The Javale McGee Appreciation Thread

[Hoopalotta]

Oh, I loved Javale's little goodbye wave to Brand after that flagrant foul too. He was playing with huge intensity, really got maliciously hacked and is good natured enough to just respond with bemused goofiness. I mean, if he were playing timid, maybe you'd complain, but that isn't a concern, so count me as a fan. I wonder if Brand gets suspended by the League?

On another note of Javale-Brand......it's uncanny how well Brand is able to ignore Javale as a shot blocker and just shoot over him without any hesitation. Otherwise though, Javale's doing a fair job here matching up against that sort of strong but relatively slow footed power forward.

[20MexicanosIn1Van]

I've been a Flip hater so far this season, but you really gotta wonder if Flip's tight leash on McGee early in the season has had some impact on JaVale's recent inspired play.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Lyrical, you know who Javale McGee reminds me of?

A young Larry Nance. Well, Javale's taller and possibly even more athletic. His style reminds of Nance's, particularly as he offense is rapidly evolving.

Whatcha think, Nivek?

[hands11]

24 points, 18 boards. Jesus Christ. Have we found our center? This isn't even a contract year so I can't use the "well, he wants to get paid" excuse. If we can find a bruiser down low...

McGee and Nick were my motivation for changing my avatar to a light bulb. Who would have though these two would get it this early in the season. If it was going to happen, I didn't think it would happen this fast.

Seems about five games ago McGee decided he wanted to be a center more that a PF and the Flip benching of him seems to have been the catalyst.

But wow, this five game run is just staggering.

Just rebounds alone is amazing.

9, 10, 12, 16, and now 18

And he is scoring and also blocking shops.

Funny, just had a flash back. I though I remembered someone on the board arguing that McGee wasn't athletic. Was that a dream or did that really happen ?

The kid is definitely showing that he can be something truly special. McGee and Hibbert were my targets for us that years so I'm happy things seem to be working out. I remember being impressed with his athleticism and the fact he went to a x football players to train before the draft. Hibbert was interesting because he ran in the Princeton but effort was a concern.

Considering how raw McGee was, you would have to say 11 games into his third season and having three coaches and a blown up team, the kid is a head of schedule and Flip has done a really good job with him. Props to EG and Flip and McGee.

From what we have seen, it would be hard to image the kid digresses. He is having to much fun playing this way. He has tasted the success of playing this way. The freaky thing is, he can still add so much to his game. This is only 5 games into him playing like this.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I have been admitting to a lot of mistakes, so please allow me to say that I've been saying for the longest I thought Javale was potentially a bigtime scorer. I thought Larry Nance sometime last season.

I had NO IDEA Javale would get all Dwight Howard on the boards so soon! However, I know McGee can score. I saw him convert some shots from under the basket last season. I've seen him dribble from the FT line and beat his man for a dunk. Javale's shown that he's got a pretty good hook shot. Also, I've seen Javale shoot soft jumpers from 10-12 feet. ALL isolated occurrences in the past, but enough to make me feel pretty sure McGee could score.

So, I'm not that surprised by his offense.

What sticks in my mind is Coach K saying McGee is really good, and also McGee just dominating Vegas Summer League play with Wall.

Neither was a fluke.

[hands11]

And the two USA team invites.

I know it is a stretch at this point but I have always said I have no ceiling for McGee when that topic comes up. And no ceiling is no ceiling. He could still end up being a lot of things. But as of now, it's great to be a Wiz fan watching he get it going.

How he reminds me of is Wi..

The kid will add moves over next summer. This year is fun. I just hope we get to see some BB next year.

[willbcocks]

I was expecting, if Javale's bulb were to come on at all, the change would happen slowly, like those big stadium lights where you can't even see it with your eyes. Instead it's like someone flipping the breaker back on in the middle of the night. Where is this coming from, it's just ridiculous.

[Hoopalotta]

As of this moment, Javale's got the 4th highest PER of any center in the NBA and also ranks 4th in offensive rebounding rate for all positions.

As before, he's also 1st in blocked shots and 4th in base field goal percentage.

Scandalous production.

