Wizards vs Boston Game Thread Jan 1, 2012

[montestewart]

^
Probably for another thread, but they sure have screwed up the tickets a bit, haven't they?

Agree about the boos, or at least I heard a lot of boos as the Let's Go Celtics chant started. If Blatche got some boos too. that wouldn't surprise me.

I was sitting next to a much more pleasant C's fan. I said, "Unfortunately, this is the best they've played this year," and he said there may be hope for the Wizards because he thought it was the best the Celtics had played this year. For some reason, he was very anti-Garnett, even though he was having an exceptional game.

I again liked Singleton's intensity, Turiaf's slow but steady presence, Young's ability to turn it on. McGee made many horrible hooks and drop-short drop ins, but his intensity (especially some of his D on Garnett and his high up rebounding) made up for it. Those crappy shots could become real weapons if he ever gets them down. I hope they work on them one-on-one and in practice and he's not just freestyling. Wall looked significantly better. Yes, Booker fouls too much at times, and the one dobrojim mentioned was silly, but at least he's willing to put a body on someone and fight for position. Blatche seems unwilling or unable to do so (maybe he's got the idea that he can't collect fouls because the team needs his scoring and veteran leadership), leaving the heavy lifting to others.

Despite plenty of flaws, that game told me why they'd eventually win a few. Maybe against the Hornets or the Kings.

[Ruzious]

Gotta say about Booker - I knock his ability, but nobody other than Wall on the team plays with the effort and toughness that he does. And he should be the starting PF on this team right now. That 3 point play he made on the rare assist by Seraphin was pure force of will - I'm not really how he managed to get the ball in the hoop.

[bulletproof_32]

where are you this year?

I'm in the same seats as last year, although I've sold a number of games already so I probably won't be in attendance all that much this season. Last night though, I was initally denied entry to the game so I went over to the box office to get things straightened out. They basically said that they weren't valid tickets, that they were "reprints", and that someone had already entered the arena with my two seats. After confirming I was the season ticket holder and the tickets I was using were the ones they sent to me in the mail, there was lots of confusion and mixed messages from the box office. They ended up reprinting all my tix for the next 3 home games to replace the generic tickets they sent in the mail, because of some known "reprint" issue that still isn't all that clear to me.

Turns out thought, that the person I sold the Minnesota game tickets to (next Sunday's game) actually attended last night and they ended up letting them in with those tickets. They eventually ended up putting us down on the floor area near the celtics bench so it all worked out in the end.

[hands11]

Anyone who thinks Crawford runs the offense better than Wall REALLY needs to watch the 3rd quarter today. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

But I do think Crawford might be better as an oversized scoring backup PG than an undersized chucking starting SG.

Exactly.

Besides, cherry picking a quarter proves nothing. Wall has plenty of bad quarters/games to pick from if you want to make the opposite comparison.

SFAM is actually responding to something I posted in the chat room and I don't back down from what I said.

My point had to do with the set up and passing side of being a PG. The part Rondo and other do so well... Running the offense. Wall did better last game but it was Crawford who feed McGee for to easy alley opps the previous game. Crawford also had 3 assists in 14 minutes. Wall had 8 in 39.

Look, sadly both play out of control and when your PGs play out of control, that sets the tone for the team to play out of control. Wall forces drives and turns the ball over to much. 1 turnover last game was a huge improvement. Crawford also forces things to much but his is more on outside shots. So neither has been a viable solution or efficient running the offense. And that sets the stage for players like McGee forcing bad shots and bad passes which I want him to eliminate. All those poor decisions ruin momentum. Example, McGee makes a poor choice on a shot attempt. He then does an excellent job running down court to block Rondo. Amazing block. Then on the other side he get the ball and forces another bad shot on a out of control drive from the top of the key. Not his move. The one good play does not outweigh the two bad ones even if the one play was amazing. What if he just grabbed the rebound and reset the play. Then he could have had two good plays vs the 1 bad instead of 2 bad vs 1 good. +1 vs -1. It adds up.

The team is not going to improve until players except their roles/limits and play smart team ball so they can be more EFFICIENT. I am not sure to what extent Flip has gone to communicate this but I am sure he has told players what moves are good for them and which are not. If he has to write it down as an official approved play document and hand it to them before every game then do it. If the players are not going to control themselves, then the coach has to do it.

For now I would tell McGee, here is what you can do in a game. If you mess up once fine, twice, your taking a seat. And don't blame me for sitting you, blame yourself. If that leaves us short handed, then you have to answer to your teammates for letting them down. Its all here on paper so there is no confusion as to what I want and what will happen. Play right, and you will get 30-35 minutes.

