Arenas, Young, Jamison, Blatche and Haywood would indeed form our best lineup. I'd have no problems starting them, but I also don't think it's essential. I just want Flip to make sure that Blatche gets starter's minutes and we see those 5 together for long periods of time. If he can do so with Butler as the starter, then so be it. At the very least, try to get that lineup on the floor for extended stretches and see how they do.

Flip likes to play his starters for a long time in the 1st and 3rd quarters, and then bring them back late in the 2nd and 4th. Where a conventional coach will play his starters 9 minutes, rest them 6, and play the final 9 in a half; Flip likes to play his starters 12-14 minutes, rest them 6, and then have the play the last 4-6 minutes of the half. (I don't like this strategy, but that's irrelevant to the point I'm about to make.) It seems to me that the simple solution would be to bench Butler early in the 1st and 3rd, after 6 minutes, and bring in Blatche to replace him. Flip can then go the next 6 minutes with our "best" lineup on the floor while allowing Butler to save face. That'll also leave Butler fresh to come back in at the start of the 2nd and 4th quarters where we can run the offense through him while Gil and the other starters sit.

Do that for a while. If we notice a dramatic improvement with your favorite 5-man lineup, then we can make the decision to change the starting lineup permanently.

[jimij]

I'd argue that the only reason playing Stevenson over Young is that with AJ/CB/NY/GA on the court - we need someone who's not always looking for their own shot and someone other than Arenas who's looking to pass. Yes, DS sucks but NY simply needs the ball too much to flow smoothly with the other gunners.

Now if you put Blatche in the lineup (which I'm for 100%) then at least you have another guy out there who loves to pass (and shoot) and that helps a bit.

Thankfully it will all be a moot point once MM gets back and becomes the starter again.

Personally I'd like to see AJ as SF and Butler on the bench but someone I think the hissy fit he'd throw would be enormous (like his ego) and we'd be better off trading him (and one of our youngsters plus expiring contracts) for a better fit/player.

With their contracts, AJ and Gil aren't going anywhere so Butler is the odd man out and should have the most trade value.

[nate33]

I'd argue that the only reason playing Stevenson over Young is that with AJ/CB/NY/GA on the court - we need someone who's not always looking for their own shot and someone other than Arenas who's looking to pass. Yes, DS sucks but NY simply needs the ball too much to flow smoothly with the other gunners.

That was true for the old Nick Young. But the new Nick Young plays better defense than Stevenson, so even if he doesn't get the ball much, he still helps the team. The on/off numbers have born this out for 2 years now. Furthermore, Young seems to be shooting in the flow of the offense much better lately.

[Jimmy Recard]

I like the idea of Blatche starting, no excuses anymore, he's by far our best all-round big. He needs to be in the line-up. Rather than move Antawn to the 3, i'd bring him off the bench as instant offense, backing up the 3 and 4. I'd roll woth a rotation of:

Haywood (32) Blatche (8) McGee (8)
Blatche (24) Jamison (20)
Butler (34) Jamison (10) Miller (4)
Young (24) Miller (20) Gilbert (4)
Gilbert (36) Foye (12)

[dnk]

I like the idea of Blatche starting, no excuses anymore, he's by far our best all-round big. He needs to be in the line-up. Rather than move Antawn to the 3, i'd bring him off the bench as instant offense, backing up the 3 and 4. I'd roll woth a rotation of:

Haywood (32) Blatche (8) McGee (8)
Blatche (24) Jamison (20)
Butler (34) Jamison (10) Miller (4)
Young (24) Miller (20) Gilbert (4)
Gilbert (36) Foye (12)

You're missing 4 minutes at PF. I'd say something along the lines of:

Haywood (34) McGee (8) Blatche (6)
Blatche (26) Jamison (22)
Jamison (10) Butler (32) Miller (6)
Young (24) Miller (20) Arenas (4)
Arenas (30) Boykins (18)

Yikes for no Foye.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I think the team's not that far from winning.

I am venting a lot about Flip, but thinking that the biggest thing that's needed is for the team to play bigger at the end of games and to balance the young and old of the team.

Start Blatche and Young. Make Butler or Jamison a sixth man. Stevenson can be effective off the bench.

Trade one when Miller gets back. Try to get somebody that plays defense or is long in return. (Battier with Lowry makes a ton of sense). The Wizards need to also trade Foye someplace where he can put up numbers in his contract year.

[tkunit]

This team needs a glue guy in the worst way. Hopefully miller can take that role when he gets back. Just get ride of Bulter unless he some how turns back into the player he was the first year he came to DC.

