Official WizBoard Homer/Optimism Thread redux (v3.0)

[Hoopalotta]

Bump.

Well, after 29 games we've outperformed the infamous Kornheiser Les Boulez '9-20' mark by a game. So we have that going for us.

And you know, we feel that when Mike Miller gets back that we can.....

Ok, anyone care to wager how many years it will take for this thread to reach 100 pages and get locked?

[Dat2U]

I'm pretty damn optimistic this shxt is about to get blown the f*ck up!

[dlts20]

I can see a bunch of talk later on in the year people saying that "remember when we were actually talking about blowing it up and trading Gil for T-Mac. How dumb would that have been? 30 games really wasnt that much considering all the factors. We shouldve seen it coming".


We have to be patient. How can people want to trade Gil the way he is playing right now. He's 2 years away from the game and in only 30 games he is playing very well right now in a brand new system. Imagine where he will be at the end of the season and this time next year for that matter. Then you want to throw in McGee? I could see us letting Wood go in the offseason and letting McGee be the starter

[LyricalRico]

We have to be patient. How can people want to trade Gil the way he is playing right now. He's 2 years away from the game and in only 30 games he is playing very well right now in a brand new system. Imagine where he will be at the end of the season and this time next year for that matter.

I don't see many people looking to deal Gil. Either because they see him on his way to regaining his form or because they just don't think it's possible because of his salary. The organization really has no choice but to be patient with Gil, which is a reason for optimism IMO. What they decide to do with the pieces around him is the question.

[Hoopalotta]

Ooh-boy, guys, you'll never guess what:

Sounds like Mike Miller's back next week!

Is it just me or does it strike as the tangiest sort of irony to have our savior come back right when we're sunk?



It really twists the knife! You just couldn't time it any better.

[verbal8]

Ooh-boy, guys, you'll never guess what:

Sounds like Mike Millers back next week!

Is it just me or does it strike as the tangiest sort of irony to have our savior come back back right when we're sunk?



It really twists the knife! You just couldn't time it any better.

It seems a lot of times Arenas is at his best with "his back to the wall". That could not be more true than it is now. Miller coming back could also be a big boost. I think the big line-up used against San Antonio could make a lot of sense with Miller backing up Butler and Jamison.

While December was a bad month, most of the games were close(at least up to the 3rd quarter). A line-up tweak and getting a good player back, could make a big difference.

However I think a good run, could be worse for the Wizards in the long run. It will delay the necessary rebuilding.

[dlts20]

You guys can talk about all that sfuff all you want but Im not there yet. I still think we can go on a massive run. I dont feel like we are losing because we suck. I feel like we are losing because we are a little off. Like its right there but we cant find it. Were in the area but we cant hit the mark and thats with both the players & coaches. I feel like the mark is getting closer though and we are about to find it and take off big time. What sucks though is that we might get going finally and then we end up losing Gil for some time. I just dont agree with all the break it up talk, trade everyone, the season is over stuff. I dont agree that you can say that yet. Ive seen average teams like the Bulls completely turn a season around and win alot of games. You guys dont think we can do that and even at a higher level? Im not even being a homer. I just really see it and believe it

[nate33]

I know this is the optimism thread, but I just don't see how you can dismiss our awful performance to being "a little off". We've played 30 games for goodness sake. How long does it take to become "on". And to top it off, Arenas, Butler and Jamison have been healthy for the last 20 games.

That's the elephant in the room that nobody is even mentioning: health. We've played this poorly dispite generally good health all around. Of our 5 best players, Arenas, Haywood and Blatche haven't even missed a single game; and Butler has missed just 2. Jamison missed 9 games at the start of the season but has played in the last 22. Yeah, Miller is out, but we should be a .500 team without him.

I shudder to think how bad we'll play once the injury bug hits. If Haywood ever goes down, we won't win a game.

[miller31time]

I know this is the optimism thread, but I just don't see how you can dismiss our awful performance to being "a little off". We've played 30 games for goodness sake. How long does it take to become "on". And to top it off, Arenas, Butler and Jamison have been healthy for the last 20 games.

