The Javale McGee Appreciation thread - part deux

[theboomking]

I am looking forward to the day that McGee is traded.

I , but until then, McGee needs to start and continue to rack up empty numbers with a net negative effect when he is on the court. For the sake of the tank, McGee needs to start.

[hands11]

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2012/2/29/2834895/i-cant-say-i-do-but-im-sure-ill-figure-it-out-sooner-or-later

"I can't say I do, but I'm sure I'll figure it out sooner or later."

JaVale McGee, when asked if he "understands" the message Randy Wittman is trying to send him and Nick Young by not starting them.

Wittman said he talked to McGee and Young today to try to figure out how to "get [them] back to playing the way [they] can." McGee declined to elaborate on what he discussed with Wittman, saying "that's between me and him."

Discuss.

I wanted to post about this right after I saw the interview.

It started with me thinking wow, look at McGee. He was dressed very professionally in a suit and had glasses on which made him look smart and professional. I thought, wow, did someone raise the bar about post game interviews and instruct the players to dress professionally. It is little things like this that can help young players on a team like this to learn what is expected of them. Always be professional. You represent the team. We are paying you a lot of money so step it up in all aspects.

Then McGee said he didnt get it and I thought. Oh God. Come on McGee. How can you not get it. When asked what Randy said, McGee responded, " that is between me and Randy". At that point I thought, good answer. He is learning. I'm sure someone helped him with that answer and he executed. So he can take instruction and follow it. A good sign.

The post game people on CSN commented on his answer about not getting it. They said, he gets it. He is just not ready to publically comment that he does.

Personally, I wasn't as upset with McGee as I was Nick but I understand why Randy benched both of them. That said, McGee has shown several signs of improvement this years. It has been a slow process for him but he has added at least two post moves and now is starting to hit from the free throw line. He offense is coming around. Where he still struggles is boxing out and leverage like Booker can do on defense.

At this point, McGee is a bench player and he could be very good at that until he grows up. Problem with the Wizards is they don't have a established starting center better then him right now unless that is Booker or maybe Ronny. McGee lacks of intelligence hurts him. Specially on a team that lacks IQ. Subbing him for KS doesnt really raise the teams IQ and we saw that didnt work.

What I expect we will see soon is Dray starting at center or Ronny when he is ready. Or they can try Booker there more. Ben Wallace was 6-9 240. Booker is 6-8 240. It is worth looking at a little more.

Also, they have been trying Singleton more a PF where he his quickness helps him get by slower PF. He isnt quick enough to get by SFs. That lets them play Mo at SF and that raises the IQ of the team.

Wall, Craw, Mo, Singleton, Booker

This is what they ran some of last night.

McGee is in no way a bust. He is very talented. But he does need to really grow up. That said, he is there best offensive weapon in the post so I have no problem with

Wall, Craw, Mo Booker, McGee

That is probably their best line up when McGee is playing well and the other team doesnt have a strong bodied Center. But that is another reason why he is a bench player. He can't defend well against strong centers.

[Ruzious]

http://youtu.be/62vBKPWsS3c

i don't feel bad for not watching this team anymore.

The problem is - that's not an isolated instance. Those kind of plays are soul crushing. They reflect on the entire team and make everyone look bad... look stupid... look amateurish... look like clowns. But he does them on a regular basis, so there is a reason he does them - probably some kind of psychological issue. I imagine the study of what makes Javale McGee do the things he does would make for a great Master's Thesis for a Psych student.

[Zonkerbl]

Yeah, I think it's not that McGee doesn't understand it, it's that he doesn't agree with it but isn't willing to say that publicly.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I have seen McGee have a really terrible year. He's been lost defending pick and roll. He's been overpowered. He's made just about the worst mental mistakes possible in the worst situations on a pretty routine basis.

Still, I think McGee will be fine in another uniform. I think he needs a new team worse than the Wizards need to get rid of him.

