- Oct 24, 2010
- 94,426
- 33,490
watched highlight, damn either its the jersey n shorts or Pierce got skinny as hell 
Official NBA 2012-2013 Season Thread
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by Spectacular23,
- Start date
- Status
- Nov 1, 2005
- 26,898
- 383
McCants :\ That was my dude... I always thought he could be a solid 6th man in the league.
Nets / Knicks tonight
Im glad we're playing this game a little later compared to the first game of the season. We got more time to get some chemistry going. Gonna be a good one... The energy should be crazy at the arena.
Nets / Knicks tonight
Im glad we're playing this game a little later compared to the first game of the season. We got more time to get some chemistry going. Gonna be a good one... The energy should be crazy at the arena.
- Jul 4, 2009
- 14,019
- 2,783
My lord Pierce 
And I saw that Banes dunk and thought "Pek you don't play defense just stay down!"
And I saw that Banes dunk and thought "Pek you don't play defense just stay down!"
Last edited:
- Sep 5, 2010
- 92,862
- 129,182
For fans of the Wizards, Pistons, Raptors and Hornets:
Last edited:
- Jan 3, 2008
- 12,102
- 1,410
Nerlens.
- Jul 13, 2005
- 35,392
- 27,010
I see 0 star potential/franchise player qualities in Nerlens.
), but if nothing is going to change up top then there's no point. :x 
- Oct 8, 2005
- 13,424
- 4,833
black falcon :x
- Jun 23, 2001
- 5,814
- 1,937
Wizards will be down 20 in the first half to the Spurs.
- Mar 30, 2007
- 151,226
- 202,662
here's how the raptors' pick that was traded to the thunder works (since draft talk came up):
here’s how that “double protection” boils down, first for the Thunder:
- For five years (2013-2017), the pick is protected for the Thunder so that they can only receive a lottery pick, meaning if Toronto makes the playoffs in 2013, the pick gets deferred to 2014, and so on and so on for five years. Should the Raptors shock the world and qualify for the postseason in five straight seasons, the Thunder (or whoever owns the pick at that point) will get an unprotected Raptors pick in 2018.
For the Raptors, the forfeited pick breaks down like so:
- Top-3 protected in 2013
- Top-2 protected in 2014 and 2015 (Barring an epic setback, Andrew Wiggins will almost surely be a top-two pick in 2014, so Raptors fans need not worry too much about missing out on the hometown prospect because of the Lowry trade)
- No. 1 overall protected in 2016 and 2017
here’s how that “double protection” boils down, first for the Thunder:
- For five years (2013-2017), the pick is protected for the Thunder so that they can only receive a lottery pick, meaning if Toronto makes the playoffs in 2013, the pick gets deferred to 2014, and so on and so on for five years. Should the Raptors shock the world and qualify for the postseason in five straight seasons, the Thunder (or whoever owns the pick at that point) will get an unprotected Raptors pick in 2018.
For the Raptors, the forfeited pick breaks down like so:
- Top-3 protected in 2013
- Top-2 protected in 2014 and 2015 (Barring an epic setback, Andrew Wiggins will almost surely be a top-two pick in 2014, so Raptors fans need not worry too much about missing out on the hometown prospect because of the Lowry trade)
- No. 1 overall protected in 2016 and 2017
do be doo
Banned
- Mar 13, 2009
- 6,589
- 547
Who else in the league does this? Recognizes the pass, breaks it up, dribbles the length of the floor, goes between someone's legs and then finishes at the basket.
That play should have never counted. Pretty sure you can't touch the ball, go outta bounds, come back in and touch the ball again (without anyone else touching it).
Not gonna say nothing but it had to be a knicks fan to say this.
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Carmelo Anthony for MVP?
Cats, Wiz: How'd we get here?
When evaluating a player, it's very important to register the player's fundamentals in a vacuum. You must break down his success and failure rate within the context of how his team is doing and his impact on that team.
