Washington Wizards state of affairs

[LiLharvard]

Early this season right up until the 45th game of the season, I had high hopes the Wizards could compete in the Eastern conference finals. A string of lack lustre performances and an incredibly bad slump has put things into perspective for me.

Bradley Beal: "the best backcourt in the league" proclamation at the start of year had my juices flowing and had me thinking Beal has taken his game to the next level. Sorry about that, only glimpses were shown by Beal, mostly, in part to an injury plagued campaign. His mental strength must also be questioned for years to come in this franchise.. He looks fairly disconnected out there and he's said some things in the media that may harm team Ebonics. And now the news he's dealing with a stress/nerve issue in his leg (never good) Terrence Jones has literally been out the whole year something similar.

Randy Whitman: does anyone else feel this guy coaches/manages the team poorly?? The other night in a close game a lineup of Rasual Butler, Garrett Temple, Drew Gooden and Andre Miller was in the game .. They didn't score a bucket for about 4mins.. And also against Toronto in a tie game with a 1min to go Drew Gooden is taking 3 shots on 3 different possessions MIND BLOWN I still can't believe these guys are still in the nba.... Butler performed well for his spot and is nailing dem 3's at a high rate but hes limited in what he can do and I don't think Whitman should be giving this scrub 30mins a night. I like Andre Miller but those wheels are going to fall off soon and he's getting a lot of DNP for Garrett Temple of all fking people... Yes that's right .. Whitman is using this guy as a backup Pg Mind blown once again.

Who else do we have? Martell Webster ..most people are thinking this guy is shit he's been in the league 10+ years one of the last high school to pro's with a lot of miles on his legs. Well, sorry. The wiz think he's absolute gold and he's been rewarded with a 22million contract after 2012-2013 campaign where he shot the ball well .. Since then he's been absolute Shiiiiit and is coming off back surgery he's been playing since dec.30 and hadn't replicated anything close to what the Wizards are paying him for. I just finished reading an article about him how he's more into his music than his basketball and that he will retire after his contract expires WOW

So basically, the Wizards are stuck with 1 superstar all star and one decaying Paul Pierce. Marcin Gortat who got big money and is the reason Ariza left (good choice) but apart from that there isn't really anyone else scratching the surface. Otto Porter seems lame I don't like him. What can GRUNFIELD do? He has to make a move! The whole entire season for the Wizards has been built on "we want to do more than make noise in the playoffs" should he get affalo? I think it's a good option keep miller as back up and give him minutes he's got some tread left.

[Springsteen]

Like the Bulls, they're a Carmelo away from title contenders.

[outbreak]

Like the Bulls, they're a Durant away from title contenders.
fixed

[LiLharvard]

I don't think they need another superstar.. They play good defence their rating has to be up there in the top 5.
Just need a couple of decent player who arn't coming from d-league backgrounds. Grunfield will make a move before 19 d.l and he has to get a decent player not a will Bynum type player I think best outcome
is Aaron affalo. There was a time last year he was playing near all star ball for the magic and that's what we need POINTS

[Springsteen]

fixed

They play in the east, they can manage it with Carmelo.

[outbreak]

They play in the east, they can manage it with Carmelo.
But I think Durant moving there is more likely

[Springsteen]

But I think Durant moving there is more likely

Eh, even with the whole "home" storyline I think it's likely he resigns in OKC. After seeing him go on twitter tirades to defend his teammates' contract extensions I'm pretty convinced "KD2DC" isn't happening.

[RedBlackAttack]

Bradley Beal: "the best backcourt in the league" proclamation at the start of year had my juices flowing and had me thinking Beal has taken his game to the next level. Sorry about that, only glimpses were shown by Beal, mostly, in part to an injury plagued campaign. His mental strength must also be questioned for years to come in this franchise.. He looks fairly disconnected out there and he's said some things in the media that may harm team Ebonics. And now the news he's dealing with a stress/nerve issue in his leg (never good) Terrence Jones has literally been out the whole year something similar.

You definitely do not want to mess with team Ebonics.


Interesting post. The Wiz are a good team, but I don't see them as legitimate title contenders. In fact, I'd sort of compare their current state to that of the Wizards in the middle of the 00s.

Those teams are underrated nowadays. They went toe-to-toe with LeBron's Cavs and gave them everything they wanted. But, ultimately, they just didn't have that one guy who they could turn to on both ends when they needed a stop/score. Gilbo was good enough to do the scoring part of it, but the intensity defensively was lacking.

