GT: 2/6 NY Knicks @ Wizards 7PM CSN....

[MDStar]

You're joking right? Before Wall returned we could hardly keep the likes of JJ Hickson off the boards. LMA scorched us (oddly enough we swept POR but not because of our D on their front court). While there has been noticeable improvement as of late, I don't see how Wall should impact the front court defensive effort. It should have been season long. You can't tell me we don't struggle with stretch 4s.

I also have an issue with when we try to play big against small ball lineups. Our bigs rarely have the offensive skill to take advantage of their size, Nene might be the only guy to fully utilize mismatches. Okafor lately, my point is, I don't understand why that level of competency hasn't been there the whole time. I love watching this team win against talent they "shouldn't wing against" but its vexing as to where this effort has been all along. Is Wall's intangible effect that big?

6th best defense in the league.
Best defense in the league since Wall's return.

I don't know what else there is to say.

I didn't realize that we were a top 10 defense for the year and THE top defense since Wall returned. That's pretty sweet. It makes one wonder that this team as currently constructed, is an elite scorer away from being a contender.

Now I love Beal but if you swap Beal for Harden, what would the outlook of this team be? I don't think the defense would suffer at all but we would add a 25 ppg scorer, who can create his own shot.

For all the moves the EG did or didn't do, this one maybe the biggest that prevents us from being a legitimate playoff team.

But while this is a negative for EG, I would be remiss if i didn't point out that he should get credit for putting together a team, that is built for and plays extremely good defense.

[fishercob]

Great win. Knicks are a good team (elite offense, average D) who had been playing well. They had our number previously. Their fans are obnoxious and loud. Global picture aside, it just feels good to win. And you know, I want the Wizards to be on a better course then they are, to be smarter than they are, to have made better moves than they have -- all that. But I do much prefer 9-7 to 4-28. Not saying I am (or anyone should be) satisfied. But the activity level around here is up, and that's because the Wizards are watchable and at least worth talking about.

What a nutshell game from John Wall. He made some spectacular plays that few others in the NBA could have. But he turned it over way too much, took some terrible shots and didn't make enough of them. He wants it so bad -- too bad -- as is evident from the body language on his missed jumpers. But it's distressing to watch him jack 18 footers in transition and needlessly careen into a crowd to force and "unforced" turnover. He just has to be smarter.

One thing I will say in Wall's defense is I think Beal's absence hurts him in ways other than just missing a guy to pass to. Brad takes some of the ballhandling and playmaking weight off of Wall. Many will loudly disagree because the Wizards don't spread the floor for Beal and allow him to break his man down off the dribble. That's not what I mean by playmaking. Beal is strong with the ball and he uses ball screens really well (particularly impressive for his age and experience). He delivers the "pocket pass" to the rolling big (usually Nene) on time and on target. It gets the defense rotating; that's what I mean by playmaking. Because Wall was the only perimeter ballhandler on the floor for most of the night (which was a good thing overall -- will get to that), I think he forced things that werent there. I am hopeful that as he and Brad grow together than John instinctively cut down on his bad decisions because of what BB is able to create.

Got to give Randy credit for his lineup. The Knicks are a tough cover, obviously. Randy talked pre-game about how he planned to go small. What he did was unveil the Big-Small lineup. Singleton played the role of the second big, and then they went with lots of length on the perimeter. Singleton wasnt great on the boards, but he does protect the rim a bit. He played well. Also thought it was clever to match Nene up with the old and hobbled JKidd. Left Nene free to play help D and work the boards as long as Kidd was on the weak side of the floor. Ariza and Webster shooting 10-16 from 3 was great and obviously isn't "sustainable," per se. But most were good shots; you have to give them credit for making them.

Man, Nene can be frustrating. I have thought several times about the George Karl quote before we played Denver about Nene's refusal to be The Man. There were several instances last night (and there seem to be a few every game) when I am just yelling for him to SHOOT THE BALL. He overpasses in search of the perfect shot sometimes. It worked a bit last night b/c we were hot from the perimeter. But I want my 6'10 ox shooting the ball when he's at the rim or in the middle of the lane.

9-7 is nice. The sample size is starting to grow a bit. Those two Sacto losses are still crushing, as 11-5 would feel even better. BUt I don't think these games are meaningless, even if the playoffs are out of reach. You play to win, and with the top of the lottery looking so blah (and the lotto odds being so heaviliy stacked against the very worst teams getting the very best picks), I don't care if we pick 9th. Andre Drummond, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Brook Lopez, Joakim Noah, Paul Pierce were all late lotto guys who have proven far better than guys picked ahead of then (it's early on Drummond, I know, but you get the point).

