Just our conference

[hands11]

Just to highlight how bad we need Kwame, Etan, Haywood, Jefferies, and hopefully, Raymos to step it up.

We have 3 very solid players in Gil, Hughes and Jams.
That's great if you want to be OK and make the playoffs, but we need at least one more stud up front to be very good.

There are enough good teams in the Eastern Conference to make a high slot in the playoffs a challange. With the proven tallent level and performace we have ready seen, we should be better then everyone in the Eastern Div but they still take a slot for the Div winner and New Jersey may be the a team to watch with Kidd healthy. How much better can he make them without K Martin ?
I'd say only as good as we are now but now way better then us if we continue to develop or if we have an effective Kwame and Etan. This is the slot we want to play in the first round. We have the best chance beating either of these teams. Jordan against NY would be very interesting.

You have Cleveland, Indi, and Detroit in the Cental. All are good and Indi and Detroit have had a major set backs because of the fight. So they should rebound and start winning more. Both playoff experienced. We arent.

Orlando, Miami, and Washington in the SW. So....

The 3 slots/seed goes to the Eastern Conf winner. Im guessing NY and maybe NJ. We just barely beat NY at home. Lets say NY takes to conference.

1 or 2 for the Central - let say its Cleveland tough who knows.
1 or 2 for the East. Lets say it Orlando as of today.

We have to be better then Orlando and Miami to win our Div and to me that means we need more up front then Jams. So if Kwame, Haywood and an injured Etan don't show marked improvment, we won't win the East. As of today, Orlando wins. Shaq is going to get better as the season goes on and he gets more healthy and as of today, we have no answer for him.

This leaves use fighting for a while card against 5 remaining slots against.

Miami
Indi
Detroit
Washington
New Jersey

So as things stand today, we should be a lock for at least the 7-8 spot. More hopeful, we could be 5-6 slot, and if all works out to the best of hope we could be 1, 2 or 4.

If you play the odds on who will be easiest the beat in the first round, we would have the best chance going against the Eastern Div winner (NY or NJ instead of being the 2nd seed going against a team like Detriot, Indiana or Miami. If NJ doesn't win the East, they will be the 8th seed playing the 1st seed. If they do win, NY will be the 8th. To play them, you would be the 1st seed.

To play the 3rd seed ( Eastern Div Champ ) you need to be the 6th seed. This is actually the best place for us to be this year so we can get through the first round and gain some experience and give us a beter chance against the tougher teams in the second.
Remember, we haven't been in the playoffs in a while and it's a totally different game. It's so much faster and more aggresive. We would benefit from having some time to adjust.

This was in interesting exercise. To me, if we want to get past the first round in the playoffs, we would be best to be the 6th seed over being the 2,4,5,7,or 8. 1st seed would be my second choice because you play NY or NJ hopefully.

[SAMB0]

It's Ramos, and He can't step up if he hasn't steped on yet.

And Haywood Has made MUCH improvement.

[DonMagicJuan]

def, exactly what sambo said

[Bugs']

Hands, I can see how that would be a fun and interesting exercise but I just feel it's way too early to speculate. So much can happen from now and then. I just try to stay focused on what the Wizards are doing and I think the rest will fall into line. I am concerned about how Kwame will effect the flow and chemistry of the offense. I am not concerned at all about Etan fitting back in....I think at this point we have a great chance of making the playoffs. I don't care if it's the 1st or 8th seed but making the playoffs has been so rare for us I am just enjoying the prospect and run right now.....good time my friends to be a Wizard fan!

[hands11]

Originally posted by SAMB0
It's Ramos, and He can't step up if he hasn't steped on yet.

And Haywood Has made MUCH improvement.

Well then I guess he isnt stepping it up in practice. If he was, he would be playing. You have to make them play you.

He can't step it up ? Hes on the team isnt he ? Ov course he can step it up.

[hands11]

Originally posted by Bugs'
Hands, I can see how that would be a fun and interesting exercise but I just feel it's way too early to speculate. So much can happen from now and then. I just try to stay focused on what the Wizards are doing and I think the rest will fall into line. I am concerned about how Kwame will effect the flow and chemistry of the offense. I am not concerned at all about Etan fitting back in....I think at this point we have a great chance of making the playoffs. I don't care if it's the 1st or 8th seed but making the playoffs has been so rare for us I am just enjoying the prospect and run right now.....good time my friends to be a Wizard fan!

