Wizards @ Cavs Preseason Game Thread

[tontoz]

I feel having Al Harrington at a stretch 4 will be a great asset. As long as he doesn't fall in love with his shot too much during games.

he clearly is a shot jacker almost like Big Balls. But he (and some others) shot us a W
last night.

speaking of big balls, is he still with Boston?

Yes, still throwing up bricks. I think he could eventually be a good scorer off the bench but he needs a reality check first.

[nate33]

Speaking of Jordan Crawford, he has played like, well, Jordan Crawford this preseason.

He averaged 12.5 points, 5.5 boards and 4 assists while shooting 41% from the floor and 32% from 3.

[payitforward]

Did some of you see last night's game somehow? I couldn't find it.

Off the boxscore, it's obvious that both Ariza and Booker had outstanding nights and that Beal shot lights out (as we are getting used to!).

The Harrington lovers note that he shot well and had 7 boards in 19 minutes -- good stuff. 4 turnovers in the same 19 minutes, plus 4 fouls, not so much. Still, he contributed.

Wall... is he playing awful or what? And why?

[TGW]

I would rather start Webster since it opens the floor up for Wall's penetration. That's more of a no-brainer, IMO.

[nuposse04]

Did some of you see last night's game somehow? I couldn't find it.

Off the boxscore, it's obvious that both Ariza and Booker had outstanding nights and that Beal shot lights out (as we are getting used to!).

The Harrington lovers note that he shot well and had 7 boards in 19 minutes -- good stuff. 4 turnovers in the same 19 minutes, plus 4 fouls, not so much. Still, he contributed.

Wall... is he playing awful or what? And why?

he looks completely disinterested out there. If he was a bonadfide champion, I wouldn't care...but he needs to show he keep the ship steady. If he really can revert to last years norms, that is fine, but the rest of the team can't turn it on like him (i think). So they need to get acclimated at playing to a similar level of intensity together.

Wednesday can't get here soon enough.

[dobrojim]

Did some of you see last night's game somehow? I couldn't find it.

Off the boxscore, it's obvious that both Ariza and Booker had outstanding nights and that Beal shot lights out (as we are getting used to!).

The Harrington lovers note that he shot well and had 7 boards in 19 minutes -- good stuff. 4 turnovers in the same 19 minutes, plus 4 fouls, not so much. Still, he contributed.

Wall... is he playing awful or what? And why?

league pass is free right now and that's how I watched it (Cav announcers).

Harrington played darn well. Booker I would say less so. Book was matched up against
Thompson who had a nice game. Offensively Booker did OK; it's mostly that I would
say he lost his matchup to TT who almost had a dub-dub in the 1st Q.

Ariza had an outstanding game hitting a bunch of 3s.

Wall and Nene both played like ass. Our winning the game was pretty much entirely
due to shooting lights out from 3, esp in the 2nd half.

[dobrojim]

re Big Balls

last night 1-8, 0-5 on 3s

it's a wonder he had a positive +/-

[jivelikenice]

Wall has seemed disinterested that last couple of games. I don't know if its a "one week away, don't do anything stupid or show too much" thing or what. The thing that he has to get fixed is his road play. He shot 48% at home versus 40% on the road last year. He also just seems more active. Three of the first four preseason games were at home (or Bmore) and he looked like an all star. Aggressive, making plays, getting the O going. On the road its been the exact opposite; hesitant, thinking before shooting, indifferent. He just seems to get in a funk very quickly in road games. So when ppl ask what happened to Wall the last few games; its simple, he's been on the road. This is where an Al Harrington could be helpful in terms of challenging Wall and this is where an evergy guy like a Faried could also help. Someone needs to fire up this group when they play away from Verizon.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I would rather start Webster since it opens the floor up for Wall's penetration. That's more of a no-brainer, IMO.

+1

I'd go with him at 3, and probably Ariza at 4. Best athletes to spread the court and run.

Booker or Vesely instead of Ariza would add some size. Seraphin instead of Ariza would allow Nene to play PF. I think Al Harrington with Webster as starting forwards limits the defense too much, but would really open up the offense.

PERHAPS start Wall, Beal, Webster, Booker Seraphin and bring super subs Nene, Ariza, Harrington, Temple/Maynor.

[W. Unseld]

Childress > Temple

I was curious about that comparison, what they really need is another big but I thought the temple signing was premature.

[fishercob]

I would rather start Webster since it opens the floor up for Wall's penetration. That's more of a no-brainer, IMO.

After Wall's return last year, Ariza shot (I believe) 39% from 3. I don't know what his splits were with/without Wall, but his shooting was much better once Wall returned to the court. So I am guessing that the theory is that Ariza's shooting with Wall opens the floor "enough" and that Ariza's D is superior enough to Webster's that Ariza' shout start.

I also wonder if they want Webster to get very comfortable with that 6th man role, because in an ideal world Porter would replace Ariza in the starting lineup (though that's a little tough to envision as of today).

Of frontcourt depth is poor enough that we'll see plenty of both guys, including the two of them together.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

fish, I wonder what Otto's role is going to be?

It might not be the worst thing for the Wizards to trust the minor league development system like Houston did with Terrence Jones last season.

Why not let Otto get his swerve on in the D-League?

[nuposse04]

fish, I wonder what Otto's role is going to be?

It might not be the worst thing for the Wizards to trust the minor league development system like Houston did with Terrence Jones last season.

Why not let Otto get his swerve on in the D-League?

I think that would be the logical thing to do for the first month. It'd allow him to come back into gameshape, and hopefully build confidence. It would also allow the wizards to build Ariza's trade value.

Hence there is almost no chance of this happening.

[Shem]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUJ-nQRxWz4[/youtube]

[Knighthonor]

After seeing more of Beal at point guard, I have to wonder how to best build the team from here around Beal?

Wall is a good fit in his non passive mode like in the pre season. But what else fits Beal?

[dangermouse]

This game told me: we arent making the playoffs. Not without Okafor.