Wizards 2018-19 Training Camp Thread

I would’ve bought season tickets if Otto clapped back to the media with “tell coach Brooks to run plays and tell John wall to stop shooting 6 mid range Js a game and maybe I would get more shots”

NatP4 · Post #3 » by **NatP4** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:30 pm

Read on Twitter

WOOOOOOOOOO

Wizardspride · Post #4 » by **Wizardspride** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:39 pm

Read on Twitter

?s=19

youngWizzy · Post #5 » by **youngWizzy** » Tue Sep 25, 2018 11:53 pm

Read on Twitter

keynote · Post #6 » by **keynote** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:52 am

youngWizzy wrote:

Read on Twitter

What!? Shoot more 3s, you say?

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

Why, that Brooks is a mad genius! He's a Sony Innovator.

Wizardspride · Post #7 » by **Wizardspride** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 11:03 am

?s=19

?s=19

?s=19

?s=19

Post #8 » by **nate33** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 1:06 pm

I don't know whether to be encouraged or frightened:

Read on Twitter

His shooting form is actually pretty decent!

Mahinmi has never made a three-pointer at the NBA level and has just eight attempts in his 10-year career. Brooks, though, says it's not all that crazy of an idea.

"Don’t be surprised if he shoots threes. He made 65 out of 100 last week," Brooks said.

Like any season, reality will set in at some point. But don't blame the Wizards, now training in a new facility, for thinking bigger

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/day-1-wizards-training-camp-features-focus-defense-mahinmi-hitting-threes-praise-new

nuposse04 · Post #9 » by **nuposse04** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 1:32 pm

Probably both Nate. He wasn't a bad FT shooter last year for a center oddly enough. I mean if Drummond is gonna hoist 3s this year, everyone in the league should.

queridiculo · Post #10 » by **queridiculo** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 1:46 pm

I see the Porter to Richie metamorphosis is in its final stages.

Post #11 » by **nate33** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 2:26 pm

Illmatic12 wrote:Wall said he's looking to cut out his long twos and worked on shooting threes (especially off the dribble) all summer. So , I don't think he needs that much convincing. The entire team is focused on cutting out midrange shots and that's been the policy in practices so far.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/09/25/three-or-bust-wizards-begin-season-long-commitment-spacing-floor/?utm_term=.ec36806221ef

That's a positive development, but Brooks has some wacky ideas in there as well:

If Wizards Coach Scott Brooks has his way, more of his big men will need to practice their three-point celebrations. Otto Porter Jr. will also forsake his “bread and butter” shot

Porter is the one guy who should still have the green light to shoot midrange shots. He shot 52.5% on long 2's last year. He shouldn't foresake anything.

Beal has his coach’s blessing to become one of the high-volume three-point shooters in the NBA. He has the chops: Beal already holds the franchise record for most three-pointers in a season. Brooks has challenged him to take more. For over a year, Brooks has told Beal to attempt 20 threes in a game. Chris Whitney and Gilbert Arenas share the team record for 15 attempts.

“I’m always about playing the right way and getting the best shot possible. Sometimes Coach wants me to take bad shots. As crazy as that sounds, that’s what he wants sometimes. That’s kind of an adjustment I have to make mentally,”

I'm not too thrilled about this either. Brooks seems to be suffering the same misconception about Beal as most of the rest of the NBA: that he's a really good shooter. Beal isn't. He's an okay shooter. Sure, he should continue to take open looks from 3-point range and he should avoid long 2's, but if he tried to force up 15-20 3pt attempts in a game, his percentage would plummet. He doesn't have the quick release of Klay or Curry, or the off-the-dribble separation of Harden or Lillard. Beal has already improved his biggest shot selection faux pas. He used to pump fake at a closing defender and step in for a long 2. Now he pump fakes and steps sideways for a 3.

This season, I don't want much to change from Beal's shot selection other than for him to no longer be responsible for isolation possessions. Leave that to Wall and Rivers.

Post #12 » by **Ruzious** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 2:47 pm

HoopDistrict
@HoopDistrictDC
Scott Brooks tells the media to "just yell at him [Otto Porter] every time he doesn't shoot the ball."

