The Javale McGee Appreciation Thread

[theboomking]

McGee probably has a higher ceiling for improvement than Roy Hibbert because Javale is much more athletic and a little younger. If Roy can improve from age 25 to 26, the same is possible for McGee who just turned 24. I said way back Javale would never develop a post game and was wrong. My question is how much stronger McGee will get. If he gets significantly stronger he could really improve a lot.

What has Hibbert done to improve so much?

CCJ, I definitely think McGee will continue to improve on offense. He has shown the desire to work on that end of the floor, and is demonstrably better on offense this year. Just adding a semblance of a hook shot was a big improvement.

The issue that I have is that JaVale hasn't made the same kind of improvements on defense. I feel like Singleton and Vesely have improved our defense a bit, and that Wall has improved significantly on defense, but JaVale still looks unaware. Do you have confidence that McGee will ever be a good defender?

[llcc25]

McGee isn't as big as Roy Hibbert and he doesn't operate in the post with the same strong base.

I have not watched Hibbert play but apparently he has made a huge improvement this season. His PER went from 15.6 to 21.4. His WS/48 has more than doubled this season from last. Roy's FG% is up and his rebounding is way, way up from what he's done over his career. Each season he has fouled less. If the Wizards want to bid high on Hibbert this offseason, that would seem to be better than bidding high on Javale.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... elog/2012/
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... elog/2012/

McGee probably has a higher ceiling for improvement than Roy Hibbert because Javale is much more athletic and a little younger. If Roy can improve from age 25 to 26, the same is possible for McGee who just turned 24. I said way back Javale would never develop a post game and was wrong. My question is how much stronger McGee will get. If he gets significantly stronger he could really improve a lot.

What has Hibbert done to improve so much?

First off, you have to say that the 4 years at G-Town established a stronger foundation compared to only 2 years Javale played at Nevada. Not to mention it made him smarter...Second, IND plays a half-court offense where the ball is fed into the post as first option. With the development of their other young players and addtion of a David West this season, I think this has just allowed his game to blossom. Lastly, I just think he's more dedicated to his craft. He know he's not as athletically gifted so he just goes out and puts in the work to get better.

[llcc25]

for those that favor McGee given his higher ceiling and athleticism, my response is that I think its more the exception than the rule that the higher ceiling gets realized at this level. we've seen him the past 3-4 years and yes he's improved, but they're are still many big holes in his game both on offense and defense that i just don't see it happening. Not much different than Blatche IMO. Early on, we felt that Blatche had so much upside but what happened. Bottom line, the nba draft is such an inexact science when it comes to drafting based on upside and athleticism translating at the NBA level. I believe history has shown that not just in NBA but other sports as well.

[hands11]

Saw Hibbert playing for the pacers as they beat LA. Boy does he look miles ahead of McGee, I tell you what.

100% agree. I think playing for G-town has something to do with it but clearly his development from year 1 to now is further along than McGee. He just flat out knows how to play the post position better. I even saw IND last night's game against ORL. He didn't have as good a game (only 5-16 from field) but still scored 16 pts and had 12 rebounds. 6 for 6 from free throw line. The more impressive thing was what he held Howard in check at 14 pts 9 rebounds.

How has McGee gotten worse at FT shooting year after year ?

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/i ... vale-mcgee

I guess the club didn't hire the right big man free throw shooting coach for him.

Maybe this would help. He likes the internet. Maybe he could find some videos to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdTQi4L6 ... re=related

[hands11]

100% agree. I think playing for G-town has something to do with it but clearly his development from year 1 to now is further along than McGee. He just flat out knows how to play the post position better. I even saw IND last night's game against ORL. He didn't have as good a game (only 5-16 from field) but still scored 16 pts and had 12 rebounds. 6 for 6 from free throw line. The more impressive thing was what he held Howard in check at 14 pts 9 rebounds.

Being a big man and playing for G'Town certainly has it benefits. But, I suspect, most of the learning/growth takes place during the summer when, at least in past years, Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo, Harrington, etc., would all return to campus and workout (or should I say bang) with current players.

I'm impressed by the improvement that G'Town's current big, Henry Simms, has made this year. Word is Othella Harrington, who is now a Hoya assistant, has a lot to do with Simms' improvement.

Now there is a novel idea. Go practice against other good bigs. Sounds like a grand idea.

As for what Hubbert did. One thing I heard was he trimmed down.

[Ruzious]

Actually, it was the year before that Hibbert trimmed down. Remember when he started out at G-town, he was completely out of shape. The change in his body has been dramatic to say the least. As I've said before, people have been saying... Hibbert is what he is - he has a low ceiling, because he's fundamentally sound. He's not much - if any - better than McGee. McGee has a much higher ceiling; therefore, he clearly has more value than Hibbert. Those folks just didn't get it. A guy that big who understands the game, has very solid fundamentals, works really hard and smart at it, is a solid athlete for that size... guess what, he's going to continue to improve and become a very good player.

