keynote wrote:Watched the game on delay.
1) Nice to see the Wizards rally and recover after a bad first half on the road.
2) If memory serves, this is Oubre's first very good game since his concussion. Hopefully we'll see more of this going forward.
3) Beal's D was bad, but as others have pointed out, the Bucks only started targeting him after he rolled is ankle. Now, for the life of me, I don't know why Beal doesn't wear the heavy-duty ankle braces that Curry wears. It's obvious that tape alone isn't getting it done. Still, I was glad to see him walk it off and continue to contribute -- although he was diminished on the defensive end, he still made some critical plays down the stretch and ended up leading the team in points.
4) McClellan looked frisky. but let's not anoint him Jamal Crawford 2.0 just yet. I want him to do well, but I'm curious how he'll react once teams start putting together a scouting report on him.
5) Burke is, sadly, a dumpster fire. He simply doesn't have the physical tools to be a viable player in the NBA. What's more, he displays zero evidence of having a Napoleonic complex -- which is essential for undersized guards in the NBA. He's not a bulldog pest on defense; he's not spoiling for a fight like, say, a JJ Barea. He hasn't hit the gym to add extra mass, either. He doesn't play with the desperation that other undersized guys play with -- the guys who know that every minute they get on the court is a minute they've stolen from some 6'3"+ guard who isn't working/playing as hard as they are.
His skills should translate quite nicely to Europe. Hopefully he's a foodie and/or open to new adventures and challenges.
6) Our bench as currently constituted is never going to be a weapon. At this point, all I ask is for two bench players to play passable basketball. Tonight, that was Oubre and McClellan. On Tuesday, that can be Smith and Oubre. But it's really tough to win games when the bench unit can't even muster up the effort/skills to do that.
7) Nicholson makes Monroe look like Anthony Davis, athletically-speaking. It's telling that Brooks didn't even try to put Uncle Denzel on Monroe tonight, after Monroe put a hurting on him in a previous game.
Great post.
Totally agree on Burke. He simply cannot play the PG position at an acceptable level. Removing Thornton from the rotation hurts Burke in the fact that he has to bring the ball up and get his team into their offensive sets and he struggles mightily to do so. Of course, Burke & Thornton in the backcourt together was killing us defensively so something had to give. But its apparent a move will have to made there. I don't think Sato is a realistic answer because his inability to shoot won't fit well with McClellan who's more of a slasher.
Nicholson may be the worst free agent signing of him all. I literally see no hope there. I don't think there's a more unathletic player in the entire league. Watching him against Minnesota he was moving around like he had cement blocks as shoes. I remember watching him in college and being impressed with his skill level but he moved a lot faster at St. Bonaventure. He reminds me of Hasheem Thabeet in terms of the way he moves and that's scary considering Nicholson is only 6-9 240 at best. It seems to me Nicholson has gained weight since he's gotten to the NBA b/c he was regarded as a tweener coming out of college. He may need to lose weight to become a bit more mobile. I don't see how he's even playable at any position right now.