Says Porter has the greenest of green lights and is frustrated when he doesn't take open shots.

11:38 AM - Sep 24, 2018
24
See HoopDistrict's other Tweets

This is all for naught if the team doesn't realize the real problem was Otto not getting the ball often enough.

He can't shoot the ball if he doesn't get the ball!!!

Illmatic12 · Post #13 » by **Illmatic12** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 2:57 pm

nate33 wrote:
Illmatic12 wrote:Wall said he's looking to cut out his long twos and worked on shooting threes (especially off the dribble) all summer. So , I don't think he needs that much convincing. The entire team is focused on cutting out midrange shots and that's been the policy in practices so far.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/09/25/three-or-bust-wizards-begin-season-long-commitment-spacing-floor/?utm_term=.ec36806221ef

That's a positive development, but Brooks has some wacky ideas in there as well:

If Wizards Coach Scott Brooks has his way, more of his big men will need to practice their three-point celebrations. Otto Porter Jr. will also forsake his “bread and butter” shot

Porter is the one guy who should still have the green light to shoot midrange shots. He shot 52.5% on long 2's last year. He shouldn't foresake anything.

Beal has his coach’s blessing to become one of the high-volume three-point shooters in the NBA. He has the chops: Beal already holds the franchise record for most three-pointers in a season. Brooks has challenged him to take more. For over a year, Brooks has told Beal to attempt 20 threes in a game. Chris Whitney and Gilbert Arenas share the team record for 15 attempts.

“I’m always about playing the right way and getting the best shot possible. Sometimes Coach wants me to take bad shots. As crazy as that sounds, that’s what he wants sometimes. That’s kind of an adjustment I have to make mentally,”

I'm not too thrilled about this either. Brooks seems to be suffering the same misconception about Beal as most of the rest of the NBA: that he's a really good shooter. Beal isn't. He's an okay shooter. Sure, he should continue to take open looks from 3-point range and he should avoid long 2's, but if he tried to force up 15-20 3pt attempts in a game, his percentage would plummet. He doesn't have the quick release of Klay or Curry, or the off-the-dribble separation of Harden or Lillard. Beal has already improved his biggest shot selection faux pas. He used to pump fake at a closing defender and step in for a long 2. Now he pump fakes and steps sideways for a 3.

This season, I don't want much to change from Beal's shot selection other than for him to no longer be responsible for isolation possessions. Leave that to Wall and Rivers.

Well it's not like Otto's midrange jumpshot is going anywhere. He can always hit that shot in his sleep. But overall he would be a much more dangerous offensive player if he focused on shooting threes , especially off the dribble. That's when defenses will start playing him differently and he'll be able to get to the basket more easily. I'd love to see Otto extend his range and start shooting from 25'+ (similar to what Gordon and Anderson do on the Rockets) - it would open up our offense to another level.

Similar to Otto, Beal is young enough to still add to his game so I don't have a problem with that either. He said he specifically worked on shooting threes off the dribble and shooting from further out, so hopefully we'll see the results this season. You always want to push players to improve their skillset.

dckingsfan · Post #14 » by **dckingsfan** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:34 pm

Ruzious wrote:
HoopDistrict
@HoopDistrictDC
Scott Brooks tells the media to "just yell at him [Otto Porter] every time he doesn't shoot the ball."

Says Porter has the greenest of green lights and is frustrated when he doesn't take open shots.

11:38 AM - Sep 24, 2018
24
See HoopDistrict's other Tweets

This is all for naught if the team doesn't realize the real problem was Otto not getting the ball often enough.

He can't shoot the ball if he doesn't get the ball!!!

He should just get to that spot (first) on the floor where Wall likes to take his mid-range jump shot and scream at John for the ball. Then walk slowly up the court shaking his head when Wall ignores him.

Post #15 » by **Ruzious** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 5:07 pm

dckingsfan wrote:
Ruzious wrote:
HoopDistrict
@HoopDistrictDC
Scott Brooks tells the media to "just yell at him [Otto Porter] every time he doesn't shoot the ball."

Says Porter has the greenest of green lights and is frustrated when he doesn't take open shots.

