Game Thread: WAS @ ORL

[sashae]

The point is. . .there is SUCH a wide gulf in talent AND execution between the Wizards and the Clippers right now, not to mention elite teams like Chicago. The Wizards have not looked even competative this season, aside from moments in the opening game against NJ and, oddly, short bursts of effective play against the Celtics. Last night was abomidable, just an eyesore to watch. I listened to the first quarter and 1/2 on radio on way home from work. Dave Johnson was flying solo last night, and he was NOT pulling any punches about what his eyes were seeing.

I worded my "Clippers" comment poorly. The Clippers have been traditionally seen as the floormats/most cursed team in the NBA. I think we've surpassed them (or at least are competing with Charlotte) to be the most hopeless/futureless/worst team out there. We're #1 (at being terrible)!

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

This team isn't as bad as that game suggest, but we need to make some drastic changes to certain elements of this team. This is what I took from the game last night:

1. Blatche needs to go and the quicker the better for this whole team. At this point I'd consider amnestying him.

2. Flip probably needs to go. This team needs a task master, a coach that with bench their a*ses and light into them for lazy and selfish basketball.

3. Wall will be fine. He's in a funk, a sophmore slump you could say, but the kid at this point has received very little help. I can't count the number of missed easy assist his teamates have every game.

4. McGee played better than his stats show. Yes he had a couple of bad defensive reads versus Howard, but I thought he played him well and had quite a few good moments against Howard offensively and defensively.

5. Jordan Crawford doesn't need to go, but his butt should be nailed to the bench until he learns to play in control. I think he can be a solid bench scorer for this team, but he needs to be coached up a ton.

6. This team desperately needs shooters.

This is how the rotation should be: Starters: McGee-Booker-Lewis-Young-Wall / Bench: Seraphin-Singleton-Mason (and Vesely when he returns). Maybe add Crawford when he gets his head together.

[Zonkerbl]

What's the point of making any moves now? It can only hurt the long term competitiveness of the team. If you're going to suck, suck this year. Embrace the suckitude. Get a high draft pick next year, sign a max free agent (worthy of the max). Profit.

[nate33]

What's the point of making any moves now? It can only hurt the long term competitiveness of the team. If you're going to suck, suck this year. Embrace the suckitude. Get a high draft pick next year, sign a max free agent (worthy of the max). Profit.

I like the "underwear gnomes" reference.

[TGW]

What's the point of making any moves now? It can only hurt the long term competitiveness of the team. If you're going to suck, suck this year. Embrace the suckitude. Get a high draft pick next year, sign a max free agent (worthy of the max). Profit.

My sentiment is that constant losing/tanking leads to a losing culture. No one of significance is going to want to sign with a losing culture unless they are vastly overpaid. No draft pick is going to want to resign with a crappy team. And there are no guarantees that your draft slots or draft pick are going to be any good. Look what happened this past year...we tanked, got the fifth pick, and ended up with a huge question mark.

Tanking is a terrible strategy IMO. Sometimes you end up with a Duncan or Howard, but more times than not you end up with a Kwame or Darko. I'd rather bring in players that will compete, play hard, and be a good influence on those younger guys, even at the expense of young draft picks. I'd sure as hell prefer a Carl Landry-type over Seraphin, Singleton, Mack, Crawford, etc.

[LyricalRico]

What's the point of making any moves now? It can only hurt the long term competitiveness of the team. If you're going to suck, suck this year. Embrace the suckitude. Get a high draft pick next year, sign a max free agent (worthy of the max). Profit.

My sentiment is that constant losing/tanking leads to a losing culture. No one of significance is going to want to sign with a losing culture unless they are vastly overpaid. No draft pick is going to want to resign with a crappy team. And there are no guarantees that your draft slots or draft pick are going to be any good. Look what happened this past year...we tanked, got the fifth pick, and ended up with a huge question mark.

Tanking is a terrible strategy IMO. Sometimes you end up with a Duncan or Howard, but more times than not you end up with a Kwame or Darko. I'd rather bring in players that will compete, play hard, and be a good influence on those younger guys, even at the expense of young draft picks. I'd sure as hell prefer a Carl Landry-type over Seraphin, Singleton, Mack, Crawford, etc.

Great post!

[dandridge 10]

We're the worst team in the NBA, but we're not the worst team TALENT WISE in the NBA, if you get what I'm saying. The things that's the worst about this team is the EFFORT (Dray, I'm looking at you). If we played with consistent effort, we would've wn at least two games by now (Game 1 vs. NJ, and the 2nd game vs. BOS.

I think we are one of the worst basketball teams from a talent perspective. Too many people equate athleticism and potential with talent. Talent is more than that, and includes having the IQ and skills to put your athleticism to good use. Just about every player on this team lacks at least one of these attributes. Most of the players on this team, including all of our starters with the possible exception of Wall, would simply be role players, at best, on any other team.

[queridiculo]

Tanking and losing is in the process is one thing, what compounds this whole mess is if the organization continues to reward players that don't conduct themselves in a professional manor with playing time.

I don't really need to mention who I'm talking about here, but the comments by Lewis and Wall after the debacle in Orlando to me are hints that there's a clear division in the locker room already.

What bothers me more than anything isn't the fact that this team is losing, it's how they're losing. Apart from lacking talent, there are too many players on this team that don't play the right way. Weeding those guys out is where it has to start.