You can count us as in the playoffs. I have no question we will be there. We are already very good and we have lots of talent we havent even seen yet. Even with an injury we would still be good. We just cant loose Jamison. He is the glue.

Sorry you feel its to early, I don't. I love putting is all down in black and white and seeing if Im right. I hate reading peoples posts that just wait till it's all obvious then just post about how the sky is falling or jump on the band wagon. If Im wrong, well, here is is. If Im right, then I had the insight to forecast it.

Regardless, it would be easiest for us to play the winner of the Eastern Div. They will be the weak link in the conference, barring injuries.

I do agree somewhat that Kwame is harder to mix in. He wont be harder to mix in defensively but since he can be a dominate post player scoring 15-20 pts in a game, it going to take a change in offense to get him there. We have 3 shooting, scoring players on this team and they will need to realize they are a better team if they shoot less and feed Kwame more. You want o have Kwame mentally involved. Its like a strong running game in football.

Now, the one thing that could change this is if Gil continues to drive and get fouled. He and Hughes driving and getting fouled has the same effect as Kwame shooting inside and getting fouled. It's all about the 3 pt play and getting the other team in foul trouble. If they continue to do this, we don't need as much from Kwame. He can just block shoots, get rebounds, run the floor and score garbage points. We will be great either way. Then Etan just adds more of the same. We could end up being very good if we get all our players on the floor. We are just starting to see Kwame again, then you still have Etan, who is a stud and Blake who was lighting it up from the floor later in the season.

We have a ton of talent here. You havent begun to see the WIZ yet. We still have 3rd and 4th gear.

[Bugs']

hands11 I love your enthusiasm and excitement about the Wiz...I cautiously share this with you. At this point I think Miami is a better team than us....that could change though as our team evolves...unfortunately we won't be able to prove that unless we meet them in the playoffs....we have one of the best scoring teams in the NBA and having a low post game will be nice but I don't want to force it just for Kwame....let's not forget about Brendan, who is often bashed or forgotten...he has come along well and outplayed Shaq last night...

[hands11]

Originally posted by Bugs'
hands11 I love your enthusiasm and excitement about the Wiz...I cautiously share this with you. At this point I think Miami is a better team than us....that could change though as our team evolves...unfortunately we won't be able to prove that unless we meet them in the playoffs....we have one of the best scoring teams in the NBA and having a low post game will be nice but I don't want to force it just for Kwame....let's not forget about Brendan, who is often bashed or forgotten...he has come along well and outplayed Shaq last night...


I think we agree. Kwame doesnt need to be forced in. We have the luxery of just having him focus on rebounds and defense while giving us another 6 fouls. He can pick up offensive rebounds and get his points like that. I think he is a little more skilled then Haywood at rolling to the hoop where our guards should be able to get him some easy shots. He is also faster at running the court then Haywood. We can work him into the offense slowly. We don't need his points right now, we need his size and speed. He can also run a fast breaks. I would be happy if he just focused on getting double doubles. This would be good for his confidence. 10-12 pts, 10-12 rpg 2 blocks. He can make a name for himself by posting these numbers. We dont need him to score 20 pts.

He need to work on setting picks, boxing out and greating space in the post so others have easier shots. Haywood is doing a better job at picks right now.

I am very happy with what we have now and look forward to seeing Kwame in shape, Etan return and Blake.

Not sure if we are better the Miami, but we were last night which is the only time we had Haywood and a healthier Kwame ready at the start of the game. 1st game we didnt even have Haywood, 2nd game was his first game back, 3rd game Kwame didnt play till the 2nd half. So the only game we had them both from the start, we crushed them. That's what I see.

[Bugs']

Originally posted by hands11



I think we agree. Kwame doesnt need to be forced in. We have the luxery of just having him focus on rebounds and defense while giving us another 6 fouls. He can pick up offensive rebounds and get his points like that. I think he is a little more skilled then Haywood at rolling to the hoop where our guards should be able to get him some easy shots. He is also faster at running the court then Haywood. We can work him into the offense slowly. We don't need his points right now, we need his size and speed. He can also run a fast breaks. I would be happy if he just focused on getting double doubles. This would be good for his confidence. 10-12 pts, 10-12 rpg 2 blocks. He can make a name for himself by posting these numbers. We dont need him to score 20 pts.