11:38 AM - Sep 24, 2018
24
See HoopDistrict's other Tweets

This is all for naught if the team doesn't realize the real problem was Otto not getting the ball often enough.

He can't shoot the ball if he doesn't get the ball!!!

He should just get to that spot (first) on the floor where Wall likes to take his mid-range jump shot and scream at John for the ball. Then walk slowly up the court shaking his head when Wall ignores him.

Oh God, the Gen-Wiz movement begins.

DCZards · Post #16 » by **DCZards** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 5:07 pm

nate33 wrote:

I'm not too thrilled about this either. Brooks seems to be suffering the same misconception about Beal as most of the rest of the NBA: that he's a really good shooter. Beal isn't. He's an okay shooter. Sure, he should continue to take open looks from 3-point range and he should avoid long 2's, but if he tried to force up 15-20 3pt attempts in a game, his percentage would plummet. He doesn't have the quick release of Klay or Curry, or the off-the-dribble separation of Harden or Lillard. Beal has already improved his biggest shot selection faux pas. He used to pump fake at a closing defender and step in for a long 2. Now he pump fakes and steps sideways for a 3.

This season, I don't want much to change from Beal's shot selection other than for him to no longer be responsible for isolation possessions. Leave that to Wall and Rivers.

Makes sense for Beal to take more 3pters, especially given the importance of 3s in today's NBA. You compared Beal to Harden and Lillard. Well, Harden took 10 threes a game last season and shot .367%. Lillard took 9 a game and shot .361%. Neither Harden nor Lillard have ever had a season where they shot 40% or better on threes.

Beal, on the other hand, has shot 40% on three in 3 of his 6 NBA seasons, including 2016-17. In 2017-18, Beal shot .375% on threes (still higher than both Harden and Lillard) on 6.5 shots per game. I attribute most of the 2017-18 dip in 3 pt % to not having Wall there to get him more open looks.

I think Brooks was being a little tongue in cheek when he suggested Beal should put up 15-20 threes a game. But, yeah, BB should be taking more 3s, at least 9-10 a game.

I also assume that Beal has continued to work on his step back 3, an aspect of his game that he has shown steady improvement in.

Post #17 » by **Ruzious** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 5:13 pm

Beal's used to getting those wipe-out screens from offensive tackle Gortat. It'll be interesting to see if Howard provides the same type of screens and open looks for him.

Post #18 » by **nate33** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 5:34 pm

DCZards wrote:
nate33 wrote:

I'm not too thrilled about this either. Brooks seems to be suffering the same misconception about Beal as most of the rest of the NBA: that he's a really good shooter. Beal isn't. He's an okay shooter. Sure, he should continue to take open looks from 3-point range and he should avoid long 2's, but if he tried to force up 15-20 3pt attempts in a game, his percentage would plummet. He doesn't have the quick release of Klay or Curry, or the off-the-dribble separation of Harden or Lillard. Beal has already improved his biggest shot selection faux pas. He used to pump fake at a closing defender and step in for a long 2. Now he pump fakes and steps sideways for a 3.

This season, I don't want much to change from Beal's shot selection other than for him to no longer be responsible for isolation possessions. Leave that to Wall and Rivers.

Makes sense for Beal to take more 3pters, especially given the importance of 3s in today's NBA. You compared Beal to Harden and Lillard. Well, Harden took 10 threes a game last season and shot .367%. Lillard took 9 a game and shot .361%. Neither Harden nor Lillard have ever had a season where they shot 40% or better on threes.

Beal, on the other hand, has shot 40% on three in 3 of his 6 NBA seasons, including 2016-17. In 2017-18, Beal shot .375% on threes (still higher than both Harden and Lillard) on 6.5 shots per game. I attribute most of the 2017-18 dip in 3 pt % to not having Wall there to get him more open looks.

I think Brooks was being a little tongue in cheek when he suggested Beal should put up 15-20 threes a game. But, yeah, BB should be taking more 3s, at least 9-10 a game.

I also assume that Beal has continued to work on his step back 3, an aspect of his game that he has shown steady improvement in.

My point was that Harden and Lillard have the ability to generate space in order to launch 10 3-point attempts per game at a respectable percentage. Beal lacks that skill. If he hoists 10 a game, many of them will be low percentage shots where he is off balance, fading away or otherwise contested. He's just not as good as Harden and Lillard.

