GT #56: Pistons @ Bullets 7 PM (NBCSW/980 AM) [2/14/22]

[Dolevi]

BTW, Gill hustles his ass off. There's no reason why he couldn't have played 5-10 minutes during the season (when it mattered), especially when the team was down just to give them a lift. Not saying he's a rotation guy, but he inspires other guys to play hard.

Totally, love his effort and passion he brings to the floor every time. I even liked the way Neto played tonight. Very agressive in defense, got inspired by Ish maybe idk, i hope he'll find consistency in effort more like he did tonight. In the end they both under-sized and problems for our defense, at least they go and fight for their dignity.

[nate33]

BTW, Gill hustles his ass off. There's no reason why he couldn't have played 5-10 minutes during the season (when it mattered), especially when the team was down just to give them a lift. Not saying he's a rotation guy, but he inspires other guys to play hard.

Who were you going to bench to get him minutes? Gafford? Harrell? Kuzma? Deni?

I just said when the team was down to give them a boost. I didn't say start or put him in the rotation. We've had guys out all season for a 100 different reasons. Wes couldn't find five minutes when the team is obviously lacking in energy and intensity to put Gill in?

Of all the things to complain about, this is pretty weak. Gill showed some hustle out there tonight. That's great. But let's not act like he is consistently a good player. He doesn't rebound, block shots, or play good D. He's a 12th man. He gets the minutes a 12th man should get, particularly on a team with Montrez Harrell, who brings it every night.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Neto with a couple of huge buckets to close it out. Where are all the haters, now?

Cherry picking a bit there huh? He's still a huge liability on defense and can't shoot threes is what the large body of evidence suggests. But, sure, he had some timely buckets down the stretch.

[9 and 20]

Neto put his head down and went one on two, one on three a couple of times to get buckets. He's fearless. Overestimates his own abilities, but who among us....? Raul the Stilt. He's a beast.

[80sballboy]

Man, I really do enjoy watching this team without Beal.

I hope Zinger doesn't screw things up.

We beat a terrible Brooklyn and Detroit team and lost to Sacramento, possibly rejuvenated with Sabonis. The ball movement is fun but I'd be intrigued how he plays with everyone including Kuz and Deni. In fact, I just want him to play a few games to see what it might look like next season. My guess is Beal wants to see him as well, assuming he hasn't made his decision yet.

[nate33]

Neto with a couple of huge buckets to close it out. Where are all the haters, now?

Cherry picking a bit there huh? He's still a huge liability on defense and can't shoot threes is what the large body of evidence suggests. But, sure, he had some timely buckets down the stretch.

Yikes! I didn't realize he was shooting that bad from 3-point range. 22.9%

I do think he gets a little too much hate around here though. He seems like a pretty solid backup PG to me. He's had a positive on/off for two years now.

[FAH1223]

Neto with a couple of huge buckets to close it out. Where are all the haters, now?

Cherry picking a bit there huh? He's still a huge liability on defense and can't shoot threes is what the large body of evidence suggests. But, sure, he had some timely buckets down the stretch.

Yikes! I didn't realize he was shooting that bad from 3-point range. 22.9%

I do think he gets a little too much hate around here though. He seems like a pretty solid backup PG to me. He's had a positive on/off for two years now.

Is it the Wilson ball?

I just don’t see how a career 38% shooter sucks this bad from 3

[nate33]

Man, I really do enjoy watching this team without Beal.

I hope Zinger doesn't screw things up.

We beat a terrible Brooklyn and Detroit team and lost to Sacramento, possibly rejuvenated with Sabonis. The ball movement is fun but I'd be intrigued how he plays with everyone including Kuz and Deni. In fact, I just want him to play a few games to see what it might look like next season. My guess is Beal wants to see him as well, assuming he hasn't made his decision yet.

I'm not disagreeing.

I didn't mean to imply that the team is good or anything. I'm just saying I like the way they play. I'm hoping Beal is taking notes on how to make the game easier by moving the ball. Nobody on the team except Kuzma can create a shot, yet the team has been good enough to at least beat the bad teams.

Hopefully Porzingis can fit in without being a ball stopper. My guess is he will fit in fine because he's more of a catch-and-shoot guy or a guy who will post a mismatch. He's not a guy who pounds the ball. Ideally, he is Thomas Bryant with defense.

[80sballboy]

I don't think we're a good team or remotely close, but there's no doubt the players on the floor would rather play with a guy like journeyman like Ish Smith than a Spencer Dinwiddie or even an Aaron Holiday (probably throw Neto in there). Even though Neto was in at the end, I like the lineups where Kuz and Deni were controlling the ball in the halfcourt.

[Ruzious]

The Pistons won't be trying to tank. But we'll probably lose anyways.

We're really really bad.

Also- why Bullets?

Wow, the Piston really are that bad - actually worse than that bad.

[nate33]

Wizards' record without Beal: 9-7

Wizards' record this year with Beal: 16-23

[80sballboy]

Man, I really do enjoy watching this team without Beal.

I hope Zinger doesn't screw things up.

We beat a terrible Brooklyn and Detroit team and lost to Sacramento, possibly rejuvenated with Sabonis. The ball movement is fun but I'd be intrigued how he plays with everyone including Kuz and Deni. In fact, I just want him to play a few games to see what it might look like next season. My guess is Beal wants to see him as well, assuming he hasn't made his decision yet.

I'm not disagreeing.