You can shot ally opps, get rebounds and make clean put backs. If it isn't clean, reset the play. Grab it, look, and then pass it out. If you need to make a dribble or two away from the basket to get some space. Do it. Then put the ball over your head and let your PG come to you. You have length. Set up in the post and make your drop step or your hook but if you haven't cleared the corner for the dunk or reverse layup, or hook, pass it out. Slow down. Get balanced. Let the play develop. McGee is very poor at setting up his moves. He gets his legs to wide and lowers his entire body making him small. He isn't balanced. He is way to hurried. He should also take the hook and only from close in or coming across the middle like Haywood used to. NO LEFT handed hook shots fading away from 15 ft. Focus on what you do well. But he negates them with his mistakes. The kid needs a very clear instruction sheet about where are his spots and what are not. Baseline turnaround 20 foot fade away shots are not what you do. Hell, I would test him with 10 questions before every game. It has come to that which is sad. I would also tell him I expect him to be the leading rebounder EVERY SINGLE GAME.

The stuff I'm talking about is basic common sense for a player which his skills. He tries to do stuff that is just not sound basketball. It is outside his skill set. Take a player like Ben Wallace. Guy got a ton of rebounds. First thing he tried to do was pass it out. Rodman did the same. They knew their limits and there skills. And because they did that so much for so long, when they took the occasional 10-15 footer, no one gave a crap. He earned it. Players might even laugh at an air ball. And they usually took those shots when they were winning and the game was decided.

They need to play smarter and only attempt plays that can actually make. McGee turned it over at least twice after a rebound because he didn't even look before he passed the ball. That has to stop.

What I say about McGee is true for Wall, Crawford and Dray. They are the main offenders. The fact that two of them play PG is a big problem. PGs set the tone. I don't mind Nick forcing some shots. He has proven he can make those. Everyone else seems to play with in themselves.

So if Wall and Crawford would clean up there games, that would expose McGee even more. Maybe he follows. And if that would happen, the whole team would look better. Then you only have Dray to deal with and it seems clear that he is on the trade blocks. Vesely will play more efficient then Dray so I'm not worried. But Wall, Crawford and McGee are likely to stay so they need to fix their games.

[hands11]

That was probably the best I've ever seen Wall look. He started out a bit shaky, not finishing at the rim, getting frustrated, and taking the jumper out of rhythm, but then he starting looking real good. His effort on defense was superb: not just playing D with his hands like last year, but actually trying to get into position. I haven't been upset with his ability to run the team (it's hard to hit cutters, for example, when no one cuts), but this looked better today. I expect him and Vesley to work well together.

McGee looked terrible in the first half, great in the second half. In the first half, he was out of control on offense and getting pushed around and out of position on D. He turned it around in the second half, both with the effort and with making some legitimate post moves. It looks like he's been working on them, but he can't make adjustments during the move, so if the defender stops him, he can only finish the move and shoot wildly.

Another down game for crawford; two decent, two poor. Not a good game for NY either; they're both 2 for 4 in my book, though crawford's misses, like his jumpers, tend to miss by more.

When do we get to see JV, I'm excited.

I like that McGee is attempting some post moves, but he isn't very good at it yet. For one, he needs a counter move. Two, he needs to do it with more then just speed. He needs to learn position and balance. Move. Counter move. Balance. You would think a big coach would teach him this. And someone please fix his FT. It is terrible. He has no rhythm. Get to the line. Take two or three bounces. Bend your knees once or twice. Then take the shot from your knee, throw your chest, extend to your arms, then release it though your wrist. It is all one fluid motion. Not a herk and jerk quick motion. Just watch video of KG. He is great at it. Shouldn't the fact that no one else shoot FTs like he is attempting to do it be a huge clue ?

Flip needs to tell him to stop the crap and shoot FTs in a form that matches something someone is doing successfully. He doesn't need to recreate the wheel. It amazing me that these guys get pay millions and I see this crap. Who approved that FT form. It isn't working. .400 He is getting worse every year.

[montestewart]

They need to play smarter and only attempt plays that can actually make. McGee turned it over at least twice after a rebound because he didn't even look before he passed the ball. That has to stop.

Blatche did it too (what a surprise). Fast pass to start the break, good instinct, but possession is more important. Don't just give it away. Silly, playground mistakes. I have to remember that even with his energy and elevation and stat line, McGee still has a ways to go.

[sfam]

Anyone who thinks Crawford runs the offense better than Wall REALLY needs to watch the 3rd quarter today. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

But I do think Crawford might be better as an oversized scoring backup PG than an undersized chucking starting SG.

Exactly.

Besides, cherry picking a quarter proves nothing. Wall has plenty of bad quarters/games to pick from if you want to make the opposite comparison.

SFAM is actually responding to something I posted in the chat room and I don't back down from what I said.