DCZards · Post #19 » by **DCZards** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 5:56 pm

nate33 wrote:
DCZards wrote:
nate33 wrote:

I'm not too thrilled about this either. Brooks seems to be suffering the same misconception about Beal as most of the rest of the NBA: that he's a really good shooter. Beal isn't. He's an okay shooter. Sure, he should continue to take open looks from 3-point range and he should avoid long 2's, but if he tried to force up 15-20 3pt attempts in a game, his percentage would plummet. He doesn't have the quick release of Klay or Curry, or the off-the-dribble separation of Harden or Lillard. Beal has already improved his biggest shot selection faux pas. He used to pump fake at a closing defender and step in for a long 2. Now he pump fakes and steps sideways for a 3.

This season, I don't want much to change from Beal's shot selection other than for him to no longer be responsible for isolation possessions. Leave that to Wall and Rivers.

Makes sense for Beal to take more 3pters, especially given the importance of 3s in today's NBA. You compared Beal to Harden and Lillard. Well, Harden took 10 threes a game last season and shot .367%. Lillard took 9 a game and shot .361%. Neither Harden nor Lillard have ever had a season where they shot 40% or better on threes.

Beal, on the other hand, has shot 40% on three in 3 of his 6 NBA seasons, including 2016-17. In 2017-18, Beal shot .375% on threes (still higher than both Harden and Lillard) on 6.5 shots per game. I attribute most of the 2017-18 dip in 3 pt % to not having Wall there to get him more open looks.

I think Brooks was being a little tongue in cheek when he suggested Beal should put up 15-20 threes a game. But, yeah, BB should be taking more 3s, at least 9-10 a game.

I also assume that Beal has continued to work on his step back 3, an aspect of his game that he has shown steady improvement in.

My point was that Harden and Lillard have the ability to generate space in order to launch 10 3-point attempts per game at a respectable percentage. Beal lacks that skill. If he hoists 10 a game, many of them will be low percentage shots where he is off balance, fading away or otherwise contested. He's just not as good as Harden and Lillard.

I understand that was your point. But my point is that the Zards and Beal should figure out a way to ensure that Beal gets up 9-10 threes a game. Yes, they should be good looks. But I don't have a problem if one or two of them are contested. At worse, he'll end up with a 3pt% closer to that of Lillard and Harden.

I_Like_Dirt · Post #20 » by **I_Like_Dirt** » Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:16 pm

nate33 wrote:I'm not too thrilled about this either. Brooks seems to be suffering the same misconception about Beal as most of the rest of the NBA: that he's a really good shooter. Beal isn't. He's an okay shooter. Sure, he should continue to take open looks from 3-point range and he should avoid long 2's, but if he tried to force up 15-20 3pt attempts in a game, his percentage would plummet. He doesn't have the quick release of Klay or Curry, or the off-the-dribble separation of Harden or Lillard. Beal has already improved his biggest shot selection faux pas. He used to pump fake at a closing defender and step in for a long 2. Now he pump fakes and steps sideways for a 3.

This season, I don't want much to change from Beal's shot selection other than for him to no longer be responsible for isolation possessions. Leave that to Wall and Rivers.

I'm not so sure his percentage would plummet. His career high for % of total shots being 3s came in the 16-17 season when 41.8% of his FGAs were 3s. That was not coincidentally also his highest TS% in a season by a pretty significant margin. Beal isn't going to be like Curry and Harden, hosting 3s from everywhere, but he absolutely can look for effective 3s for himself rather than long 2s. I feel he's a bit more comfortable doing that when he isn't the focal point of the offense because he doesn't quite have the handle to create that many 3s for himself all game long. Wall being healthy for the entire season would help quite a bit. That said, while Beal doesn't have Harden's handle, he's also a more accurate shooter than Harden overall. While Beal doesn't have an elite quick release or an elite handle, he's still pretty good in both of those respects and combined with his overall accuracy, that makes him more than just an okay shooter. He isn't elite, but he's still very good and finding ways to get more 3s out of him and a little less of the other stuff probably spikes his efficiency upward relatively significantly.