Wizard 2013 Preseason Wrap Up

[dlts20]

Last season Wall took 7.5 shots per game from 10-23 feet (making 36%) so it is a little hard for me to completely dismiss his preseason shot selection.

http://www.hoopdata.com/player.aspx?name=John%20Wall


Hopefully some of those long 2s with be 3s this season. I hate it when he passes up a catch and shoot 3, takes one or two dribbles and launches a long 2.

Im just tired of players being dumb. I have to cut them some slack because they are young but its not hard to think how to play. Wall works on his J non stop and makes some in the offseason so now when he plays the game, thats all he thinks about is pulling up for the J instead of keeping his aggresion, attacking the rim, and then using the J off of that. His J would actually go in more if he attacked the rim. Thats what will open it up and give him more confidence. Just because you work on your J doesnt mean you have to shoot strictly J's everytime like you are Reggie Miller. He's not going to be that great at it no matter how hard he works.

Its like Arenas. Gil became a star that one year when everyone got hurt and he was just attacking the hoop non stop. No one could keep him out the lane and in turn the FT line. Then he starts making some 3's and coming up with Hibachi. After that he nearly took all jump shots and Im talking about before the knee injury. He barely ever went to the rim anymore. I dont think Wall will get that bad but he still cant forget what made him special. If he attacks the rim then it opens up his passing game and gives him more confidence for the J.

I wont completely blame him because despite his bust out last year, I still dont think this system is built for him. I think its designed way more for jumpers then it is for getting to the rim but he's good enough to still produce big if he mixes it up better and stays aggressive

[tontoz]

Are we still talking about preseason? Do you guys realize that it's common for veterans to fine tune aspects of their game during preseason play? Preseason games really aren't about attacking the rim with reckless abandon so you can put your body at risk to draw meaningless fouls.

Id rather see him fine tuning his 3 point shot rather than fine tuning shots he shouldn't be taking in a regular season game.

[dobrojim]

Just ran a crude regression to predict records for teams this season based on a combination of preseason performance and what the team did last season. Wizards project to 34-35 wins. So, go get a 2nd mortgage and bet it on the Wizards to miss the playoffs.

if thats the case then Im betting it on us to make the playoffs because alot of that had to be based on Wall's absence last year and his terrible Preseason this year. He has to play a ton better than that

Yep. Hopefully Wall will play better. And Okafor will return. And Nene will be reasonably healthy and productive.

wondering if I might be too pessimistic (like that's ever happened) in my prediction.
Our record last year in games with Wall/Beal/Nene was about a 50 win pace IIRC.
That's mostly with Okafor though...

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Throw Martell Webster into that Beal-Wall-Nene mix that played at over-50 win pace. Taking Okafor out surely hurts, but I suspect adding a stretch four who can play, Harrington, is going to be an addition that helps. Al might be somewhat near as effective as James Singleton was a couple seasons ago. Wall got what he asked for, a stretch four. I think wins might happen with small ball. Ariza at PF will be effective at times.

Vesely and Seraphin both will be better than last season. Booker when healthy is really solid. He might be due to stay healthy, in a contract season. Glen Robinson Jr's an athlete in the mold of Mo Evans and Cartier from a couple of seasons ago, but better on the boards. Witt will use him right. Temple can truly defend well and he can be a decent role player.

For all the negativity, there are times I see this Wizards team as a legit sleeper to finish as high as 5th in the East.

Beal is for real. I think he's going to be way better than most project. Wall is the perfect complement to Beal's game and vice versa.

I've also seen some signs this Wizards team can be better without Nene. I'm encouraged regardless of some negatives.

OTOH, the front court has looked crap-tastic against the starters of teams like Detroit. Paper-thin depth and depending on the health of Nene and the jumper of John Wall makes things seem dubious at best.

This season's really going to be interesting.

[jivelikenice]

Posted this in the Cleveland game thread but maybe more appropriate to the discussion here:

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.