[closg00]

CCJ, one thing that I haven't seen you mention is the pace at-which this team has been playing, s_l_o_w. This is what Rondo had to say about the Wizards offense.

"We are just pushing the ball up before they get back and set up."

Wizzies don't get back on "D" & they walk the ball up on "O".
When they do (rarely) push the ball up on "O" they do much better. And when they beat the other team back on "D" they play decent "D".

The faster this team plays the-better, that was the case back when Dee Brown was running the point.
If we could just play a little-bit uptempo with a mix of our youngs, we'd be an exciting team to watch, AND win more games IMO. Ironically it was EJ who was always after our guys to "push the ball". Speeding up the pace just help the Sixers break out of their funk.

Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan inserted rookie guard Jrue Holiday into the starting lineup on Monday night to pair him with Allen Iverson.

Jordan hoped that the pair would push the ball and it resulted in the 76ers' first win in 13 games.

I don't think Flip has thought beyond trying to implement his offense yet.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

closq, I think the Wizards are thinking too much about executing a system or style of play. You have IMO hit the nail on the head in saying "I don't think Flip has thought beyond trying to implement his offense yet".

Somebody needs to post Rondo's comments up on the bulletin board for the Wizards coaches and players to see.

[dandridge 10]

closq, I think the Wizards are thinking too much about executing a system or style of play. You have IMO hit the nail on the head in saying "I don't think Flip has thought beyond trying to implement his offense yet".

Somebody needs to post Rondo's comments up on the bulletin board for the Wizards coaches and players to see.

Every game the Wizards have played, I have seen Flip trying to get Arenas to push the ball up the court. He is constantly waving his hand and saying go, go go. Other than Boykins, nobody seems to be listening though.

[Dat2U]

If I had my way the rotation would be this:

PG Gilbert Arenas (34 min) / Randy Foye (14 min)
SG Mike Miller (26 min) / Nick Young (16 min) / Randy Foye (6 min)
SF Caron Butler (32 min) / Antawn Jamison (12 min) / Mike Miller (4 min)
PF Andray Blatche (30 min) / Antawn Jamison (18 min)
CE Brendan Haywood (32 min) / Javale McGee (16 min)

I'd stick with it for 20 games and then evaluate. I'd only deviate b/c of foul trouble, injuries or absolutely abhorrent play. It would give McGee, Young, Foye & Blatche minutes at the opportunity to play without worry about losing minutes b/c of a bad quarter, bad game or a bad week. It would add more a defensive presence to the starting lineup. I'd keep Butler starting b/c of his defense. Jamison would go to the 6th man role. He'll make our bench much better. McGee would get every opportunity to win the backup C job (or potential starting C job next year (gulp!)). Young & Foye would get every chance to further establish themselves as quality backcourt reserves.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Dat, the mantle has been passed to you. I like that rotation a whole lot more than anything else I've written or read.

Strikes a fine balance of practicality--1. Caron's ego is much more fragile than Jamison's. Antawn already said in the past he could see sitting for Blatche. 2. Good as fourth quarter Earl has been, the dude they made the deal for is Foye and they need to stick with him like have Daniels, Songaila, and other vets who've started in a slump. Foye's been a fourth quarter player and he can hit shots and very early in the season Flip started him. Karma says play him, and not DeShawn or Earl. 3. Rewards Blatche for his hard work this summer and keeps Nick and Javale interested--youthful energy is good.

Gives the team balance of defense--you said it all.

Gives the youth a chance to blossom--including Foye with McGee and Young. We learn best by doing, not watching or listening. Let them learn from mistakes, but in a more relaxed way than under duress of getting the quick hook.

Most importantly, Blatche at PF with McGee getting lots of minutes at C, in case Haywood bolts is just smart. It's better defensively. It builds for the future without hurting the team now.

Far as I'm concerned that's good, Dat. Very, very good. You don't start threads, but that post could be one all by itself IMO, Dat.

Hope you don't mind if I run with that (abbreviated for 255 chars or less) for a while as my sig, Dat.

