The Javale McGee Appreciation Thread

[hands11]

Hard to understand how someone can't listen. Im sure Flip is teling him not do shoot those shots in practice. Hell he just did it on national TV in the post game interview.

[closg00]

Bump for the merge with the minutes thread or just in appreciation. Let McGee play through his mistakes, the season is lost and we will be better off next year with a more experienced McGee.

[pancakes3]

play through his mistakes? are you kidding me? he sucks. defense is easy as crap to play. stay in front ofyour man, keep your hands up, and don't lose your man. for f***'s sake, what is so damn hard about that? we don't run a complicated zone. even if we did, you're a g-d center. just... find somebody in the gosh dern paint and shadow him. that is freaking it. THAT IS IT. don't bite on fakes, don't leave your feet, and KEEP YOUR MAN IN FRONT OF YOU. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. these "mistakes" should have been played out in grade school. i... just don't understand.

[dangermouse]

defense is easy as crap to play.

joke post.

[hands11]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03455.html

George isn't happy.

I didn't read anything about staying after practice to get extra work.

We are so going to get clobbered when we start playing better teams with centers.

I guess Dray will have to carry the load which I don't want to see. I want him at PF.

While we are cleaning house, can we get ride of Fabio and bring in a player who just might have an once of upside ?

[Kanyewest]

McGee might not have much awareness on defense right now but he sure as hell makes it look easy on the offensive side and on blocking. Get Charles Oakley in here! Toughen him up. Man, McGee Blatche has a TON of potential. If we were able to finally get some good luck our way and have those two pan out to their best abilities coupled with John Wall or Evan Turner..man..

Remember when Charles Oakley was supposed to toughen up Kwame Brown? Charles oakley didn't even toughen up Vince Carter.

[Kanyewest]

play through his mistakes? are you kidding me? he sucks. defense is easy as crap to play. stay in front ofyour man, keep your hands up, and don't lose your man. for f***'s sake, what is so damn hard about that? we don't run a complicated zone. even if we did, you're a g-d center. just... find somebody in the gosh dern paint and shadow him. that is freaking it. THAT IS IT. don't bite on fakes, don't leave your feet, and KEEP YOUR MAN IN FRONT OF YOU. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. these "mistakes" should have been played out in grade school. i... just don't understand.

McGee is playing for the stats. He goes for blocks as if he was playing fantasy basketball rather than just sticking his hands straight up to block the path of the shot and forcing the missed shots.

[queridiculo]

McGee can play, no doubt, but he's about the most clueless player I have ever seen on defense. He's got absolutely no concept about where to be, how to position himself, angles, boxing out, rotating, he's a terrible mess on that side of the ball.

I don't care how high you can jump, if you can't get the simple stuff right you're worthless.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

McGee can play, no doubt, but he's about the most clueless player I have ever seen on defense. He's got absolutely no concept about where to be, how to position himself, angles, boxing out, rotating, he's a terrible mess on that side of the ball.

I don't care how high you can jump, if you can't get the simple stuff right you're worthless.

hermitkid, I believe Flip shed light on McGee's biggest hurdle and the real issue:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03455.html

McGee has also struggled with his strength and maintaining defensive position. Memphis center Marc Gasol repeatedly plowed into McGee and made his first 10 field goals as Saunders said McGee "was getting his butt kicked. The biggest thing with most young players, as they came up, they don't like contact -- [Kevin] Garnett was like that -- but they learn how to like it. Garnett loves it now. It's a matter of him understanding that if there is going to be contact in the game, it's better that you hand it out instead of receiving it."

Looking at McGee, I think he's just not built to root out bigger, more powerful players. He's also probably never been in a fight just looking at him. Doesn't appear to have the mindset or the stomach for it. Javale's not one to throw an elbow, or to grab an opponent's shirt tail when the ref isn't looking, or to initiate any sort of contact with his shoulders, forearms, or hips that would forcibly dislodge an opponent.

It's actually kind of nice to see the kid is just a nice kid IMO.

That said, mama's boy just needs to watch film to improve his defensive tendencies. In the offseason, Javale could learn a lot training in forms of jiu jitsu, muay thai, judo, and/or grappling. I remember way back in the day Kevin McHale did karate in the offseason. Kareem IIRC did kung fu. McGee just needs to be comfortable with physicality.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Speaking of Kevin McHale, I'm not sure how things are between him and Flip now, but seems to me McHale would have a lot to offer Javale in terms of sound wisdom.