Wall is an excellent player, but I'm not sure I trust him in late game scenarios in the playoffs when the team desperately needs a score. He could be a great set-up guy, but Beal just doesn't seem like a 1A/1B level player that is going to come through for you in that situation.

With all of that being said, I really like their Gortat/Nene combo up-front. They compliment each other really well.

[LiLharvard]

You definitely do not want to mess with team Ebonics.


Interesting post. The Wiz are a good team, but I don't see them as legitimate title contenders. In fact, I'd sort of compare their current state to that of the Wizards in the middle of the 00s.

Those teams are underrated nowadays. They went toe-to-toe with LeBron's Cavs and gave them everything they wanted. But, ultimately, they just didn't have that one guy who they could turn to on both ends when they needed a stop/score. Gilbo was good enough to do the scoring part of it, but the intensity defensively was lacking.

Wall is an excellent player, but I'm not sure I trust him in late game scenarios in the playoffs when the team desperately needs a score. He could be a great set-up guy, but Beal just doesn't seem like a 1A/1B level player that is going to come through for you in that situation.

With all of that being said, I really like their Gortat/Nene combo up-front. They compliment each other really well.


This is where my problem with Coach Randy Whitman comes into play.... We got Pierce after losing ariza... he's proven in the clutch and EARLY in the season when the wizards were playing GOOD ball... We saw this numerous times, feed it to pierce with about 3mins to go let him do his thing.. and it worked. Nowadays, Whitman is all fked up in the head, he needs to stick with his guns and stop experiments or trying to rest players or protecting them. The time is now, the wizards have already lost their hunger i can see it on all their faces.... We need some new guys get rid of these fkin 13 yr Journeyman busts.... Either that or Grunfield is to blame .. the roster is the problem.. we lack depth at the Guard position but extremely stacked at the F position... The wizards need to find their identity fast.... and Beal is all fked up in the head lately with the shit he's been saying in the media.. Stick his ass on the pine.. let him lament on the fact that he has the talent but isn't getting minutes.. let him get a chip on his shoulder.. this is assuming we have someone else by the 19th .. Temple isnt playing those minutes


And I agree with the John Wall sentiment, He's kinda sneaking by at this point. Optimus Dime deserves his title but his offensive game lacks some fluidity about it.

[tontoz]

Grunfeld is a lousy GM. He had 2 first round picks in the 2011 draft (Vesely at 6, Singleton at 18) and both are out of the NBA already.

He gave a 2 year guaranteed deal to Eric Maynor to be Wall's backup. Maynor is out of the league too but still getting paid.

He gave the full MLE to Webster even though we had glaring needs inside and at backup pg. Webster hasn't contributed at all this season.

He routinely sells/whiffs on 2nd round picks. We got Glen Rice in the 2nd round and he lit up summer league/D league and looked good when he got minutes. We waived him.

Not surprising that the bench sucks. If Wall goes down they will be losing almost every game.

I picked them to win 42 games before the season started. They have won 7 games by 3 points or less, most in the NBA. They aren't as good as their record. It wouldn't surprise me if they wind up with the 6th seed.



And yes Randy is a bad coach, at least offensively. He loves long 2 point jumpers and his substitution pattern/play calling are dubious at best.

[LiLharvard]

Grunfeld is a lousy GM. He had 2 first round picks in the 2011 draft (Vesely at 6, Singleton at 18) and both are out of the NBA already.

He gave a 2 year guaranteed deal to Eric Maynor to be Wall's backup. Maynor is out of the league too but still getting paid.

He gave the full MLE to Webster even though we had glaring needs inside and at backup pg. Webster hasn't contributed at all this season.

He routinely sells/whiffs on 2nd round picks. We got Glen Rice in the 2nd round and he lit up summer league/D league and looked good when he got minutes. We waived him.

Not surprising that the bench sucks. If Wall goes down they will be losing almost every game.

I picked them to win 42 games before the season started. They have won 7 games by 3 points or less, most in the NBA. They aren't as good as their record. It wouldn't surprise me if they wind up with the 6th seed.

And yes Randy is a bad coach, at least offensively. He loves long 2 point jumpers and his substitution pattern/play calling are dubious at best.

Damn, i forgot about Glen Rice. He was deadly.

