GT #21: Wizards @ Hawks 7:30 PM CSN

[hands11]

becuase Wizards

Wall sleepwalks his way building a masonry house for 3 Qs wasting what
for us was a remarkable job by the bench.

ps - Why wasn't Ves used to harass the inbounds passer on the last play?
They didn't attempt to have anyone in that role. I know the reason why,
I just don't agree with it.

Not only did they not have Gortat or even Ves on the in bound pass, they had NO ONE covering the in bound pass. They gave them a completely clean look with no pressure at all on the in bound passer. That's why he could tread the needle so perfectly on that pass. He had not on in front of him. Not long armed Gortat to change the trajectory. To arms waving. No one jumping up and down to block his sight. He just stood there as calm as could be eying Horford and lofted it in perfectly.

Atlanta used Pero Antic 6-11 probably figuring there is no way Randy doesn't put Gortat or long armed Trevor A or Ves on the in bound passer.

Randy is so smart. He fooled them. Instead he left the in bound passer uncovered and tired to cover the floor with Wall, Temple, Webster, Trevor A, Booker.. tallest player.. 6-8 and that's the player that was beat in the post by a hot shooting 6-10 Horford. 6-11 Antic unabstracted in bound to 6-10 Horford for the bunny. And Booker was in position. He just wasn't tall enough. The pass went just out of his reach to Horford and then he recovered and jumped where Horford against got it off just over Booker's reach.

Any pressure at all from Gortat on the in bound and Ves in the post could have early changed the outcome.

Maybe something like those two with Trevor A, Glen on the perimeter and Singleton 6-9 helping slow Millsap 6-8 253 down from getting near the post. I would have rather seen Korver chucking a catch and shoot 3 from 25 feet over the outstretched hands of Trevor A then 6-10 Horford 32 pts for the 7 foot bunny over a 6-8 Booker. But maybe that's just makes obvious sense to me.

That play was a Randy fail on so many levels. And Wall really needs to get it together. Can't wait for Nene and Beal to return. We need more talent out there to overcome Wall and Randy brain farts.

[dlts20]

I still say that we are going to be soooo good. Thre is no way you can watch the Hawks play and think that they are better then us if we have Nene, Beal, and maybe Harrington. No way. We will be so good if fully healthy and everyone's effeincy would go way up. I think we would even be good with just either Beal or Nene. I know people think Nene is the end all be all but i still say if you add a healthy Beal back, with a new mindset from watching, with Wall now being more aggressive, we would win a ton of games.

And that was all with the suckiest bench ever. This bencch will start to improve a ton

[AFM]

Missed this one. How did Porter look?

[hands11]

Didn't get to watch the game since I was at work (which looks to be a blessing in disguise).

One thing that stands out -- John Wall = 22 shots attempts, 0 free throw attempts

He still hasn't figured out what most superstars understand -- when you're having a tough shooting night, get to the rim. You'd think someone with his athleticism and burst would be not just willing but HAPPY to do this but it seems like pulling teeth with Mr. Wall.

You are right. When wall did look to drive he was making things happen. Its so easy.

When is he going to put it together mentally on a consistent basis ? He had no command of the game. I appreciate that he wants to lead, but you have to make smart decisions if you want to be that guy. You have to move the defense and put pressure on the post. Very un Tony Parker game from him.

Teague looked like he had more command of the game then Wall did.

Sad to see Wall revert to the easy play. Dribble dribble shoot the mid range instead of driving. Just an inefficient and lazy approach. Specially when you are ice cold from there. And he had Webster and Trevor A out there. Where were all the open corner 3 shoots we usually see ? Why did he have 22 FGAs and Trevor A only 7 and Webster only 12 ?

Was the lock down defense of Korver, Carroll, Lou Williams, and Shelvin Mack stopping him from finding open players. Korver had two fouls pretty early as Webster was eating him up. Then what ?

Wall still doesn't get it. He wants to play hero ball more then he wants to win.

[Wizardspride]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... story.html

“I just don’t think we were ready to play,” Wittman said. “We take shortcuts. When you take shortcuts, you can’t become a good team. We take shortcuts all the time. It cost us too many games. We’re not a disciplined team.”

[hands11]

He was once. You think he's having a good season? No. Not even close. He's averaging 7.6 boards every 40 minutes, and his Offensive rebounds are down worse than Defensive.

The outstanding TS% he used to post in his prime has also leaked away.

Nene is a shell of the player he once was. Fortunately we've got him locked up for this season and two more years after that.

I dont care what the numbers say. Bottom line: Nene makes our team significantly better when he plays.

Not only that, the numbers still say Nene is far superior to Pif's favorite player, Booker - including the TS% he used to make his argument. And in spite of the rebounding numbers he quotes, the team is rebounding far better when Nene is in the game. Nene's health is a legitimate issue. The quality of his play - at BOTH ENDS OF THE COURT - isn't. Horford dominated the game. If anyone believes that would have been the case if Nene was healthy, Pif probably has some prime beachfront property in New Orleans to sell you.