[nuposse04]

I think someone pointed it out in another thread...our defense is still good when it wants to be. I'm not sure how much of that is facing teams that aren't playing starters 30 mins + but the loss of Okafor hasn't, completely destroyed our defense yet...There is a cerebral lack of effort in the last two contests (at least for the first quarter and a half of both games), but I think that is easily amendable. If Wall realizes the games do count for something come Wednesday, I think he should make up for some of the offensive woes that are a derivative of his play.

[payitforward]

...I think it's obvious Wall was going through motions, fine tuning elements of his game while Beal was full bent on showing how much he's improved.

Hope so. But if Wall was fine-tuning, what results did you see? As to Beal, he made everything look so easy that it's hard to think he was trying to "show" anyone anything.

Would it be ok if Beal's numbers stayed steller, and Wall's came out of the basement? Please?

[hands11]

Beal with a PER of 25, Nene with a PER of 23 and Booker with a PER of 20. If Wall can wake up, we could have a darn good group of starters.

Vesely shooting 35% from the floor and 41% from the line. He really is in the Nikoloz Tskitishvili echelon of epic busts.

When I was writing that first post is when it dawned on me not to worry to much about Wall. Look how he ended last year with FTA per game. If he wants, he can drive and get foul and get bunnies at the line.

He only had 2 games with more then 6 FTA and the second was 7.

0, 1, 2, 2, 3 FTAs ? He wasn't driving in preseason because why take the pounding for no reason. He average 6 FTA for the whole year and the last two mouth once he got in shape he averaged 7 and then 8.9

More drives, more FTAs, more he gets in a rhythm.

As for Ves, come on dude. How about giving him some props for the rebounding he did. And while that is a low shooting %, he is only 8.90 % USG. Not like he is gunning and missing. DRtg 90.5

He did what he needed to do in preseason all except his FT shooting which just looks broken. Which makes no sense. We need Big Cheese and Webby to take him out dancing and get the stick out of his butt. White bread needs to feel some rhythm. Learn some Reggae dancing might help.

Or like I said, cut out the knee bench all together since he is straightening all the way before he releases.
Don't they have shooting coaches to point this stuff out?

Just do what Dirk does. Just start with very little knee bend and flick. Feet mostly squared.
Less moving part would help Ves.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzBnlwsDnNI[/youtube]

Ves bends his knees way to much. Leans forward. Staggered feet.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ghVaXBKRPo[/youtube]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1383 ... ba/page/11

Hot he isn't watching Nene or Okafor for lessons.

Why don't Wall and Beal grab him and show him.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UOPc_niT9U[/youtube]

[hands11]

Ouch. Look at those advanced stats for John: 0.414 TS%. .366 eFG% 12.5 PER.
Then there's this.... .188 3FG% 3.4 TOPG 10.8 PPG.

Beal on the other hand: 25 ppg per 36 minutes on 0.621TS% and .472 3FG% on over 6 attempts per game!

I think it's unrealistic to see either set of numbers continue into regular season.

I think it's obvious Wall was going through motions, fine tuning elements of his game while Beal was full bent on showing how much he's improved.

Both went into the preseason with different approach.

Preseason means a lot more to those players with something to prove. These numbers are encouraging for Beal but meaningless in the larger scope of things.

Except he went on a tear like that during his rookie season before getting hurt.

Oh, its Real Deal Beal baby. And with better driving skills now.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Well as far as the Wizard's preseason overall, I was glad to see them back on the court after what seemed a never ending offseason.

But it was a bit of a letdown, with it starting off with Okafor's injury knocking our starting Center out for a mysterious duration.

Then Otto, who I've wanted to see in action since the draft, missing the entire preseason! Of all the players on the team, Porter was the one being a rookie who would get the most benefit from it. So that was definitely a bummer.

