Author Topic: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)  (Read 25993 times)

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Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #175: November 12, 2010, 08:40:08 PM »
that still leaves two spots with a lot of terrible teams fighting for them, no reason the wiz can't sneak in. I'm not saying they are good or that they won't get swept out in the first round, but they are on par with most of the other crapy teams in the east

Offline Potomac Cannons

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #176: November 12, 2010, 08:42:45 PM »
that still leaves two spots with a lot of terrible teams fighting for them, no reason the wiz can't sneak in. I'm not saying they are good or that they won't get swept out in the first round, but they are on par with most of the other crapy teams in the east

Definitely.  Getting a healthy Josh Howard back would just improve the chances even more.

Offline Sharp

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #177: November 12, 2010, 08:49:40 PM »
Personally I think this is probably one of the terrible teams... I don't expect us to make the playoffs, although it's possible.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #178: November 12, 2010, 08:52:18 PM »
Personally I think this is probably one of the terrible teams... I don't expect us to make the playoffs, although it's possible.

definitely a terrible team, but can you name two 'better terrible' teams for the 7 and 8 seeds

Offline Sharp

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #179: November 12, 2010, 08:58:05 PM »
definitely a terrible team, but can you name two 'better terrible' teams for the 7 and 8 seeds
Cavs, Bucks, and Pistons are better, Knicks are probably better.  Pacers and Bobcats might be better.  Nets, Knicks and '76ers are probably on par.  This is a VERY bad team.

Offline Potomac Cannons

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #180: November 12, 2010, 09:11:52 PM »
Cavs, Bucks, and Pistons are better, Knicks are probably better.  Pacers and Bobcats might be better.  Nets, Knicks and '76ers are probably on par.  This is a VERY bad team.

The Pistons aren't better than anyone.  They might be the worst team in the East.  This Wizards team is definitely a candidate to make the playoffs in the East.

We've got them all beat at PG.  The Hinrich/Arenas SG combo is good.  Thornton/Young is okay and SF will improve with Howard.  Blatche/Yi is a good PF combo.  McGee is solid but there's no real C depth.

A great PG and 8 others who can play is enough to be in contention.

Offline Sharp

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #181: November 12, 2010, 09:14:05 PM »
I like that you carry your optimism about the Nats to other teams, but let's be realistic.  Wizards are just a bad team.  They're struggling mightily against the Bobcats, who are an awful team.  They don't play good team defense, a lot of the players don't have a good grasp of the fundamentals, and Arenas doesn't look "so good" at all.  Blatche is absolutely awful, and makes like five thousand mental errors per second.

BTW, I wouldn't call Wall a great PG just yet.  Great for a rookie, yes, but not one of the elite.

Offline Potomac Cannons

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #182: November 12, 2010, 09:27:42 PM »
I like that you carry your optimism about the Nats to other teams, but let's be realistic.  Wizards are just a bad team.  They're struggling mightily against the Bobcats, who are an awful team.  They don't play good team defense, a lot of the players don't have a good grasp of the fundamentals, and Arenas doesn't look "so good" at all.  Blatche is absolutely awful, and makes like five thousand mental errors per second.

BTW, I wouldn't call Wall a great PG just yet.  Great for a rookie, yes, but not one of the elite.

Wall's 4th in the NBA in assists.  He's already showing signs of getting the TOs under control.

Anyone saying Blatche is awful, on a night where he's got 22 points , 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals (which is what he put up as a starter last year) really can't be taken seriously.

The team defense has been surprisingly good so far this year.  They don't rebound and that has led to a lot of easy put backs.

Fundamentally they're better than I expected and it's bordering on criminal to think this team won't improve as they play together.

Tonight's been tough as the officiating has gone pretty strongly against the Wizards.

Arenas looks like a guy who needs to get his legs under him but the other things, like rebounds and assists, are starting to show up.

The East is horrible.  This team, once guys like Arenas and Howard are close to full strength, has 9 guys who can play.

Offline Sharp

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #183: November 12, 2010, 09:39:37 PM »
Not rebounding is bad defense, Potomac.  The officiating was totally fine, the Wizards didn't pick up a lot of fouls because the Bobcats didn't commit a lot of fouls--that's one reason they're a great defensive team.  Arenas doesn't look like he should be starting and Blatche does a lot of dumb things that aren't reflected by the stats you provided.  This team can occasionally shoot the three, and it's got Wall... that's about all that's going for it.  The Wizards have won against two teams: the '76ers and the severely injury-depleted Rockets.  Again, I admire your optimism, but... it's not a good team.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #184: November 12, 2010, 09:41:44 PM »
The best two players on the Wizards are a rookie and a guy who barley played last year (not due to injury), I expect them to improve. I'm not saying they're not bad, just that two bad teams in the east will make the playoffs, and they have a legitimate shot to be one of those two teams

Offline Potomac Cannons

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #185: November 12, 2010, 10:01:41 PM »
The officiating was fine?  Wall gets pounded on a fast break with no call, Yi is clearly a foot outside of the circle and gets called for a block, Blatche gets elbowed in the throat etc.  It was a very bad officiating night. 

The team actually plays good initial defense but they don't rebound.  That doesn't make them a bad defense, it makes them bad at one part of defense.  They're 3rd in the NBA in team steals.  They're 6th in blocks.  If they figure out how to just be adequate at rebounding they'll be a good defensive team.

Amazing how the "injury depleted" Rockets started the game with everyone healthy and only had the one injury during the game.