He need to work on setting picks, boxing out and greating space in the post so others have easier shots. Haywood is doing a better job at picks right now.

I am very happy with what we have now and look forward to seeing Kwame in shape, Etan return and Blake.

Not sure if we are better the Miami, but we were last night which is the only time we had Haywood and a healthier Kwame ready at the start of the game. 1st game we didnt even have Haywood, 2nd game was his first game back, 3rd game Kwame didnt play till the 2nd half. So the only game we had them both from the start, we crushed them. That's what I see.

I agree with your view on how to handle Kwame...he is no where near where he was at the end of last year when he was averaging around 15pts. 10 rbd. ....he will get there again and will taking the starting job over from Jeffries before the New Year...I look forward to Blake and Thomas coming back as well....and I want to see Ramos more...it would of been great to see his big body take on Shaq's....don't know why EJ didn't do that.:whoknows:

[hands11]

You know whats kind of interesting. With Gil maturing so much from last year, Kwame seems to be the odd ball on the team.

This team has a feel. Lots of hard working, level headed players with drive.

Gil, Hughes, Jamison, Haywood, Jefferies, Dixon, Blake, Hayes, Etan, Ruffin etc

They all seeem smart, dedicated, focused.

Kwame doesnt strick me this way. Just the way he moves around on the court. He looks like .... I dont know how to say it.
Like hes owed something. Maybe spoiled. Not focused. Lazy

I see him walking around a lot. I want to see him run to his possition and start working someone over. Lean on them, call for the call even when you know your not going to get it.

His clock isnt wound enough.

Maybe he will get traded just because he doesnt fit for these reasons. Hey if we had a professional post player to go with the big three, we would have the big 4. I see Etan having a huge impact if and when he returns.

We could go far with that.

Haywood is doing well and coming along and Jefferies is looking a lot more comfortable dribbling and getting involved in the offense. He just may end up being a nice nice player. I can see glimpes.

We need to blow some team out so he can experiment some in game conditions. Shot some 3's, drive some more. Remember, last year was basically his rookie year after a bad knee injury.

[bigricky3469]

I know i'm going to get ripped for this but I have to say it but what about trading Kwame. I mean HANDS your last comment about how everybody on this team is driven and you don't see that in Kwame. Man that really hit home with me because I thought I was the only person that saw this about him esspecailly the spoiled part. Man this cat has so much potential and thats where it stops. I would rather have Tyson Chandler than Kwame and heres why. Chandlers been battling injuries some what like Jefferies but this kid had penty of drive and attitude to go with it plus he is establishing himself as an very aggressive rebounder and shoot blocker. My take is that Chicago would not want to do this trade I think they would rather get rid of Curry but everybody is probably wanting Chandler.

But to tell you the truth who would we be able to get for Kwame. I know there are teams out there that want him but who is really willing to give us something good back in return for his potential.

I guess i'm just thinking out loud, would love to hear you guys comments on this one.

[Bugs']

What is Kwame now.....22? 23? 7' 265.....most GM's would salivate to get him and probably give up too much at this point...As much as I get frustrated with Kwame I think we need to keep him....look how much Gil has matured in the last couple of years and now he is an elite guard in the league....Kwame could turn out to be an elite PF/C....I say keep him and continue to get him involved more and more minutes (minutes he has to earn, not just given to).

[hands11]

http://www.nba.com/wizards/stats/index.html

Here is what we currently have.

We have a PG, SG, SF who can score and take lots of shots.
They are all driven and mentally sound. I cant believe I just said that about Gil. He has answered all my questions about him. I was suggesting trading him for a while because I just couldnt believe he could remix his game to be a PG and not be so immature, so quickly, but WOW. He has done all those things and in only 21 games. I have now removed him from ? to, you can count on him to be a star for a long time. His ball handling is better, he nails 3's, and if he can stay focused on driving to the hoop, getting fouled, and making free throws and or 3 pts plays, this is a huge improvement for us. Hughes is back to the form he showed last year before getting hurt and Jamison is Jamison. So 3 slots are locked for a long time. What can you add to this to be bettter ?

