GT #47: Wizards @ Mavericks 8:30 PM (NBCSW/1500 AM)

[FAH1223]

YOUR Washington Bullets ARE 26-20!

After a 45 point 3rd quarter and a W @ Detroit, the Wiz head down to Dallas for some Monday night hoops. The Wiz have lost something like the last 13 of 14 meetings vs. the Mavs. It's going to be an uphill battle because Rick Carlisle regularly outcoaches Scott Brooks and the Mavs have some quick guards that will blow by Wall and Beal into the paint.

I'm envisioning a similar game to the one where the Mavs beat the Wiz in DC. Will this be another L vs. a sub .500 team? All the signs point to yes. The Wizards also haven't held an opponent under 100 points in over a month.





-------------------------VS-------------------------




LAST GAME:
Wizards @ Pistons - 122-112 (W)
Mavericks @ Blazers - 108-117 (L)

Lineups:











Bench:

[FAH1223]

Some reading about the Wizards "players only meeting"

Read on Twitter

For his part, Beal is done with the talking.

“We just need to win ballgames,” he said. “Like I told the guys, it doesn’t matter how many meetings we have. We can have a meeting after every game, but if we’re not mentally prepared for each game, we’re going to lose again.”

Wall holds a similar opinion. Players already had a chance to speak their minds, he said. And if games like the Charlotte loss happen again, then 14 guys sitting in a locker room will not be able to fix it. Wall extended his index finger to the ceiling and suggested the issue would have to be promoted to a higher power.

“Upstairs,” Wall said. “Front office got to figure it out.”

#FIREGRUNFELD

[nate33]

“Upstairs,” Wall said. “Front office got to figure it out.”

That's a strange statement. My first reaction is to be angry with Wall. You are the leader of the team. YOU have to figure it out.

Maybe there are some issues that Wall (and/or the coaching staff) really can't control, but I'm struggling to think of what they could be. If a player isn't playing hard, or isn't following the game plan, then it should be the coach to deal with it by benching the player. What in the world could be so screwed up that it needs input from management? Does somebody have a drinking problem or a drug problem? Is somebody screwing somebody's girlfriend?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

We'll see how this game turns out.

[trast66]

“Upstairs,” Wall said. “Front office got to figure it out.”

That's a strange statement. My first reaction is to be angry with Wall. You are the leader of the team. YOU have to figure it out.

Maybe there are some issues that Wall (and/or the coaching staff) really can't control, but I'm struggling to think of what they could be. If a player isn't playing hard, or isn't following the game plan, then it should be the coach to deal with it by benching the player. What in the world could be so screwed up that it needs input from management? Does somebody have a drinking problem or a drug problem? Is somebody screwing somebody's girlfriend?

Wow, that's very interesting quote from Wall. Sort of confirms my gut feeling something strange going on off the court.

Or it could just be John's way of saying the front office has fostered a toxic culture with zero accountability.

[NatP4]

“Upstairs,” Wall said. “Front office got to figure it out.”

That's a strange statement. My first reaction is to be angry with Wall. You are the leader of the team. YOU have to figure it out.

Maybe there are some issues that Wall (and/or the coaching staff) really can't control, but I'm struggling to think of what they could be. If a player isn't playing hard, or isn't following the game plan, then it should be the coach to deal with it by benching the player. What in the world could be so screwed up that it needs input from management? Does somebody have a drinking problem or a drug problem? Is somebody screwing somebody's girlfriend?

Wow, that's very interesting quote from Wall. Sort of confirms my gut feeling something strange going on off the court.

Or it could just be John's way of saying the front office has fostered a toxic culture with zero accountability.

Does Wall really know what is wrong with the team anyways? the quotes make it seem like the leadership of the team is trying to deflect or hush all criticism of themselves. Wall has some extremely questionable comments about Otto in the offseason and Morris as well. This guys is on record claiming that we should pick Anthony Bennet.

like, what makes anyone think a players only meeting would go well with this team anyways? what makes you think Wall would accept some criticism(in a year where he hasn't been very good) and put it on himself to help turn things around instead of making a horrendous cryptic comment after the meeting to the media? I mean seriously "upstairs, front office gotta figure it out" yikes

[Dat2U]

“Upstairs,” Wall said. “Front office got to figure it out.”

