There's no dominant team in the East. The Wizards could go to the Finals or lose in the 1st round, or, hell, miss entirely. There's not a better starting 5 in the East but it'll all depend on bench play and if they give a shit on defense.
OT: Nats, Wiz, O's, Ravens, Terps, DC United, Navy, Gtown, etc., 2016-18
- Thread starter g00n
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Ironic that they lost to the worst team of the group. But went 4-1.
They need to keep up this stretch, and assert themselves into top 4. Then focus on top 3. Preferably top 2. Home court is massive in NBA (vs NHL).
John Price
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John Price
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Can Porter play the 2? Can Morris play the 3?
Trade for Cousins. Maybe use Beal. I'm over Beal, and I agree w Steven A Smith (UGH), that something isnt right between Wall and Beal. They both want to be "the man", and it cannot happen. One guy needs to take that lead, and its Wall, IMO.
Cousins and a shooter to NO for Beal and Gortat.
g00n
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I've seen Wall and Beal connect on outstanding plays that would have other players chest-bumping and they just walk away from each other to celebrate with other teammates. They are not friends or even friendly and it will eventually sink the team.
I would trade Beal now, honestly. For Cousins. Would need to get Cousins resigned as part of it. Cousins is 3 years older, so thats the rub (but hes 27, in his prime). We may even be able to get something more from NO for an already signed Beal.
Wizards can deal Gortat or Mahimni in a separate deal for a shooter.
Mahinmi has negative value. He's a bad player on a terrible contract.
The problem w/ Wall and Beal is they're both absolutely awful in the 4th quarter. Both are bottom 10 this year in 4th quarter shooting percentage. You are going to lose leads and lose close games when your two best players can't perform in the clutch. Here's another article that highlights their struggles.
Hence why I'd like to have a guy like Cousins. Having a "true" low post performer at crunch time opens a lot of doors for the rest of the squad (Wall, Porter...even Morris). Plus Cousins can run with the best of them.
far as Gortat and Mahimni... Gortat doesnt have negative value. Deal him to a team that needs length (Milwaukee?) for a shooter
When was the last time Ernie made an actual meaningful basketball trade that didn't involve a 1st round pick?
Haha exactly. Always fun to speculate on message boards but Ernie has proven incapable of facilitating an actual basketball trade. His only strategy is to dump draft picks to correct prior mistakes, thereby hindering his future ability to improve the roster. It's a constant one step forward two steps back with Grunfeld.
John Price
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He never left csn which is good. He was supposed to chime in part time for a few games. Nothing against Kara who does a good job but Phil was a legend and they let him go for no reason.
Coach Ken staying at Navy. He interviewed at Arizona and almost left for that role but ultimately decided he wanted to stay in Annapolis (for next season, at least).
hockeykicker
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If ken did go, you think Ivan would have gone with him? Think he's the next coach in waiting
I think the opposite, actually. I think Ivan wants to be head coach at Navy right now. If Ken doesn't leave soon I imagine Ivan will, or at least seriously consider it (if he hasn't already). Another thing keeping Jasper at Navy, I bet, other than the myriad of benefits you get from being a coach at Navy is his son's heart condition. I imagine the Jasper family doesn't want to relocate at this time.
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This wizards team is an absolute disgrace. Imagine the caps constantly losing to Arizona. This is what is going on. Utah is not good. Charlotte is not good. Brooklyn is not good. This has to stop. This team had expectations to win the east. It was their time. How can they look this bad?
They are not together as a unit. They really need to trade one of the "stars", and it wont be Wall. It needs to be Beal. All of the dysfunctional behaviour stems towards him ("individual shot taking/not passing the ball").
Ernie should be on the horn with New Orleans right damned now. Form a Beal for Cousins deal and add where necessary (get a shooter as well). They need to change the make up of the team, as it seems Brooks has lost them, and he's not the problem.
A few reasons:
- Their compete level is abysmal. They look like a team that thinks they've arrived so they don't show up against teams they feel are inferior. They get beat to loose balls, don't box out, don't rebound, don't try and take charges, etc. They just exist when they play bad teams.
- Their half-court offense is not great. Most of the time it consists of passing the ball slowly around the perimeter until the shot clock is winding down, then Wall drives to the bucket and tries (unsuccessfully) to draw a foul or throws up a brick from 12-18ft.
- Their defense is bad.
- They're really only dangerous when they can get out and run. If you can't get stops on defense and can't rebound you can't consistently create fast breaks.
So fire another coach, or make a big trade?
Btw - this is mostly on Leonsis, IMO. He allows a culture where people who fail, stick around. All you need to do is look at 17 years of George and some 12 or so of Ernie.
He’s good at loyalty etc, and good/decent teams. He’s bad at holding people accountable and demanding excellence.
It’s just his way. There are are a lot of worse owners for sure (just look around the local landscape), but a good segment better too.
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Aladyyn
they praying for the death of a rockstar
Is there any possibility that Grunfeld gets fired when they get bounced in the 1st round by Miami?
Also, is there any pair of stars in this league who are worse at closing games than Wall and Beal? I seriously doubt it.
Also, is there any pair of stars in this league who are worse at closing games than Wall and Beal? I seriously doubt it.
No, actually, there isn't. There was a great article I read about how Wall and Beal are both bottom 10 in the entire league when it comes to 4th quarter offensive efficiency and 4th quarter shooting percentage. There's not another star to be found that far down the list, let alone two from the same team. They start playing hero ball in the 4th quarter and they are dreadful at hero ball.
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