And certainly it's great to see the New York Knicks surge into the spotlight, recovering from the loss of the excitement Jeremy Lin brought last season and the difficult coaching change. The team is morphing into a solid though not yet spectacular contender thanks to brilliant shooting from a host of players -- including Anthony on the perimeter -- and an offense that gets a shot on almost 90 percent of possessions. That is a deadly combination, and it has added up to the second-best offense in the league.
However, making grand observations about a player typically revolves around the success or failure of his team. Right now, the Knicks are taking the league by storm, and in doing so they are forcing most fans and many experts to assume Carmelo Anthony has suddenly become the pre-eminent player we all thought he was going to be when he entered the league in 2003.
However, based on what I am watching, and the corresponding numbers and metrics, I'm not seeing it.
By the numbers
First, let's look at some numbers. Thanks more or less to his full-time move to power forward, Anthony is making 46.3 percent of his field goals. It's the best he's done in years since he made 47.6 percent or better three consecutive seasons (2005-06 to 2007-0
.
However, Anthony is attempting far more 3-pointers than he ever has -- and making them. The two 3-pointers he's hitting per game in just over five attempts per game has him on pace to best his former record from 2007-08 when he posted a 51.1 field goal efficiency percentage (eFG%) from that distance. Making 38.6 percent of 3-pointers this season drives his field goal percentage down but raises his eFG% to 51.4.
The increase in perimeter shots comes at a cost, however, as his free-throws-per-game average is down to almost an all-time low. Only in his rookie season has he taken fewer FTs per game.
The increase in perimeter shots comes at a cost, however, as his free-throws-per-game average is down to almost an all-time low. Only in his rookie season has he taken fewer FTs per game (6.4 compared to 6.3 in 2003-04). All told, his 25.7 points per 36 minutes is strong for him, but he has done better than that in four different seasons.
His journey to the perimeter has other consequences, as well, including his offensive rebound rates. His effort this season on the offensive glass is tied for just fifth-best in his career. The Knicks are in the bottom five in offensive rebound rate, while the Denver Nuggets finished top-five in that category multiple times while Anthony was leading them. But being farther away from the basket will naturally diminish his rebound rates.
Anthony has always been a decent passer. And when necessary, he has known where and when to throw the ball, and to whom. This season, it's just not part of his role, as he's currently assisting at a lower rate than he ever has. On a Knicks team that ranks third in shooting percentage from the field, their assist rate ranks just above the bottom third in the league. In other words, we know the Knicks are making a lot of shots on their own, which fits into Anthony's and his teammates' strengths. However, his turnover rate, correspondingly, is the highest it has been in four seasons.
The Knicks are winning on offense, with the league's best offensive efficiency numbers. But it feels a little hollow, as they are not winning on defense or the boards, where they range from 10th to 18th. Anthony's impact on both aspects of the game is at best average but nothing special, and certainly not MVP-caliber.
The move to power forward
Now, let's examine the impact of Anthony's move to power forward and how it's changed his game.
As he's getting more post-ups than ever, we could guess he's also getting more shots than ever near the rim, but that is not the case. His 7.4 shots inside is the most he has attempted per game since arriving in New York, but in Denver he had even more effective campaigns attacking the rim. In fact, in his last four seasons in Denver, he averaged just over 7.6 shots per game inside.
However, at power forward he's not only getting fewer free throws and fewer shots (and far fewer assists), but he's also making fewer of his shots. Anthony's worst shooting percentage inside since 2007 was 59.6. Three times, including his partial season in New York, he made better than 63 percent of his inside shots. This season, he's at just 51.9 percent, and the reason is clear: As a post player who is prone to drift to the perimeter or be forced there by denying defenders, Anthony is isolated in one-on-one situations more than he has been before. Consequently, he has few shot attempts that come off passes while he's moving.
[+] Enlarge
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Anthony is posting up more than ever, so his shot attempts off assists are at their lowest in seven years.He is a brilliant player at both cutting and sealing defenders, which is why his buckets inside the paint are heavily assisted, typically ranging anywhere from 43.9 percent to 63 percent over the last six seasons. In Denver, Anthony usually was wide open and rarely contested because of his quickness and body type. That has evolved in New York -- or maybe devolved -- as last season just 41.1 percent of his baskets in the paint were assisted.
