ImageImageImageImageImage

Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread.

Moderators: nate33, montestewart, LyricalRico

User avatar
keynote
General Manager
Posts: 9,373
And1: 2,587
Joined: May 20, 2002
Location: Acceptance
         

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#121 » by keynote » Tue Feb 4, 2020 8:18 pm

Just to get a quick sweet in with the Go-Go. He's back on varsity.
Always remember, my friend: the world will change again. And you may have to come back through everywhere you've been.
payitforward
RealGM
Posts: 21,927
And1: 7,853
Joined: May 02, 2012
Location: On the Atlantic

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#122 » by payitforward » Tue Feb 4, 2020 9:15 pm

nate33 wrote:
payitforward wrote:What would make anyone think we could play .500 ball I wonder?

We've played .500 ball over the last 14 games....

Make that the last 8 games. :)

nate33 wrote:...We also have an easier schedule remaining than our nearest competition (Chicago, Detroit and Charlotte).

Our next 7 games are all winnable. I'm not saying we win all 7, but going 4-3 or even 5-2 is very possible....

With 1 loss in the 7, it's now 4-2 or 5-1.

But... what does it matter? We all know what's going to happen.

We're going to give up 1 young player & 1 draft pick to get some useless veteran, b/c that's what Ted wants.

Whereupon we will proceed to go 2-8 over the next 10 games.
Whereupon Tommy will say unto Ted, "You fool; have you not read Chapter 25 of Genesis?"
Whereupon Ted will say unto Tommy, "Begone from here; go you unto another franchise to labor, for you are not blessed among the analytics of my Wizardry."

etc. etc. etc.
Breaking News: In a shocking development, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has sold the NBA franchise to a consortium of participants in a discussion board devoted to the team on realgm.com. Details to follow....
User avatar
nate33
Forum Mod - Wizards
Forum Mod - Wizards
Posts: 66,778
And1: 19,063
Joined: Oct 28, 2002

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#123 » by nate33 » Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:51 pm

Bonga is now shooting 41.9% from 3-point range. Granted it's on an anemic 1.8 3PA's per 36 minutes, but still.

Over the past 14 games, he has shot an unreal 60.0% from 3. And he is even getting his attempts up. Over that stretch, he averaged 2.5 3PA's per 36.

His on/off differential on the season is now a very impressive +9.9 per 100 possessions. And that's with him starting for 2/3rds of the games. (Most of our on/off stars are beneficiaries of being on the stacked second unit because Brooks inexplicably started Isaiah Thomas, Gary Payton and Ian Mahinmi.)
I_Like_Dirt
RealGM
Posts: 34,460
And1: 8,719
Joined: Jul 12, 2003
Location: Boardman gets paid!

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#124 » by I_Like_Dirt » Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:02 pm

nate33 wrote:His on/off differential on the season is now a very impressive +9.9 per 100 possessions. And that's with him starting for 2/3rds of the games. (Most of our on/off stars are beneficiaries of being on the stacked second unit because Brooks inexplicably started Isaiah Thomas, Gary Payton and Ian Mahinmi.)


I think a big part of the second unit having better on/off numbers is that teams tend to let up after they build a big lead. Not saying the second unit is bad, but not necessarily as good as the on/off numbers suggest. Troy Brown, for example, plays way better off the bench and while some of that is probably fit, a lot of it is opposition and effort exerted by the opposition. All this is to say that Bonga having such numbers as a starter is really impressive. He has his limitations as a player but the things he does are things most other players simply don't do which makes him a great fit with almost anyone out there. He and Ian together are about the only positive thing the defense has going for it at this point and Beal, Ish and Rui can handle the scoring load anyway.
Bucket! Bucket!
User avatar
nate33
Forum Mod - Wizards
Forum Mod - Wizards
Posts: 66,778
And1: 19,063
Joined: Oct 28, 2002

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#125 » by nate33 » Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:13 pm

I_Like_Dirt wrote:
nate33 wrote:His on/off differential on the season is now a very impressive +9.9 per 100 possessions. And that's with him starting for 2/3rds of the games. (Most of our on/off stars are beneficiaries of being on the stacked second unit because Brooks inexplicably started Isaiah Thomas, Gary Payton and Ian Mahinmi.)


I think a big part of the second unit having better on/off numbers is that teams tend to let up after they build a big lead. Not saying the second unit is bad, but not necessarily as good as the on/off numbers suggest. Troy Brown, for example, plays way better off the bench and while some of that is probably fit, a lot of it is opposition and effort exerted by the opposition. All this is to say that Bonga having such numbers as a starter is really impressive. He has his limitations as a player but the things he does are things most other players simply don't do which makes him a great fit with almost anyone out there. He and Ian together are about the only positive thing the defense has going for it at this point and Beal, Ish and Rui can handle the scoring load anyway.