I have nothing logical to back it up. Just a hunch. I think the very best thing that can happen for Javale is for the Wizards to trade him somewhere else. This team will go three guards and they'll go Booker at C, but they never try Seraphin with McGee. They continue not to give help when McGee is defending a true big. They continue to allow McGee to try to isolate and go one-on-one. So few plays are called for lobs to McGee off screen roll.

As bad as McGee can be I just don't think this is the right team for him. He does a lot of dumb stuff, but I think he's a much better player than the Wizards allow Javale to be. I also cannot put my finger on it, but I don't think Wittman is a good coach for Javale. Accountability should be extended to Crawford and other guys when they fail to defend. Often McGee is the only line of defense, but he's supposed to be very disciplined in stopping guards from getting in the lane and Javale is supposed to recover and go back to his man on defense.

I am probably the last guy to defend McGee, but like I said, for all his dumb plays I think he's better than this.

[queridiculo]

I don't know, I think McGee has basketball dyslexia. He simply doesn't have any feel for the game and at the same time appears too pigheaded to improve.

In his own mind he's already great, and he doesn't necessarily strike me as having the competitive fire to prove himself against the top talents in this league.

[theboomking]

Hands, I think your assessment of McGee's talent is overly optomistic. Of course he isn't a bust. Look where he was picked. However, this is McGee's 4th year in the league, and despite elite physical tools, he is still a terrible defender. His progress on the offensive end, only makes his lack of progress on the defensive end stick out more. As a 4th year vet, McGee is now famous in the notional media for low basketball IQ gaffe's. Not good. Beyond that, he just doesn't make us better. We would be so much better off with a guy like Dalembert than we are with McGee.

[Yilun]

What are the chances of McGee being moved before the trade deadline this season? And if so, where would he go?

[Ruzious]

I have seen McGee have a really terrible year. He's been lost defending pick and roll. He's been overpowered. He's made just about the worst mental mistakes possible in the worst situations on a pretty routine basis.

Still, I think McGee will be fine in another uniform. I think he needs a new team worse than the Wizards need to get rid of him.

I have nothing logical to back it up. Just a hunch. I think the very best thing that can happen for Javale is for the Wizards to trade him somewhere else. This team will go three guards and they'll go Booker at C, but they never try Seraphin with McGee. They continue not to give help when McGee is defending a true big. They continue to allow McGee to try to isolate and go one-on-one. So few plays are called for lobs to McGee off screen roll.

As bad as McGee can be I just don't think this is the right team for him. He does a lot of dumb stuff, but I think he's a much better player than the Wizards allow Javale to be. I also cannot put my finger on it, but I don't think Wittman is a good coach for Javale. Accountability should be extended to Crawford and other guys when they fail to defend. Often McGee is the only line of defense, but he's supposed to be very disciplined in stopping guards from getting in the lane and Javale is supposed to recover and go back to his man on defense.

I am probably the last guy to defend McGee, but like I said, for all his dumb plays I think he's better than this.

Remember when I told you there's no NBA coach that would want to play McGee with Seraphin on a regular basis?

It's still true. Fixating on that as a major reason that the Wiz don't know what they're doing - doesn't make any sense, because nobody would do that.

Also, I get the impression you don't appreciate how his dumb plays affect the rest of the team. He's not the victim of being a player affected by a bad environment. His dumb plays are a major cause of the bad environment.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Here's the thing about McGee, Ruz: When Washington takes him completely out of the lineup they give up layups and commit a ton of fouls. Sure, his defense is atrocious but there is a whole lot more wrong with the Wizards.

A lot of times the second McGee leaves the lineup things go down hill. I get that McGee makes things worse than having a solid defender in there. I believe it is more complicated than just McGee is terrible.

To say no coach would do something is presumptuous and just your opinion. All I would like to see is an occasional situational substitution against Dwight Howard (but Booker alone did darned well!) or against Griffin and Jordan of McGee with Seraphin. Match size with size, once in a while.

Nobody fixated. I have repeated this because I haven't seen it. I repeated fire Flip and replace him with Wittman at least 10-15 times before it happened. McGee did once play with Seraphin, Ruzious, under Flip Saunders, no less.

A coach HAS done what you say no coach would do, Ruz.