Looking forward to Brad's return as soon as he's ready and hoping the team can continue to improve.

[rl25g]

for those who missed it,
the game comes on at 11:30 on CSN

[TGW]

Aren't we killing are chances at a top 5 pick?

Unless we get the 1st pick, it doesn't really matter... there's no clear-cut best player after Noel it seems...

If the Wizards start winning and pick really low, they still can come out of this draft with someone like C. J. McCollum, who may impact games like Damian Lillard next season.

Hey CCJ, Wall has a higher PER than Lilliard, and Wall's a better defender. Since you value PER so much, doesn't that mean Wall > Lilliard?

[GhostsOfGil]

Love this quote from TAI

"After the game, a Knicks player who shall not be named said, “We couldn’t keep Wall out of the f**king lane!” Coach Woodson blamed his guards (and not his big men) for not keeping Wall out of the lane, while Raymond Felton blamed Wall’s effectiveness in screen-and-rolls for the Knicks’ loss. More important than Wall’s 21 points, nine assists, five rebounds and six turnovers, was his ability to break down and frustrate the Knicks defense."

[tontoz]

Love this quote from TAI

"After the game, a Knicks player who shall not be named said, “We couldn’t keep Wall out of the f**king lane!” Coach Woodson blamed his guards (and not his big men) for not keeping Wall out of the lane, while Raymond Felton blamed Wall’s effectiveness in screen-and-rolls for the Knicks’ loss. More important than Wall’s 21 points, nine assists, five rebounds and six turnovers, was his ability to break down and frustrate the Knicks defense."

Wall has always been able to get in the lane routinely against pretty much anyone. Sometimes he doens't get results when he gets in there but i haven't seen anyone consistently successful in preventing him from driving.

[jivelikenice]

Last year teams were better able to keep him out of the lane. He seemed to struggle breaking guys down 1 on 1 in the halfcourt. He seems like he's made some improvements in those areas. I think that really is apparent when you look at his improvement in end of quarter situations. He was dreadful there last yr. Bigtime improvement.

[dobrojim]

for those who missed it,
the game comes on at 11:30 on CSN

DVR'd it and watched again last night. But good to know.
Seems like they do not replay games as much as they used to.
It used to be fairly routine to catch a replay in the we small hours
of the morning. And they should ALWAYS replay games that got
bumped from CSN for a Caps game.

[dobrojim]

Wall's results when he drives often depend on his teammates hitting
the open looks he gets them.

LOL at the Nix fan on our board trying to troll us.

Loved the streaming to the exits of their fans last night as it became
painfully (to them) obvious their 10 game streak against us was over.

[dobrojim]

double post

[wasfan]

good win!
it's just kinda sad that whenever we play teams from big cities, it's hard to tell whose homecourt it is....

if we are competitive against playoff teams, we really need to work on those lapses of concerntration against teams we should win against (kings, for example)... there are still tons of plays when it seems like players are just lazy or uninterested in boxing out or going after the long rebound.... KEVIN SERAPHIN needs to be motivated to do things other than shoot the ball....

i've been a little bit disturbed at how the nba power rankings are treating the wizards in light of the recent surge.... let's stay focused and get a win off the nets and see how these 'expert analysts' react... we're either going 2-1 against playoff teams or 3-0 against playoff teams...

[payitforward]

In the first 3 1/2 minutes of the 4th quarter, we produced 18 points on 6 shots and 3 FTs -- all makes no misses. 4 of the 6 buckets were assisted. We got every rebound except 1, and we had zero turnovers.

That's pretty good.

[nuposse04]

[You're joking right? Before Wall returned we could hardly keep the likes of JJ Hickson off the boards. LMA scorched us (oddly enough we swept POR but not because of our D on their front court). While there has been noticeable improvement as of late, I don't see how Wall should impact the front court defensive effort. It should have been season long.

It has been all season long.On the season the Wizards are giving up the 3rd fewest points in the paint.

http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/op ... t-per-game

We are also 7th best in the league in opponent 3P%. And we're 4th best in limiting fast break points.

Seriously, there is virtually nothing to complain about with this defense. And we do it without a dominating defensive big man. Okafor is solid, but nobody is putting him on any All Defense teams

hmm, ok maybe you're right. I didn't think our defense was that praise worthy before Wall returned...it just speaks to how putrid the offense was. That and we've lost a lot of close games in closing moments of games...I don't know if that's more on un-clutch offense or defense.

[Higga]

I was at the game last night, got really good seats for cheap from my work. Great game, great atmosphere, was lots of fun. Always good to beat the Knicks and send those cockroach New Yorkers home sad.