This season, stuck more in isolations, Anthony is making assisted baskets just 29.6 percent of the time. It's why his field goal percentages in the paint are down he now has to score against at least one defender with helpers waiting almost all the time. It's also why his turnovers are high; he is seeing the teeth of the defense more than he ever has before.
The move to power forward has had an impact farther out on the court, as well. Anthony was once considered one of the top midrange players in basketball, the area of the floor that is dominated by premier scorers and the place where those scorers are most often fouled. This year, Anthony is making only one shot per game from 3-15 feet (he typically made two to four in previous years) and posting horrible shooting percentages (14 percent from 3-9 feet, 30.8 percent from 10-15 feet, both his lowest percentages from those distances in seven seasons) with fewer attempts.
Two other swing forwards who are playing a lot of power forward now, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, both make more of these shots at higher percentages, and it's a reason why Durant shoots three-plus free throws per game more than Anthony, while James racks up far more assists. Getting space to shoot from that important space on the floor can be devastating to a defense, which must either help hard or compete hard (and risk fouling) to prevent the shot.
It's possible that Anthony's leadership finally has molded this team. It's also possible that he has inspired the Knicks to shoot better and pass less often but more accurately. Though that seems extreme, it's far more likely that Anthony has done a good job accepting his position change and has learned to be very effective as a power forward.
Again, very effective but not elite.
The Knicks as a unit are helped by his play, but he's not carrying them nearly as much as they are riding along with him toward the top of the Eastern Conference.
And certainly it's great to see the New York Knicks surge into the spotlight, recovering from the loss of the excitement Jeremy Lin brought last season and the difficult coaching change. The team is morphing into a solid though not yet spectacular contender thanks to brilliant shooting from a host of players -- including Anthony on the perimeter -- and an offense that gets a shot on almost 90 percent of possessions. That is a deadly combination, and it has added up to the second-best offense in the league.
However, making grand observations about a player typically revolves around the success or failure of his team. Right now, the Knicks are taking the league by storm, and in doing so they are forcing most fans and many experts to assume Carmelo Anthony has suddenly become the pre-eminent player we all thought he was going to be when he entered the league in 2003.
However, based on what I am watching, and the corresponding numbers and metrics, I'm not seeing it.
By the numbers
First, let's look at some numbers. Thanks more or less to his full-time move to power forward, Anthony is making 46.3 percent of his field goals. It's the best he's done in years since he made 47.6 percent or better three consecutive seasons (2005-06 to 2007-0
.However, Anthony is attempting far more 3-pointers than he ever has -- and making them. The two 3-pointers he's hitting per game in just over five attempts per game has him on pace to best his former record from 2007-08 when he posted a 51.1 field goal efficiency percentage (eFG%) from that distance. Making 38.6 percent of 3-pointers this season drives his field goal percentage down but raises his eFG% to 51.4.
The increase in perimeter shots comes at a cost, however, as his free-throws-per-game average is down to almost an all-time low. Only in his rookie season has he taken fewer FTs per game.
The increase in perimeter shots comes at a cost, however, as his free-throws-per-game average is down to almost an all-time low. Only in his rookie season has he taken fewer FTs per game (6.4 compared to 6.3 in 2003-04). All told, his 25.7 points per 36 minutes is strong for him, but he has done better than that in four different seasons.
His journey to the perimeter has other consequences, as well, including his offensive rebound rates. His effort this season on the offensive glass is tied for just fifth-best in his career. The Knicks are in the bottom five in offensive rebound rate, while the Denver Nuggets finished top-five in that category multiple times while Anthony was leading them. But being farther away from the basket will naturally diminish his rebound rates.
Anthony has always been a decent passer. And when necessary, he has known where and when to throw the ball, and to whom. This season, it's just not part of his role, as he's currently assisting at a lower rate than he ever has. On a Knicks team that ranks third in shooting percentage from the field, their assist rate ranks just above the bottom third in the league. In other words, we know the Knicks are making a lot of shots on their own, which fits into Anthony's and his teammates' strengths. However, his turnover rate, correspondingly, is the highest it has been in four seasons.