We still have the challange of mixing a roster that has lots of young, unproven talent with lots of potential and we dont have all the pieces healthy to answer our questions. You dont want to give up on young, unproven talent, but then again, where are they going to play and how many minutes for how much $$ is the quesiton. Who can you keep without other teams stealing them ? Blake has already been pushed to a life long 2nd PG because of Gil but we can keep him becuase we don't have to pay him to much. I think he will be great when he comes back. Great insurance in case of injury also.

I see the key players to watch at this point to actually be Etan and Jefferies. Hayes is my biggest question mark .364% FG and .244 from 3. He has time to grow behind Jamison but him improving will help a lot.

Here is the challange with Kwame. I know Etan and Jefferies have the attitude, maturity, team focus, energy and games that mix well with the stars we have. Etan is already signed and Jefferies is really only in his second year. I don't believe he is on other teams radar to much so we should be able to afford him. The coaches like his ball handling and defense. He is 7-0 and can run. He has the upside to be able to finish on fast breaks, dunk and shot from the outside while doing what he did last year, rebound. Etan is proven for 24 min, .48% 9-10 pts, 1.5 blks, 7 rb or more.

Etan rebounds, is the energizer bunny, dunks, blocks and is aggressive with his post offense. I think Etan is farthest along of the 3. He is also the oldest and most mature.

So here is the problem with Kwame. He would be great to keep and watch grow if he didnt demand a ton of money. He has the pressure of being a star like Gil and Jamison but we dont need him to be. At least not right now. The piece this team really needs back is Etan.

All these guys play the PF and Etan and Kwame can play center also. But we have Haywood starting there and he has gotten a lot better. Barring injuries, how do you play all these guys. Who are the starters? Right now I would have to say we have the best mix with.

Haywood, Etan, Jamison, Hughes, and Gil. I feel most confident with this line up taking us to the next level.

If Jefferies continues to come along, he could be very good. He doesnt have the muscle but better ball handling skills, so

Haywood, Jefferies, Jamison, Hughes and Gil - which is what we are starting now. Jefferies is the one player here who if he can improve ( mentally, I think he has the talent ) would make this a very effective line up also.

So where do you put Kwame ? Unless he is going to be totally physical, mature, a team player, focused on rebounds and running hard the whole game like these others, why would you start him over them ? Etan, Haywood and Jefferies dont mind playing second fiddle to Hughes, Gil and Jamison. They don't need to be stars. They are underachievers looking to get better. Kwame is a star looking to live up to expectations. He has much more pressure.

Honestly I feel more comforatble with Etans game at PF then Kwames. At least with this team mix. He is the one who make the big 3's game easier. So if you arent going to start Kwame, how much money are you going to pay him. I would love to have him in the wings incase Haywood gets hurt, but thats not realistic ?

We have lots of back up talent but I dont think they mix well all being on the court at the same time. There isnt enough leadership without Gil, Hughes and Jamison on the floor. You cant play.

Kwame, Jefferies, Hayes, Dixon and Blake. At least not yet. A year from now maybe it would be great to play this line up. Blake and Dixon have the leadership skills. If Jefferies can gain enough confidence to develope a proven offensive game and Kwame comes along, this could be amazing to have a second unit but we have to resign Kwame and Hughes. Hughes will demand a lot.
What would you pay for Kwame ?

See the problem ? Kwame could be great for this team but not for super star money unless he starts.

Right now we have so many pieces. We have a bottle neck. Kwame would have a better chance to grow on a team that didnt have 3 stars at SG, SF and SF. He would develop more if he played for someone who sucked, where he could get lots of touches, where he could make lots of mistakes. Kind of like when KG showed up at the Timberwolves. We are winning now. We cant give him the minutes every game as a starter unless he is producing. We dont have to room to watch him make errors and there isnt enough shots after Gil, Hughes and Jamison.

