Why Is Lewis Starting Over JV?

[dlts20]

JV is starting to look like a bust and is looking too undersized to consistently play the 4 right now which is why Booker is starting like I wanted. However, I really think Book shouldve started at the 4 with JV at the 3.

Shard is a vet and a nice calming presence. He doesnt cause any trouble but its clear he's not the All Star anymore, its also clear that he's not in our future plans at all, and you may not wanna bench vets for young guys but he's the only "older" vet thats playing and we still get blown out every single game so whats the point?

I understand not using the amnesty and I understand showing him some love but lets play our young guys now. It would be one thing if we were winning and it would be one thing if we were losing but Shard was beasting. Neither of those 2 are the case. If you are going to play Wall, NY, Book, McGee, JC, Singleton, Seraphin, Mack, & JV, then why start Lewis? When we traded Gil for him, even the Magic had him coming off the bench as they were getting tired of him and he was playing less & less.

We might not have enough shooters or scores on the floor with him on the bench but we dont have enough with or without him so lets give the young guys a chance. Atleast I know these guys are going to play hard & run non stop. Just see how it looks. If not JV then start Singelton but Shard has to take one for the team. He's going to be gone at some point next year anyways. Why not see what you have in the young guys so you can make a real decision.

Besides, if you are going to play & start an older vet at the 3 then why not Evans? He's a real leader, he balled out last year, he fits our style much more, and I think he's better than Shard anyways. I dont get it. He's 10x better on D and his 3 ball is just as good if not better now

[closg00]

Why? Because of our lack of shooting/depth at the SF position.

* Evans is hobbled
* Singleton is a rookie who is shot will improve over time.
* JV is now listed as a PF on our depth-chart, he clearly isn't a SF

[dlts20]

Why? Because of our lack of shooting/depth at the SF position.

* Evans is hobbled
* Singleton is a rookie who is shot will improve over time.
* JV is now listed as a PF on our depth-chart, he clearly isn't a SF

again, why isnt he? Every SF isnt a great shooter and we are getting blown out anyways. Besides, Shard is shooting 39% this year and 25% from 3. AK47 couldnt shoot either but he started at the 3. I think JV is too undersized to play the 4 right now.. He gets outmuscled alot. He's a huslter & a runner. Put him at the 3 and see what happens.

Again, I could see if we were a great team or a vet team or a team that has some shooters but we cant shoot anywyas with Shard so lets just see how it goes. I think our shooting might suck but we could makeup for it in hustle. Again, if not him then start Singleton but I just wanna see all young guys now. However, I would give JV the first shot since he's our lottery pick.

Some things are myths. Shard is seen as a good shooter but the fact is that he's not anymore. Its just a myth now. The same with Mason. He cant hit anything anymore. He's supposed to be a shooter but he's not. The same way the injuried Gil is supposed to be a guy with a good J but couldnt hit 2 shots in a row to save his life at the end here in Washington or in Orlando. Give JV the shot or Singleton

[Ruzious]

They might as well go with Singleton over Lewis. I know they want Singleton to "earn it", but obviously Lewis isn't getting the job done as a starter, and you might as well give the rookie a shot.

[closg00]

They might as well go with Singleton over Lewis. I know they want Singleton to "earn it", but obviously Lewis isn't getting the job done as a starter, and you might as well give the rookie a shot.

+1 We are going to lose anyway. Shard and Lewis will probably shoot around the same %, only JV would shoot at an even worse %.

[tontoz]

Yeah it isn't like Lewis is earning his time. Just put Singleton in there and see what happens. It would be hard for him to be much worse than Lewis. Yesterday Lewis had 2 points and 0 rebounds.

[no D in Hibachi]

AK-47 couldn't shoot? Well how did he average 14.4 PPG over his career and 15 PPG during his rookie year as a 21 year old? What you meant to say is AK-47 isn't a Ray Allenesque sharp shooter. There are Tim Legler type shooters, then there are AK-47 type shooters, then there are Shaq from the FT line type shooters, than there is Jan Vesely.

[montestewart]

AK-47 couldn't shoot? Well how did he average 14.4 PPG over his career and 15 PPG during his rookie year as a 21 year old? What you meant to say is AK-47 isn't a Ray Allenesque sharp shooter. There are Tim Legler type shooters, then there are AK-47 type shooters, then there are Shaq from the FT line type shooters, than there is Jan Vesely.

Kirilenko's .312 from the 3 and .763 from the FT line for his career and he's been pretty steady with that through his career. Like you say, not a great shooter, but way better than Vesely.

[Illuminaire]

The reason that JV isn't starting over Lewis is because if JV is paired with anyone BUT Lewis we have zero floor spacing....

....is what I started to write. Then I remembered that our offensive spacing was trash even with the faint, dying threat of a Lewis three-ball. To heck with it. Start Booker and JV!

[hands11]

Lewis is in there right now because JV has been slumping. I have no problem with that. He got some starts. Now that is behind him. If he goes back to the bench so he can watch and learn some while he works on making adjustments.. then great. I fully expect he will be starting again at some point. Not a big deal. This is what this season is for. Developing.