The Knicks are winning on offense, with the league's best offensive efficiency numbers. But it feels a little hollow, as they are not winning on defense or the boards, where they range from 10th to 18th. Anthony's impact on both aspects of the game is at best average but nothing special, and certainly not MVP-caliber.
The move to power forward
Now, let's examine the impact of Anthony's move to power forward and how it's changed his game.
As he's getting more post-ups than ever, we could guess he's also getting more shots than ever near the rim, but that is not the case. His 7.4 shots inside is the most he has attempted per game since arriving in New York, but in Denver he had even more effective campaigns attacking the rim. In fact, in his last four seasons in Denver, he averaged just over 7.6 shots per game inside.
However, at power forward he's not only getting fewer free throws and fewer shots (and far fewer assists), but he's also making fewer of his shots. Anthony's worst shooting percentage inside since 2007 was 59.6. Three times, including his partial season in New York, he made better than 63 percent of his inside shots. This season, he's at just 51.9 percent, and the reason is clear: As a post player who is prone to drift to the perimeter or be forced there by denying defenders, Anthony is isolated in one-on-one situations more than he has been before. Consequently, he has few shot attempts that come off passes while he's moving.
[+] Enlarge
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Anthony is posting up more than ever, so his shot attempts off assists are at their lowest in seven years.He is a brilliant player at both cutting and sealing defenders, which is why his buckets inside the paint are heavily assisted, typically ranging anywhere from 43.9 percent to 63 percent over the last six seasons. In Denver, Anthony usually was wide open and rarely contested because of his quickness and body type. That has evolved in New York -- or maybe devolved -- as last season just 41.1 percent of his baskets in the paint were assisted.
This season, stuck more in isolations, Anthony is making assisted baskets just 29.6 percent of the time. It's why his field goal percentages in the paint are down he now has to score against at least one defender with helpers waiting almost all the time. It's also why his turnovers are high; he is seeing the teeth of the defense more than he ever has before.
The move to power forward has had an impact farther out on the court, as well. Anthony was once considered one of the top midrange players in basketball, the area of the floor that is dominated by premier scorers and the place where those scorers are most often fouled. This year, Anthony is making only one shot per game from 3-15 feet (he typically made two to four in previous years) and posting horrible shooting percentages (14 percent from 3-9 feet, 30.8 percent from 10-15 feet, both his lowest percentages from those distances in seven seasons) with fewer attempts.
Two other swing forwards who are playing a lot of power forward now, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, both make more of these shots at higher percentages, and it's a reason why Durant shoots three-plus free throws per game more than Anthony, while James racks up far more assists. Getting space to shoot from that important space on the floor can be devastating to a defense, which must either help hard or compete hard (and risk fouling) to prevent the shot.
It's possible that Anthony's leadership finally has molded this team. It's also possible that he has inspired the Knicks to shoot better and pass less often but more accurately. Though that seems extreme, it's far more likely that Anthony has done a good job accepting his position change and has learned to be very effective as a power forward.
Again, very effective but not elite.
The Knicks as a unit are helped by his play, but he's not carrying them nearly as much as they are riding along with him toward the top of the Eastern Conference.
Cats, Wiz: How'd we get here?
Luck, clearly, is a factor in the NBA, and you could hardly find a more instructive example than Saturday's tussle between the Charlotte Bobcats and the Washington Wizards.
Charlotte survived 108-106 in double overtime, after Washington missed a potential game-winning free throw in both regulation and the first overtime, not to mention a pair of potential game-winning 3-pointers. The result indicated not much separated the two clubs, and yet through Sunday's games, the Bobcats were a lofty 7-5 while the Wizards were mired at 0-11.
Charlotte has been outscored by 2.4 points per game, Washington by 6.5. Adjusting for the fact that the Bobcats have already played eight home games and done so against the league's easiest schedule, the difference between them to this point is somewhat negligible -- perhaps a point per game or so in favor of the Bobcats.