Kwame needs to realize he needs to show more heart, energy, maturity, and game then Haywood, Etan and Jefferies. They are playing in his position right now and are ahead of him on the depth chart. I believe it would be easiest and best for us if he pushed Haywood to the bench. This is the player he has the most phyical skills upgrade over. He is the slowest. If he cant beat out Haywood, I dont see how we can keep him. He could be a replacement for Etan. I dont think Etan cares if he comes off the bench, but I love Etans game. He is a mix between Ruffin and Jefferies. I dont see Kwame with more energy then him. Kwame probably isnt going to have better ball handling skills then Jefferies and keep in mind, we have Ramos as a project. We dont have to do anything with him for probably 2 years.

So in my book, Kwame better be focused on beating out Haywood for the Center possition. Then he would be worth the money.

Then you start.

Kwame, Etan, Jamison, Hughes, and Gil
or
Kwame, Jefferies, Jamison, Hughes and Gil

We could be very very good with these line ups if Kwame and Jefferies live up to thier potential. We would have tons of talent if Kwame can get his act together and Jefferies continues to mature and we get Etan back.

We have a couple of months to see if this happens. He can prove this coming off the bench. If it does, we will be very good this year and amazing next year. We are just so stacked right now and still so young. There is a place for him here but he needs to have a fire lite under his @ss. He should always be moving, leaning, pushing, setting picks, running. I don't ever want to see him walk to his possition. He hasnt earned the right to take a play off or pick his spots. Part of this may be his just coming back from injury but I want to see that mental fire from him. I want to see that he will do whatever it is the teams needs. Like a Ruffin does. When you read this roster, you see the ?'s are with the big men. You read this roster and say, what if Kwame can be a star at Center. WOW.

How would you feel reading this roster 2 years from now if Kwame is getting you 15pts 10 rpg 2 block. Etan can do the same. Haywood (c), Jefferies(PF/SF), Hayes(SF/SG, Dixon(SG) and Blake(PG) coming off the bench/backups. That a nice 9-10 man rotation. Dixon better start focasing on becoming a 3 pt specialist if he wants more playing time becuase Gil and Hughes can move between PG and SG and can play a lot of minutes.

Starters

0 Gilbert Arenas PG 6-3 191
20 Larry Hughes SG 6-5 184
4 Antawn Jamison SF 6-9 230
36 Etan Thomas PF/C 6-10 260
1 Jared Jeffries PF/SF 6-10 230
33 Brendan Haywood C 7-0 266
5 Kwame Brown C 6-11 265

Bench
2 Steve Blake PG 6-3 172
24 Jarvis Hayes SF/SG 6-7 220

3 Juan Dixon PG/SG 6-3 164 ( replaces Piller as a 3 shotter )
51 Michael Ruffin C-PF 6-8 248
8 Anthony Peeler SG 6-4 208
7 Laron Profit SG/SF 6-5 204
34 Peter Ramos C 7-3 275

[Gamebreaker]

I disagree, when has Etan ever shown the ability to average 15 points a game. I don't think any of our big men, with the exception of Kwame, have that type of offensive ability in the paint. I appreciate and admire Haywood's determination to get better, I can finally stop calling him Brenda. Heh. But he still isn't aggressive enough on the offensive end, to solidify himself as starting center. Etan is only good for garbage points, he's never shown the ability to beat another front court player one-on-one. Kwame has these intangibles that the other two lack. I feel it would be a huge mistake to trade Kwame before he's able to at least play half the season.

I'll admit I've noticed him standing around some, not running as hard as the other players. Yet I don't feel that is any reason why a player should be traded. Since he's been back from injury, I've always looked at it as Kwame pacing himself more than simply being lazy. Maybe some of you have never played organized sports before, but it isn't easy to get back in "game shape" when you were rehabbing a leg injury. We're talking about a player who literally couldn't run or jog for months, while the rest of the team were grinding it out in training camp. To expect him to be able to move with the same effort and initative as the rest of the team this soon is just a tad bit unreasonable. Considering how hard he played and the end of last season, I see no reason to question his desire.

As far as Tyson Chandler....ugh! This is guy has been even more inconsistent than Kwame. The only area of the game I see he has over Brown is better looking dunks and rebounds, slightly. He hasn't played well for more than two weeks, EVER. Can this guy at least pass Kwame's previous statistics before consider making a trade for him?

