The primary's been making it hard for me to follow the NBA as closely as I'd like, but wtf is happening with my Wizards. First we beat Boston. Then we beat Boston again. Then we . . . lose to the Knicks. I've got tickets to tomorrow's rematch, and I'd had it marked down in my calendar as a definite win. Now -- who knows? Meanwhile, I'm trying to puzzle together whether or not there's any reason to worry that an eventual return of Agent Zero might harm the team's improved defense. It's possible that the Daniels-Arenas backcourt that Eddie Jordan liked to use pretty often is just super weak. DeShawn Stevenson rarely looks impressive to me, but the plus-minus stats indicate that he's contributing on defense.
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Now I've Seen Everything
16 Jan 2008 01:46 pm
Comments (14)
Daniels didn't play last night. It's possible that having both Gilbert and Daniels out is a problem.
Over 82 games anything can happen. The Wiz can win two against the celtics, the same way, given the correct circumstance, a bunch of monkeys can type the bible.
As far as agent zero goes, you have no chance to do anything in the playoffs without him (or a another payer of his stature), so the wiz are going to have to what they learned from his absence and apply that knowledge to his eventual presence.
It happens. The Pistons got blown out by the Knicks a few days ago
Wizards might have a classic J-Rich situation here...your ball-hogging big star goes out, the team plays better, and suddenly you've got a valuable trading chip that can maybe take the team to the next level (assuming your coach actually plays the guy they get in return).
I don't know about needing Arenas for the playoffs. I saw him here for a couple of years, and I've seen Baron Davis since, and Arenas is no BD. Just like J-Rich will never be T-Mac.
My theory on what's up with the Knicks is that Isiah is an astoundingly dysfunctional coach. Every once in a while he completely fails to coach, and the team wins.
Gilbert will definitely hurt their defense, no question: his defense is pathetic, while his replacement, Antonio, plays good defense; and Gilbert will have a bad influence on other players' defensive efforts. The only question is whether their improved O with Gilbert will offset their reduced D. I believe it will, because the Wizards were something like 31-21 at the all star break last year, before Caron and Gilbert got hurt. It also seems likely that some of the Wizards' current grit will rub off on Gilbert.
...so the Wiz losing to them is more a function of the Knicks erratic nature than the Wiz's.
Antonio Daniels' defense has declined dramatically, to the point that Gilbert is probably better on the defensive end, even with no improvement. Daniels just isn't quick enough anymore, especially gimpy, to keep up with the quicker guards out there.
And Matt, the next game against the Knicks is Friday, not tomorrow.
Typical letdown game after a couple of huge wins. On balance, things are looking good for the Wiz.
Wizards might have a classic J-Rich situation here...your ball-hogging big star goes out, the team plays better, and suddenly you've got a valuable trading chip that can maybe take the team to the next level (assuming your coach actually plays the guy they get in return).
I that story is missing the arrival of Baron Davis, really the biggest change in Golden State's fortunes. Should read: your ball-hogging big star goes out, you pick up a much better player to lead the team, etc.
Also Stephen Jackson. And Matt Barnes. And Jason Richardson has made Charlotte better.
"We?" Who's "we?" Do you play for the Wizards?
BT
let's give a little credit to the knicks here, beating two solid teams is the turning point...NY Knicks-Playoff bound!
Fourth game in five days, in their fourth city, after emotional games against the Celtics. Who didn't see a letdown happening?
As for Stevenson, the Wizards gave up more points with him on the floor last year, and the Magic gave up a LOT more points with him on the floor the year before that.
It's a lot more likely that Stevenson's benefiting from sharing most of his minutes with Brendan Haywood, who has improved the team's defense when he's on the floor for at least six years in a row now (as far back as 82games.com goes).
Haywood and Stevenson together: 780 minutes, 91.8 points allowed per 48min, +7.1 margin per 48min
Stevenson alone: 334 minutes, 98.0 points allowed per 48min, +2.2 margin per 48min
Really. All you need are links to 82games, NBA's lenovo page, and the calculator function. This ain't rocket science.
Comments closed January 30, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
Relax a little. They were obviously burned out from the two Celtics games, while the Knicks were well-rested. Plus, Jamal Crawford caught fire, which he does from time to time.
Posted by Ben | January 16, 2008 2:10 PM