Vesely who was reported to have taken a big step forward in the offseason, still looks the same. Maynor wasn't very impressive either. Singleton was hurt. Neither Webster or Ariza looked especially good. Rice showed some promise. Nene still looks heavy and slow. Booker looked good. Wall looked as good as I expected. Beal looks like he is progressing as much as we could of hoped for and was the brightest spot of preseason IMO. Temple looked about as I'd expect. Seraphin seems more confident and showed some possible improvement. Harrington looked healthier then I expected.

[hands11]

Well as far as the Wizard's preseason overall, I was glad to see them back on the court after what seemed a never ending offseason.

But it was a bit of a letdown, with it starting off with Okafor's injury knocking our starting Center out for a mysterious duration.

Then Otto, who I've wanted to see in action since the draft, missing the entire preseason! Of all the players on the team, Porter was the one being a rookie who would get the most benefit from it. So that was definitely a bummer.

Vesely who was reported to have taken a big step forward in the offseason, still looks the same. Maynor wasn't very impressive either. Singleton was hurt. Neither Webster or Ariza looked especially good. Rice showed some promise. Nene still looks heavy and slow. Booker looked good. Wall looked as good as I expected. Beal looks like he is progressing as much as we could of hoped for and was the brightest spot of preseason IMO. Temple looked about as I'd expect. Seraphin seems more confident and showed some possible improvement. Harrington looked healthier then I expected.

You saw no different Ves ?

He lead the team in rebounds per 36 with 10.88, blocks 1.77/36 and DRtg 90.5
His steals where up 1.77/36

What kind of improvement were you looking for?

I would ignore the FG%. He usually make about .500 and beside, he hardly shoots. He had the lowest attempt per 36 on the team. He has 20 attempts in 140 minutes.

If you missed it, you might want to take a look at the first post where I summarized the categories and who finished where. You might be surprised with some of the findings.

[Knighthonor]

Wall seem like he is doing that odd thing Gil did one season of trying not to score. Anybody remember that?

At least I hope its just that. Cause 3 points? really? has to be the case.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... onsu-Silas

I don't like that Silas and Childress each did nothing worthy of getting them waived, since both outplayed Maynor.

Childress has played with Harrington on the Hawks, even in the playoffs. It didn't make any sense for him to try to make the Wizards, seeing as they have 18 SFs on their 15-man roster. Still, the guy clearly still can play IMO.

Silas can shoot the ball well. Four points in three minutes is a lot of scoring in very limited minutes. Basically, there was no way for him to make the roster no matter what he did. Same as Childress IMO. Meanwhile, the Wizards owe Maynor two seasons of guaranteed money. He will probably do well at some point but he sure didn't in preseason.

[verbal8]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/230385/Wizards-Waive-Childress-Mensah-Bonsu-Silas

I don't like that Silas and Childress each did nothing worthy of getting them waived, since both outplayed Maynor.

They also outplayed Singleton and Vesley.

Childress has played with Harrington on the Hawks, even in the playoffs. It didn't make any sense for him to try to make the Wizards, seeing as they have 18 SFs on their 15-man roster. Still, the guy clearly still can play IMO.

Silas can shoot the ball well.

I think they were auditioning for other NBA teams(and foreign teams) as much as the Wizards. Silas could go to D-League and easily get called up. His shooting percentages from D-League look pretty bad, so he may need to work on his shot selection.

[dckingsfan]

My overall feeling of the team was - sloppy with intermittent flashes of energy.

My overall feeling of Maynor was apathy and sadness. For a player that is going to play such a key role for the team, all I can say is - sigh.

[hands11]

My overall feeling of the team was - sloppy with intermittent flashes of energy.

My overall feeling of Maynor was apathy and sadness. For a player that is going to play such a key role for the team, all I can say is - sigh.

I think Maynor will do what he was brought here to do. Run the offense, set pace and set up other players for the 10-12 minutes when Wall isn't on the court. We don't need a lot of scoring from him. We can leave that to Webster, AH, Glen Rice and Otto when he returns. And Temple and Kevin can score when they get going as filler and Ves and Booker rebounded well in preseason. If its Temple that will be out there, he needs to establish that corner 3 which I think he can.