[hands11]

Originally posted by Gamebreaker
I disagree, when has Etan ever shown the ability to average 15 points a game. I don't think any of our big men, with the exception of Kwame, have that type of offensive ability in the paint. I appreciate and admire Haywood's determination to get better, I can finally stop calling him Brenda. Heh. But he still isn't aggressive enough on the offensive end, to solidify himself as starting center. Etan is only good for garbage points, he's never shown the ability to beat another front court player one-on-one. Kwame has these intangibles that the other two lack. I feel it would be a huge mistake to trade Kwame before he's able to at least play half the season.

I'll admit I've noticed him standing around some, not running as hard as the other players. Yet I don't feel that is any reason why a player should be traded. Since he's been back from injury, I've always looked at it as Kwame pacing himself more than simply being lazy. Maybe some of you have never played organized sports before, but it isn't easy to get back in "game shape" when you were rehabbing a leg injury. We're talking about a player who literally couldn't run or jog for months, while the rest of the team were grinding it out in training camp. To expect him to be able to move with the same effort and initative as the rest of the team this soon is just a tad bit unreasonable. Considering how hard he played and the end of last season, I see no reason to question his desire.

As far as Tyson Chandler....ugh! This is guy has been even more inconsistent than Kwame. The only area of the game I see he has over Brown is better looking dunks and rebounds, slightly. He hasn't played well for more than two weeks, EVER. Can this guy at least pass Kwame's previous statistics before consider making a trade for him?

Dude, your a nut as usual. Is this the statement your talking about " How would you feel reading this roster 2 years from now if Kwame is getting you 15pts 10 rpg 2 block. Etan can do the same" ?

2 years from now. How would you feel ? He can. It is possible.
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/etan_thomas/index.html?nav=page
Here is his current progress. He plays 24 min and averages 9 pts a game. Why would you have a problem with someone projecting that in 2 yrs, he could average 15 ?

I write a whole review of my opinion and you try to pick apart one little optimistic 2 year projection of a player scoring 5 more pts. You have to be kidding.

Then you start writting about stuff that has already been written like your objecting to what I wrote. Yes Kwame needs time. No you dont trade him now. Yes, he may be pacing himself. No, this isnt the only time he has just stood around. He has done it even when healthy. Jordan see this. Why do you think he came down on him. Read the article in the washington post today. No one expects him to be in total game shape. I believe he is only at about 60 % right now. I am happy he is getting in shape.

None of this is any different that what I wrote. The points I made still stand. He would do best to bet out Haywood. We have a great team. Im totally optimistic. I just have some concern regarding if Kwame is in the same mold as the rest of the team. I want to see him more agressive. He walks into position like we are running the MJ half court sets. We arnt running that offense anymore. Well see. We have time.

[Warhead36]

We'll get better defensively when Etan returns.

At this point I'm just happy we're consistently winning ball games. Going deep into the playoffs is another thing. I'll be ecstatic just to get there.

[hands11]

Originally posted by Warhead36
We'll get better defensively when Etan returns.

At this point I'm just happy we're consistently winning ball games. Going deep into the playoffs is another thing. I'll be ecstatic just to get there.

PLAYOFFS

[fixer26er]

The chances are against Etan ever becoming someone you toss the ball into the post to and having the defense collapse on. He is a good rebounder and great as a help defensive player, but he isn't a great low post option or one on one post defender.

Kwame has looked lazy this year, but I think it's due to frustration more than anything else. I have finally come around to the idea of trading him, but only for another young big with potential. I would trade him for someone like Chris Bosh. To be honest though I would rather have the Kwame from the second half of last year.

[Bugs']

Originally posted by fixer26er
The chances are against Etan ever becoming someone you toss the ball into the post to and having the defense collapse on. He is a good rebounder and great as a help defensive player, but he isn't a great low post option or one on one post defender.

Kwame has looked lazy this year, but I think it's due to frustration more than anything else. I have finally come around to the idea of trading him, but only for another young big with potential. I would trade him for someone like Chris Bosh. To be honest though I would rather have the Kwame from the second half of last year.

As bad as this is Etan is one of our better low-post offensive threats on the team....he is not as good as Brendan at this point but I believe he is more evolved than Kwame....It is hard to count Antwan because he really doesn't post up much....Jared is really making some strides and showing me some moves I didn't know he had in him...