If he continues to get stronger and reduce his foul rate, he really does project to be a perfect fit alongside our starting 5. He is low usage which gives more shots to Wall, Beal, Hachimura and Bryant, but he still provides spacing by nailing all of his corner 3's. And his versatility on defense works well with a switching scheme.

On paper, this team should be rock solid on D next year if they just execute. Wall and Beal SHOULD be good defenders and have shown flashes at times. And Bonga and Hachimura are long, athletic and smart. Bryant is a weak link but he'll give effort.

One wonders if Brooks is the right coach, though. He has never gotten Wall and Beal to defend in the past. Imagine what somebody like Spo or Stevens could do with these guys.
I_Like_Dirt
RealGM
Posts: 34,460
And1: 8,719
Joined: Jul 12, 2003
Location: Boardman gets paid!

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#126 » by I_Like_Dirt » Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:18 pm

nate33 wrote:On paper, this team should be rock solid on D next year if they just execute. Wall and Beal SHOULD be good defenders and have shown flashes at times. And Bonga and Hachimura are long, athletic and smart. Bryant is a weak link but he'll give effort.


I think both Wall, Rui and Bryant are the weak links. I don't see Wall being back to form after such a serious injury and such a long layoff. He's going to have issues not totally unlike Oladipo is having issues. PG isn't nearly as big of an issue in general, though.

Rui isn't going to be great but he's at least functional. He's a guy opposing teams could potentially target at this stage even though he won't be specifically bad.

Bryant, though, I'm not convinced he should be the starter until he improves on defense. Off the bench as a gunner, sure, but starter... less sure. I really wish Mahinmi was younger and more consistently healthy. That's the kind of player the Wizards need at C. Having switchable bigs like that is so important in the modern game. Both Bryant and Wagner struggle in the same way and I'm not really sure what the team should do about them because they both deserve serious opportunities given their obvious abilities.
Bucket! Bucket!
User avatar
nate33
Forum Mod - Wizards
Forum Mod - Wizards
Posts: 66,778
And1: 19,063
Joined: Oct 28, 2002

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#127 » by nate33 » Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:27 pm

I_Like_Dirt wrote:
nate33 wrote:On paper, this team should be rock solid on D next year if they just execute. Wall and Beal SHOULD be good defenders and have shown flashes at times. And Bonga and Hachimura are long, athletic and smart. Bryant is a weak link but he'll give effort.


I think both Wall, Rui and Bryant are the weak links. I don't see Wall being back to form after such a serious injury and such a long layoff. He's going to have issues not totally unlike Oladipo is having issues. PG isn't nearly as big of an issue in general, though.

Rui isn't going to be great but he's at least functional. He's a guy opposing teams could potentially target at this stage even though he won't be specifically bad.

Bryant, though, I'm not convinced he should be the starter until he improves on defense. Off the bench as a gunner, sure, but starter... less sure. I really wish Mahinmi was younger and more consistently healthy. That's the kind of player the Wizards need at C. Having switchable bigs like that is so important in the modern game. Both Bryant and Wagner struggle in the same way and I'm not really sure what the team should do about them because they both deserve serious opportunities given their obvious abilities.

I agree about Bryant. It would be nice to trade Bryant for a younger version of Mahinmi. Capela was the guy that I was targeting but that's no longer viable. We're just going to have to hope that one of Bryant or Wagner gets better defensively.

I don't think Hachimura will be a weak link. I think he's making a lot of progress defensively as the season wears on.

Wall won't be a great one-on-one defender, but where he can help us is his switchability. This team sucks at fighting through screens, but if Wall, Beal, Hachimura and Bonga are out there together, they can switch every screen and minimize that liability. Indeed, it wouldn't surprised me if our crunch time lineup involved Bertans replacing Bryant and just going with switchability at all 5 roster positions.
I_Like_Dirt
RealGM
Posts: 34,460
And1: 8,719
Joined: Jul 12, 2003
Location: Boardman gets paid!

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#128 » by I_Like_Dirt » Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:59 pm

That makes sense. And I don't think Rui will be horrible, I just don't think he's ever going to be a major plus defender in general. I think he'll be workable and he knows where to be and things like that. I think he'll eventually be a slightly above average defender even though he won't get the blocks, steals and rebounds that wrongly tend to be equated with defense far too often but I'm not sure he'll quite be average next season. Either way, I don't totally disagree with you; I'm not worried about Rui on defense in the slightest. It's more about where I see his development next season.