[Done_And_Done]

This is where my problem with Coach Randy Whitman comes into play.... We got Pierce after losing ariza... he's proven in the clutch and EARLY in the season when the wizards were playing GOOD ball... We saw this numerous times, feed it to pierce with about 3mins to go let him do his thing.. and it worked. Nowadays, Whitman is all fked up in the head, he needs to stick with his guns and stop experiments or trying to rest players or protecting them. The time is now, the wizards have already lost their hunger i can see it on all their faces.... We need some new guys get rid of these fkin 13 yr Journeyman busts.... Either that or Grunfield is to blame .. the roster is the problem.. we lack depth at the Guard position but extremely stacked at the F position... The wizards need to find their identity fast.... and Beal is all fked up in the head lately with the shit he's been saying in the media.. Stick his ass on the pine.. let him lament on the fact that he has the talent but isn't getting minutes.. let him get a chip on his shoulder.. this is assuming we have someone else by the 19th .. Temple isnt playing those minutes


And I agree with the John Wall sentiment, He's kinda sneaking by at this point. Optimus Dime deserves his title but his offensive game lacks some fluidity about it.

What opinions has Beal been posting? Playing time issues?

[LiLharvard]

What opinions has Beal been posting? Playing time issues?

I don't really have much of an issue with what Beal is saying/ it's more frustration with an injury riddled season for young Beal and his development. This for me has been the crucial part of the wizards downfall and ultimately left Grunfield's lack of moves exposed. I'm a huge Beal fan. He is still one of the top 3 point shooters in our game.The rest of his game, in particular on the defensive end, is progressing well. But during the playoffs last year, Beal was great. Just a great all around scorer. He was Washington's best player for much of the postseason. His star grew. People started comparing Beal with Klay Thompson. Now, possibly hindered by an injury, Beal hasn't grown as quickly. He will soon, but it was Beal's evolution to a 20 ppg scorer that was going to propel this team. Once again, the problem was the expectations and not Beal's game, but for the Wizards to be viewed as a contender for the chip, Beal has to take that next step, like Thompson has out in Oakland.

[Da KO King]

One of the problems I see from the Wizards is they can't score reliably from the interior. All their interior scoring comes from dribble penetration. That wouldn't be too big an issue if someone other than Wall could get to the heart of the defense. Every game I watch, be it tv or in person, sees the team struggle against packed in defenses until the team starts making jumpers.

Another is that the grouping of Paul Pierce, Marcin Gortat, and Nene Hilario (not good enough for just one name) gives you a really slow front court that struggles against teams that have good ball and player movement. It's part of why Toronto and Atlanta lately. Both teams have PFs and/or Cs that can step out to the perimeter and it's forcing close-outs from Gortat and Nene.

Though it's February and they're are a playoff team so NBA draft talk doesn't mean much but I think they should look at Bobby Portis from Arkansas. He won't help with interior scoring but his willingness to defend and athleticism at the PF spot will be helpful.

[beastee]

they don't seem primed for a deep run, but then again they seem to own the Bulls for some odd reason. Hopefully the Bulls can avoid them in the second round this season.

[hawksdogsbraves]

Coaching and lack of depth off the bench are two big issues, but in my mind the reason we aren't seeing the Wiz take much of a step forward this year is because of Bradley Beal's lack of development.

He hasn't improved whatsoever from year 2 to year 3, when most people were expecting him to make the leap to a 20ppg guy and with Wall really contending for that 'best backcourt in the league' title that was being talked about before the season.

Maybe it's just injuries, but his development is the biggest key in terms of the Wiz becoming a true contender.

[Darius]

This team's ceiling is totally determined by Nene showing up or not IMO.

They are a solid team with him being "invisible" Nene but if he is hitting face up jumpers and showing up to play they can beat anyone IMO.

[WallIn]

Agreed with all the points above. I made a thread about a week ago about Wiz being fool's gold and OP is aligned with my point of view.

Beal has been somewhat of a dissapointment and you could make a valid excuse that he has been derailed by injuries and is 21. We need to give him more time, 3-4 years to see if he is in the top 5 SG conversation or not.

Another thing is that, no matter how good Wall is going to be, he will never be the Batman the closer, taking over playoff game becuase he commanded it so. Paul Pierce won't play much longer. That will seriously damage Wiz chances to go deep in the playoffs. That's where the Batman comes in, Kevin Durant. KD's Batman to Wall's Robin, I'd like to see that. Chances are low but maybe it will happen. Or maybe Beal will explode into the 2nd James Harden, small chances but you never know.:oldlol:

Nothing to add on coaching, it is a problem and it will continue to be a hindrance in the playoffs. Guy just deosn't cut it. While the Kings make moves, add Karl, Grunfeld is just sitting all happy because Wiz are over .500 and he escaped the hot seat.