Who would you rather play? Indy or Atlanta? Why?

[daSwami]

My vote: "other." Shouldn't we be thinking ahead to Miami at this point?

[dobrojim]

I hope we face ATL. Just take a look at the regular season:
- 3-1 vs Hawks
- 1-2 vs Pacers.
IND has big guys and we had trouble against them.

And we still have time to beat really big team in the EC finals if MIA advances.

Thing about those records is we played IND and lost when they were playing
great ball, as good as any team in the entire league. We beat them handily
later in the season (at our place) when they were in the depths of suckitude.
Which IND team will we play? It appears they're more frequently the sucky
version than the really outstanding one.

All that said, I'd still rather play ATL.

[dobrojim]

Wiz starters shooting % vs ATL and vs IND:

Wall
FG%: 41,8% vs 34,0%
3P%: 45,0% vs 20,0%

Beal
FG%: 38,7% vs 25,8%
3P%: 40,0% vs 57,1%

Ariza
FG%: 62,9% vs 30,6%
3P%: 66,7% vs 25,0%

Nene
FG%: 33,3 vs 40,0%

Gortat
FG%: 61,0% vs 45,7%

misleading for the same reasons I just posted above

[FAH1223]

Season series vs. Indiana = 1-2
http://www.nba.com/games/20131129/WASIND/gameinfo.html

http://www.nba.com/games/20140110/WASIND/gameinfo.html

http://www.nba.com/games/20140328/INDWAS/gameinfo.html



Season series vs. ATL Hawks = 3-1

http://www.nba.com/games/20131130/ATLWAS/gameinfo.html

http://www.nba.com/games/20131213/WASATL/gameinfo.html

http://www.nba.com/games/20140219/WASATL/gameinfo.html

http://www.nba.com/games/20140329/ATLWAS/gameinfo.html

[doclinkin]

I want either. Or both. Let's take 'em all on. There are strengths and weaknesses (ours/theirs) to be exploited either way. BUt mostly remember we're not expected to win, up to now. Either of Indy or the Hawks will surely prove a nasty out if we prevail. We tend to play to the level of our competition, so being in the position of overdog is a disadvantage for this squad.

To me the point is in this taste of the postseason is what helps us most in the long run; what lessons can the youth of the team learn that can be applied in future seasons.

HAWKS:
Deep in scrappy role-players, ranged to spread us thin, and with one of those slippery-quick guards that John struggles to deter much less neutralize. Worse, here is where the coaching mismatch may come into play. Thibbs was notably unflexible in his gamesmanship, a grinder more than a 'feel' guy -- but to be fair had limited options on the bench. But Chase Buddinger -- I mean Benedict Cumberbatch, sorry, is one of those Spurs offshoots who understands in-game adjustments, and has just enough of the personnel to tweak and play with lines to find what works best. The attack is spread around, not one-headed like the Bulls' (which amounted to "DJ, pitch it up and let Taj go get it"). Our squad will be tested trying to challenge everything. And you know, there's at least one of their players with some revenge stored up for Ernie's team.

BUT. If we were to prevail, due to our size and muscle vs their more Euro-style front line, and some of the lessons we learned from defending similar speedguard Augustine --then the lessons learned from learning to defend a long range catapult like Antic would come in handy in the next round against Bosh (if the Heat prevailed).



INDY:
The range and mobility Nene showed in the Bulls series may still work to our advantage. HIbbert is nowhere near as mobile as Noah, so on sets where Big Hibba is forced to chase out of the paint, Wall can get loose on attacks to the interior or Nene can play that pick and pop game. Yes he's a load for Gortat to handle when he's defensively alert and active, but we are not reliant solely on interior attack to get our points.

The anointed Paul George, savior and next supadupastar is a good player, and is effective on defense, but we have no particular ALLstar at that position for him to shut down, and in those cases occasionally he does lose focus. Plus he is sued to being the focal point attacker and I suspect Ariza/Wall will blanket passing lanes and make it tougher for him to get the ball, make him work for his points. Either way it would be a challenge to play them if both teams were at their best, but if both are playing well it would be that much more satisfying if we did win. And if our squad plays at their best, playing up to the level of the competition, as much as I respect Indy, I don't fear them, I give us a chance even if they were playing at their top efficiency. A chance is all you want.

A win in that case would give well-earned confidence and skill going into competition with whomever comes next. And win or lose I like what this squad would gain from that contest, a tough series would raise our profile.

No expectations, I just want to see this team test itself against the next one, and see where they can improve based on that.

