dlts20 wrote:We get on Flip and he has been crappy but the fact is that he also hasnt had much of a real chance. Gil was a shell of his former self last year, AJ was the horrible no defense black hole, & Caron had regressed tremendously while we see Wood being benched in Dallas. Then this year again Gil doesnt play hard and is struggling mentally with his lack of explosin while a big part of our team was going to be Dray and he looks like crap after the injury.
Dray's game & mentality is being more mobile then other bigs & beating them off the dribble but because of the injury, he is much slower & less explosive then last year so he cant go by anyone and is too dumb to back guys down & play in the post until he gets some extra quickness back. Meanwhile another big piece we counted on was Howard and we all know about that situation. We just arent going to win alot without Howard and with both Gil & Dray playing like they are or were. Fast forward to now and Dray pretty much still holds the key.
Weve been losing but we are in these games and thats with Dray looking like the worst player in the league. If he can get 75% back to what he was late last year then we look like a different team but thats a big if. Again, I have alot of those games on tape from last year and Im telling you that our Wiz fans forget how good & efficent he was when healthy down the stretch. He looked trimmer, quicker, more sure of himself, and could do a little of everything. N
ow he's heavy looking, much slower, and hesitates every time he gets the ball. Its a different guy but you would be foolish to trade him because chances are with a full offseason he looks good again and probably even better because he's been humbled and will have somethign to prove. Then like typical Wiz fashion, we see him blowup somewhere else and will then act like he couldve never done that here because of this or that
+1
I really think that Dray can be the low-post scorer that we need, but the injury has made him regress heavily this season. He's less mobile and has no lift, which is affecting his offense and defense, and it's really hurting him on offense because he isn't very strong and isn't a physical player, and most of his game is involved with beating his man off the dribble, which he can't do this season because of his decreased quickness.
He also lacks confidence. Whenever he gets the ball in the post now, he never looks to score first and it's really hurting us because we're forced to shoot jumpshots all game because we have no post scorer, but I'm confident that Dray can be that kind of player. It even looks like he's scared to receive the ball after setting a pick because he knows he might make a crucial mistake, and that a big NO NO from one of your starters. Many of you may disagree with me, but he's a gifted offensive player but hasn't been able to show it this season. I agree with you that he may need a full offseason to get back to his level of play last season in order to get in shape, refine his game, and regain confidence.
With that being said though, he still makes some dumb plays on the court. He stays floating around the 3-point line, makes to many wasted motions when receiving the ball, and makes a lot of crucial turnovers late. Flip should reduce his minutes because he cost us some possessions late in the game and gets gassed. His defense has been quite impressive as of late though.
Just thinking about it. If Gil and Dray played up to their true potential, we could be competing for a playoff spot right now. * Sigh
vs.