As for Wall, you're probably right. He's definitely really damn strong and better able to match up against bigger players in ways that any of the PGs on the roster currently can. To be honest, that's always been what I saw as his biggest strength, even above anything he did on offense. Switching requires quickness, though, and those changes of direction... I really do hope he comes back at full strength sooner than later because he could be a major plus on defense. I wouldn't be surprised if you were right.
Bucket! Bucket!
pcbothwel
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,887
And1: 2,561
Joined: Jun 12, 2010
     

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#129 » by pcbothwel » Thu Feb 13, 2020 3:38 pm

nate33 wrote:
I_Like_Dirt wrote:
nate33 wrote:On paper, this team should be rock solid on D next year if they just execute. Wall and Beal SHOULD be good defenders and have shown flashes at times. And Bonga and Hachimura are long, athletic and smart. Bryant is a weak link but he'll give effort.


I think both Wall, Rui and Bryant are the weak links. I don't see Wall being back to form after such a serious injury and such a long layoff. He's going to have issues not totally unlike Oladipo is having issues. PG isn't nearly as big of an issue in general, though.

Rui isn't going to be great but he's at least functional. He's a guy opposing teams could potentially target at this stage even though he won't be specifically bad.

Bryant, though, I'm not convinced he should be the starter until he improves on defense. Off the bench as a gunner, sure, but starter... less sure. I really wish Mahinmi was younger and more consistently healthy. That's the kind of player the Wizards need at C. Having switchable bigs like that is so important in the modern game. Both Bryant and Wagner struggle in the same way and I'm not really sure what the team should do about them because they both deserve serious opportunities given their obvious abilities.

I agree about Bryant. It would be nice to trade Bryant for a younger version of Mahinmi. Capela was the guy that I was targeting but that's no longer viable. We're just going to have to hope that one of Bryant or Wagner gets better defensively.

I don't think Hachimura will be a weak link. I think he's making a lot of progress defensively as the season wears on.

Wall won't be a great one-on-one defender, but where he can help us is his switchability. This team sucks at fighting through screens, but if Wall, Beal, Hachimura and Bonga are out there together, they can switch every screen and minimize that liability. Indeed, it wouldn't surprised me if our crunch time lineup involved Bertans replacing Bryant and just going with switchability at all 5 roster positions.


Nate, small detail...but we dont need to trade Bryant/Wagner for that type of Center, but we simply need to fill that spot and also trade one of them.
Its why its one avenue to getting that type of player would be to sign a guy like Noel and trade Bryant (Boston for 17 and 27?)
Im not a fan of trading Bryant, but if we get great value for him I would certainly listen

And who knows. Maybe we bring Mahinmi back for a MUCH cheaper price. Blocks, steals, high IQ, strong work ethic, low ego vet... nice traits for a 3rd Center.
Ruzious
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 47,909
And1: 11,579
Joined: Jul 17, 2001
       

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#130 » by Ruzious » Thu Feb 13, 2020 4:13 pm

I still think Bryant's our best bet at center. I would not trade him unless we know we're getting someone better to play center. Ultimately, I hope we get a good defensive PF (actually a good 2-way PF) to play with him. Maybe that complement eventually turns out to be the namesake of this thread.
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams
User avatar
Meliorus
Analyst
Posts: 3,646
And1: 1,185
Joined: Apr 16, 2015
 

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#131 » by Meliorus » Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:07 pm

I_Like_Dirt wrote:
nate33 wrote:On paper, this team should be rock solid on D next year if they just execute. Wall and Beal SHOULD be good defenders and have shown flashes at times. And Bonga and Hachimura are long, athletic and smart. Bryant is a weak link but he'll give effort.


I think both Wall, Rui and Bryant are the weak links. I don't see Wall being back to form after such a serious injury and such a long layoff. He's going to have issues not totally unlike Oladipo is having issues. PG isn't nearly as big of an issue in general, though.

Rui isn't going to be great but he's at least functional. He's a guy opposing teams could potentially target at this stage even though he won't be specifically bad.

Bryant, though, I'm not convinced he should be the starter until he improves on defense. Off the bench as a gunner, sure, but starter... less sure. I really wish Mahinmi was younger and more consistently healthy. That's the kind of player the Wizards need at C. Having switchable bigs like that is so important in the modern game. Both Bryant and Wagner struggle in the same way and I'm not really sure what the team should do about them because they both deserve serious opportunities given their obvious abilities.