Still trying to see you back up the bullcrap Blatche is awful stuff.  22/8 as a starter last year and 17.5/8 as a starter this year.  He's off to a slow start shooting at 41% compared to the 47% he's shot the last 3 years but tonight was a clear step towards fixing that.

The "awful" Bobcats team tonight was a playoff team with 44 wins last year with the same roster.  They're off to a slow start, it happens.

They're bad for the time being but they've got a PG with 72 assists in his first 7 games.  That's the best in NBA history.  They've got a good PF and a good backup PF.  They need Arenas to get his game legs back and shoot better and a healthy Josh Howard would give them a good starter at 4 positions, a decent C, and 4 quality bench players.  It's the East.  That's enough to make the playoffs.

Offline Sharp

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #186: November 12, 2010, 10:04:41 PM »
The Wall call was fine, the Wizards announcers were just upset about it.  I won't argue with you about this, because it's very early, I just personally don't think all these pieces are lining up like you think they are.  I think what you're saying could be said about virtually every team, including the Timberwolves (they have Beasley and Love!)  We aren't going to convince each other, so let's agree to disagree for now.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #187: November 12, 2010, 10:15:59 PM »
The Wall call was fine, the Wizards announcers were just upset about it.  I won't argue with you about this, because it's very early, I just personally don't think all these pieces are lining up like you think they are.  I think what you're saying could be said about virtually every team, including the Timberwolves (they have Beasley and Love!)  We aren't going to convince each other, so let's agree to disagree for now.

I thought the Wall call was terrible.  THe defender reached past the ball and came down on Wall's left wrist/hand, and literally pulled his hand down as if trying to cause a fumble a la NFL style. 

Blatche hurt his neck when that defender came down on his back and grabbed Blatche's head/neck to try to stop from falling.  Blatche did get that call, sank both free throws.

Offline Potomac Cannons

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #188: November 12, 2010, 10:36:32 PM »
Blatche got elbowed in the throat again later with no call.  There was also the atrocious foul against McGee on a perfectly clean block.  This team was in it despite only 1 FT attempt in the first half and the calls clearly going the other way all night.

Looking at what teams have/need, the Wizards have two guys who can play the 4 and could upgrade the 2, 3 or 5 depending on what's the best deal.  OKC is a good team that needs to move Green somewhere where he can play the 3 instead of being badly undersized at the 4.  I would love to see Grunfeld pull an Yi for Green trade.  The contracts match up, the needs match up, and the only potential drawback is Green/Durant being pals.

Offline Dave B

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #189: November 13, 2010, 10:25:46 AM »
The wiz have been in every game except the first, granted against bad teams. But the Hawks are pretty good and they hung with them. A little more focus/perseverance/effort/improvement and that crucial bad two minutes that puts the game out of reach or swings the momentum against them might start to disappear.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #190: November 13, 2010, 12:45:17 PM »
The Wall call was fine, the Wizards announcers were just upset about it.  I won't argue with you about this, because it's very early, I just personally don't think all these pieces are lining up like you think they are.  I think what you're saying could be said about virtually every team, including the Timberwolves (they have Beasley and Love!)  We aren't going to convince each other, so let's agree to disagree for now.

timberwolves are better than the wizards- they are also in the west

Offline ronnynat

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #191: November 13, 2010, 10:35:26 PM »
Great shooting by Arenas tonight. Yi going down early made it tough to come back in this one.

This is probably the most I've liked a losing team.

Offline Potomac Cannons

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #192: November 13, 2010, 10:44:56 PM »
Great shooting by Arenas tonight. Yi going down early made it tough to come back in this one.

This is probably the most I've liked a losing team.

Yep.  They need to be healthy and have everyone play at or near their potential to win games.  Still, a lot of fun.

Offline cmdterps44

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #193: November 13, 2010, 10:51:00 PM »
Yep.  They need to be healthy and have everyone play at or near their potential to win games.  Still, a lot of fun.
Great shooting by Arenas tonight. Yi going down early made it tough to come back in this one.

This is probably the most I've liked a losing team.

Agreed. If only we could've won some of these close ones, It's still pretty fun watching them. I can see a push sometime soon. Nice to see Gilbert have a 30 point game.

Offline ronnynat

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #194: November 16, 2010, 07:05:10 PM »
Wall's out. Arenas needs to have a big game.

Offline cmdterps44

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #195: November 16, 2010, 07:06:51 PM »
Wall's out. Arenas needs to have a big game.

Why, anything serious?

Offline ronnynat

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #196: November 16, 2010, 07:09:16 PM »
Why, anything serious?

Sprained left foot. He should only miss a game or two.

Offline Potomac Cannons

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #197: November 16, 2010, 07:09:43 PM »
Why, anything serious?

Nah, minor ankle issue and they're being cautious.

Offline ronnynat

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #198: November 16, 2010, 07:16:58 PM »
Looks like the Wizards are going to play a zone when Bargnani's on the court. That would be a tough matchup for McGee.

Offline NatsDad14

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Re: Washington Wizards (2010-2011)
« Reply #199: November 16, 2010, 08:26:04 PM »
This Wizards team is not a playoff team unless 30 wins gets you in the playoffs these days. The Frontcourt other than Blatche is awful. Yi is not a guy is good enough to get 20-25 minutes per game, yet he gets those minutes on the Wizards. McGee is a real bad defensive player. Wall is good. Arenas will be fine. Hinrich is decent. Thornton is a below average starter. other than that, nothing good on the Wizards current roster. Better off if they tank this year.