As far as Kwame is concerned....:hammer:

[fixer26er]

Originally posted by Bugs'


As bad as this is Etan is one of our better low-post offensive threats on the team....he is not as good as Brendan at this point but I believe he is more evolved than Kwame....It is hard to count Antwan because he really doesn't post up much....Jared is really making some strides and showing me some moves I didn't know he had in him...

As far as Kwame is concerned....:hammer:

When healthy, Kwame is the Wizards best low post option. Brendan is second with his hook shots, then Etan with his put backs. Seems like Jared is trying to get his post-up game back together and Antawn, when playing the 4 seems to like to drive and hit the one handed floaters.

This team needs a low post threat unless they want to be like Boston a couple of years ago with a perimeter oriented offense and we can see where that got them.

[PCRoughrider]

As of right now, after the Sonics game, we're 5-5 against the mighty West and it's very possible that we could be 7-5 after Minnesota and Portland, our next two games.

[bigricky3469]

Quote "As of right now, after the Sonics game, we're 5-5 against the mighty West and it's very possible that we could be 7-5 after Minnesota and Portland, our next two games."

Well lets not get too ahead of ourselves. This is not a veteran team we are talking about here.

[hands11]

Originally posted by hands11
Just to highlight how bad we need Kwame, Etan, Haywood, Jefferies, and hopefully, Raymos to step it up.

We have 3 very solid players in Gil, Hughes and Jams.
That's great if you want to be OK and make the playoffs, but we need at least one more stud up front to be very good.

There are enough good teams in the Eastern Conference to make a high slot in the playoffs a challange. With the proven tallent level and performace we have ready seen, we should be better then everyone in the Eastern Div but they still take a slot for the Div winner and New Jersey may be the a team to watch with Kidd healthy. How much better can he make them without K Martin ?
I'd say only as good as we are now but now way better then us if we continue to develop or if we have an effective Kwame and Etan. This is the slot we want to play in the first round. We have the best chance beating either of these teams. Jordan against NY would be very interesting.

You have Cleveland, Indi, and Detroit in the Cental. All are good and Indi and Detroit have had a major set backs because of the fight. So they should rebound and start winning more. Both playoff experienced. We arent.

Orlando, Miami, and Washington in the SW. So....

The 3 slots/seed goes to the Eastern Conf winner. Im guessing NY and maybe NJ. We just barely beat NY at home. Lets say NY takes to conference.

1 or 2 for the Central - let say its Cleveland tough who knows.
1 or 2 for the East. Lets say it Orlando as of today.

We have to be better then Orlando and Miami to win our Div and to me that means we need more up front then Jams. So if Kwame, Haywood and an injured Etan don't show marked improvment, we won't win the East. As of today, Orlando wins. Shaq is going to get better as the season goes on and he gets more healthy and as of today, we have no answer for him.

This leaves use fighting for a while card against 5 remaining slots against.

Miami
Indi
Detroit
Washington
New Jersey

So as things stand today, we should be a lock for at least the 7-8 spot. More hopeful, we could be 5-6 slot, and if all works out to the best of hope we could be 1, 2 or 4.

If you play the odds on who will be easiest the beat in the first round, we would have the best chance going against the Eastern Div winner (NY or NJ instead of being the 2nd seed going against a team like Detriot, Indiana or Miami. If NJ doesn't win the East, they will be the 8th seed playing the 1st seed. If they do win, NY will be the 8th. To play them, you would be the 1st seed.

To play the 3rd seed ( Eastern Div Champ ) you need to be the 6th seed. This is actually the best place for us to be this year so we can get through the first round and gain some experience and give us a beter chance against the tougher teams in the second.
Remember, we haven't been in the playoffs in a while and it's a totally different game. It's so much faster and more aggresive. We would benefit from having some time to adjust.

This was in interesting exercise. To me, if we want to get past the first round in the playoffs, we would be best to be the 6th seed over being the 2,4,5,7,or 8. 1st seed would be my second choice because you play NY or NJ hopefully.


Hey Bugs

You still think it was to early for me to speculate ?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/matchups

Cough it up dude. I want my props. I nailed this back at the start of Dec.