Lot of celebs in the house too. Saw Calipari, Magic Johnson, and Brian Mitchell.

Wall played great, nobody could check him. I know he had some turnovers but when you put up 20/10(or close to it), I can live with a few turnovers.

[hands11]

^^^

Glad to hear you had a good time at the game.

Can't wait for the day the Wizards home court sounds like home court.

As for Wall, man.... I wish for right now they could narrow what he does down to what he does well.

I just want to see him drive, drive and dish, fast break, and take the floater. Basically Rondo's old game on offense.

He has time to work on the outside shooting. For now, they have Webster, Trevor A and Beal who can shoot from outside on spot ups. And they have Nene, Okafor and Kevin who can score in the post. And Singleton can do an little of both. Basically Wall looks like the worst outside shooter on the team. So why have him taking them ? I know it will help open the post but so does just bring Nene and Okafor to the FT line to set picks up there.

They really don't need Wall shooting from outside like they did in the past. There is plenty else for him to do scoring. And he can focus on clearing up his passing and focus on defense. He can have a huge impact without the outside shot.

Now if he is wide open for a set shot like he took last night, I don't mind him taking one here and there but even that shot he could have drove and done a floater, drove all the way for the foul or drove and dished.

Now some night he magically finds his stroke. On those nights he can shoot a little more. But there just wasn't a big need for him to take those outside shots last night. And once he is off and pressing, its just painful to watch. It hurts him and it effects the team. His game would have looked a lot more efficient if he didn't take those shots. He could have been like 8-14 instead of 8-18.

[AFM]

From the Knicks board:

What kills me, they made that FRAUD John Wall look good. That guy will be traded in 2 yrs tops before being out of basketball. Hyped product that has NO CLUE how to play PG.

Sounds like CCJ to be honest.

[montestewart]

From the Knicks board:

What kills me, they made that FRAUD John Wall look good. That guy will be traded in 2 yrs tops before being out of basketball. Hyped product that has NO CLUE how to play PG.

Sounds like CCJ to be honest.

CCJ, you hanging out on the Knicks board?

Over-the-top pronouncements on the boards are one of the most entertaining parts of reading threads. "Helen Keller has better court vision," etc.

Years ago, Manute Bol was on a call in show, and some obnoxious caller was ranting (to Bol and the host) about Bol's lack of skills, repeatedly insisting that he should be driving a cab. Bol seemed to read the pronouncement literally, and sounded sincere in his reply, "Why would I drive a cab? I am paid to play the game of basketball." Maybe he was being sly but whatever, the contrast between Bol and the wound-to-tight caller was hilarious.

[AFM]

I like the "traded in 2 years before being out of basketball" part.

[montestewart]

I like the "traded in 2 years before being out of basketball" part.

It's the "ignore all logic" rant auto-pilot

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

If the Wizards start winning and pick really low, they still can come out of this draft with someone like C. J. McCollum, who may impact games like Damian Lillard next season.

Hey CCJ, Wall has a higher PER than Lilliard, and Wall's a better defender. Since you value PER so much, doesn't that mean Wall > Lilliard?

Wall is a third-year, #1 overall pick who has been coached for years by Sam Cassell and before him Flip Saunders. He has played with Gilbert Arenas and Kirk Hinrich. In his first two years, Wall's PER was 15.8 and 17.7. This season so far, his PER is 17.1. This season, Wall has no knucklehead teammates, and he has veteran big men with size, veteran wings with size, and players who started last season deep on the bench. Wall has had time to improve.

Damien Lillard is coached by first-year coach, Terry Stotts. Outside of LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, and Nicolas Batum (himself relatively unproven); Lillard is the leader of his team. Lillard's PER is 16.4, slightly better than Wall's first season. Portland is 25-24 with Lillard leading the way.

Okay. You want some, too. Fine. How much do I value PER, TGW?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... ada01.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... ljo01.html

Wall's first season the Wizards were 23-59. Wall's next season the Wizards were 20-46, with Flip getting fired. That usually does not happen to the coach of the team that gets the #1 overall pick.

TGW, the stat I care about more than PER is WS/48. Win score per 48 minutes for Wall is .057. Win score per 48 for Lillard is .098.

Lillard is a much better outside shooter than John Wall. Is he better? TGW, I would say right now he is definitely having a better rookie season than Wall, and he probably IS better.

LIllard has made 111 3PT shots this season. John made 3 all year last year and 1 this year.

John gets to the basket and he has superior court vision that gives him more assists.

Damian Lillard actually knows how to shoot and he is just a rookie, though he's the same age as John Wall.