[LyricalRico]

Also, I get the impression you don't appreciate how his dumb plays affect the rest of the team. He's not the victim of being a player affected by a bad environment. His dumb plays are a major cause of the bad environment.

Truth! I love how people completely exclude McGee from the negative culture on the team. He is absolutely part of it, and shuffling the players around him isn't going to change that. If anything, it'll make his bad plays stand out even more. McGee is the one that needs to change, but he doesn't seem to have the desire or even see the need to do so (and neither does his mom, who is undoubtedly in his ear all the time).

As with anything in life, anyone can change. The problem is that most people don't, and I don't like those odds. Especially when you're talking about the amount of money it's going to take to re-sign him. It's "cut our losses" time with this guy.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

McGee isn't changing. Wall isn't changing. Players can improve some but they are who they are.

The day McGee got drafted I gave the Wizards an F. My comment then was he blocks shots but he is a bad defender. I had no idea how athletic McGee was, however. I also said McGee can't operate in the post. Wrong. He can, but at times it is really an awkward move or he falls off balance. That said, occasionally McGee takes over games. Javale is way better than I thought on draft night. He is better than much of the criticism directed at him recently IMO.

For all the recent McGee hate, I remember how the team started this season. He was the bright spot, except for getting muscled by Hawes and players like him.

What has happened lately is groupthink and group hate on McGee. He's consistently been a part of some negative things, for sure. Still, Wittman is not a great coach and I don't think being in his doghouse should be the definitive end to a player's career.

My belief is McGee is going to have a good career somewhere else. He will still not be able to body up to players like Howard, Griffin, Horford, or Hawes.

Some other coach and some other teammates, IMO, will figure out a way to make the best of McGee.

For all the negatives this season, McGee finished last season with a good on/off differential. He was a much better option then than whatever else the Wizards tried at C. This season he has been really bad.

[LyricalRico]

Here's the thing about McGee, Ruz: When Washington takes him completely out of the lineup they give up layups and commit a ton of fouls. Sure, his defense is atrocious but there is a whole lot more wrong with the Wizards.

A lot of times the second McGee leaves the lineup things go down hill. I get that McGee makes things worse than having a solid defender in there. I believe it is more complicated than just McGee is terrible.

Well, I think there's a difference between saying McGee is part of the problem and saying he's the sole reason for all of the team's problems. I haven't seen anyone saying "McGee is the lone cancer that's killing this team" becuase that would be incorrect. But it's also naive IMO to say "McGee will magically become an All Star once the other guys are gone" or once the lineups change. Based on McGee's own actions, I would say that statement is also incorrect.

Even if the problems go deeper than just McGee (which they do), that still doesn't by default exclude McGee from the list of guys that need to go. IMO you can absolutely say that "McGee isn't the whole problem but the team still needs to move on rather than overpaying to keep him". Those thoughts are not mutually exclusive.

[Illuminaire]

McGee remains an enigma to me. I cannot figure out how much of his struggles are his fault, and how much are just... who he is.

My gut says he needs to get away from his momma, cut the cord, and grow up. My mind wonders if he has brain chemistry issues (attention disorder) beyond his control. Either way... I grow increasingly disenheartened that he will reach his potential as a Wizard.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm not arguing that McGee doesn't need to go for him and for the Wizards.

It would be better if I saw the next coach and the PF of the future first, but I think Javale will be history by then.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

McGee remains an enigma to me. I cannot figure out how much of his struggles are his fault, and how much are just... who he is.

My gut says he needs to get away from his momma, cut the cord, and grow up. My mind wonders if he has brain chemistry issues (attention disorder) beyond his control. Either way... I grow increasingly disenheartened that he will reach his potential as a Wizard.

I think he's definitely got an attentional deficiency of some sort, and I wonder if he's not schizophrenic or suffering from some form of personality disorder.

What I believe is Javale is polite, and doing the best he knows how to do under the circumstances. Of all the Wizards, he's the one who catches hell for every mistake. I feel for Javale because he's not the worst guy.

[LyricalRico]

It would be better if I saw the next coach and the PF of the future first, but I think Javale will be history by then.