We are right in the middle of this now. We still don't know which way it will fall. Im now hoping we can take the lead on Miami and Cleveland get play the 8th seed because we are 1st seed, instead of being 6th playing the 3rd. We need Shaq to pull up laim for a couple 2 weeks so we can make up for the bad scheduling against them and bad reffing.
We won that last game. Miami in not as good as thier record and we are on the ride. Come on Etan. Come on Jefferies. Come on Hayes, Blake, Haywood and Kwame. We still have a lot of upside to go.

[Bugs']

hands11, how about I give you some props? ;) I still think it is early, why do I think that? Because it is! But, I have to agree that we are in the thick of it but I will call it right now, "we will not catch Miami for the division lead this year". I just don't see that happening....(only if Wade and Shaq go down).

[hands11]

Originally posted by Bugs'
hands11, how about I give you some props? ;) I still think it is early, why do I think that? Because it is! But, I have to agree that we are in the thick of it but I will call it right now, "we will not catch Miami for the division lead this year". I just don't see that happening....(only if Wade and Shaq go down).


Agreed. Miami will be tought to catch but I hope we do.
It may be possible but as of right now, not highly likely.

Our schedule get easier later in the year. We still have a lot to prove. We also still have a lot of parts to add. No telling how good we can be. We have no limits at this point.

I did post, I was hoping Shaq pulls up lame in the next 2 weeks.

I havent done a projection on thier schedule like I did our but I looked it over. As it stands, I dont see them loosing a ton of games. They have a proven, probably the most dominate player in the league player on thier team and hes a big man, we dont.

Now, he isnt a spring chicken, so he has a good chance of missing some games. He has been getting hurt the last few years. This would be our best hope of catching them.

Hey, we had 2 of 3 of our power players hurt all year and we still won a lot of games.

[BayouBrave86]

I can't wait for this team to finally have a respectable inside presence with Etan back, this is going to be a fun next few months. I can't wait for tomorrow's game against the Trail Blazers.

[Buford]

Miami got beat like a drum last night. Ugh...and they beat us like a drum. Just goes to show that we're still many steps away from elite.

[Bugs']

Originally posted by Ironhide
Miami got beat like a drum last night. Ugh...and they beat us like a drum. Just goes to show that we're still many steps away from elite.

We were a different team when we played Miami and honestly the refs stole at least one of those games from us....stupid schedulers had us play them four times early in the year and thats it.....If we face them in the playoffs we probably won't beat them but we will be more competitive.

[NotInOurHouse]

Ive looked at both the Heat and the Wiz schedule and I have them both winning around 55 and 58 games...I think some teams might get good later in the season and might give the heat some problems...they still have to play houston twice as do we but weve seen we can play with anybody if we are on...but anyway after its all said in done if the wiz keep playing well i think that they could be right there with the heat in the end

[hands11]

Originally posted by Bugs'
hands11, how about I give you some props? ;) I still think it is early, why do I think that? Because it is! But, I have to agree that we are in the thick of it but I will call it right now, "we will not catch Miami for the division lead this year". I just don't see that happening....(only if Wade and Shaq go down).


Wade was out, they still won but it was against Golden State and it was probably a lot closer then usual

Heat 98
Warriors F 91


Shaquille O'Neal ruled the lane, scoring 26 and pulling down 12 rebounds on Wednesday for the HEAT, who won 98-91 at Golden State. Udonis Haslem added 22 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which played without injured guard Dwyane Wade.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-hnotes12jan12,0,4469485.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat

[hands11]

Originally posted by NotInOurHouse
Ive looked at both the Heat and the Wiz schedule and I have them both winning around 55 and 58 games...I think some teams might get good later in the season and might give the heat some problems...they still have to play houston twice as do we but weve seen we can play with anybody if we are on...but anyway after its all said in done if the wiz keep playing well i think that they could be right there with the heat in the end

Agreed. In a best guess wishful guestimate I did with both teams, I have the Wiz at 57, Miami at 59

Wade is now hurting

Wade entered Tuesday's game with a sprained left ankle, a bruised left knee and spasms on the left side of his lower back.

"I just think it's three separate things," he said. "I don't think [the back] has anything to do with the other things."


But what we really need is for Shaq to pull up lame. That would be a bigger blow and cause them to loose more games.

Its going to be really tought for us to catch them since they have the tie breaker.