Game Thread: Heat at Wizards (12/18/2010 7PM EST)

[verbal8]

I am putting up a placeholder for the game thread for those eager to discuss the visit of Le<fill-in the blank> and the Miami Heat.

The embarrassing showing against the Nyets may lead to a lineup change. Unfortunately I think this is likely to be Hilton Armstrong replacing McGee

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... zards.html

I also expect that Hinrich and Arenas will be starting in the back-court.

At this point my guess on the starting line-up is:

Hinrich
Arenas
Thornton(his play hasn't been too impressive, but he has size)
Booker
Armstrong





Apparently the Wizards youth movement has been extended to their advanced scouts(from truthaboutit.com).



Apparently we will also be discussing hands11's love life.

[hands11]

Hey, does anyone have any ticket for sales to this ?

I got a lady friend that believe it or not, love LeBron. Uggg.

Funny thing is, it was one the first conversations we had. I was telling her what a douche I though he was. Funny how things work out.

Well, I still tell her I think he is a douche but it would make her happy to see him play so I will be booing him and she will he jumping up and down. Life is a comedy.

[pancakes3]

oh the blinders we're willing to put on in the name of love...

[Halcyon]

Going to be at this game with a few friends, should be fun. Even though I'm pretty sure we'll get killed since I am guessing Wall and Blatche won't play...

[dlts20]

We are so screwed up right now. Flip is going to bench McGee which I can somewhat understand but he may do it in the game where McGee could likely have a huge impact. McGee could kill Z if he played right but may struggle off the bench against Anthony. If McGee doesnt start then it will probably be HA who is so hit or miss. One second he looks great and a vetran presence and the next he looks like a scrub. Give him his shot but if he stinks it up then start Seraphin to play beside Blatche. That could be a good duo.

In the very next game Howard will be back which will make Flip look like even more of an idiot because we will then have 6 guys in 3 spots, meaning someone's minutes will definitely get call if not everyone's by a bit. I would go like this. Give Al one more shot and if he sucks against the Heat then bench him totally. If he sucks then I would "start" Howard in his very 1st game back. Thats a 50/50 move. I actually wanted Howard to come off the bench a long time, if not all year and ease his way back into things. However, NY is playing so great that you'd rather keep him in that role. There is not enough minutes for everyone so start Howard, play him 15mpg to start, and let NY play the rest while Kirk is the backup at guard. Not enough minutes for Al.

Now if it was really up to me then Kirk would be out the rotation. Start Howard, use NY as the backup 2 & 3, and give Al the leftover minutes but I know Flip wont bench Kirk so we just have to bench Al unless he goes off against the Heat.

At 1st I also wanted to keep Wall & Dray out this game and then just bring them back against the Bobcats with Howard and see what we look like fully healthy. However, sometimes you dont play great as a team in your 1st game back so its best maybe to play them against the Heat (only if there ready), and even in a loss they can get the rust out and then look good against the Bobcats. Again though, if they are still nagging at all then you sit them.

If they sit then then this is another game where Gil could go off against there PG's and against there bigs on the pick & roll but right now Gil never tries to do anything, which will make us get exposed, and blown out. If he's aggressive and attacks then we can hang with alot of teams. If he coast like he's been doing until the 2nd half yesterday then we suck, espically with our injuries

[dlts20]

Going to be at this game with a few friends, should be fun. Even though I'm pretty sure we'll get killed since I am guessing Wall and Blatche won't play...

can you & your friends do me a favor and cheer? We have the worst fans in the league at games. Its the most dead arena in the league. Contrast that to the Caps games which are wild & crazy. When I go to the Wiz games its just dead. Even when we're playing well its boring and everyone has a smug look. No excitment at all. If Leonsis can somehow fix that then he's done his job to me

[dobrojim]

Going to be at this game with a few friends, should be fun. Even though I'm pretty sure we'll get killed since I am guessing Wall and Blatche won't play...

can you & your friends do me a favor and cheer? We have the worst fans in the league at games. Its the most dead arena in the league. Contrast that to the Caps games which are wild & crazy. When I go to the Wiz games its just dead. Even when we're playing well its boring and everyone has a smug look. No excitement at all. If Leonsis can somehow fix that then he's done his job to me

I'm usually amongst the most vocal fans in my section. BP can vouch for this.

that said, I'm about ready to bring a brown paper bag so I'll be ready if they start playing
with the same lackluster stupidity they've shown repeatedly this season to date.

They are simply not playing hard and or not playing smart.
Lack of talent is one thing, deficits of the above nature are simply
inexcusable.

[20MexicanosIn1Van]

Hey, does anyone have any ticket for sales to this ?

I got a lady friend that believe it or not, love LeBron. Uggg.

Funny thing is, it was one the first conversations we had. I was telling her what a douche I though he was. Funny how things work out.

Well, I still tell her I think he is a douche but it would make her happy to see him play so I will be booing him and she will he jumping up and down. Life is a comedy.

Dump her.

[dobrojim]

I'd be tempted to sell you my tickets, face value for you, 2x face value for her.
Got $300?

not really, $500 maybe.

[cwb3]

Sign McNabb to a 10 day contract, we need the depth.

[Wizards2Lottery]

Sign McNabb to a 10 day contract, we need the depth.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58DRJgKoAck[/youtube]

[pineappleheadindc]

Wiz just tweeted thatJosh Howard's decided he's gonna play vs the Heat, pending a physical exam this afternoon.

[pineappleheadindc]

Oh, and Flip says that Blatche is a game time decision (but Flip thinks he'll play some).

Flip says Wall is out for the game.

