The Official Washington Wizards Thread

[stevemcqueen1]

There is a difference between the dominant scorers of the league and the gunners who score lots of points. LeBron, Wade, DRose, Durant, CP3, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Dirk, KG, etc. all dominant scorers at some point in their careers who never had to gun to get theirs. They understand when to shoot and when to pass, how to play within the flow and they get the "big picture" of what the offense is trying to achieve.

It's kind of the difference between Durant and Westbrook as scorers, though Westy doesn't always turn into Westbrick and start gunning every night.

Shabazz doesn't always grasp the fine line between playing aggressive and smart and playing selfish and stupid. He takes bad shots early in the clock. He zones in on his shot and takes contested looks instead of hitting open teammates. He's got so many different tools and can score from almost anywhere on the court that he thinks, "yeah I can score from there" and doesn't have patience. He always looks for his shot and is a bad passer on top of it (twice as many turnovers as assists).

It's really hard to build a cohesive offense that plays together and raises all boats with a wing like that. You'll see the guys at UCLA pretty much ignoring Shabazz as he's open on the wing and try and work the ball inside to lesser scorers because they know he doesn't pass. I don't think it's so much that he's selfish or a bad teammate. I think he just doesn't quite get it. That's a basketball deficiency as much as not having a jumper.

[earl]

i'm not looking to bring in another crawford at alll. I just think that keeping everyone involved should be wall's role. as a whole we can still run curls for beal. give nene the ball in the high post. try to establish seraphin in the low post and webster and ariza can still spot up in corners. But this team lacks a prolific scorer that is thinking score everytime he touches the ball. A guy that can create his own shot outside of the sets that we run. If shabazz, or any other wing player we bring in, decides to dominate the ball, bring it up and pound the rock for the entire shot clock, then yes i agree that is a "deficiency".

This team currently has absolutely no one that has a scorer's mentality. our best player defers. our rookie disappears way too often. Nene is more likely to try to pass the ball then establish himself in the paint and our SF's are lackluster. the only guys that are hungry for shots are crawford and seraphin and they are avg at best right now. this team has shown the ability to compete and play w/ anyone for 3.5 quarters. but down the stretch, in close games no one looks comfortable enough to step up and take over. That's what made Gilbert so lethal.

Give me a young assasin that can learn the nuances as he matures and let Wall be the floor general that keeps him under control and gets everyone else involved. cuz all the guys you just named that aren't PG's all think score first when they touch the ball. that is the flow of thier game plan. they typically get the ball where they want it, in an iso situation and they go to work. they only pass out of double teams. That's what the nba is about. Mchale was the black hole cuz you knew it was never coming out. that was his role and hardly a deficiency. best believe if Dirk, KG, Ray, PP etc. in thier primes are iso'ed up and have a look they are attacking. it only becomes a deficiency when the gunner is playing a PG role. thats why westbrook gets the criticism and lebron when he was bringing the ball up and no one else would touch the ball.

Furthermore the college game is a bit different. with zones and team D's you really need to play more team ball. The NBA is all one on one. your superstar vs. mine. Shabazz's style is more suited for the NBA. It is a fine line between aggressive and stupid. but you can teach someone to take smarter shots (crawford) but you can't teach someone to be a stone cold assassin.

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

So is it significant that of the 3 teams Ted Leonsis currently owns (granted it's early for the Caps), all 3 of those teams are currently the worst teams in their respective leagues record-wise?

It's funny how we've ripped on Danny for so long, but Ted Leonsis is several orders of magnitude more inept. And he's so much easier to hate, because of his Mitt Romney-esque ability to completely ignore reality and continue to regurgitate spin. Ted was lucky he lucked into Ovie and Backstrom to make people think he knew what he was doing.

[lovetoaster]

And he's so much easier to hate, because of his Mitt Romney-esque ability to completely ignore reality and continue to regurgitate spin.

I think we can leave politics out of this, or at least say politician-esque because that quality is possessed by a lot more politicians than Romney these days.

[Destino]

So is it significant that of the 3 teams Ted Leonsis currently owns (granted it's early for the Caps), all 3 of those teams are currently the worst teams in their respective leagues record-wise?

It's funny how we've ripped on Danny for so long, but Ted Leonsis is several orders of magnitude more inept. And he's so much easier to hate, because of his Mitt Romney-esque ability to completely ignore reality and continue to regurgitate spin. Ted was lucky he lucked into Ovie and Backstrom to make people think he knew what he was doing.

