GT 34: Wiz at NO January 5th 8pm

[dobrojim]

compare contrast projected 24 yo OP vs Batum/JeffGreen/Prince/Pippen. Floor/ceiling? Maybe we should move this to the OP thread.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Also Porter had a very successful trip, he has a knack for getting hands on balls whether rebounds, blocks, steals, poke aways, etc. He also has showed scoring versatility this season while being pretty darn efficient. Yes he can be more aggressive, but he doesn't have that luxury on this team.

Good thing. They are going to really need him.

That was a really big win for them. They really needed that one. People might think in hind sight, oh, that was only NO but had they lost it would have been 4 in a row. They get one more easier game and then..

Jan 9 CHI ESPN
Jan 11 @ ATL
Jan 13 SAS
Jan 14 @ CHI

So that NO win was actually a HUGE win. Specially since they found their defense again and they will need that to go against to 3 teams.

If they can split those games above, they will be in good shape for this far along in the season with the team still having more upside. Those West coast trip was the warm up act to these game which are really the more important games. 3 are for their Eastern Conference standing. If they can win all 3 against CHI and ATL then

That the potential of what can happen and if it does, they will be top 2-3 in the conference depending on what TOR does

What a brutal schedule they have had recently. Those 4 teams plus they just had HOU, SAS, DAL and OKC

If they are 28-12 after that 2nd CHI game having won two against those though teams, they will be looking very solid. .700%

Yep, hands, NO was a big win.

It is important leading up to the games from 9-14 January that the Wizards be emotionally and psychologically healthy. Hopefully, with positive energy and a lot of guys contributing is how the Wizards will go into these tough games. Veterans have been mostly sharp and young guys like Otto are starting to step up. I talk about him badly, however, Kevin Seraphin IS BRINGING POSITIVE ENERGY. So what about his execution? It's the veterans like Nene who close the deal.

I think the Wizards will do well against the power teams. Well being they'll play to their potential in terms of talent and proficiency.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

For all the Ariza bashers: Trevor is ahead of Pierce and among the league leaders in NBA Real Plus Minus

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm

Wall is #9, but no other Wizard is in the top 40.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_ ... position/5

Actually this has Paul over TA. TA is a better defender. I hope so. He is just a bit younger. Lets see how Otto can climb the charts. He is 34th for SFs Otto has some big shows to fill over the next 2 years. If he can get up into the 20-25 range that would be good progress for this year.

Use the RPM. The WAR is factoring in mins and games played. Paul doesn't log as many minutes a TA does.

Using RPM, KD is already 6th and if you change the year you can see where he will likely end up before long. That SF isn't accurate to how it will look by the end of the year. KD and Lebron will likely end up 1 and 2. Draymond Green was 3rd even last year. He will stay top 5. Kawhi Leonard will be in there.

Paul was a total steal at 5M and only a 2 year contract. And as he steps down, Otto should be stepping up. Two year tutoring program from The Truth is a pretty smart player development plan.

Thanks, hands, for catching my mistake and posting +/- by position. You have enlightened me and added positively to this wonderful forum of discussion..

--I take from the SF ratings that both Pierce and Ariza are helping their respective teams a whole lot.
--YES, let's see how Otto climbs the charts.

Young Otto Porter is being mentored by one of the greats to ever play the game in Paul Pierce. Otto has little to no pressure to produce.

FINALLY, the Wizards are developing talent the right way. As the great Paul Pierce steps down to retire (and you know this is his final stop), Otto Porter will step up and inspire.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Real strong stat line from Otto Porter in just 20 minutes: 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks

Another thing people need to realize about Otto, he could be scoring a lot more too but Butler chucks like Nick Young whenever he's in with the second unit. He doesn't even look to pass.

Realistically Otto could be giving us ~10pts a night right now. Which is why I've been saying we need to gradually phase out Butler's role for Porter, who can score but also plays a team game and contributes in other ways.

Agreed about Butler. He's not playing well any more. Not much of a defender. Not a transition finisher. Not a facilitator at all. Struggling to make anything off the bounce. And his shot isn't falling any more. His performances in the last six games have ranged from poor to invisible. It's time to start dialing his minutes back in favor of Porter. And if Webster is to displace anyone in the line up, it should be Butler. We've gotten our money's worth out of the guy. At this point, the only thing keeping him in the line up is we don't have another actual SG on the roster aside from Beal and Butler bears the closest resemblance to one.

Porter's offensive versatility is pretty superior to both Butler and Webster. The way he scored last night was impressive. Hit shots on the move against good defense. That plus his superior rebounding, vastly superior defense, and superior playmaking ability PLUS the fact Pierce is only about a 26 to 27 MPG player means Otto should be getting well over 20 minutes a night.

A three ball is literally the only thing holding Otto back from being a much larger part of our team.

That's also the only thing holding Wall's scoring averages down too. If he were automatic on open threes he'd average 20 a game easily.

Man, y'all need to quit hatin' on Rasual Butler.

No way. Crazy. No no.




TAKING A (HOPEFULLY) OBJECTIVE LOOK AT RASUAL BUTLER'S RECENT PERFORMANCE ...