I didn't mean to imply that the team is good or anything. I'm just saying I like the way they play. I'm hoping Beal is taking notes on how to make the game easier by moving the ball. Nobody on the team except Kuzma can create a shot, yet the team has been good enough to at least beat the bad teams.

Hopefully Porzingis can fit in without being a ball stopper. My guess is he will fit in fine because he's more of a catch-and-shoot guy or a guy who will post a mismatch. He's not a guy who pounds the ball. Ideally, he is Thomas Bryant with defense.

That's fine, if they were awful to watch, I don't think anybody would watch them at this point of the season. Thomas Bryant with defense. God, I hope not. He's a very good player who thinks he's a star. For whatever reason, it didn't work out with him and Luka, who certainly pounds the ball. So glad that Dinwiddie is gone, because if saw KP, he'd be throwing 100 lobs a game.

[80sballboy]

Luv Ish in this postgame on NBC Sports Washington. How can you not love this guy? Tommy knew what he was doing to get this guy in here and it was more about the locker room, than it was for talent.

[B8RcDeMktfxC]

Man, I really do enjoy watching this team without Beal.

I hope Zinger doesn't screw things up.

We beat a terrible Brooklyn and Detroit team and lost to Sacramento, possibly rejuvenated with Sabonis. The ball movement is fun but I'd be intrigued how he plays with everyone including Kuz and Deni. In fact, I just want him to play a few games to see what it might look like next season. My guess is Beal wants to see him as well, assuming he hasn't made his decision yet.

I'm not disagreeing.

I didn't mean to imply that the team is good or anything. I'm just saying I like the way they play. I'm hoping Beal is taking notes on how to make the game easier by moving the ball. Nobody on the team except Kuzma can create a shot, yet the team has been good enough to at least beat the bad teams.

Hopefully Porzingis can fit in without being a ball stopper. My guess is he will fit in fine because he's more of a catch-and-shoot guy or a guy who will post a mismatch. He's not a guy who pounds the ball. Ideally, he is Thomas Bryant with defense.

All right, this is against Detroit who are awful, but Deni and Kuz had pretty good games imo and the whole team seems to be working pretty harmoniously in this 3 game sample.

My strong belief is that this type of game plan/offence is exactly what KP likes best. Ofc, he'll want his touches, but the Mavs offence in the games without Luka - which was fairly similar to this - was where he appeared happiest both on court and in the PG-interviews this year.

He's very professional, so never criticised Luka-heliocentric offences, but that's obviously not his thing. Or, better, the way he's decided should be his thing. Originally he was very influenced by Melo, so probably did over-value single player dominated offence. However, he's also a much better passer than he was the first couple of years in the league. (Nowhere near the elite passer level, goes without saying.)

[nate33]

Thomas Bryant with defense. God, I hope not.

Thomas Bryant with defense would probably be an All-Star.

[Dolevi]

Deni Rodman with 14 rebounds.

Finished with a Double Double and a career high of 15 boards, impressive. I hope he will continue being agressive and fearless like tonight, taking the ball and create for himself / others, he can do that he's smart and has the physicality to be dangerous. Just keep with this confidence and take your shots. I loved also his passing game, sometimes he brings in flashy passes that wows you and make easy buckets for the team. I bet players love to play around him. His playmaking skills are very promising.

[80sballboy]

Thomas Bryant with defense. God, I hope not.

Thomas Bryant with defense would probably be an All-Star.

Thomas Bryant before the ACL or after? He's shooting 49.4% from the floor in 13 games. His shooting numbers are not remotely close to even last season in 10 games, when he shot 65% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc. He was on his way to becoming a very good offensive center before the ACL and sure, defense was bad. He was also rebounding better.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3934723/thomas-bryant

[80sballboy]

Deni Rodman with 14 rebounds.

Finished with a Double Double and a career high of 15 boards, impressive. I hope he will continue being agressive and fearless like tonight, taking the ball and create for himself / others, he can do that he's smart and has the physicality to be dangerous. Just keep with this confidence and take your shots. I loved also his passing game, sometimes he brings in flashy passes that wows you and make easy buckets for the team. I bet players love to play around him. His playmaking skills are very promising.

I think the injury last year really set him back and this season, maybe the first half, he was still a rookie. He's shooting around 30% from three-point range and hitting 75% of his free throws. That means he's going in the right direction. I'm glad he's going to get 25-30 mpg over the last 26 games at every position other than probably center. I think there are five things he needs to do in the offseason to get to that next level:

1)Gain 10 pounds of muscle. I know he put on some weight from last season, but this is a tough league. It never hurts to add some strength.
2) Left-hand dribble, left-hand drives. He goes 99% to his right and that's fine for now, but if he faked right, crossed over and went left against bigger players or guys his size, he could get to the rim easier.
3)Stop whining after every call that goes against you. It's not going to help you get more calls with the refs, who probably don't respect you as a young player.
4)Of course, keep working on your three-point shot.
5)ABC: Always Be Confident (or closing).

[trast66]

Wizards' record without Beal: 9-7

Wizards' record this year with Beal: 16-23

That will probably even out by end of year, but a good piece of evidence that if he walked not end of world.

[Snakebites]

The Pistons won't be trying to tank. But we'll probably lose anyways.

We're really really bad.

Also- why Bullets?

Wow, the Piston really are that bad - actually worse than that bad.

There’s no way to undersell it, really.

And we aren’t tanking. That needs to be emphasized.

There are days where I struggle to understand how we have 12 wins…