That's the elephant in the room that nobody is even mentioning: health. We've played this poorly dispite generally good health all around. Of our 5 best players, Arenas, Haywood and Blatche haven't even missed a single game; and Butler has missed just 2. Jamison missed 9 games at the start of the season but has played in the last 22. Yeah, Miller is out, but we should be a .500 team without him.

I shudder to think how bad we'll play once the injury bug hits. If Haywood ever goes down, we won't win a game.

That was the least optimistic post I've ever read...and in the optimism thread of all places. Just let dlts have the thread that was, in its first iteration, dedicated to him.

[dlts20]

I know this is the optimism thread, but I just don't see how you can dismiss our awful performance to being "a little off". We've played 30 games for goodness sake. How long does it take to become "on". And to top it off, Arenas, Butler and Jamison have been healthy for the last 20 games.

That's the elephant in the room that nobody is even mentioning: health. We've played this poorly dispite generally good health all around. Of our 5 best players, Arenas, Haywood and Blatche haven't even missed a single game; and Butler has missed just 2. Jamison missed 9 games at the start of the season but has played in the last 22. Yeah, Miller is out, but we should be a .500 team without him.

I shudder to think how bad we'll play once the injury bug hits. If Haywood ever goes down, we won't win a game.

Well here is why I disagree. 1st off Gil wasnt healthy the whole time, atleast not mentaly. He went through a long stretch where he started to believe that he would never score 30 again in a game. We also lost clearly atleast 5 games we wouldnt have lost in the past due to Gil's rust and mental state. Every team can say they shouldve won games but this is more real than that. I mean Gil missing FT's, missing clear wide open layups, and both Gil & Earl getting there pocket picked by guys. Gil wouldve never had that happened in the past and I think its still less likely to happened now.

The other big thing to me is the system. I think people severly overlook this. Everyone keeps acting like this year proves the big 3 aint nothing. I totally disagree. If EJ was here then I would agree but they are clearly struggling with this system. Even though we are scoring better now, its not nearly as much as it should be. I think if we were in the Princeton right now then the big 3 would be doing alot better Offensivley. You also have to admit that even though weve lost a ton of games, most are by a couple of points and were losing in the 4th. We even set a record for God's sake on the most straight close losses. You give us even half of those games and we probably are .500 like you say.

If you ask me, I think CB is probably much more consistent at the 2 in Flip's system than at the 3. Like I dont think the big lineup would work at all in the Princeton but I do think its going to work well in Flip's system. I think because of that we are going to start winning alot more games. I also think Flip is going to start using the trade better. By that I mean he's going to bench Boykins and use Foye & Miller together off the bench. I think that will help a ton. People hurt Oberto but Im a big fan and Im glad we are playing him again. I truly believe that all that is about to soon pay off. I thought we played well against the Spurs and wouldve maybe won if the Spurs werent such a beast right now on both ends and if Flip didnt use that dumb 4th quarter lineup again. I think thats the last game. I think in the 4th now we will either go big or sometimes have Foye or most of the times have Miller on the floor. I could honestly see in a few weeks people saying "really, 31 games wasnt that much time to adjust to evertyhing new that was going on and it shouldve been expected that we started slow. Im glad we didnt make changes because now we look as good as anyone".

I like our sked coming up. Again, I never agree with people who say that we had an easy sked and didnt take advantage of it. I dont think its the sked that matters, its about us. We werent playing well so we could lose to anyone but I think we are about to start playing well and will beat a ton of teams that everyone thinks we shouldnt beat. The only good thing is that we are about to start playing more home games and thats why I like the sked. I also think Flip's speech hit home and the D is about to show up. BTW, you guys should let me make the next game thread. IDK how to put all that extra stuff on it so it will only be basic but since Im the only one who thinks we can really still win the East then I think you guys should start letting me make it because I think the run is coming soon. You should let me make it and give me about 3 losses to work with before I stop making them again

[dlts20]

Look, I know all the obvious stuff and that most are happy that we may be able to void his deal and get rid of him. They also want the team blown up which is understandable. However, what if the team does play solid ball without him and the East continues to suck? What if we stay within reach of a playoff spot, even if we're like 5 games out? The one thing about the Gil incident is that you knew no matter what, he would be suspended for however long. That was going to be like a dark cloud hanging. I was always torn because I wanted Stern to wait until the court stuff is over and then make his decision which could leave Gil still a good amount of time to play.

