Washington Wizards 2012-2013 Season Thread - Thanks for a great year!

[jjs07]

Hope Beal is okay, supposedly X-rays came back negative. That kid has really gotten banged up this season geez.




Glad Wall was able to come up big down the stretch, hopefully this greatly improves his confidence moving forward. He supposedly stared down David Falk (the sports agent who dissing him a while back saying he was wack) after the go-ahead jumper

Falk is a clown. If Wall stared him down, good on him.

For all those clamoring for Otto Porter:

Are you still cheering for this team to rack up meaningless wins in March and April?  Porter and the Wizards are currently moving in opposite directions across the draft board.  
Especially for someone who almost never gets to the line.  

Or would you rather this team lose and keep it's draft position and we begin the same circle of complaints that we've had about this team for the past 5 years...

As meaningless as these games may seem for the FAN, I guarantee that every guy in that locker room is gonna go as hard as they can to get W's. They are probably just as sick of the losing culture of the team as we are. If that means we miss out on selecting Otto Porter b/c we have 30 wins, then so be it. As nice as it would be to have Porter (who COULD go #1 overall), I'd much rather this team show me some semblance of winning basketball in the 2nd half of the season (which they've done) to carry over to the next year. There's a big difference between racking up 6 meaningless wins vs. teams that are laying down at the end of the year, opposed to playing .500 ball since January and beating teams going full-strength.

 

[mrtarheel]

For all those clamoring for Otto Porter:

Are you still cheering for this team to rack up meaningless wins in March and April?  Porter and the Wizards are currently moving in opposite directions across the draft board.  

Especially for someone who almost never gets to the line.  

right! winning now only messes up the draft lottery for us. But in the offseason Ted&Ernie can sell "We were a competive team once we were 20 games under .500" so with the 10th pick we draft some dude from Europe that can play

 

[mrtarheel]

Falk is a clown. If Wall stared him down, good on him.
Or would you rather this team lose and keep it's draft position and we begin the same circle of complaints that we've had about this team for the past 5 years...

As meaningless as these games may seem for the FAN, I guarantee that every guy in that locker room is gonna go as hard as they can to get W's. They are probably just as sick of the losing culture of the team as we are. If that means we miss out on selecting Otto Porter b/c we have 30 wins, then so be it. As nice as it would be to have Porter (who COULD go #1 overall), I'd much rather this team show me some semblance of winning basketball in the 2nd half of the season (which they've done) to carry over to the next year. There's a big difference between racking up 6 meaningless wins vs. teams that are laying down at the end of the year, opposed to playing .500 ball since January and beating teams going full-strength.

What does 30 wins this year really mean? That if healthy next year we are 41-41?

I'll take a top 5 pick in the draft over that.

 

[jjs07]

What does 30 wins this year really mean? That if healthy next year we are 41-41?

I'll take a top 5 pick in the draft over that.

25 wins after January, considering where this team was, is a MAJOR accomplishment. You wouldn't take 41-41 next year? I certainly would.

 

[mrtarheel]

25 wins after January, considering where this team was, is a MAJOR accomplishment. You wouldn't take 41-41 next year? I certainly would.

 41-41 is mediocre might get us a 8th seed to get swept by the Heat in the first round, but it does put playoff ticket money in Ted's pocket. 8th seed or top five pick? I think i would take the top 5 pick. I just dont have faith in the this front office that they would make a big move to put this team over the top, so I gotta hope we can get lucky in the draft.

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

Beal needs to learn how to take contact and absorb hits (sounds a lot like RG III) or else he is going to miss a lot of games to injuries. He falls awkward and puts his body in vulnerable situations....hopefully he learns with age/maturity, because I love his intensity and how he gets after it, but I don't want to see him on his suit and tie s***.

 

[jsindaa]

Winning>>>tanking for a possible. I'm not a wiz fan per say but I do follow them. They've been looking really good with Wall back. I'd rather them continue and hope Otto slips or maybe make a move. But to tank? Not the best idea. I think Otto is an amazing fit for the team, I also think with a top 10 pick they'll be good. It's not a horrid draft

 

[jjs07]

Beal needs to learn how to take contact and absorb hits (sounds a lot like RG III) or else he is going to miss a lot of games to injuries. He falls awkward and puts his body in vulnerable situations....hopefully he learns with age/maturity, because I love his intensity and how he gets after it, but I don't want to see him on his suit and tie s***.

He's such a competitor that I think it's hard for him to scale back. His reckless abandon reminds me of a young D.Wade. He leaves it ALL on the floor.

Winning>>>tanking for a possible. I'm not a wiz fan per say but I do follow them. They've been looking really good with Wall back. I'd rather them continue and hope Otto slips or maybe make a move. But to tank? Not the best idea. I think Otto is an amazing fit for the team, I also think with a top 10 pick they'll be good. It's not a horrid draft

Agreed.