That's a strange statement. My first reaction is to be angry with Wall. You are the leader of the team. YOU have to figure it out.

Maybe there are some issues that Wall (and/or the coaching staff) really can't control, but I'm struggling to think of what they could be. If a player isn't playing hard, or isn't following the game plan, then it should be the coach to deal with it by benching the player. What in the world could be so screwed up that it needs input from management? Does somebody have a drinking problem or a drug problem? Is somebody screwing somebody's girlfriend?

I think its Wall being his typically blunt self and basically stating Ernie needs to make a trade if they can't figure it out on the court.

[nuposse04]

I have a feeling Gortat is the unhappy camper in this whole saga. The scorn should REALLY be directed at Morris, Meeks and Ian.. Gortat to some extent cause of how bad he has become on defense but he isn't what is really holding us back I'd say. Either way, Grunfeld cannot be allowed to "fix" the problems he has created. Leonsis has to eventually get a **** clue. That or we just have to wait until either Grunfeld or Ted croak.

As to the game itself, if we actually win AT dallas against Carlisle... might be the impressive thing we have done all season.

[FAH1223]

I have a feeling Gortat is the unhappy camper in this whole saga. The scorn should REALLY be directed at Morris, Meeks and Ian.. Gortat to some extent cause of how bad he has become on defense but he isn't what is really holding us back I'd say. Either way, Grunfeld cannot be allowed to "fix" the problems he has created. Leonsis has to eventually get a **** clue. That or we just have to wait until either Grunfeld or Ted croak.

As to the game itself, if we actually win AT dallas against Carlisle... might be the impressive thing we have done all season.

Yeah, I feel the same way. It's predictable too because of the small ball lineups and Gortat in the past getting grumpy when he wouldn't play in 4th quarters

[dangermouse]

Concur re: Gortat situation.

His play has definitely dipped of late, and he is slowly playing less minutes per game (with the odd 30 min game here and there) but he used to get consistent 30+ minutes a game as recently as November, December.

That coinciding precisely with his "I'd like to retire next year and finish my career in Orlando" comments...

There's trouble in the locker room for sure, and im not saying he is the cause of the situation or even the guy most at fault for not giving effort on the team. He's our best front court player even when he is off. But whatever it is, it likely revolves around his name, whether its his own doing or if he has grown tired of the play of others or even the front office.

Basically nothing but speculation but, "there's smoke" etc.

[dlts20]

So was the meeting before or after the Detroit game? If before then I'm not worried because we played well in Detroit. If after then why have a meeting after a win?

[Shanghai Kid]

So was the meeting before or after the Detroit game? If before then I'm not worried because we played well in Detroit. If after then why have a meeting after a win?

It was before the Detroit game.

[nate33]

I figured I'd repost my commentary at the end of the Detroit game thread where it belongs, here:

Rick Carlisle is our daddy. There is no way we can beat him. He understands everything we're trying to do and he counters it despite inferior talent. Some nobody like J.J. Barea is going to score 24 points on 9-11 shooting, while someone like Dwight Powell will get 16 points and 16 boards.

It happens every time. The team shouldn't even bother playing.

Um... Go Wizards?

[dlts20]

So was the meeting before or after the Detroit game? If before then I'm not worried because we played well in Detroit. If after then why have a meeting after a win?

It was before the Detroit game.

Then why go public after? I just don't get that from our backcourt. I was actually getting excited when you said before because a lot of times something great comes out of weird things. Like I could see us going on a great run heading into the playoffs and they ask Wall what was the turning point. Then he discloses that an unproductive team meeting from 2 months ago brought us together.