Rui has 5 blocks on the season. That's shockingly low. Bryant is a bad defender and I don't think it will change. Those feet are just too slow. Wagner gets pushed around too easily (besides his token charge draw each game). This team doesn't have enough defenders still.
User avatar
gambitx777
General Manager
Posts: 9,600
And1: 1,726
Joined: Dec 18, 2012

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#132 » by gambitx777 » Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:10 pm

I think Mo could easily get stronger. He has better foot work than Bryant and his issues are more easily fixed imo. But Bryant could still be saved. I think, foot work drills are a must
Meliorus wrote:
I_Like_Dirt wrote:
nate33 wrote:On paper, this team should be rock solid on D next year if they just execute. Wall and Beal SHOULD be good defenders and have shown flashes at times. And Bonga and Hachimura are long, athletic and smart. Bryant is a weak link but he'll give effort.


I think both Wall, Rui and Bryant are the weak links. I don't see Wall being back to form after such a serious injury and such a long layoff. He's going to have issues not totally unlike Oladipo is having issues. PG isn't nearly as big of an issue in general, though.

Rui isn't going to be great but he's at least functional. He's a guy opposing teams could potentially target at this stage even though he won't be specifically bad.

Bryant, though, I'm not convinced he should be the starter until he improves on defense. Off the bench as a gunner, sure, but starter... less sure. I really wish Mahinmi was younger and more consistently healthy. That's the kind of player the Wizards need at C. Having switchable bigs like that is so important in the modern game. Both Bryant and Wagner struggle in the same way and I'm not really sure what the team should do about them because they both deserve serious opportunities given their obvious abilities.


Rui has 5 blocks on the season. That's shockingly low. Bryant is a bad defender and I don't think it will change. Those feet are just too slow. Wagner gets pushed around too easily (besides his token charge draw each game). This team doesn't have enough defenders still.


Sent from my SM-G965U1 using RealGM mobile app
User avatar
tontoz
RealGM
Posts: 18,363
And1: 3,824
Joined: Apr 11, 2005

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#133 » by tontoz » Fri Feb 14, 2020 1:10 am

The first few games i watched him i thought he was hopeless but he has really shown promise lately. Too bad his vertical is almost as bad as mine.
"bulky agile perimeter bone crunch pick setting draymond green" WizD
BearlyBallin
Sixth Man
Posts: 1,615
And1: 591
Joined: Mar 27, 2017
     

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#134 » by BearlyBallin » Thu Jul 23, 2020 10:36 pm

Read on Twitter
?s=20

Bonga is only 20 but he looked A lot older before.
According to brooks & Shepard he’s come back bigger, stronger.
Bonga credits working out and eating healthier, specifically healthy fats.

Hmm he does look bigger, but he also looks younger then he did before.
Someone pass me an avocado.
Tsze-Kung asked, "Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?"

The Master said, "Is not Reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."
~ Confucius about 500 BC
payitforward
RealGM
Posts: 21,927
And1: 7,853
Joined: May 02, 2012
Location: On the Atlantic

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#135 » by payitforward » Fri Jul 24, 2020 4:18 pm

You rub the avocado on your face to look younger. Then, if the right girl licks it off your face, well... that's how you get bigger!
Breaking News: In a shocking development, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has sold the NBA franchise to a consortium of participants in a discussion board devoted to the team on realgm.com. Details to follow....
Ruzious
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 47,909
And1: 11,579
Joined: Jul 17, 2001
       

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#136 » by Ruzious » Sun Jul 26, 2020 12:36 pm


He makes the team better. If he continues to improve, he'll no longer be under the radar.
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." - Douglas Adams
Eli Babak
Senior
Posts: 746
And1: 506
Joined: Jun 21, 2018
 

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#137 » by Eli Babak » Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:33 pm

Can he be signed to an extension before he hits (R)FA next year? I'd easily give him like 3-4 y/15-25M deal right now. He'll be a solid role player/decent starter for years.
WallToWall
Veteran
Posts: 2,650
And1: 936
Joined: May 20, 2010
         

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#138 » by WallToWall » Sun Jul 26, 2020 4:49 pm

He had a good game yesterday. He is starting to grow his game and you can see it.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app
payitforward
RealGM
Posts: 21,927
And1: 7,853
Joined: May 02, 2012
Location: On the Atlantic

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#139 » by payitforward » Mon Jul 27, 2020 2:29 am

Bonga is a terrific young player. He was outstanding in our first 64 games. We should certainly tie him up for as long as we can.
Breaking News: In a shocking development, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has sold the NBA franchise to a consortium of participants in a discussion board devoted to the team on realgm.com. Details to follow....
prime1time
Analyst
Posts: 3,435
And1: 1,868
Joined: Nov 02, 2016
         

Re: Isaac Bonga Needs His Own Thread. 

Post#140 » by prime1time » Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:52 pm

It's nice to see him improve. Really night and day from this summer to last summer. He's on the right trajectory.

Return to Washington Wizards