 

[mrtarheel]

Winning>>>tanking for a possible. I'm not a wiz fan per say but I do follow them. They've been looking really good with Wall back. I'd rather them continue and hope Otto slips or maybe make a move. But to tank? Not the best idea. I think Otto is an amazing fit for the team, I also think with a top 10 pick they'll be good. It's not a horrid draft

I just dont agree. I see the celing with this team and its as high as the Arenas teams. That had a record of about 45-37 and knocked out of the first round every year. But maybe the Wizards will suprise me and make a championship level move. Not Oakfor & Ariza type moves  

 

[jjs07]

I just dont agree. I see the celing with this team and its as high as the Arenas teams. That had a record of about 45-37 and knocked out of the first round every year. But maybe the Wizards will suprise me and make a championship level move. Not Oakfor & Ariza type moves  

I think the key is to keep an eye on what happens after next season. Okafor/Ariza will be off the books and there will be some money to spend. This team just needs to find a way to trend upwards and make DC an attractive FA destination.

Wall/Beal have the potential to be something VERY special. The front office has to be smart (might be asking too much) about roster moves etc. going forward.

 

[mrtarheel]

I think the key is to keep an eye on what happens after next season. Okafor/Ariza will be off the books and there will be some money to spend. This team just needs to find a way to trend upwards and make DC an attractive FA destination.

Wall/Beal have the potential to be something VERY special. The front office has to be smart (might be asking too much) about roster moves etc. going forward.

I hope you are right. I would feel better if we didn't have Ernie running the show lol

 

[jordan2233]

I hope you are right. I would feel better if we didn't have Ernie running the show lol

I've been saying this, get a new gm asap, ernie will never deliver a championship.

 

[hypebeast5]

This injury dont eem seem like Beal's fault dude looks like he just fell on dudes leg

 

[victor page]

John Wall is a ******g moron

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

John Wall is a ******g moron

Wall for 33333333333!?


Really.


He still needs to learn time and place.

 

[dt43]

I'm tired of watching Wall's ******ed turnovers game after game.

The dude is DUMB, period. Low IQ player.

I just hope we don't overpay him on his next contract.

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

I won't have a knee jerk reaction and say he is dumb/low IQ. Andray Blatche is dumb and has no basketball IQ....as did Javale.


Wall just tries to do the most sometimes and is always going at 100 mph. He needs pace to his game. You don't have to use that speed at all times, switch it up and know time/place.


Gave that one away...poor effort.

 

[extraordinary swag]

Whole team is clueless, not just Wall lets be fair

That possession down 3 was the worst I've seen all year and that's saying a lot because this team has had PLENTY of terrible possessions late in games. Wall nearly getting plucked by Barea AGAIN, Ariza having no clue how much time is on the clock and the fact that they were settling for a 3 when there was plenty of time left to make it a free throw contest

I'd rather lose in a blowout than all these close ones we give away every other game it seems. We are just far too sloppy with the ball to ever succeed, the turnovers are a MAJOR issue

 

[dt43]

I won't have a knee jerk reaction and say he is dumb/low IQ. Andray Blatche is dumb and has no basketball IQ....as did Javale.


Wall just tries to do the most sometimes and is always going at 100 mph. He needs pace to his game. You don't have to use that speed at all times, switch it up and know time/place.


Gave that one away...poor effort.

Okay, let me rephrase.. Wall has a below average IQ in the half court. Not in an overall basketball sense, but as far as running a half court offense he is clearly subpar for an NBA PG. He just looks so uncomfortable and unnatural, no feel for the game whatsoever. It's like he predetermines what he's going to do every time and can't adjust to what's going on around him. He gets so many TOs from telegraphing passes, or my favorite, when he throws the ball to where a guy was 5 seconds earlier (aka how long it takes him to read the court) and it sails out of bounds.

If any other PG was as bad as him in that department, they would be riding pine or in the D-league. Fact.

Seriously, just imagine for a second if Wall didn't have superior athleticism. So a turnover-prone PG with average athleticism, no jumper.. would he be a starting-caliber point guard? Would he be better than AJ Price? Would he even be in the league? I honestly don't know.

And this isn't hate, I've supported Wall ever since we drafted him. But sometimes you have to face the truth and take stock of what you have. Especially considering that in a year from now, we'll be talking about what type of money we should pay this guy (or whether we should move him).

 

[chrispcb15]

I love Wall..But this is Beal's team now

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

Okay, let me rephrase.. Wall has a below average IQ in the half court. Not in an overall basketball sense, but as far as running a half court offense he is clearly subpar for an NBA PG. He just looks so uncomfortable and unnatural, no feel for the game whatsoever. It's like he predetermines what he's going to do every time and can't adjust to what's going on around him. He gets so many TOs from telegraphing passes, or my favorite, when he throws the ball to where a guy was 5 seconds earlier (aka how long it takes him to read the court) and it sails out of bounds.