I just don't get why you say it immediately after the next game especially when the team is coming off of one of its best games in a long time

[Shanghai Kid]

So was the meeting before or after the Detroit game? If before then I'm not worried because we played well in Detroit. If after then why have a meeting after a win?

It was before the Detroit game.

Then why go public after? I just don't get that from our backcourt. I was actually getting excited when you said before because a lot of times something great comes out of weird things. Like I could see us going on a great run heading into the playoffs and they ask Wall what was the turning point. Then he discloses that an unproductive team meeting from 2 months ago brought us together.

I just don't get why you say it immediately after the next game especially when the team is coming off of one of its best games in a long time

I saw the interview, Wall brought it up completely out the blue. I can't figure out why either. It was almost like opening up a new can of worms by turning the Wiz into a "team in turmoil with locker room issues"

This season has been one silly development after another.

[dlts20]

It was before the Detroit game.

Then why go public after? I just don't get that from our backcourt. I was actually getting excited when you said before because a lot of times something great comes out of weird things. Like I could see us going on a great run heading into the playoffs and they ask Wall what was the turning point. Then he discloses that an unproductive team meeting from 2 months ago brought us together.

I just don't get why you say it immediately after the next game especially when the team is coming off of one of its best games in a long time

I saw the interview, Wall brought it up completely out the blue. I can't figure out why either. It was almost like opening up a new can of worms by turning the Wiz into a "team in turmoil with locker room issues"

This season has been one silly development after another.

It bothers me because literally every player was smiling, celebrating, and happy for each other in Detroit so even if the meeting went bad, winning cures all. Whoever had a problem in the meeting was still happy and celebrating in Detroit. People get upset all the time but playing well and winning can change that players outlook so why say it after everyone was in a good place? Smh

[FAH1223]

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[nate33]

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It's a telling stat, but not quite as bad as it looks. Minutes played matters. Scott is shooting more pullups per minute than Oubre or Morris. (Though to be fair, he and Morris shoot roughly the same number of pullup jumpers per minute, when, in reality, Morris shouldn't really be shooting pullup jumpers at all.)

The real travesty is John Wall taking 263 pullup jumpers at .331 percent. That's horrific.

Oubre shooting .513 on pullups is fantastic. He's actually outshooting Porter (albeit on fewer attempts).

[zero2hero]

“Upstairs,” Wall said. “Front office got to figure it out.”

That's a strange statement. My first reaction is to be angry with Wall. You are the leader of the team. YOU have to figure it out.

Maybe there are some issues that Wall (and/or the coaching staff) really can't control, but I'm struggling to think of what they could be. If a player isn't playing hard, or isn't following the game plan, then it should be the coach to deal with it by benching the player. What in the world could be so screwed up that it needs input from management? Does somebody have a drinking problem or a drug problem? Is somebody screwing somebody's girlfriend?

I mean, the first thing I thought of was Mahinmi. Wall has to play with/watch that trash every single night, and I have a feeling Scotty is being "forced" to play him even with better options.

[nate33]

“Upstairs,” Wall said. “Front office got to figure it out.”

That's a strange statement. My first reaction is to be angry with Wall. You are the leader of the team. YOU have to figure it out.

Maybe there are some issues that Wall (and/or the coaching staff) really can't control, but I'm struggling to think of what they could be. If a player isn't playing hard, or isn't following the game plan, then it should be the coach to deal with it by benching the player. What in the world could be so screwed up that it needs input from management? Does somebody have a drinking problem or a drug problem? Is somebody screwing somebody's girlfriend?

I mean, the first thing I thought of was Mahinmi. Wall has to play with/watch that trash every single night, and I have a feeling Scotty is being "forced" to play him even with better options.

I didn't take the comment to mean that Wall didn't think there was enough talent around them. If that's the case, than they need to stop with this false sense of bravado that they're the team to beat in the East and even Cleveland is afraid of them.

Which is it? Are you contenders like you say you are, or are you a mid-level team in dire need of a talent infusion. You can't have it both ways.