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1767/rasual-butler

Looking at the link above, Rasual's season splits ... He's shooting .354FG over the last ten games. Yes, he's slumping.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_ ... ual-butler

Illimatic12, per game logs (above link) Rasual is shooting the same amount or slightly less than he has all season. He's taking the open shot. Look at his FGAs and justify your statement about him chucking. They LOVE Nick Young in LAL fan land, and I love the way Rasual Butler has swag as well. A lot of the shots go in, particularly the big shots.

stevemcqueen1, how in the world can you say we've gotten our money's worth out of a guy who's arguably provided the hugest bang for the buck of anyone in the NBA? To my way of thinking, trade Webster and Seraphin for Larry Sanders BECAUSE you know Rasual Butler can play.

I think it comes down to personal preference and attachments and favorites. I like Martell Webster a bunch. Health and contract? Errr, I don't like Martell's availability and long range prospects. Plus, he's gotten paid. I wonder how much better is he than Rasual Butler?

I view Rasual Butler to be a standard bearer. https://www.google.com/search?q=standar ... annel=fflb

He will take (and often make) the big shot. He will rush in to break up a fight (he must have dragged Quincy Acy back about 35 feet). THAT RASUAL TAKES SHOTS is just as important some times than he makes them.

Rasual Butler is HUNGRY and passionate about playing in the NBA. How many veterans play a year in the D-League then COME BACK TO THE NBA??? That's dedication and a hunger to be in the league.

No way in hell is he through, stevemcqueen1.

Just like Trevor Ariza, he's in a shooting slump.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

How about NENE taking Davis to town a few times! hahahah

That is awesome!

WWTD, them dudes on the other team don't want none of Nene. You can tell.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Real strong stat line from Otto Porter in just 20 minutes: 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks

Another thing people need to realize about Otto, he could be scoring a lot more too but Butler chucks like Nick Young whenever he's in with the second unit. He doesn't even look to pass.

Realistically Otto could be giving us ~10pts a night right now. Which is why I've been saying we need to gradually phase out Butler's role for Porter, who can score but also plays a team game and contributes in other ways.

It doesn't really have to be an either/or thing. The way I see it, there are about 20-24 minutes at backup SF behind Pierce. I'd like Otto to get all those minutes. There are another 12-16 minutes at backup SG behind Beal. Those minutes can go to either Butler or Webster. I'd like to see us platoon those guys on a game-by-game basis.

Butler is no spring chicken. At age 35, he probably wasn't planning on playing 26 minutes a night (which is what he has averaged over the last 20 games). My guess is that he's a little dinged up and could use a few days off. At the same time, Webster is rusty and still playing himself into game shape. It might not be ideal to thrust him into a full time workload yet either. The solution is obvious. Play Webster for a game or two and give Butler a few days off. Then switch. If they both guys start clicking, then we consider trying to use both of them. We make room by shifting Pierce to stretch four.

Butler wants the guaranteed deal (if he already hasn't made the deadline). Dude played in the NBDL. He's living the NBA dream. A few games off would do him right, if they want to do that.

I love the idea of working Martell back in for a lot of reasons. One, gets him in game shape. Two, let's us see if he's got more to offer than Butler. Three, he's under contract and they're paying him a lot. Four, the better he plays the more other teams are going to notice and the higher his potential trade value.

nate's idea of playing Porter, regardless, and sort of toggle switching time from Webster to Butler and vice versa to me is brilliant.

[Hypnotizer]

I don't know ask NENE, btw it's hard to make something in microsoft paint like this so appreciate it!!!! LOL

I do! And I await your version of 3 leaders: Ted, Ernie and Randy.

[WallWithTheDime]

I don't know ask NENE, btw it's hard to make something in microsoft paint like this so appreciate it!!!! LOL

I do! And I await your version of 3 leaders: Ted, Ernie and Randy.

Thanks for the idea, I'll do them next , btw should I make a game thread with other teams made in paint Lmfao

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Good win. Controlled the game like we really should have against a team we needed to beat.

I'm thinking the magic might be gone with Butler. He's really struggled the past several games. At this point, there's not really a reason to play him over Porter.

2-3 on the road trip. Not as awful as it could have been. Also not as good as it could
have been. We're not there yet as a team but we're not that far off either. 4-1 was within
reach but they're just not that good right now.

Loved OP last night. Nene too.

2-3 on this trip is terrific in my eyes. They were significant underdogs in 4 of the 5, and were solid underdogs in the 5th (against New Orleans). To get 2 is really good.

This is the happiest I've been in my adult years with the Bullets/Wizards, and I've been an adult 35 years.

This team is more solid than the Gilbert Arenas teams. It has a balance of big men and smaller. It is a defensive team with a legitimate expectation of being solid in the playoffs. This isn't a big three or one-man virtuoso team.

The Webber/Strickland/Howard teams couldn't withstand wild parties, weed, and old fogey ownerships. Every now and then a hot dog would induce a player to vomit on the court. Same player didn't like to be called a f - g g - t. Not quite the cohesive team as this one, even if they did have one very talented player in CWebb.

Two wins on that trip was good and I'm loving this team.

(The Fat Lady sang 36 years ago IIRC)

[WallWithTheDime]

The BIG 3!!!!!!!!




BTW if you didn't know

Left:Grunfeld
Middle:Ted
Right:Wittman

[AFM]

You got Ted's traffic cone complexion down perfectly. Bravo.