If any other PG was as bad as him in that department, they would be riding pine or in the D-league. Fact.

Seriously, just imagine for a second if Wall didn't have superior athleticism. So a turnover-prone PG with average athleticism, no jumper.. would he be a starting-caliber point guard? Would he be better than AJ Price? Would he even be in the league? I honestly don't know.

And this isn't hate, I've supported Wall ever since we drafted him. But sometimes you have to face the truth and take stock of what you have. Especially considering that in a year from now, we'll be talking about what type of money we should pay this guy (or whether we should move him).

I never call criticism or opinion "hate" and I'm not saying John Wall is Rajon Rondo or Russel Westrbook....but I'm also not going to lump him in there with A.J. Price or Landry Fields.

He has flaws and weaknesses in his game and crunch time (final two minutes of the 4th) often exposes that.

I'm still not ready to write him off just yet and throw in the towel on him. His leadership and intensity changed this team around when he came back....let's not forget how this team played without Wall for the first two months+, they were atrocious and unwatcheable.

 

[jsindaa]

Chilllllll, he pushes at times but relax. This is only his third season...which he missed most of. Learning pace is not an easy task on top of already playing the most difficult position on the floor.

 

[dt43]

Points taken.. everything I said aside, what I love about John is his intensity and willingness to get better. You can really tell that he wants to be a leader, and he wants to improve.

But it's just unnerving watching a 3rd-year player make the same unacceptable rookie mistakes game after game. I don't even know if I can call them rookie mistakes, because when I watch Damian Lillard play he has more poise than Wall does in 100 fewer games of experience. It makes you wonder how much he's really working on his game. Obviously he's working on his jumper which is a glaring hole, but is he focusing on the little things that are necessary to be a great point guard? I don't know, maybe we'll see that improvement after he has a full offseason this summer.



Let me ask you JS34, you say you're not ready to "throw in the towel" on John. What does that mean specifically? Because I'm not saying he won't be a good 'All Star'-ish level player in the future, but I'm not really seeing him ever being an elite Westbrook/Rondo/Rose caliber PG. If I said that I would be lying to myself. I think he will be solid though.

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

Points taken.. everything I said aside, what I love about John is his intensity and willingness to get better. You can really tell that he wants to be a leader, and he wants to improve.

But it's just unnerving watching a 3rd-year player make the same unacceptable rookie mistakes game after game. I don't even know if I can call them rookie mistakes, because when I watch Damian Lillard play he has more poise than Wall does in 100 fewer games of experience. It makes you wonder how much he's really working on his game. Obviously he's working on his jumper which is a glaring hole, but is he focusing on the little things that are necessary to be a great point guard? I don't know, maybe we'll see that improvement after he has a full offseason this summer.



Let me ask you JS34, you say you're not ready to "throw in the towel" on John. What does that mean specifically? Because I'm not saying he won't be a good 'All Star'-ish level player in the future, but I'm not really seeing him ever being an elite Westbrook/Rondo/Rose caliber PG. If I said that I would be lying to myself. I think he will be solid though.

You do realize Damian Lillard is older than John Wall right? Albeit only by a couple months, but you've just made the argument and stance (which I agree with) of why it is so imporant to spend a couple years (at least 3 IMO) playing college basketball. You learn so much in College from a good Coach and it gives you time to mature mentally/physically. Coming into the league at 19/20 is tough physically/mentally and one doesn't have a lot of time to learn (especially when you are in a lock-out season and you play with talent that wouldn't even make the And-1 mixtape tour).

I'm not making excuses for John (even though they sound like it), but playing with Javale, Nick Young, Andray and that goofball troop of scrubs didn't help John at all. A good veteran PG or even players around him could have sped up his learning process these last two years. Factor in this knee injury and it is still early early on for him.

What I mean is, I don't want to see the Wizards without John Wall in two years. You drafted this man number one and he has played well with his first real talented piece (Beal). Add some quality players to the roster and mold this team into a contender in the next 3-5 years.

 

[jjs07]

What we're seeing out of Wall right now is how he should have been performing as a rookie. His development was 100% hindered due to the team that was built around him. Doesn't excuse last night - because that was as poor of a last minute of a game that I've seen - but there is a REAL fickle mentality with many in the Wizards fanbase when it comes to judging John Wall.

He plays well and hits clutch FGs vs. the Nuggets and 76ers and it's crickets...he plays poorly, and it's all doom and gloom.

We're going to have growing pains with him....as he goes, so does the team. I'm nowhere nearly as down on him as some of you all are. He's 22. There's a lot of time left for him to develop properly. The last thing I want is for this team to give up on him prematurely and he flourishes elsewhere.