And without RG3 we're still slamming Dan Snyder. In pro sports you've got to get great players. Ted has made the saw mistake Dan did, he's kept a bad GM. Sadly that move likely cost the Wizards James Harden. It's hard to quantify how huge that screw up is.

[Wrong Direction]

http://wizofawes.com/2013/01/22/the-...decision-tree/

[StillUnknown]

Beal won Rookie of the Month for January in the East.

[stevemcqueen1]

Beal won Rookie of the Month for January in the East.

Nice. Got it for December and January.

He's not a strong ROTY candidate by the measure of past winners. And he definitely doesn't deserve it over Damian Lillard based on the first half of the season. But it's nice to see him get recognized and I think he's honestly been the second best rookie of the class, very encouraging since he's only 19 and is the second youngest rookie. Lillard is practically a grown man by comparison.

It's a shame he got hurt.

---------- Post added February-1st-2013 at 08:11 PM ----------

And without RG3 we're still slamming Dan Snyder. In pro sports you've got to get great players. Ted has made the saw mistake Dan did, he's kept a bad GM. Sadly that move likely cost the Wizards James Harden. It's hard to quantify how huge that screw up is.

I'm still not feeling salty about the Harden situation. I still don't think it was the right move for this team long term.

Bottom line:
- Harden buttresses this year's roster enough to ensure we get nothing out of the draft. But Wall + Harden are not good enough to get it done long term and I think there are repeater tax considerations to consider with that construction.

- Keeping Beal and losing this year, enough to potentially get a difference maker out of the draft like Nerlens leaves us in a better place long term IMO. Wall + Beal + Noel is good enough to eventually contend IMO. And keeping rookie deals with the likes of Beal and the draft pick makes sense while we wait for Nene and Okafor to come off the books so we can avoid repeater tax for a long time. I think the time frame makes more sense this way, and I think the potential payoff is greater.

Though I'll probably change my tune if we pick a total lemon in the draft or get someone I really don't like.

---------- Post added February-1st-2013 at 08:15 PM ----------

Hoping Memphis plays as poorly tonight as they did last night.

[Destino]

Wall hit a three!!

[StillUnknown]

Remember today's date for the record

[stevemcqueen1]

I think this is our best chance at a win in this five game stretch. We need to win here or else things are going to get pretty ugly again.

[Destino]

I'm still not feeling salty about the Harden situation. I still don't think it was the right move for this team long term.

Bottom line:
- Harden buttresses this year's roster enough to ensure we get nothing out of the draft. But Wall + Harden are not good enough to get it done long term and I think there are repeater tax considerations to consider with that construction.
.

Harden and Wall wouldn't matter to me as I'd be looking to trade Wall unless he took Rondo money. I don't think Wall is in the conversation with Harden. I'd have traded Wall for him straight up... Still would.

---------- Post added February-1st-2013 at 08:27 PM ----------

I think this is our best chance at a win in this five game stretch. We need to win here or else things are going to get pretty ugly again.

We play good teams closer than we should... We might sneak another win in there. I kind of expect us to win tonight.

[stevemcqueen1]

Great first quarter.

---------- Post added February-1st-2013 at 08:36 PM ----------

Harden and Wall wouldn't matter to me as I'd be looking to trade Wall unless he took Rondo money. I don't think Wall is in the conversation with Harden. I'd have traded Wall for him straight up... Still would.

Wall isn't as good as Harden right now. But I wasn't really comparing Wall to Harden. We would have had both hypothetically. I was comparing Beal + a potential draft pick like Noel versus Harden. Plus the salary considerations.

Also, Wall still has his best basketball ahead of him. He's going to get better. A lot better IMO. I truly believe that.

And I think Wall in his prime will be a more valuable player than Harden considering their positions, but that's not really relevant to the discussion.

We play good teams closer than we should... We might sneak another win in there. I kind of expect us to win tonight.

I don't understand how you can have a relatively low opinion of Wall but still be optimistic about our chances night to night.

[Destino]

Booker has a strange shot release. Like a catapult.

---------- Post added February-1st-2013 at 08:43 PM ----------

I don't understand how you can have a relatively low opinion of Wall but still be optimistic about our chances night to night.

Its not low. I think he's near Rondo, which I think highly of, but not a max player. This team is designed to rely on a point guard and the parade of bad we've had at the position aren't enough to make it go. Webster and Beal have given this team shooting. Okafor and Nene have given them low post offense. This team quietly be me well rounded... But not without a PG and confidence, both of which Wall provides.

[StillUnknown]

I'm open to playing 4 on 5 on offense and leaving Ariza on the opponents end of the court strictly to play defense.