I hope Booker gets some starts at PF with Singleton or Lewis at SF.

I wouldnt even mind seeing KS get some starts at center.

Wall
Nick
Singleton
Booker
KS

or

Wall
Nick
Lewis
Booker
KS

Hell, Give Mack a few starts so he gets that exercise. Wins don't matter as much at this point.. Experience does.

But please get ride of Mason so you can try out some other SG talent.

[Higga]

Because JV lacks many fundamental basketball skills.

But at least he can jump real high and has long arms!!~1

[Illuminaire]

Because JV lacks many fundamental basketball skills.

But at least he can jump real high and has long arms!!~1

And play defense, set good screens, and make nice passes in half-court sets.

He lacks anything resembling a jump shot and needs a year or two of weights to be strong enough to hold his position. He has many fundamental basketball skills, however - just not the ones directly related to him putting the ball personally in the basket.

[Nivek]

Vesely is right at the fault line in the Great Player Development Debate. I did an article about this a couple years ago. Talked to a bunch of NBA folks about player development. There are some who think the way to develop players is to force-feed them minutes. Throw 'em out there, let them get experience, let them learn on the fly and learn what it takes to compete at the NBA level.

Others argued that the problem with the "sink or swim" approach is that some guys just sink. If they're just not ready to compete in the NBA, they're overwhelmed, they lose confidence, and the team ends up getting basically nothing from a player that might have been useful if he'd been allowed to develop in a "safer" environment.

The second group suggests trying to put players in situations where they have a chance to succeed so they can learn while not having their psyche wrecked. My feeling is that the "right" approach depends on the player. Some guys have the confidence/arrogance to be thrown into situations where they're overmatched and just not be bothered by it. They'll fight their ass off, work hard to get better, and do a better job next time. Others need to be brought along more slowly if they're going to be useful down the road.

Hard to say which type of person Vesely is without actually knowing him. Based on seeing him play, he seems more like the latter type -- someone who will struggle long-term in a "sink or swim" scenario. But that's just a feeling -- I don't know the guy at all.

[nate33]

Vesely is right at the fault line in the Great Player Development Debate. I did an article about this a couple years ago. Talked to a bunch of NBA folks about player development. There are some who think the way to develop players is to force-feed them minutes. Throw 'em out there, let them get experience, let them learn on the fly and learn what it takes to compete at the NBA level.

Others argued that the problem with the "sink or swim" approach is that some guys just sink. If they're just not ready to compete in the NBA, they're overwhelmed, they lose confidence, and the team ends up getting basically nothing from a player that might have been useful if he'd been allowed to develop in a "safer" environment.

The second group suggests trying to put players in situations where they have a chance to succeed so they can learn while not having their psyche wrecked. My feeling is that the "right" approach depends on the player. Some guys have the confidence/arrogance to be thrown into situations where they're overmatched and just not be bothered by it. They'll fight their ass off, work hard to get better, and do a better job next time. Others need to be brought along more slowly if they're going to be useful down the road.

Hard to say which type of person Vesely is without actually knowing him. Based on seeing him play, he seems more like the latter type -- someone who will struggle long-term in a "sink or swim" scenario. But that's just a feeling -- I don't know the guy at all.

Interesting thoughts. I'm going to repost this in the "do players develop" thread.

[dobrojim]

I think Singleton should start with Book and JV can be the first fwd off
the bench.

If we simply continue to be horrible, at least we'll have a better idea
of what the players we drafted with the idea they might be part of
our future core can do or where they are at now. All this while increasing
the chances of the highest possible pick.

Or maybe those NBA inexperienced players actually take to heart
the things they are doing wrong and work really hard to get better.
The team should have a very good idea of who is taking their profession
seriously and would be in a better position to act accordingly.

At this point, I'm in favor of playing guys like McGee, Young, Blatche,
Lewis only to the extent that it could improve their trade value.
Yeah I know, like that's gonna happen. One can dream.

Play Singleton, JV, Book, Mack and Seraphin. Play Wall a fair amount
as well. Limit his minutes (somewhat) in an effort to keep him from breaking down
as well as to limit his 'responsibility' for the lack of good basketball.

As was pointed out at the beginning of the thread, what's the downside
to playing the guys you originally thought might be part of your future
over guys who at this point are pretty clearly not part of a winning future?
I don't see much downside there.

[Nivek]

Here's the article on player development I wrote back in 2009. http://basketball.realgm.com/src_featur ... nt_debate/

Kind of interesting to re-read it. One exec I talked with addressed the Vesely issue pretty well. We were talking about what to do with a player who just isn't ready for NBA minutes.

And what if a player just isn?t ready to compete at the NBA level?

"First you need to take a look at your talent evaluation," says a Western Conference personnel executive. "Second, if the coach sees things in practice that warrant limited playing time, then the kid needs to be in the D League. There's no substitute for getting out on the floor in a real game."

And now, we all look pointedly at Ernie.

One of the things that comes through in re-reading is that with where the Wizards are, the coaching staff ought to be focusing on process, not outcomes. Reward proper execution of plays, good rotations, good effort -- not making shots or tallying assists or generating steals.