GT #4: Wizards @ Sixers 7 PM CSN

[payitforward]

I agree with CCJ on Harrington. While his defense is problematic, he seems to have some chemistry with Ariza. I noticed that first in the preseason. He looks for Ariza, and Ariza know it - setting up the passing lane for Harrington to see him. It's worked for a few wide open 3's for Ariza.

Yeah, Al was a net positive last night. I don't think he'll regularly have "efficient" stat lines, but he can still do some things out there. And he's only going to get better as he gets his legs back. The key IMO will be keeping him in the 15-17 mpg range so he's usually the third or lower option. If he plays 20+ then he'll end up being counted on to score too much IMO.

Not sure how much of a "net positive" Al was.

Yes, he scored. But he took 9 shots and 1 FTA to get his 10 points. Only a little net positive -- i.e. over average -- in that. And in those same 17 minutes, he turned it over twice, only got two lonely rebounds, got called for a foul two times as well. He didn't help.

But Webster certainly did. He shot a little higher eFG% than Harrington, and he made his free throws, he didn't turn it over, in fact he got one steal, he had 3 assists (AH had 1), committed no fouls and had 4 boards -- 50% more minutes, but it's a much better performance overall even considering that fact.

[hands11]

when you have Nene grabbing 4 rebounds in 30 mins, combined with Seraphin and Al (LOL), you're gonna ger outrebounded EVERY night!

Wiz got more shoots.

98 to 83

Raining 3s

18-33

Yeah, it's the power of the 3 (to the 3rd power). Philly shot a higher percentage from the field, had 10 more foul shots, and 10 more rebounds, and yet - they got their arses kicked.

A couple other factors - one, the Wiz had 9 fewer turnovers (and had a great A/TO ratio). And two, shot attempts can be a somewhat mis-leading stat, because the NBA says when you're fouled and miss the FG, it's not a shot attempt.

Remember not to long ago when we had no 3 shooters and teams regularly torched us by shooting 3s as we packed the paint.

Now we can do that to team and we have better perimeter D to stop it.

Kind of interesting.

[hands11]

Wall won't shoot like that often if ever again but if he has a reliable J at all he'll basically be unstoppable.

I actually expect him to have more nights like last night.

He showed last year that he can go on multigame runs of good shooting. I think he will also have his turds, but like a stock on the rise, I expect higher highs and higher lows. Its a good trend.

Two steps forward, one step back type stuff.

I think that game yesterday shows Wall is back in the game regarding getting better and developing.

One thing I personally find interesting is how he gives a post game interview after success. He talks slower. Seems so much more calm and mature. I think Wall is still young enough in the process that he puts a lot of pressure on himself and he starts to press. Then things work out for him and you can see it in his demeanor. It like he just took a big deep breath. In a way, Wall is kind of like us as fans.

I expect Wall to mature a lot this year. Specially if they can have some success. The maturation for him will be how to deal with that success and keep it all in perspective.

[hands11]

agreed. It's not so much that I love Maynor. I would have preferred to keep Price or
get someone even better - wet dream Eric Bledsoe...Jarret Jack. And the process
of signing him for 2 years on the first day seemed unnecessary and precluded other
possibilities.

But the criticism on the board is sometimes over the top.

People undervalue the importance of a PG who simply knows how to run the offense, make smart passes, instruct his teammates where to be on the court, and not turn the ball over...which is basically the kind of PG Maynor is. Maynor is never going to impress anyone with his scoring, D or athleticism.

After all, isn't it payitforward who constantly argues that we shouldn't look at what a player doesn't do but at what he does well.

Actually I was shocked when he posted that recently.

[hands11]

Amazing what a PF with size does for you. Thad Young goes from 14-20 for 29 points to 3-11 for 7 pts. I loved the overall game Beal played yesterday, but he has to figure out how to keep up the shooting in the second hald. 2-10 with two missed free throws on what were a lot of open looks is going to come back and haunt us against most teams. He could have buried the Sixers a lot earlier on in the second half.

the weird thing about that to me is that on paper, you would think Booker would
be a decent matchup on Thad. They're both athletic tweeners.

Booker isn't as fluid a player. Booker would make a great linebacker though.

[payitforward]

Amazing what a PF with size does for you. Thad Young goes from 14-20 for 29 points to 3-11 for 7 pts. I loved the overall game Beal played yesterday, but he has to figure out how to keep up the shooting in the second hald. 2-10 with two missed free throws on what were a lot of open looks is going to come back and haunt us against most teams. He could have buried the Sixers a lot earlier on in the second half.

the weird thing about that to me is that on paper, you would think Booker would
be a decent matchup on Thad. They're both athletic tweeners.

Booker isn't as fluid a player. Booker would make a great linebacker though.

Booker is not as good a player as Thaddeus Young who is a top-tier player -- as a 3, which is how I've mostly viewed him. Very few "tweener" forwards play at his level.

But that doesn't mean Booker isn't a good player too -- not as good but good all the same. For example, in that first game vs. Philly, he went 5-7 w/ 8 boards in 28 minutes.

[Kanyewest]

I wonder what the quality of this win was. We beat the sixers on the road, which in a vacuum shouldn't even be worthy of discussion...But the sixers are playing good basketball (not sure if it is sustainable). So is the defensive woes more breakdowns on our part, or them going off. Particularly, I thought Evan Turner was straight balling out there. He was making some 1st option moves you can barely defend. I still want the the defense to get it together, but if a team is playing hot, I'm not sure you should expect to limit them, especially when the minutes distribution on your own roster are in flex and guys have to get re-acclimated on how to play with one another.

The home loss was awful though. If you lose fine, but if you let a team score that much in the paint, some effing heads must roll.

It was an OK win. Philly has beaten its share of teams in Miami (w/o Wade) + Chicago that are considered decent. Plus considering that the Wizards were winless going into the game- any win is good win. The Wizards could have been in major trouble for another loss if Wall didn't start hitting his 3s .

I agree the Wizards should have taken Philly more seriously the first time around.

[GhostsOfGil]

Yeah, Gortat is settling in. But man that dude have zero leaps.

And he refuses to acknowledge that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWOGuEVmXZw

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38iHIQNeGEw[/youtube]

[Brenice]

What this win showed is how well the starters can play together when healthy. Nene was happy to acquire Gortat, but it looks like Gortat benefits more from playing alongside Nene than Nene not having to play center.

Wall's 3ball is better but he was white-hot for him. He will cool some but it's improved.

[hands11]

What this win showed is how well the starters can play together when healthy. Nene was happy to acquire Gortat, but it looks like Gortat benefits more from playing alongside Nene than Nene not having to play center.

Wall's 3ball is better but he was white-hot for him. He will cool some but it's improved.

Yeah, I think it allow Nene to play the roll of a post air traffic control and box out player type while Gortat score and rebounds more.

That should allow Nene to last longer.