[keynote]

If I had my way the rotation would be this:

PG Gilbert Arenas (34 min) / Randy Foye (14 min)
SG Mike Miller (26 min) / Nick Young (16 min) / Randy Foye (6 min)
SF Caron Butler (32 min) / Antawn Jamison (12 min) / Mike Miller (4 min)
PF Andray Blatche (30 min) / Antawn Jamison (18 min)
CE Brendan Haywood (32 min) / Javale McGee (16 min)

I'd stick with it for 20 games and then evaluate. I'd only deviate b/c of foul trouble, injuries or absolutely abhorrent play. It would give McGee, Young, Foye & Blatche minutes at the opportunity to play without worry about losing minutes b/c of a bad quarter, bad game or a bad week. It would add more a defensive presence to the starting lineup. I'd keep Butler starting b/c of his defense. Jamison would go to the 6th man role. He'll make our bench much better. McGee would get every opportunity to win the backup C job (or potential starting C job next year (gulp!)). Young & Foye would get every chance to further establish themselves as quality backcourt reserves.

Hear, hear.

Two keys to making this work:
1. Committing to the 20 game evaluation period. If this goes south, Flip might feel tempted to revert to a "less risky" veteran-driven lineup (if the vets don't perform, the GM gets the blame, not the coach). But he's got to stick to this to truly see what he has with the youngsters. There's no on/off switch to be flipped; they've got to be groomed to handle responsibilities in the playoffs (playoffs!?) and beyond.

1. Staying healthy. Easier said than done; I know. But every time this team gets a hangnail, the team has a built-in excuse - and lately, I suspect that they rely on it too much. I'm sure that some of those guys are thinking, "well, once Mike Miller comes back" or "once Gil shakes off the rust, it'll all fall in to place like magic, and we'll be fine." Nope. It's going to take serious work and initiative to turn this team into a competitive unit. And a quality team will find ways to stay competitive even if one or two rotation players are on the mend.

[verbal8]

closq, I think the Wizards are thinking too much about executing a system or style of play. You have IMO hit the nail on the head in saying "I don't think Flip has thought beyond trying to implement his offense yet".

Somebody needs to post Rondo's comments up on the bulletin board for the Wizards coaches and players to see.

Every game the Wizards have played, I have seen Flip trying to get Arenas to push the ball up the court. He is constantly waving his hand and saying go, go go. Other than Boykins, nobody seems to be listening though.

The Wizards doing better at a faster pace could explain why they have some success with Boykins. It also would explain why they can dig out of big deficits(urgency pushing the pace) and then lose the leads when they slow the pace down trying to hold the lead. A reliance on pushing the pace on offense is not too surprising given the lack of a low post scoring threat.

[closg00]

Bump for tonight's game. I don't expect to see any alteration in the lineup unless one of the starters is in foul-trouble or there is an injury.

[nate33]

Dear Mr. Saunders.

Over the last 10 games, Deshawn Stevenson has posted a PER of 0.1.

Sincerely,
- nate33

[hands11]

I'd even take it a step farther, I'd move both Jamison and Butler to the bench in favor of Blatche at the 4 and Miller, when he comes back, at the 3.

Butler and Jamison can split time between positions 2 through 4, and Blatche can be featured in a small lineup at the 5 to spell Haywood.

A lineup of Arenas/Young/Miller/Blatche/Haywood has a height advantage that's hard to ignore, and gives us a great mix between slashers and shooters.

Between Blatche, Arenas and Miller I also see a lineup with much better ball movement which could give Young the ball in spots where he's most effective, and it would also surround him with perimeter players that will create space for Nick Young in iso.

Politically this could be a bad move for team chemistry because of the egos involved, but I think that lineup would be a whole more effective and would spread the talent out more evenly.

That would be amazing to she if only for a game. But come on.. We cant even get DS out of the starting line up.

[Hoopalotta]

I shudder to write this, I really do....

But it seems like Deshawn "The Sum Of All Fears" Stevenson's , uhm, "resurgence" is coinciding with the Big three having a statistical uptick.

OK, maybe "minutes" would be better inserted in the above sentence rather than "resurgence".

And of course the bench has tumbled into oblivion during that span.

And we're 1-3 in that stretch if you don't count the Boston game as the start of the "resur...", er, "minutes".

But there it is, whatever it is.

[nate33]

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the Blatche/Haywood frontcourt was terrible last night against Golden State. We started Blatche in the 3rd because Jamison was getting treatment for his shoulder and we proceeded to suck monkey balls. Things turned around the moment Jamison entered the game.

[closg00]

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the Blatche/Haywood frontcourt was terrible last night against Golden State. We started Blatche in the 3rd because Jamison was getting treatment for his shoulder and we proceeded to suck monkey balls. Things turned around the moment Jamison entered the game.

One thing we know is that Blatche is at his best when he's a starter or plays heavy minutes. If we move Blatche into a starters position, we will see the Blatche we saw in earlier games. Heck, A Blatche/McGee combo is what Flip should really run, especially against teams like GSW & the Suns.