[nate33]

Wiz starters shooting % vs ATL and vs IND:

Wall
FG%: 41,8% vs 34,0%
3P%: 45,0% vs 20,0%

Beal
FG%: 38,7% vs 25,8%
3P%: 40,0% vs 57,1%

Ariza
FG%: 62,9% vs 30,6%
3P%: 66,7% vs 25,0%

Nene
FG%: 33,3 vs 40,0%

Gortat
FG%: 61,0% vs 45,7%

[Hypnotizer]

Are we 1-12 at IND in our last 13 games?

[stevemcqueen1]

My vote is for Atlanta. We know for sure what we'd be getting with them. We'd get home court advantage and we've got players who are equal to or better than their guys at pretty much every single position. We beat them 3-1 during the regular season and it would have been a 4-0 sweep if not for a pretty bad brain fart leading to that easy Horford score at the buzzer.

Plus Atlanta isn't actually a very good team. They'll be one of the worst teams to ever win a playoff series if they beat Indy.

[tontoz]

Indy. Atlanta is bringing back the Pacman logo which spells doom to any unfortunate souls caught in their path.

In fact it is basically a lock that we face Atlanta now. I don't know how Indy can overcome this.

The Atlanta Hawks unveiled the club’s new secondary logo on Thursday, an evolved interpretation of the iconic and classic team mark that was used from 1972-95.

The new logo will make its worldwide debut on Thursday during the Hawks vs. Pacers First Round Game 6 contest at Philips Arena, as all fans in attendance will receive a red t-shirt featuring the logo.

While the team’s primary logo will remain unchanged, the secondary mark will appear on Hawks clothing, caps and other fan gear.

[Jay81]

i prefer Atlanta because if we lose to a 38-44 team deep in the playoffs, Ernie could be not renewed

[dobrojim]

you're dreaming Ji. What Kev said earlier. Enjoy the success and hope
against judgement it somehow continues.

[dlts20]

another reason why I want to play the Pacers is because of our guys getting pumped which is 50/50. The Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Clipps, etc are all great teams but Ive never seen our team as hyped to play as they were in the Indy games. The truly wanted that challenge to beat them and I think we will be the same way this time. No fear and really wanting to play them bad. However, the other 50 is that they quickly routed us the first 2 games.

Still, there is no way that anyone is going to convince me that Indy is so much better then us. Stephenson is good and argubaly better than Beal but he isnt alot better for sure. Wall is alot better than Hill. Hibbert is playing like asz but even at his best, he may outplay Gortat but he wont dominate him. The same for West. PG is overall better than Ariza but its like the KD-Tony Allen thing. TA would give PG fits. People are bringing up numbers from games a million years ago. Even if Indy improves, they will never be that great again, while we are playing at a 10x higher level then we were the 1st time around and we have more talent this time around too.

Beal was bad Beal then, Book sucked, Nene missed the 1st and came off the bench in the 2nd, we have JV-Singleton-Temple-KS playing big minutes. Also, why can people hold onto those 2 wins so much witout talking about the last game when we owned them? If you ask nearly anyone around the league right now, what is a more clear representation of both teams, those first 2 games or the last one, they would all say the last one. The series could just as easily go as that last game went before it goes like those first 2 went. Either way, Im up for that challenge

[Darko Miliminutes]

Winning is what matters. It's what will give the give the players confidence, especially the youngs. It's what fills the owners pocket book. It's what makes casual fans know who the heII you are. Atlanta provides the best chance at winning.

With that said, i figured playing Toronto in the 1st round was the easiest way to win the series. And that Washington didn't stand a chance against that Chicago D. So i obviously know what i'm talking about.

[payitforward]

My vote: "other." Shouldn't we be thinking ahead to Miami at this point?

Oh, now there's a good idea. Not.

[payitforward]

Don't we have home court advantage if we play Atlanta, but not if we play Indy? Somebody must have mentioned this fact....

Obviously I'd rather have home court advantage.

(And so would Ted! $$$)

[20MexicanosIn1Van]

Hoping to write about it today, but I projected odds of Wizards winning a 7-game series against Indy, Atlanta and Miami. I estimated Wiz having a 67% chance of beating Indy, 78% chance against Atlanta and 27% against the Heat. I'd rather get the Hawks next for the extra home game.

As a total aside, I read something the other day that suggested Hibbert may be suffering from lingering concussion effects after that shot he took from Lebron right after the All-Star break. Interesting theory.

I'm reeeeally curious how you came up with those numbers.

[TheBabyMaker]

Atlanta of coarse. Is this even a serious question.?? We suck vs. Indy

[dckingsfan]

Wow, 2 votes for Indy... hmmmm

[hands11]

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1282660&start=280

2013-2014 Washington Wizards Playoffs Thr
Mon Apr 28, 2014 10:39 pm by hands11

ATLANTA and Home Court



Did we just merge another thread like this. I guess this one has a poll.. LOL

[TheBigThree]

Gotta vote for the Hawks, but I'll be honest, the potential Teague/Wall matchup scares me a bit.