Well we do have a recent sample. Nene played in the November 30 game the Wizards won.

Horford.. 3 rebounds and 16 pts. Nene 12 rebounds 3 assist 1 stl 1 blk 13 pts.

[BarnabyJones]

“I just don’t think we were ready to play,” Wittman said. “We take shortcuts. When you take shortcuts, you can’t become a good team. We take shortcuts all the time. It cost us too many games. We’re not a disciplined team.”

That's...disturbing.

[hands11]

For whatever reason Nene just seems to have a calming effect on the team. (from my view anyway) Especially late in games.. Wall is good for getting them pumped up and rallying, but as soon as a TO is called and they get to think about the situation, they go into shell shock or something? Last night you could just see the demeanor change as soon as they took the lead and had a chance to seal the deal.. All of a sudden everyone was indecisive, couldn't pass or rebound, much less shoot the ball with any confidence.. Gortat you'd think would be the last one to tighten up, but he looked worst of all of them at the end of regulation.. Wall has great confidence, but just can't pull it off and I think the team must sense that? But, one way or another, they're gonna have to learn how to win a couple games when Nene isn't in the lineup, or they'll never make that next step.

True. Wall is the spazy Westbrook type. Chest thumping look what I just did type only Westbrook has no off switch. He is jumping out of his skin the entire game. Nene is the calming KD type. Lets make the smart play. Get it to me and lets carve them up, if not I will drain it. Webster and Trevor A are kind of calmer types as well only they are more catch and shoot types ... Robins to a Batman. Wall is not the leader really. Its those other 3 waiting for Wall to have the light bulb go on moment. If anything, Nene is the real leader. Wesbter, Beal, Wall, Trevor A, they are make good Robins. We have lots of those.

Wall is a more a Westbrook type. And on that team, KD gets them 5 assists per game while Westbrook is being a spaz shooting 18 times a game. That's the same FTA KD takes. Westbrook so wishes he was the best player on that team.

That's where I see this team. Wall is not there. Beal is in the running if he can develop his handles. Could Otto be that player ? We only got a small look but he seems to be able to get his shot off pretty easy. He is a 6-8 SF. In his grantland interview, he thinks he can wants to be a KD type. Maybe Otto can be really good. KD was rail thin when he entered the league. Otto is only 20. But that's a long shot. Hoping he could be a KD is clearly hoping for a lot. KD is a generationally good player. But even 60-70% of that kind of player would be very useful. And at this point, we really have no idea what Otto can be. Small small sample size. But hey, who saw MCW being as good as he is so soon. Anything can happen.

So that's the thing that I'm most interested in seeing right now. Otto looks to be catching on quickly after only like 2-3 games. Beal will return soon. Nene will be back probably shortly. Said they are working on his hips to make him more flexible so pressure is displaced differently. I think they said they are also doing this.

Dry needle therapy. Maybe they can finally get Nene right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVpr8DYm1EY

So all we need is KD or Lebron and Wall will be fine.

So Wall doesn't have to be a stud leader if they have Nene, Gortat, Beal, Webster, Trevor A and Otto is good. There in is the remaining hope for this season. Seems it going to take time for Wall to mature from his spazy Westbrook mentality. If he ever does. When Nene and Beal return, they should look ok.

Wall
Webster/Beal/Glen (defense)
Trevor A/Otto
Nene/Booker or Singleton
Gortat/Ves

Just need a back up PG upgrade unless Beal can run some PG with better handles. And another big center type. Same thing we needed going into the season

Key right now is what does Otto bring. Does he have handles to drive ? Team really needs that in a SF or SG right now.

[hands11]

Missed this one. How did Porter look?

Good for being so early in his career. Team was shooting like crap and he came in and nailed back to back mid range shots. That broke the ice and the 2nd unit followed his lead. The entire group was active. He grabbed 4 rebounds in 16 minutes. Not great but not bad either.

We got some good progress from him. Looks like the game wasn't to big for him. He was the leader of the 2nd team and it felt like he was the best talent out there who could get his shoot clean. Ves followed his lead and was very active. Made a really nice left handed drive from the right side across the lane for a layup. Man if he could have gather himself and left handed dunked it, it would have brought the house down. Ves, even took a mid range. He looked like he felt he belonged. Otto, Ves and Glen looked like they liked playing together. They all brought energy. Add Beal returning from injury off the bench and that could be a nice bench.. And with Otto able to pass and dribble a little, maybe Randy tries some

Beal, Glen, Otto, Ves with Nene or Gortat. Worth a look. With Nene is probably better. If not, maybe

Beal, Glen, Otto, Singleton, Ves. Specially if Glen finds his range and Singleton can hit some 3s.