"Ever since JaVale was put on the all-star ballot, he's played like an all-star," Saunders said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 07809.html

[pancakes3]

ok. i'm notorious for hating on mcgee but he is impressing even me. even though he still gives up defensive positioning, even if he still chases blocks, even if he doesn't block out... he is electrifying out there. i see that he's subscribing to the Dennis Rodman school of rebounding - reading where it's going to bounce off and beating your man to the spot/outjumping him for the rebound. i guess he's just getting better at reading where the rebound is going. Hey, no complaints on not boxing out as long as he's getting the boards.

what i really can't complain about is the offensive rebounding. more o-boards than d-boards? that's absurdly impressive. I'm guessing this comes from Flip telling him flat out - you will never touch the ball on offense. the only way you'll ever get a shot off is by grabbing an o-board. you mess with Chewbacca's points and you're messing with his livelihood. end result? 10 offensive rebounds.

last night Javale played as perfect a game as he's capable of. that was a 50pt game for JV as far as i'm concerned. good thing is that then an average game for him would still be 12/9 with 2 blocks and a steal, which i'm totally confident that he's capable of. keep it going Javale and even WizD will come out and admit he was wrong.

[Silvie Lysandra]

I'll come out and admit I was wrong, no question, though I need a few more games (maybe 10-15?) for me to say "I'm a believer". If he can be just a dominant rebounder, and cut out his worse defensive habits, then he's a quality starting center right there.

The fact that he can read the ball direction and beat his man to the spot is huge - to me, that's what separates the good rebounders from the great ones. It's easier to learn to box out than to judge where the ball is going to come off the rim. And he's definitely picked up his effort level as well.

Now, if only Blatche can get going. If we can get 50 or so games of a full strength Blatche, then maybe we can take that 8th seed!

(also, isn't there a trend on this board where if someone makes an Amazingly Sucky thread about a player, than said player suddenly stops being Amazingly Sucky?)

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Chaos, that's the trend. It's been like a reverse mojo whenever most players get called Amazingly Sucky. Juan Dixon was so motivated he had 30 in a playoff game. The Wizards won the game largely because of Juan's outburst, and they continued and won that playoff series.

IIRC, that's how Amazingly Sucky (Who first coined that phrase?) became a mainstay on this board.
At least one dude disproved it demonstratively. Dixon wasn't sucky when called out. He even publicly commented about being called amazingly sucky. Javale's play is following a trend Dixon started, and one that Andray Blatche showed over the years once Jamison was traded.

Amazingly sucky no more!

[Ruzious]

46 minutes tonight, not too shabby either.

I missed the game, but looking at the box score, that's the number that impressed me the most. The kid finally has stamina! That might be the single biggest reason for him improvement. If you're always out of breath, it's hard to play.

[verbal8]

Lyrical, you know who Javale McGee reminds me of?

A young Larry Nance. Well, Javale's taller and possibly even more athletic. His style reminds of Nance's, particularly as he offense is rapidly evolving.

I think McGee is kind of a mix of Nance and Camby. Like Nance he can score extremely efficiently. His shot blocking is a lot closer to Camby than Nance. Also his offensive rebounding is similar to Camby. His foul rate was high like a young Camby, but this season is reasonable(like Nance).

Nance even early in his career was getting 2 asts/36 min. I think like Camby, it will take McGee a little while to reach this level. It seems that McGee will be one of those guys who lets the offense come to him rather than being a go-to scorer. I think the offense is in trouble if McGee is the leading scorer or 2nd leading scorer(as Nance often was).

The exciting thing about McGee is that he is young enough that he could become a combination of the best of Nance and Camby.

[Saqs]

Flip gets all the credit for the way he's handled Javale. He's been firm and consistant with what he's asked of him and it's finally hit him it seems. Javale was asked what his motivation was after the game and he said he was tired of getting yelled at by coach lol.

[Nivek]

I'd like McGee to develop an offensive game, but at this point I'm not worried about it at all. Just get his offense off the glass and off dunks, keep rebounding the ball and developing defensively and he'll be more than fine. The thing I'm happiest to see from him is the consistent effort and the growth in basketball IQ. He's listening to the coaches, changing his game, and succeeding.

I thought it would happen, but I was like will -- I thought it would be a process. I didn't think it would just come together so abruptly.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

That is something that will need looked at as time goes on. I know I did a Dray and McGee post a little while ago and said that, even though I have been a big Dray supporter, that eventually, they may look at moving him if he can't develop more of a power game.

Dray has the body to be a physical player. With McGee seeming to have turned the corner, Flip has to get back to working on Dray. Don't give up him just yet, but we are looking pretty sweet regarding our options. Credit has to go to Ted and EG for putting us in a good position with the upside players we have that are all young and on good contracts.