Agreed, that is the tough part. But this is the position the Wizards allowed themselves to be in, the position I foresaw when I wanted them to deal McGee when he really could have brought back serious value (such as Derrick Williams on draft night). They didn't want to pull the trigger becuase they wanted to wait and see what McGee would do. They didn't want to sign any good vets because they wanted to keep losing for more lottery picks. They also didn't want to pay two coaches salaries, so they kept Flip for too long and now are stuck with Wittman.

That's the downside of Ted's "build through the draft" (translation - tanking) strategy - as long as the team is losing it's going to be tough to properly evaluate anybody. They really need to start making moves to win immediately next year or they will continue to end up in the same position with more players in the future.

[Saqs]

McGee and his Mom already have decided that the Wizards are holding back his greatness. His mindest won't change here and the benching only fuels that mindset even further. You could hear it in his "I have no idea why I was benched" post game comments.

Everyone else knows why but him & Pam. Coach Whitt was pretty clear with what he wants at the end of the Bucks game and we all know it's not the first time he's heard it. But Javale & Pam are too far gone to even see the coaches mouth move. It's sad because i'm sure he will become a better player elsewhere but it won't be because of anything else other than him & Pam allowing him to be coached.

[Ruzious]

Here's the thing about McGee, Ruz: When Washington takes him completely out of the lineup they give up layups and commit a ton of fouls. Sure, his defense is atrocious but there is a whole lot more wrong with the Wizards.

A lot of times the second McGee leaves the lineup things go down hill. I get that McGee makes things worse than having a solid defender in there. I believe it is more complicated than just McGee is terrible.

To say no coach would do something is presumptuous and just your opinion. All I would like to see is an occasional situational substitution against Dwight Howard (but Booker alone did darned well!) or against Griffin and Jordan of McGee with Seraphin. Match size with size, once in a while.

Nobody fixated. I have repeated this because I haven't seen it. I repeated fire Flip and replace him with Wittman at least 10-15 times before it happened. McGee did once play with Seraphin, Ruzious, under Flip Saunders, no less.

A coach HAS done what you say no coach would do, Ruz.

We've had this discussion before. It was for a few minutes when they were low on bodies who could chew basketballs and dribble gum at the same time - it was never a regular thing - which is what I said. Right?

And it's my opinion for an obvious reason - which I and others told you the first 50 times you posted your complaint about them not being played together. They don't have enough offensive skill to play together. You repeated your complaint over and over when Flip was here and blamed Flip for not having your insight. So when Wittman also doesn't do it, now you think he's the fool. And the ironic thing is - in the Milwaukee game thread - when Javale was benched - you said that was the best coached game you've seen in a long time.

I realize McGee is better than the other centers that the Wiz have. That's because they don't have talent on the roster. There's no doubt he can play at a very high level and do things most centers could only dream of, and there's no doubt there's something wrong with his basic mentality. Apparently I'm being presumptuous when I call the sky blue - when the sky is blue - even though you insist 100 times that it's really mauve.

[WizarDynasty]

i think the problem has to do with mcgees lack of strength. his game is based on balance and power but its c clear has dAy that he cant squat 300 lbs becauae it sjows with his lack powwr when he bends his knees. until mcgee becomes a serious power squat in thw gym with booker.. expect mcgee to cpntinue to be a bench player. he has shown the toughness you need to add raw power needed to be a dominant bigman. he needs his mother to give him the drive it takes to fight through the pain until he can squat 300 free weight on his shoulders on an internet video, then i wont consider mcgees chumps and soft.
I appreciate what mcgee brings each night, but as a fan, i observe that if he put the work needed in terms of serious strength program squatting 300 lbs of free weight on his shoulders, he would be able to maintain his balance when he bends his knees. the coaches recognize that he isnt putting in the work needed to maintain strength and balance when he bends his knees.
Most of mcgee's problems would be solved with heavy squat training and he will continue to be a bench player until him and his mom take doing power squats seriously, even if it hurts his knees at the beginning and thus mcgee needs mental toughness.