Injuries and Wittman: A Year of Struggle

[jarlmaster47]

Hey guys. Big wizards fan here (fan of all DC teams) and I figured I'd join the forum to discuss this team. The way I see it, the explanation for our struggles this year is very simple. Randy "confused face" Wittman is the smoking gun. With a team as talented as the wizards, there is no excuse to be in the position we are currently in.

This is essentially the same team as last year, with several improvements. Dudley has been great for us. He's a steady defender, has a very high basketball iq, and is a deadly shooter. We wanted to go small and he helps with that. Anderson has been hurt for most of the season but when he came in, you could immediately see how well he fits with us. Great shooter, high basketball iq, solid defender (notice a trend?). Moving Nene to the bench has helped. He gives our second unit a lift and is able to more effectively contribute because he doesn't have to play as much. With him on the bench we have increased our pace and it has paid off (more on that topic later). Gortat totally works in this new offense as does Wall and Beal. Porter benefits too. A few people say losing Pierce hurts and I think perhaps a little but not really. He was a rock for us and gave us veteran savvy and coaching. But he was only a stopgap measure and this is Wall's team. Wall is a great leader and the team goes where he goes. But a great leader doesn't mean squat without a great coach (unless you're lebron the cavs).

Markieff Morris. Totally brilliant move. It was risky due to his attitude but seems to have paid off. Morris hasn't made a peep and is playing quite well given his short time with the team. I can see how well he fits with us. He brings physicality and aggressive rebounding to the table, both of which we needed). Morris is a fantastic defender, runs the floor, and can score from anywhere on the court. I think any basketball fan can agree that Morris can be an absolutely dominant force and he has a very high ceiling. Gary Neal. Great shooter and a nice vet. But sitting out because of a calf strain? Get out of here. Bye bye. Marcus Thornton is basically the same player. Somewhat desperate pickup but we need able bodies because Temple isn't cutting it. JJ Hickson. Meh he has potential and provides depth but Wittman won't use him.

That brings us to Randy Wittman. He is the MAJOR reason why we are in the position we're in. We focused solely on offense this offseason and totally forgot about defense. That's on the coach. We started the year with a major turnover problem which is to be expected but it took us way too long to rectify that issue (15-20 games or so?). And how did it take us until after the all star break to start playing great defense? All year we've been dominant in terms of forcing turnovers and scoring off said turnovers. But we let people shoot lights out against us game after game, especially from beyond the arc. Teams would consistently put up 100+ on us. I saw lack of effort, lazy attempts at disrupting shooters, etc. A better coach would have rectified this issue FAR sooner. Wittman's famous garbage rotations and poor player management is back. Temple has several games where he scores between 0 (yes 0) and 8 points a game? Let's keep him in the starting lineup! Neal is too big of a sissy to come back and play. We have this guy named Kelly Oubre who was a great draft pick and who has loads of talent (raw though it may be) but no. Let's bury him on the bench. I want to throttle Wittman. WTF. Lately our offense sputters or we lose momentum and Wittman takes too long to notice and adjust. Hell even if he does notice he doesn't adjust. Those last few possessions against the pacers were laughable missed opportunities. Then of course the refs stepped in to cost us the game with that garbage call for Paul George (that block was clean enough to eat off of). If we had a better coach, I guarantee we would be the 3rd-4th seed in the playoffs (probably even higher). With Wittman at the helm, who knows what you'll get out of the wiz. And to be fair its also our garbage assistant coaches/coaching staff. Don Newman is good but everyone else is regarded as the worst in the league (or near it). Clean em out and let's get Luke Walton aka Steve Kerr Jr.

Injuries have sucked. We've had the most in the league by far. Beal has been incredible, especially in his aggressive drives to the rim. But of course he's soft as all hell. Our lineups have constantly been changing (Nene is out here, Neal is out there, Dudley, Porter, etc.). We can't get into a rhythm with that sort of flux. But even with these injuries we shouldn't be 10th in the East.

So this was a loooong post and I'm sorry haha. Just wanted to get my thoughts out. I hope we can discuss this and I also want to discuss why only Wittman and his staff need to go and NOT Grunfeld.

[AFM]

Everyone meet jillellie111.

[closg00]

GTFO Millie, seriously. Mods please merge this shi_te with one of the Randy threads, how-many Grunfeld troll-threads can we whack-a-mole?

[Ruzious]

jarlmasters 1 through 46 are not pleased.

[jarlmaster47]

Really? You're just going to have negative troll-esque responses to my post rather than talk about basketball and the team in a constructive manner? What a wonderful way to welcome a new member to the forum.

[AFM]

We'd probably be higher than the 3rd seed with a different coach?
He smokin that nice peyote!

[jarlmaster47]

Tell me how we wouldn't be higher than the third seed then. Did you guys not watch this team play the previous two seasons?

[jarlmaster47]

Actually you know what. Seeds don't matter all that much. I'll put it a different way. Better coach equals ECF

[montestewart]

Welcome! As the great Hellen Reddy so profoundly asserted, "Keep on singing, don't stop singing, you're going to be a star someday."

I posted my substantive reply in the new thread entitled "What This World Needs is a Good Two Dollar Room and a Good Two Dollar Broom"

[jarlmaster47]

Thanks monte. I am never one to shy away from hate or criticism. I will read your thread and respond with my thoughts

[DANNYLANDOVER]

Another EG troll...I wonder why? Could his job be under fire? Find out on the next episode of.................

[jarlmaster47]

How am I a troll? I can't think that EG is a good gm? Or at the very least an acceptable one? How about instead of berating me and putting me down you actually respond to the topic at hand.

[Ruzious]

How am I a troll? I can't think that EG is a good gm? Or at the very least an acceptable one? How about instead of berating me and putting me down you actually respond to the topic at hand.

How many names have you used here, and which was the most recent?

[WallToWall]

Jarlmaster47, we are a jaded bunch, having "lived through" what EG has done with the team, and comparing it to what he probably could have done instead. You may want to read the various threads just on that topic, if you haven't had a chance to do so yet.
I remember being optimistic like you. That was just last year, in fact. However, the cumulative negative effects of EG's moves has me yearning for a new direction for the team.

[closg00]

At-least we have a preview of what Ernie/Ted are going to say at the end of the season, don't accept it fans.

[nuposse04]

wtf is this crap. Booo this man.

[jarlmaster47]

Read the post in response to the EG thread. I apologize if we got off on the wrong foot. I have since revised my opinions on EG. Let's have a civil discussion about those views and why I think that Ernie isn't the problem this year or the previous two years. I'm not trolling and sorry if you think that. Let's move forward. I minimized/forgot/didn't know all the bad things Grunfeld had done in the past. That's my bad.

[payitforward]

Aw shucks, son... chill. Actually we all love Ernie Grunfeld here; we was just joshing you!

We actually don't even want to contend for a title -- we just don't care. All we want is for our GM to be "active", you know... never rest content. Always be trying to give us, as he calls it, "a jolt."

And this Ernie does. He trades away draft picks, he makes quite a lot of bad picks, when we bleed he attaches a band-aid and, often, puts a bandaid on that very bandaid. He's great at signing bad-to-mediocre FAs.

It's these skills that have earned him the so rare and honored position he holds: GM For Life.

[jarlmaster47]

Well you have all convinced me that Ernie is thoroughly awful and that any good moves I thought he made have all been thinly veiled bad moves that happened to work for us temporarily, allowing for two years of fluke playoff trips.

[gambitx777]

Can someone check the IP on these account and see if this new guy is milli lol.