McHale always was physical and tough, though. I remember the very first time I saw him play for the University of Minnesota (Flip was probably on the court then and I didn't know or notice him). McHale was just handling a physically superior Purdue player named Joe Barry Carroll. McHale was doing all sorts of stuff that got under the other guy's skin. McHale loved a physical challenge. McGee's not built like him (but he is built like Kareem--another potentially great tutor for Javale).

Over the next 2-3 years, Javale needs to show some maturity, work ethic, adaptability, and to listen to the old heads and improve his defense dramatically.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Trivia note from my last post. Apparently, Red Aeurbach saw that game, too!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basket ... _warriors/

June 9
1980 Golden State trades C Robert Parish and No. 3 pick (Kevin McHale) to Boston for the Nos. 1 and 13 picks (Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown)

Carroll's best season in Golden State was 1982-83, when he averaged 24.1 points.
Stephen Dunn /Allsport
In one fell swoop, the Golden State Warriors built the Boston Celtics' 1980s dynasty. Hall of Famers-to-be Parish and McHale teamed up with Larry Bird to win three titles in Boston, while Carroll and Brown flamed out with Golden State

That link above is a super article, BTW. Two Hall of Famers for Joe Barry Carroll is worst than Haywood to Dallas for nothing.

On the topic of steal trades, I would trade Javale McGee quickly for a shot at a player like DeMarcus Cousins.

[doclinkin]

I believe Flip shed light on McGee's biggest hurdle and the real issue:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03455.html

McGee has also struggled with his strength and maintaining defensive position. Memphis center Marc Gasol repeatedly plowed into McGee and made his first 10 field goals as Saunders said McGee "was getting his butt kicked. The biggest thing with most young players, as they came up, they don't like contact -- [Kevin] Garnett was like that -- but they learn how to like it. Garnett loves it now. It's a matter of him understanding that if there is going to be contact in the game, it's better that you hand it out instead of receiving it."

Looking at McGee, I think he's just not built to root out bigger, more powerful players. He's also probably never been in a fight just looking at him. Doesn't appear to have the mindset or the stomach for it. Javale's not one to throw an elbow, or to grab an opponent's shirt tail when the ref isn't looking, or to initiate any sort of contact with his shoulders, forearms, or hips that would forcibly dislodge an opponent.

It's actually kind of nice to see the kid is just a nice kid IMO.

That said, mama's boy just needs to watch film to improve his defensive tendencies. In the offseason, Javale could learn a lot training in forms of jiu jitsu, muay thai, judo, and/or grappling. I remember way back in the day Kevin McHale did karate in the offseason. Kareem IIRC did kung fu. McGee just needs to be comfortable with physicality.

For what it's worth Big Wood was a momma's boy too who initially shrank from contact his first couple years in the league. Granted, he was pounding against Jahidi White in practice, that'll tend to make most folks allergic to the paint. Jahidi was so big, active (relatively speaking) and unskilled that he was a danger to everybody, friend and foe alike. It took Kwame Brown and Etan to really bring out the nasty in Big Wood, he realized that he wasn't as big of a puss as some (KFB), and he was physically bigger than most (Big Poet), so he got to like being a bit of a jerk on court. (Bullying LeBron then mocking him for it, for example).

<sheds a wistful tear>

JaVale's big failing is the fact that he was raised to think he's a guard in a 7 foot frame. Yes he has a disinclination to taking contact, but at 7 foot 190 lbs (as a highschool jr/sr) that only makes sense. He still hasn't realized how big he is, still wants to float outside the paint in the midrange area so he can jump to block perimeter shots. Pretty outstanding when you see him block a rainbow 3pter after starting the play with one foot in the paint. Also more of a circus trick than a useful play.

I do think he'll put on a bit of muscle, you can see it coming in already. And as he does he'll likely lose some of his loft, won't try to jump as high to block damn near everything, and paradoxically should become a better defender. Right now he has more energy than sense, part is youth, part nascent athleticism, and part is that he's not playing enough to actually get tired and rely on the shortcuts that make you a more effective defender.

Shortcuts like: stay in the paint, don't jump at every flinch, keep good position in front of your man instead of getting beat then chasing him down from behind to swat and recover, keep your hands up and you don't have to jump to change the path of the ball, and you have your energy coiled instead for boxing out and rebounding. Shaving % points off the opponent FG% isn't as dramatic as playing Patriot Missile on opponent scud shots, but that's where defense is born. Defense seems easy to scrubs who weren't born with JaVale's gifts because shortcuts are all they got. JaVale's too talented to sort it all out yet.