Things are shaping up nicely.

Nah, the way I see it Dray is 24 and on a real cheap deal. He was mentored by Jamison and had to practice against Brendan for years. Dray is drifting out on shots and looking as if he's injured this season. HOWEVER, after the trade last season Andray played like an all star. I think he's at the very least a player nearly on a par with Lamarcus Aldridge. Blatche is a serious baller. Keep him like the Wizards kept Antawn, provided Andray's professionalism (7 day Dray stuff) stays where it is.

I think ideally, the Wizards steal a guy like Cousins, while keeping both Blatche and McGee. Imagine those guys in 5 years; particularly if Wall's game grows over those 5 years!

And okay, say realisically there's no way the Wizards get Cousins. I think they can possibly get Howard as a FA in a couple seasons. If not him, somebody like Bynum or Odom or Hibbert. Washington's going to become a great destination for bigs. Chandler next season is really something I can see.

Also, for not moving Blatche I think all the Wizards need to do is draft Faried and sign Richard Hendrix to a FA deal. Get tough guys who rebound to complement the finesse bigs and the Wizards compete night in and night out.

So did you some how read that I said trade Dray from what I wrote ?[/quote]



Yes, sorry hands.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

24 points, 18 boards. Jesus Christ. Have we found our center? This isn't even a contract year so I can't use the "well, he wants to get paid" excuse. If we can find a bruiser down low...

It's actually pronounced "JaVale McGee".

I've been on record as saying that he would never reach his potential but even my jaw has been on the floor the past week or so. Seriously, this guy looks NOTHING like what we've seen the first two seasons he's been here. It's like night and day. If he keeps this up, we will have the two most important positions on the team solved for the next 10 years.

That reminds me of an old stand up routine Bill Cosby did. His dad used to curse all the time when calling Bill and his brother Russell. He'd say things like "Dammit, get over here" or What did you do wrong now, dammit" when calling Russell. Likewise, he'd say "Jesus Christ! What have you done" or words to that affect to Bill. Well, one day he said to little Bill Cosby "Dammit boy, get over here!" Confused and bewildered, young Bill looked at him and replied to his father, "Dammit??? I thought I was Jesus Christ." I still remember that joke from way way back....

Javale's playing like he's seen The Light. To those offended by profane terms or JC references, I respect your belief/non and was just in a great mood! Javale's beasting!

[dobrojim]

I think eventually Javale wiil turn out to be a much better player than Tyson Chandler.

I think eventually may happen sooner than any of us had dared hope.
He was pretty clearly the most dominant player in the game last night.

with our C and PG positions well tended by Wall and McGee, the future
looks very bright indeed.

[dobrojim]

Chaos, that's the trend. It's been like a reverse mojo whenever most players get called Amazingly Sucky. Juan Dixon was so motivated he had 30 in a playoff game. The Wizards won the game largely because of Juan's outburst, and they continued and won that playoff series.

IIRC, that's how Amazingly Sucky (Who first coined that phrase?) became a mainstay on this board.
At least one dude disproved it demonstratively. Dixon wasn't sucky when called out. He even publicly commented about being called amazingly sucky. Javale's play is following a trend Dixon started, and one that Andray Blatche showed over the years once Jamison was traded.

Amazingly sucky no more!

35 CCJ. I was there. It was amazing.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

He's currently better than Chandler, already, IMO.

When the Wizards played Dallas a while back, I think in preseason, I commented in the game thread that Javale outplayed both Chandler and Haywood. I recall him sending back one of Chandler's shots, too. McGee more than held his own.

I know nate has shown the facts in terms of actual rebounding, where Tyson's been a monster. For years the other two have been effective defenders; whereas Javale has had an EPIC turnaround in terms of +/- and defensive play. So, Javale's just doing this over 12-13 games.

I like going out on a limb (even though you all know I occasionally hang myself on a branch or two). I think McGee's already way better than Haywood or Chandler. McGee's scoring puts him over the top. He's the best shotblocker in the league unless Dwight Howard or Darko really try hard to match him. Javale's more athletic than Chandler. He's very likely faster end to end and jumps higher.

McGee's better. Just look at his last few games. This kid's 22. Just has to stay at this level (or keep improving). Wait til he starts making the hook shot all the time!