However, I also was worried that if it took weeks then by time Stern got around to suspending him, it may have been an unintentional season ender. By that I mean that if the courts dont get done until weeks later, Stern may have only decided to suspend Gil for 20-30 games but there may only be 20-30 games left in the season at that point so it basically wouldve ended his season and put us in a huge bind if we were playing well to not have him at the most important time.

Now the bad thing is that Gil's recent actions sounds like it has made Stern so mad that he's going to hammer him so this indefinite suspension is not good in that regard. On the flip side though there was a nice round number of 50 games left in the season going into tonights game. Gil did talk with him tonight and when the facts come out it may not be too bad. I think Stern has to give him credit for time served. That means Stern may not make his decision until after 15 games but he might say that since Gil cooperated well and has done good in that time off, he will credit him for that and will suspend Gil for 25 more games. Thats a total of 40 which is still a huge suspension and Gil may be able to come back for the last 10 games for a playoff run which he may have never gotten if Stern wouldve waited.

He also has a good lawyer and the players union is very good. Combine that with the arbitrator that Gil is likely to appeal to and Gil may be able to cut the suspension by 10 games, down to 30. That would leave him with 20 games left to play at the end of the year. In that regard I think this timing of the suspension could be a blessing but I know that Im the lone wolf as most want him gone and the team blown up. Even if you got rid of Caron & AJ, I would still like to have Gil. You can let Wood go at the end and start McGee next year. I like the thought of Gil playing with McGee but Gil probably will be somewhere else being the final piece to make some team a real contender and we will look dumb

[yungal07]

In before the merge...

[montestewart]

Here is one person's list of the worst defenders in the NBA:

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... -defenders

Perhaps it's a subjective and/or otherwise flawed list, but consider this: among its five worst defenders and nine honorable mentions, there is not one current Wizard, and no former ones, unless Drew Gooden counts. I hope there are no future Wizards on it.

Optimism -- it may be logic's unemployed cousin, but it's still family.

[dlts20]

Dray Talk & Im Encouraged



Dray's still not shooting that great but I thought in the last 2 games, he physically moved as well as Ive seen him all year. He's looking quick again and not like a slug like he was prior to that. I think he's knocking off the rust and his conditioning is coming back, hence the 22 boards in the last 2 games. Ill take that any day. I think his shooting & shot selection will start to get better now due to him regaining the conditiong & timing.

We have a bad record right now and some tough games coming up but I actually think we will start to play well & win. We play at Toronto next game and if Dray keeps the energy up, along with Gil getting his timing back, I think we win. We then have some hard games after that but pretty much all those teams have trouble with the quicker athletic teams. I think these last 2 games showed Flip that Hinrich shouldnt start. Hopefully next game will be the 1st where we have the Wall-Gil backcourt with no Hinrich in the starting group. Thats when you can really judge how well Wall & Gil play together and I think they will look fine.

We will probably also get Al back in the next game or 2 and Yi will probably be back within the next 3 games. We then can start Wall-Gil-Al-Dray-McGee while coming off the bench with Hinrich-NY-Gee-Yi-HA. I like that mix of guys. We should be pretty athletic at all times while having a nice mix of youth & vetrans on both units. McGee will continue to improve and I see Dray & Gil only getting better. Get Wall back to get us some easy transistion baskets and another guy to put pressure on the D & keep teams in foul trouble, and I think you will see a different team from here on out. Then we will be saying how much it sucks that we lost early against all those bad teams that we shouldve beaten

[nate33]

Now that you've posted this in your thread, can you delete it from the other three threads where you posted it?