Wizards recap up at DCist. Let me just note that I was super-excited about the Darius Songaila signing, but insofar as the alternative backup player is Jarvis Hayes, I'm really looking forward to seeing him play.
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Grizzly Hunting
27 Dec 2006 11:05 am
Comments (12)
Songalia is more of an alternative to the likes of Ruffin/Booth/Lang, which is actually also cause for excitement for Songalia to come back.
Eddie Jordan's been using Hayes at the 4 recently, either to back up Jamison or else in super-small lineups with Jamison at the five. If everyone was healthy, I think you could stick to an eight person rotation with Arenas, Haywood, Thomas, Stevenson, Daniels, Butler, Jamison, and Songaila.
The only issue I have with that eight man rotation is that you lack a shooter/scorer from the bench, particularly if Butler Jamison or Arenas are in foul trouble. Or if there's an injury to one of the big three or even Stevenson, we're in trouble. Hayes theoretically could be a solid bench guy (there are a ton of people who think "well, he's still recovering from his injuries") but isn't. The good news is that you can acquire a shooter who is a 8th-9th guy on the bench relatively easily during the trade deadline.
Just imho. Although it is kinda funny to watch the Wizards blow out a team with pretty much five guys scoring (Calvin Booth had the only bench points until the fourth quarter last night).
The best part about Songalia coming back is that he'll take Hayes' place in the rotation and be the first guy off the bench for either butler or Jamison. Hayes was obviously awful last night shooting but the worst part to me was that it looked like his poor shooting was effecting his defense and rebounding. If he's not going to go all out on defense to make up for his inability to hit a shot then whats the point of having him out there? I'm really looking forward to the Songalia era.
In what may be a first, Matt spelled a word ("Songaila") right that all the commenters have so far spelled wrong.
Also, it's good that there's a steady level of NBA employment of Lithuanians.
The only issue I have with that eight man rotation is that you lack a shooter/scorer from the bench, particularly if Butler Jamison or Arenas are in foul trouble.
Songaila's a decent scorer -- 17.1 points/40 last season. The trouble is that I think he'll be a defensive liability even by Wizards standards which is really saying something. Obviously, what would be really nice would be for Daniels to start playing as well as he did back in Seattle....
Eddie Jordan's been using Hayes at the 4 recently
Maybe Hayes is playing sucky because he is actually a 2, not a 4?
Maybe Hayes is playing sucky because he is actually a 2, not a 4?
Implies ball handling and/or jump-shooting ability. He really should have "Tweener" stitched on the back of his jersey.
Maybe Hayes is playing sucky because he is actually a 2, not a 4?
I think Hayes is playing sucky because he sucks. The Wizards are full of 'tweeners -- Areas, Butler, Jamiso -- who don't suck. Hayes is a sucky tweener.
Hayes is a jumpshooter who can't actually shoot accurately. Which is kind of a real bummer for his overall effectiveness. Also, every time we face a new team, the opposing announcers seem obliged to mention Hayes "promising rookie year" and "unfortunate injuries" while he's shooting 2-9 from the field while not rebounding or passing.
Didn't know about Songalia's defensive game, or lack thereof. I personally like the "screw defense, we're just going to add scorers" mentality. There is an crazy logic to it -- there are a lot of teams that get lulled into matching the Wizards pace and shooting the first available shot. Might even get us a couple of rounds in the playoffs this year, given how bad the East is.
This is Hayes last contract year. Jamison has one more year. Opening up room to get a real power forward, backed up by Songalia.
The Wizards are full of 'tweeners
Perhaps young Yglesias has discovered a root of all that ails the Wizznutzz.
In seriousness, I'm no formalist when it comes to basketball positions, but there are certain roles that need to be filled for a team to be successful, and 'players without a position' are just that because they tend to be deficient in terms of the skills generally allocated to any one position. In the case of the Zards, this problem is manifested in the fact that none of their front line players, with the possible exception of Butler when he plays the 3, can really defend the position with which they are often matched up.
The best 'tweeners' tend to possess somewhat unlikely skills, which allow them to still pull their own weight - one example being Marion's excellent rebounding ability which allows the Suns to get away, for the most part, with not really having a PF or C (depending on what you call Amare)
Comments closed January 10, 2007.
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Heads in the Sand
Songalia is more of an alternative to the likes of Ruffin/Booth/Lang, which is actually also cause for excitement for Songalia to come back.
The bench will look better when/if Daniels gets his jumper back (last seen in Seattle) and Thomas and Songalia come back. Not great and certainly in need of a shooter acquired via a trade, but not nearly as bad as Blatche/Hayes/Taylor/Daniels/Booth.
Posted by Chris R | December 27, 2006 11:40 AM