At least we have something to look forward to once we get some players back.

[hands11]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/hawks-101-wizards-99-al-horford-beats-the-buzzer-washington-in-overtime/2013/12/13/69e14e2c-6464-11e3-a373-0f9f2d1c2b61_story.html

“I just don’t think we were ready to play,” Wittman said. “We take shortcuts. When you take shortcuts, you can’t become a good team. We take shortcuts all the time. It cost us too many games. We’re not a disciplined team.”

Why are we still hearing this. Year after year. All the bad eggs players are gone. Does the team not have a HC ?

Seems that everyone is not accountable and Randy is afraid of disciplining Wall.

[Illmatic21]

This may be an unpopular opinion to some, but IMO Nene is one of the 'bad egg' players on the roster. I'm not blaming him for this loss obviously, but I think it's damaging to the culture of a team when one of your vets and de facto leaders (and the highest paid player on the team) is inconsistent healthwise, and when he does play he checks out mentally as he pleases. Nene takes no criticism for his up-and-down play because all he has to do is say "I just trying to give it my all, but my foot hurt BAD man"

I want to make it clear that I am not *blaming* Nene for getting injured. But the reality is that he just isn't healthy as much as we need him to be. How are you going to lead by example when you're missing games and team practices every other week? I can't think of any team that's been successful with one of their core players being so inconsistent. Maybe Dwyane Wade with the Heat, but the Heat aren't a young team that rely solely on his leadership.

Even if Wittman is trying to discipline Wall and the other younger guys, everything he is saying is undermined when one of the team leaders isn't always present, and seems to be more interested in doing his own thing. And Gortat just got here, so we can't count on him to fully assert himself in the leadership department. Plus he seems like more of a laidback non-confrontational type anyways.


Nene is a very talented player, but I think it's obvious that the role this team needs him to play is more than he can provide at this stage in his career. We need a consistent, veteran leader who knows his way around the league, but is young enough that he still has something to play for. Basically, we need someone like Al Horford.


Is there any doubt that if we could somehow swap Nene + Wittman for Horford + Budenholzer, this team would win 50+ games?

[closg00]

Not only did they not have Gortat or even Ves on the in bound pass, they had NO ONE covering the in bound pass. They gave them a completely clean look with no pressure at all on the in bound passer. That's why he could tread the needle so perfectly on that pass. He had not on in front of him. Not long armed Gortat to change the trajectory. To arms waving. No one jumping up and down to block his sight. He just stood there as calm as could be eying Horford and lofted it in perfectly.

Atlanta used Pero Antic 6-11 probably figuring there is no way Randy doesn't put Gortat or long armed Trevor A or Ves on the in bound passer.

Randy is so smart. He fooled them. Instead he left the in bound passer uncovered and tired to cover the floor with Wall, Temple, Webster, Trevor A, Booker.. tallest player.. 6-8 and that's the player that was beat in the post by a hot shooting 6-10 Horford. 6-11 Antic unabstracted in bound to 6-10 Horford for the bunny. And Booker was in position. He just wasn't tall enough. The pass went just out of his reach to Horford and then he recovered and jumped where Horford against got it off just over Booker's reach.

Any pressure at all from Gortat on the in bound and Ves in the post could have early changed the outcome.

Maybe something like those two with Trevor A, Glen on the perimeter and Singleton 6-9 helping slow Millsap 6-8 253 down from getting near the post. I would have rather seen Korver chucking a catch and shoot 3 from 25 feet over the outstretched hands of Trevor A then 6-10 Horford 32 pts for the 7 foot bunny over a 6-8 Booker. But maybe that's just makes obvious sense to me.

That play was a Randy fail on so many levels. And Wall really needs to get it together. Can't wait for Nene and Beal to return. We need more talent out there to overcome Wall and Randy brain farts.

A HS coach would have known better

[tontoz]

Is there any doubt that if we could somehow swap Nene + Wittman for Horford + Budenholzer, this team would win 50+ games?

Yes. That trade wouldn't address this teams lack of depth which is this team's biggest weakness.

[Mickstix]

I didn't get a sense that they froze up. What I saw was that, once we got a lead, Wall felt compelled to dribble 10 seconds off the shot clock before getting into our offensive sets. When that happens, other teams pack the lane because they know there's less time for us to drive-kick-and swing the ball to find an open shooter.

We need to stop even trying to milk the shot clock unless we're up by 7 or more points. Just run our offensive sets like it's any other time in the game.

I agree on the last possession.. I was referring to with a minute + to go. They had multiple chances to either extend their lead, hold off the opp and/or win the game on the final possession, but failed miserably at all of it..

I just hope the "bench" didn't get set back and lose all their confidence, cause that was a chance to take a step last night, had they pulled off that comeback..