Superbigs develop slow. That's a general truism. I'll argue with Ruz that JaVale reminds me physically of Wilt (when Wiz'nasty made the argument that tall thin guys with a high center of gravity are unable to play basketball effectively...) but I'll admit that Wilt was preternaturally coordinated at a precocious age, he developed early and quick. JaVale is still growing (as of last year). Still fleshing out. He's got so much more upside that it will take a long time for him to develop it. If he's given the chance. And then given many more chances.

Distinct from guards many Super Bigs (7ft+) have their most productive years in their 30's. JaVale's a long way away from that, but then he's a looong sort of fella. I just hope we lock him up into a cheap second contract, knowing that (if healthy) it will pay off a ways down the road. You know, with our Championship, naturally.

[BigA]

<snip
Kareem IIRC did kung fu.
<snip>

Oh, yeah.

[closg00]

I am still amused that some want JaVale to skip right to the developed, polished, big-man part....NOW

[Ruzious]

Superbigs develop slow. That's a general truism. I'll argue with Ruz that JaVale reminds me physically of Wilt (when Wiz'nasty made the argument that tall thin guys with a high center of gravity are unable to play basketball effectively...) but I'll admit that Wilt was preternaturally coordinated at a precocious age, he developed early and quick. JaVale is still growing (as of last year). Still fleshing out. He's got so much more upside that it will take a long time for him to develop it. If he's given the chance. And then given many more chances.

It's just that everyone compared physically to Wilt will fall far short, imo - with the possible exception of Shaq. Every athletic endeaver he was involved in - he was physically at another level than everyone else. Even before he got seriously into basketball, he was a great shot-putter, broad jumper, high jumper, and even excelled in the 440 and 880. Even his volleyball exploits were legendary. Wilt was a track and field star before he got involved in basketball, so he had less of a basketball backround then Javale did growing up. Early on, Wilt didn't have a real bulky frame, but he was incredibly strong. I can't picture Javale as a shot-putter - a shot-maker - yes. I just saw Wilt in his last few seasons, and he was clearly the strongest player in the game. Javale will get stronger, but he'll never be physically in Wilt's class, imo.

[dobrojim]

I know Wilt ran a marathon once, Honolulu IIRC. I would be very curious to know
what his time was.

re JM - when he goes against bulkier and very skilled post players,
I wouldn't mind seeing him front those guys rather than play behind
them. He at least needs to 3/4er them and do a better job of ball denial,
that for the simple reason that when they catch it, he's toast.

[Ruzious]

I know Wilt ran a marathon once, Honolulu IIRC. I would be very curious to know
what his time was.

re JM - when he goes against bulkier and very skilled post players,
I wouldn't mind seeing him front those guys rather than play behind
them. He at least needs to 3/4er them and do a better job of ball denial,
that for the simple reason that when they catch it, he's toast.

The biggest problem with fronting is - you're giving up rebounding position. He already has issues with defensive rebounding. I ain't frontin - on a regular basis. He just needs to get better at it over time.

[Hoopalotta]

I am still amused that some want JaVale to skip right to the developed, polished, big-man part....NOW

I am thinking some of it is the Haywood effect. Wizards fans are used to really good post defense from the center spot. I watched the Memphis-New York game a few nights after we played each club and Gasol imparted a very similar dollop of destruction onto an exasperated David Lee (yes, said buttress of interior defense, I know).

[queridiculo]

I am thinking some of it is the Haywood effect. Wizards fans are used to really good post defense from the center spot. I watched the Memphis-New York game a few nights after we played each club and Gasol imparted a very similar dollop of destruction onto an exasperated David Lee (yes, said buttress of interior defense, I know).

At least for me it's certainly not the Haywood effect. It's watching a kid struggle with some pretty fundamental things on defense.

Losing your man, getting completely turned around, poor footwork and positioning, not boxing out, getting lost in no-mans-land on rotations, there's just so much fail that it's hard to remain patient.

After 1.5 years in this league I'd expect to see more out of the guy than grandstanding and his ridiculous salutes every time he gets a dunk.

[hands11]

I am still amused that some want JaVale to skip right to the developed, polished, big-man part....NOW

We will Btch and complain and oww and ahhh until be becomes more consistent.

Some will call for patience.
Some will and say trade him.
Other will



It's what we do.

But we will keep him and he will develop. It just won't happen over night.

Good thing is there are minutes for him to do great things and for him to get embarrassed enough so he will learn to do more great things. No viable center here put him on the fast track so we won't have to wait as long as we did with Dray.