Wall is going to be at PG at least 36 minutes a game. Beal is the go to scorer. Randy can shorten the bench once the regular season starts. And once Otto and Okafor return, the team is actually pretty deep.

Wall, Beal, Glen Rice, Trevor A, Webster, Otto, AH, Nene, Okafor
Temple, Ves, Booker and Kevin

That would be a 45ish win team if Otto and Okafor were ready right now. So thats the big question. They have 6 viable known players that can score and defend. So can they get enough out of Glen, Temp and Kevin as scoring and defending players and enough from Ves and Booker as defender/rebounder to get them through until Otto and Okafor return ?

Not knowing the answer, that could cut anywhere from 5-10 wins depending on how things work out. I think we will be able to count on Glen ramping up quickly and I think Temple will be solid if given a chance. And I think Ves and Booker will continue to rebound and defend. Kevin is the bigger question to me still because he is someone who can score in bunches when he get rolling. Which is fine as a role player off the bench who can be a potential start with the right players if he focuses on consistent rebounding, defense and passing out of the double which he seems to be getting better at.

[Dat2U]

[
I think Maynor will do what he was brought here to do. Run the offense, set pace and set up other players for the 10-12 minutes when Wall isn't on the court. We don't need a lot of scoring from him. We can leave that to Webster, AH, Glen Rice and Otto when he returns. And Temple and Kevin can score when they get going as filler and Ves and Booker rebounded well in preseason. If its Temple that will be out there, he needs to establish that corner 3 which I think he can.

So basically with Maynor on the court were going to be playing 4 on 5. Because in your words, all he has to do is walk the ball up court, initiate the offense and stay out of the way. I don't think that's going to cut it.

[dckingsfan]

I was still disappointed by the sloppy play. That doesn't get you to 45 wins.

And Maynor wasn't running the offense - he was pounding the ball. And since he can't shoot, it was like playing 4 on 5 ball. When he was on with Vesley it was 3 on 5 ball.

Hence apathy and sadness.

[jivelikenice]

[quote="Dat2U"][quote="hands11"][
[b]I think Maynor will do what he was brought here to do. Run the offense, set pace and set up other players for the 10-12 minutes when Wall isn't on the court. We don't need a lot of scoring from him.[/b] We can leave that to Webster, AH, Glen Rice and Otto when he returns. And Temple and Kevin can score when they get going as filler and Ves and Booker rebounded well in preseason. If its Temple that will be out there, he needs to establish that corner 3 which I think he can.
[/quote]

So basically with Maynor on the court were going to be playing 4 on 5. Because in your words, all he has to do is walk the ball up court, initiate the offense and stay out of the way. I don't think that's going to cut it.[/quote]

Mayno was the biggest miss of the offense. I was hoping the critics of the pickup were wrong, but he's looked very unimpressive from what I've seen. He's hit a few shots and has a decent floater, but in this past summer's market, he wasn't worth the bi-annual exception.

[jivelikenice]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/230385/Wizards-Waive-Childress-Mensah-Bonsu-Silas

I don't like that Silas and Childress each did nothing worthy of getting them waived, since both outplayed Maynor.

Childress has played with Harrington on the Hawks, even in the playoffs. It didn't make any sense for him to try to make the Wizards, seeing as they have 18 SFs on their 15-man roster. Still, the guy clearly still can play IMO.

Silas can shoot the ball well. Four points in three minutes is a lot of scoring in very limited minutes. Basically, there was no way for him to make the roster no matter what he did. Same as Childress IMO. Meanwhile, the Wizards owe Maynor two seasons of guaranteed money. He will probably do well at some point but he sure didn't in preseason.

A lot of times its not about making the roster immediately, its about gaining familiarity with the staff/coaches in case the Wiz are able to dump any of their expirings (like Singleton)....