My point had to do with the set up and passing side of being a PG. The part Rondo and other do so well... Running the offense. Wall did better last game but it was Crawford who feed McGee for to easy alley opps the previous game. Crawford also had 3 assists in 14 minutes. Wall had 8 in 39..

Cherry picking random times where Crawford isn't chucking it doesn't make your point either. You started off declaring that Crawford is a better PG than Wall, but at least backed off to saying "at times" he is - this is true in that everyone has bad stretches, but certainly doesn't imply they are even right now. Wall may get frustrated at times but Crawford regularly turns his brain off. He is far from an even decent PG, whereas Wall regularly looked good last season (and last night), even given the dearth of solid team mates. Wall penetrates lots better, is far better in transition and seems a better passer. I think as the season goes on, we'll see Mack backing up wall, not Crawford.

EDIT: in addition to the 3 assists in 14 minutes, you neglected to mention Crawford also had 2 TOs, whereas Wall only had 1.

[sfam]

Flip needs to tell him to stop the crap and shoot FTs in a form that matches something someone is doing successfully. He doesn't need to recreate the wheel. It amazing me that these guys get pay millions and I see this crap. Who approved that FT form. It isn't working. .400 He is getting worse every year.

I can't imagine anyone approved McGee's form - my guess is he's ignoring the coaching. It really is bad.

[dobrojim]

Gotta say about Booker - I knock his ability, but nobody other than Wall on the team plays with the effort and toughness that he does. And he should be the starting PF on this team right now. That 3 point play he made on the rare assist by Seraphin was pure force of will - I'm not really how he managed to get the ball in the hoop.

effort and toughness are great as far as they go.

ultimately playing smart is the best thing of all,
that and being good at putting the ball in the basket
or stopping the other team from doing so. Booker is
a promising player who has flaws that need to be
improved upon. When the guy playing ahead of
him is struggling, he should get more opportunities
of his own and I hope he does.

Etan Thomas played ahead of a much better player
in Haywood because the coach thought toughness
and energy were more important than making good
basketball plays. This probably diminished team success.

[noworriesinmd]

Just wanted to say whats up to everyone. I've been reading posts on the board ever since I signed up for season tickets a few months ago.

I sit pretty close to the action, but I just wanted to comment about the Wiz v Celts last night....bottom line the Celtics are a better team. This was NCAA vs a JV squad.

I'm not an expert, but here are my thoughts

(1) They don't run plays (at least until the second half of last night's game)
In the first half, the Wiz were HORRIBLE. I've been to all three games and the last half was the first time where I saw the Wiz run actual plays (that is a coaching issue). Everyone would run down the court and stand around...looking like they were playing iso...and the ball handler would try some crazy shot and miss and then attempt another impossible shot next go around.

(2) Shot selection & McGee
Everyone on that team is out of control (except McGee). I saw McGee actually trying to do Post moves. To all the people saying trade him....please stop...at times he is the best player on the team.
Most players are using acrobatic shots that have a high percentage of missing. His post moves are improving. This was the first game I saw him use them. The first game he couldn't get to the rim, this game at times you could tell with a little more work and touch he'd be unstoppable. McGee with the right motivation and coach will be VERY good.

(3) No ball or player movement.
The Celtics are great because they moved the ball quickly around the court whenever the Wiz played zone D. They got open and took high percentage shots.
The Wiz on the other hand are ball hogs. They would do some stupid moves. There were some shots that Wall made....that he missed the first game. He needs to focus on control and shot selection. Nick Young is really good offensively. He reminds me of that guy on the play ground that you can't stop...I don't see how he made most of his shots because at times I thought he was playing horse. Just look at that spin shot jumper, it seems like he was really lucky to make it.

(4) Taruif (spelling and too lazy to look it up). He is awesome!! That is a true vet. He does all the little things you can't see on TV. He was engaged the whole game. Yelling at refs, hustling hard, setting hard picks. He is an awesome pickup. He has out hustled a lot of people on the team.

(5) Rondo vs Wall. Rondo is soo good. Rondo just destroyed Wall. Rondo is in a different class, I hope Wall really paid attention and tries to get to that level. This is the first time this year I've seen a player change the complexion of that game in a few plays...he's that good.

(6) Body Language
The Wiz were defeated after the first half. The second half was a different story. You could tell they were gaining confidence. I'm afraid this is a fragile state. I sit close to their bench and they really were feeling good when they got within 7. If they could just play with the same energy and consistency. They only reason they got within 7 is "BALL MOVEMENT and SHOT SELECTION". The Celtics could not guard them.

I believe the Wiz have a lot of problems, but they need to decide either to
(1) Run ( I don't think they have the horses)
(2) Run set plays. It is amazing how good the Wiz become when they share the rock. I don't know what was done/said during half time..but this was a different team.

I'll be saying a lot now that I have my account.