.

[dreighver]

.

[Deivy202]

I agree. Like it or not folks wall and beal are overrated. There good players who needa lear. I really want melo or durant or xousinst we needa establisj or sign an elite player if we wanna go far.

[Illmatic12]

^ What??


OP I don't know what you were expecting, did you have some vision that Wittman, Wall and Beal were arising to lead us into the promised land? We're in the same situation as a lot of other teams, we have young talent but need a superstar to get to the next level. I don't think you'll find one person on here who thought Wall/Beal would ever be enough to win a championship.

The good thing is that Wall/Beal could eventually be as good a #2/#3 as there is in the league, which could potentially make us more attractive to that missing superstar piece. And regardless of the results of these playoffs, that's still the case. Wall is still 23, Beal is still 20. Both might be All-Stars next year.

I don't really care about Gortat or Nene or anyone else. They aren't gonna be on this team 5 years from now. The most important key to this franchise is developing Wall and Beal, and that's what we're seeing. Wall developed a lot during the regular season (though sucked in the playoffs so we'll see how he bounces back from that) and Beal has shown a LOT in the playoffs. I'm shocked by how well he's played.

The #1 problem to me is Randy Wittman, he is mishandling Wall and Beal like he was doing to Kevin Love before Minnesota thankfully got him out of there. He is NOT the right coach to get this team to the next level.

[FAH1223]

Can anyone teach Wall how to cut to the basket when he doesn't have the ball?

And why don't we also talk about Grundfeld who will keep this cast together and use all the cap space on role players

Wall doesn't have that killer instinct and I don't think he'll get it as he gets older.

It's too soon to say about Beal. I think he may well become an ice cold clutch player.

[jeffsays]

The only reason anyone should be disappointed with the way this team has played is if they had some sort of expectation to begin with. This team is not a championship team, they are multiple pieces away. One of those pieces happens to be a head coach. Sorry guys, it's tough being a DC sports fan, but we have to accept what we have and the product that is out on that court. Grunfield shouldn't be heralded as a great GM and Wittman shouldn't be viewed as a successful coach. Poor management will continue to yield what we have seen over the last 10 years. A team that can't get it done.

/rant.

[Higga]

I don't think toughness is the issue. I mean we rallied from double digits to win both games in Chicago. The problem is consistency and basketball IQ. We go through too many stretches where we don't score and we waste too many possessions. Against the Bulls it wasn't an issue because they can't score but a team like the Pacers can make you pay if you don't value every possession like it's the last possession in Game 7 of the Finals.

[Dat2U]

We are what our record says we are. 44-38. Good enough to beat a hard-working team with limited talent like the Bulls, not good enough to beat a struggling #1 seed that's battling with their own inconsistencies. Miami can exploit the weaknesses in Indiana that we cannot.

[nate33]

I don't think toughness is the issue. I mean we rallied from double digits to win both games in Chicago. The problem is consistency and basketball IQ. We go through too many stretches where we don't score and we waste too many possessions. Against the Bulls it wasn't an issue because they can't score but a team like the Pacers can make you pay if you don't value every possession like it's the last possession in Game 7 of the Finals.

Exactly.

The OP's opinion is completely wrong. The Wizards didn't lose for lack of effort. They lost because of lack of execution. They don't have a closer and it doesn't look like Wall will ever be that guy.

Beal made great strides toward being a closer though. I'm more excited about Beal now than I have been all season. He was the best story of the Wizards' playoffs IMO. I feel much more comfortable projecting him to be a top 3ish SG in the league whereas before the playoffs, I wasn't sure if he'd ever break the top 10.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

The only reason anyone should be disappointed with the way this team has played is if they had some sort of expectation to begin with.

This.

Wall and Beal are only overrated if you view them as two of the best players in the league who will usher in a golden era of Wizards basketball. So Charles Barkley probably overrates them. But you've got people here who think Wall's contract is ridiculous and others who take shots at he and Beal often.

They overachieved this year, plain and simple. I'm grateful they did it, but I'm also a realist.

[fishercob]

Drivel.

[dandridge 10]

Drivel.

+1. I can't believe people are calling Wall and Beal overrated and making predictions about the type of closers they will become when they are 23 and 20 years old respectively and they just had their first taste of the playoffs. Geez, I am disappointed with Wall's play too, but he is still very young and there is still A LOT of room and time for growth. Same with Beal.

I recall many people talking about how passive LeBron was in his first playoffs and that he wasn't a closer? Heck, Jordan got the same criticism as well. Look at how that turned out.

I'm not saying that either Wall or Beal will ever be as good as LeBron or Jordan. I am only saying that they are very young and not finished products. I have no problem with people criticizing their play, but calling them overrated and opining that they will never be a particular type of player??? Ridiculous.

[Higga]

And lets be real: the NBA is a wait your turn league. Nobody wins it all their first time(except Magic Johnson but he's just on a whole other level). Remember how bad Lebron was at times in the playoffs early in his career? Jordan lost regularly too and people criticized him and said he'd never win a ring with his style of play.

We needed this experience this year. Get to the playoffs, get a taste of winning, but get a taste of losing too. In the NBA you gotta get to the playoffs and lose, sometimes lose a lot, before you really learn how to win.

[dreighver]

.

[Wizardspride]

I don't think toughness is the issue. I mean we rallied from double digits to win both games in Chicago. The problem is consistency and basketball IQ. We go through too many stretches where we don't score and we waste too many possessions. Against the Bulls it wasn't an issue because they can't score but a team like the Pacers can make you pay if you don't value every possession like it's the last possession in Game 7 of the Finals.

Exactly.

The OP's opinion is completely wrong. The Wizards didn't lose for lack of effort. They lost because of lack of execution. They don't have a closer and it doesn't look like Wall will ever be that guy.

Ultimately, you may be right but I think it's a little premature to come to that conclusion about a 23 year old.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

By the logic of this thread the Pacers are also horribly overrated and need to 1.) grow up and 2.) get a coach.
(Ironically, not many may disagree with that....)

They were about as mentally weak and devoid of killer instinct as you can be tonight.

[J-Ves]

I would rank this teams top needs as:
1. A guy who is willing to drive to rim more often then jacking up a long two.
2. A PF with 3 point range. Wall is great at getting his teammates good looks from range, no reason to limit that to a Nene 17 footer.

This team has heart, they just lack offensive consistency.

[daSwami]

A lack of intelligence isn't an indictment of a poster's character, nor is it a shot at how smart he isn't. Rather, it's simply an observation.