[Nivek]

We're the worst team in the NBA, but we're not the worst team TALENT WISE in the NBA, if you get what I'm saying. The things that's the worst about this team is the EFFORT (Dray, I'm looking at you). If we played with consistent effort, we would've wn at least two games by now (Game 1 vs. NJ, and the 2nd game vs. BOS.

I think we are one of the worst basketball teams from a talent perspective. Too many people equate athleticism and potential with talent. Talent is more than that, and includes having the IQ and skills to put your athleticism to good use. Just about every player on this team lacks at least one of these attributes. Most of the players on this team, including all of our starters with the possible exception of Wall, would simply be role players, at best, on any other team.

CCJ said it well somewhere on these boards. The Wizards have some great athletes. What they don't have is skilled and smart basketball players.

[GhostsOfGil]

Tanking and losing is in the process is one thing, what compounds this whole mess is if the organization continues to reward players that don't conduct themselves in a professional manor with playing time.

I don't really need to mention who I'm talking about here, but the comments by Lewis and Wall after the debacle in Orlando to me are hints that there's a clear division in the locker room already.

What bothers me more than anything isn't the fact that this team is losing, it's how they're losing. Apart from lacking talent, there are too many players on this team that don't play the right way. Weeding those guys out is where it has to start.

What was said?

[Zonkerbl]

"Something something something not trying hard."

"Something something something bad body language."

"Something something something playing selfishly on offense and defense."

I accuse Blatche and Crawford of this, primarily, with an honorable mention to N1 and McGee.

[dobrojim]

They can't score, rebound, or stop anyone. That's a recipe for not just the worst team in the league, but a historically awful team.

These were my thoughts as I contemplated returning to this thread.

You know it's bad when my die-hard Wiz fan daughter isn't interested
in watching (like the Bullet person who posted like 6-10 pages back about his
kid).

[queridiculo]

I'm looking at the schedule and I'm trying to figure out who this team is supposed to beat in January.

The only team I see is Toronto, but that's only because they'll be on their 4th game in 5 nights.

[Saqs]

What's the point of making any moves now? It can only hurt the long term competitiveness of the team. If you're going to suck, suck this year. Embrace the suckitude. Get a high draft pick next year, sign a max free agent (worthy of the max). Profit.

I agree with this. It is a process. Yeah it's painful but it has to be done. I mean it's not like Ted is saying "hey Flip, don't try to win with these players in the process of them learning how to win." And there is absolutley ZERO use in firing the coach or the gm in the middle of said process as for one: they will still be paid anyway thus costing the team more and two: the team with these players will still lose a bunch of games with a new coach/gm anyway.

The "losing culture" bit is way overrated IMO. In order to create a winning culture you have to acquire & develop good players. The problem is acquiring good players to replace the not so good players which is again, part of the process. As much as it sucks, we have to play with and endure the hand we have for a good while.

[The Consiglieri]

this is the worst basketball team I have ever seen....who assembled this piece of ****? every game this season before i eat my first potatoe chip, we are down by 18 in the 1st quarter.

Thank God this season just started and didnt start in Late October.

May be better designed for a better draft pick and a cleaning of house. A full 82 gamer might have given the clowns a chance to get control of the wheel of the clown car, as short as this is, it doesnt matter.

Everything everywhere seems to suggest that the entire league knows Baltche is worthless, so it's not really what we can get for him, but when we can just outright ditch him. I don't think we'll get anything of value for him period in any trade, i just think he needs to be jettisoned so the kids can play and learn together and create their own positive chemistry. Like Shanny did with Fat Albert, Fat Baltche needs to be run out of town so Wall can have his team that listens to him, rather than their ipod.

[sfam]

We're the worst team in the NBA, but we're not the worst team TALENT WISE in the NBA, if you get what I'm saying. The things that's the worst about this team is the EFFORT (Dray, I'm looking at you). If we played with consistent effort, we would've wn at least two games by now (Game 1 vs. NJ, and the 2nd game vs. BOS.

I think we are one of the worst basketball teams from a talent perspective. Too many people equate athleticism and potential with talent. Talent is more than that, and includes having the IQ and skills to put your athleticism to good use. Just about every player on this team lacks at least one of these attributes. Most of the players on this team, including all of our starters with the possible exception of Wall, would simply be role players, at best, on any other team.

Absolutely agree that we need to start drafting people with great character and high BBIQ, even over better athletics. I'm still hoping the last draft fit this profile. But you also need a coach that the players give effort for - if they are continually laying down 5 minutes into the game, you gotta make a change.

[hands11]

What's the point of making any moves now? It can only hurt the long term competitiveness of the team. If you're going to suck, suck this year. Embrace the suckitude. Get a high draft pick next year, sign a max free agent (worthy of the max). Profit.

I agree with this. It is a process. Yeah it's painful but it has to be done. I mean it's not like Ted is saying "hey Flip, don't try to win with these players in the process of them learning how to win." And there is absolutley ZERO use in firing the coach or the gm in the middle of said process as for one: they will still be paid anyway thus costing the team more and two: the team with these players will still lose a bunch of games with a new coach/gm anyway.

The "losing culture" bit is way overrated IMO. In order to create a winning culture you have to acquire & develop good players. The problem is acquiring good players to replace the not so good players which is again, part of the process. As much as it sucks, we have to play with and endure the hand we have for a good while.

Moved.