[no D in Hibachi]

Here is a quick h2h breakout of Howard vs. McGee covering their last 11 games. I consider this highly alarming in terms of whether to retain McGee over the long term. If Washington ever hopes to get to the playoffs and ultimately advance they'll most likely have to deal with Howard. In his 11 games against Howard, McGee has scored double figures once (10pts) and has been put to shame in every single contest. Howard just toys with McGee it's so embarrassing. How can Washington commit $10M+ per year to McGee when their only chance to beat Orlando is to CD-DNP McGee?

Code: Select all

Player   G   W  L  MP   FG%  FTA   TRB   AST   STL   BLK   TOV   PF    PTS
Howard  11  10  1  36  0.75  11.1  13.8  2.6   0.7   2.7   3.1   2.0   25.2
McGee   11   1 10  18  0.42  2.00  3.70  0.2   0.5   1.2   0.9   3.2    6.2


[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

This is the McGee appreciation thread. I don't post much about Wall in his thread because I don't have a lot of great things to say, generally.

McGee will get offered DeAndre Jordan money from someone. Bank on it.

[jivelikenice]

Agreed. He's a center which in & of itself will garner interest & with a lot of teams under the cap next season he will surely get that offer. This team needs to decide now whether or not they're willing to invest that much in him. If not they should entertain offers because he does have a lot of value

[JonathanJoseph]

Wiz should not sign McGee for any more than $6M-$7M per year, and as noted, someone will surely offer him DeAndre Jordan money, so I'd love to see us try to trade him while there is still some trade value.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Here is a quick h2h breakout of Howard vs. McGee covering their last 11 games. I consider this highly alarming in terms of whether to retain McGee over the long term. If Washington ever hopes to get to the playoffs and ultimately advance they'll most likely have to deal with Howard. In his 11 games against Howard, McGee has scored double figures once (10pts) and has been put to shame in every single contest. Howard just toys with McGee it's so embarrassing. How can Washington commit $10M+ per year to McGee when their only chance to beat Orlando is to CD-DNP McGee?

Code: Select all

Player   G   W  L  MP   FG%  FTA   TRB   AST   STL   BLK   TOV   PF    PTS
Howard  11  10  1  36  0.75  11.1  13.8  2.6   0.7   2.7   3.1   2.0   25.2
McGee   11   1 10  18  0.42  2.00  3.70  0.2   0.5   1.2   0.9   3.2    6.2


When you have a chance, check Javale vs Bogut, Hibbert, Kaman, DeAndre Jordan, and Andrew Bynum. Then look at how much each of those guys make. (Rumor has it Hibbert will be offered around $11M per season.)

I think McGee is worth around 4 years and $38M. The Wizards owe Blatche just under $30M over the next 4 seasons.

[llcc25]

Assuming Mcgee gets offered 4/$40m by another team and IND doesn't go beyond $11m for Hibbert,
would you guys rather match McGee at 4yrs/$40m or try for HIbbert at 4yrs/$48m. I'd vote for Hibbert hands down. The vs Howard stat alone whereby Hibbert has held his own and McGee has been completeley dominated is enough to warrant the premium for Hibbert.

[theboomking]

Assuming Mcgee gets offered 4/$40m by another team and IND doesn't go beyond $11m for Hibbert,
would you guys rather match McGee at 4yrs/$40m or try for HIbbert at 4yrs/$48m. I'd vote for Hibbert hands down. The vs Howard stat alone whereby Hibbert has held his own and McGee has been completeley dominated is enough to warrant the premium for Hibbert.

Hibbert is also part of a winning team, whereas McGee IMHO is like NY, part of the problem, flash without substance.

[no D in Hibachi]

Depending on who the Wiz can get as their PF in the draft I think almost all available FA centers will be better options than McGee with the exception of Robin Lopez and Chris Kamen. I'd much rather have Brook Lopez or Roy Hibbert, especially if the Wiz land Davis in the draft.

[JonathanJoseph]

Depending on who the Wiz can get as their PF in the draft I think almost all available FA centers will be better options than McGee with the exception of Robin Lopez and Chris Kamen. I'd much rather have Brook Lopez or Roy Hibbert, especially if the Wiz land Davis in the draft.

Agre, except I'd also prefer Kamen to McGee. In fact, given the cost savings, I'd rather have Robin Lopez given the relative cap hit too.

[fishercob]

McGee's pick and roll defense is just epic Vale...

[tontoz]

I've been on the fence with Mcgee so far but now i think i am leaning towards letting him go.

[7-Day Dray]

I was really overrating McGee's defense earlier in the season. I thought that Blatche was basically the only one that was bringing down our interior D, and I said that I thought McGee's defense would get much more praise with a PF that played with more energy, but his D looks just as bad, if not worse. Not boxing out, not rotating, and not contesting shots consistently. He's letting unathletic scrubs like Gray and Magloire get rebounds and finish over him.

[queridiculo]

Outside of dunking and the occasional blocked shots McGee's game has absolutely no redeeming qualities.

Signing him to any sort of extension is going to be a colossal blunder that's going to doom this franchise.

[Jimmy Recard]

I've been on the fence with Mcgee so far but now i think i am leaning towards letting him go.

+1