[hands11]

I'd be tempted to sell you my tickets, face value for you, 2x face value for her.
Got $300?

not really, $500 maybe.

I'll be looking at the ticket sits in a moment here so if your serious, let me know the section and price.

[tontoz]

Now if it was really up to me then Kirk would be out the rotation. Start Howard, use NY as the backup 2 & 3, and give Al the leftover minutes but I know Flip wont bench Kirk so we just have to bench Al unless he goes off against the Heat.

That is pretty hard to do with Wall and Howard out. But when those two come back i agree Hinrich should be the odd man out. It will be interesting to see how Flip manages this.

[dlts20]

yeah, I definitely meant when we are fully healthy. There is just not enough minutes for the 6 guys we have in those 3 spots. Someone has to get axed or I think it could hurt everyone

[dlts20]

Wiz just tweeted thatJosh Howard's decided he's gonna play vs the Heat, pending a physical exam this afternoon.

I always thought it was very convenient of Josh to return right after we play the Lakers & the Heat so he can go against the Bobcats but I also thought that Josh could be the difference in our season and Im actually talking about moreso off the court then on. I think that other then Wall, he would be the only guy to get pumped up on the court and tell the guys to get up. I also think he will be the only guy to speak up and call guys out or challange them & the whole team to play better, harder, and go all out on defense. Thats what we need. Sadly Gil has never done it and still seems like he doesnt want to

[hands11]

Wiz just tweeted thatJosh Howard's decided he's gonna play vs the Heat, pending a physical exam this afternoon.

I always thought it was very convenient of Josh to return right after we play the Lakers & the Heat so he can go against the Bobcats but I also thought that Josh could be the difference in our season and Im actually talking about moreso off the court then on. I think that other then Wall, he would be the only guy to get pumped up on the court and tell the guys to get up. I also think he will be the only guy to speak up and call guys out or challange them & the whole team to play better, harder, and go all out on defense. Thats what we need. Sadly Gil has never done it and still seems like he doesnt want to

It's called veteran leadership from a guy who can play and knows what to do.

Something that this team is short of that I think explains part of what is going on this year. I think this has a lot to do with why we are flat against the lesser teams. Getting up for the good teams is easy.

I know Howard doesn't have the best reputation but when you have only Kirk as a solid vet leader and you don't make Dray a captain, Howard will be a drink of water for a team that sorely needs some vets to help lead. Captain or not, he will help lead them on and off the court.

Kind of why I started the thread I just did.

Get Dray back and get Howard on the court to go with Gil and Kirk and there will at least be some experience to spread the floor and set the tone for all these other young players. This should not be Wall job.

[hands11]

yeah, I definitely meant when we are fully healthy. There is just not enough minutes for the 6 guys we have in those 3 spots. Someone has to get axed or I think it could hurt everyone

We don't have 6 guys there really.

We have Howard and Booker and Gee.
AT doesn't appear to be any more than a role player and I would rather see what Booker grows into. He offers more athleticism. Better finishing. Cleaner slate. More toughness.

Gee is your young flier. Nick is a SG/SF which is great but he is being groomed right now. Martin is a SG mostly and 3 shooter. And Yi is being tried out at PF when he is healthy. Kirk is a PG.

Booker should be starting at SF until Howard is ready to start and then is should be.

Howard, Booker, Gee.

We can get ride of AT as soon as we can.

Sooner we can get there the better for this team who needs some vets.

Then I think it should be

Gil/Kirk
Kirk, Nick, Martin
Howard, Booker, Gee
Dray, Seraphin
Armstrong, McGee, Hamady

Or if McGee is doing what the coaches ask, start him.

if Yi is healthy, they can look at him again but he isnt.
AT is not needed on this team once we have Howard.

Shorter term they will likely still look at AT, but longer term, I think he is gone.
Wall is out but when he is back, give him a break from being the savor and let him come off the bench and find his way as a spark. Time to take the load off this kid and let him find his way. Kirk won't be starting longer term or here at all.

Gil/Wall/Kirk
Kirk, Nick, Martin
Howard, Booker, Gee
Dray, Seraphin
Armstrong, McGee

They aren't going to move Nick until he is solidly producing a more expanded game that includes driving.


Gil/Wall/Kirk
Nick, Kirk/Martin
Howard, Booker, Gee
Dray, Seraphin
Armstrong, McGee

At that point depending on what Howard and Booker are doing, there is not need for Martin and Gee so you may as well look at Hamady.

Gil/Wall/Kirk
Nick, Kirk/Martin
Howard, Booker
Dray, Seraphin
Armstrong, McGee, Hamady

[tontoz]

yeah, I definitely meant when we are fully healthy. There is just not enough minutes for the 6 guys we have in those 3 spots. Someone has to get axed or I think it could hurt everyone

We don't have 6 guys there really.

We have Howard and Booker and Gee.
AT doesn't appear to be any more than a role player and I would rather see what Booker grows into. He offers more athleticism. Better finishing. Cleaner slate. More toughness.

Booker is clearly a 4. There is nothing about his game that says small forward.

Gee was a nice pickup off waivers but that is all.

Thornton is one of the few guys on the team that consistently attacks the basket. He was in double figures last night at halftime. Nine of his 14 shot attempts on the game were in the paint (he made 5 of them). On the season he is converting his inside attempts at 67% which is easily the best on the team.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10WAS9.HTM

For comparison purposes Butler is shooting 45% on his inside shots in Dallas. Rudy Gay shoots 65%. Looking back a couple of years Josh Howard shot 63%.

http://www.82games.com/0809/08DAL8.HTM

Al's weak jumper hurts his game but trying to act like he shouldn't even be mentioned at the 3 is ridiculous.