But the Bobcats are 7-5 in part because they've won all their close games: They're 6-0 in games decided by five points or fewer, and 1-5 in the rest. Included in the list were some unusual happenings, most notably a last-second hack on Toronto's Andrea Bargnani so blatant that the league felt compelled to issue a mea culpa about it, as well as a string of potential opponent game winners that magically bounced out.
Washington, meanwhile has had the opposite situation. The Wizards have lost three times in overtime -- once learning they'd lost after they ran off the court celebrating a game-winning basket, which was later overturned by replay. The Wizards have been in almost every game -- only one of the 11 losses was by more than 10 points -- but have always managed to come up just short at the end.
And yet, here we are. Washington enters Monday's home game against San Antonio at 0-11, far and away the league's biggest disappointment thus far. And Charlotte enters at a shocking 7-5 with a trip to Oklahoma City facing it, ranking as the league's biggest surprise.
The Bobcats, in fact, have already matched last season's win total, becoming the first team in league history to do it so quickly. Obviously, this came in part because no team in history won fewer games than the 2011-12 Bobcats, but it says something for their rebuilding program, too.
While luck is a factor in the diverging fortunes of the Bobcats and Wizards, the rest of the difference is design. Nobody expected Charlotte to be anywhere near Washington (or anybody else) in the standings right now, while the Wizards hoped to contend for a playoff spot. Even if you subtract luck from the equation, these have been two of the biggest surprises so far.
How did we end up in this position? Let's review:
Injuries
To be fair to Washington, losing John Wall for every game and Nene for all but the last two (and even then on a minutes limit) had a serious drag on its results. Put those two on the court, and some of these close losses become close wins. Charlotte, meanwhile, has been relatively healthy, with the only important absence being shooting guard Gerald Henderson.
Rookies
Charlotte picked second in the draft and the Wizards picked third, but the similarities end there. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has quietly been a hugely impactful rookie, sporting a PER of 18.85 and ranking second among rookies in estimated wins added while starting at the small forward spot that was an open sore for this team a year ago. Bradley Beal, meanwhile, has struggled to answer the Wizards' need for shooting at the off guard slot. He's made only 32.8 percent from the field, including two 3-point misses that could have won the game against Charlotte on Friday.
Later in the draft, Charlotte picked 31st and Washington picked 32nd. Charlotte got defensive pest and stealth Scandinavian Jeffery Taylor, a limited offensive player but one whose energy has been a major factor in Charlotte's massive defensive improvement. One pick later, Washington got Tomas Satoransky, a backcourt prospect who is still in Europe.
Roster building
The Bobcats spent about $18 million over a combined six contract years to answer two roster holes with Ramon Sessions and Brendan Haywood. The Wizards spent $30 million for four (after subtracting what they owed the departed Rashard Lewis) and took themselves out of the 2013 free-agent market to get Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor, even though they didn't especially need Okafor. As much as rookies, injuries and luck have all mattered, the biggest difference might be right here.
Ariza and Okafor have been both expensive and not particularly good. Ariza has helped defensively, but mired by horrible shot selection, he has converted just 32 percent from the floor; Okafor, meanwhile, is mired at 40 percent. The presence of both also blocks the development of Washington's slew of young forwards. Players such as Cris Singleton, Trevor Booker and Jan Vesely have been left scrambling for minutes.
Ironically, after investing in those two veterans, Washington went cheap at the backup point guard spot with A.J. Price and Jannero Pargo, a decision that proved disastrous when Wall was hurt. Pargo has already been waived while Price has been replaced by the less-than-ideal stopgap solution of shot-happy Jordan Crawford and scrap-heap pick-up Shaun Livingston.
Contrast that with Charlotte, which got Haywood on the cheap in the amnesty auction and found itself with a first-rate defensive anchor. (Washington could have participated in this had it not made the trade for Ariza and Okafor). He costs the Bobcats just $2 million this season and the three after it, a bargain for a quality defensive center.
Sessions, meanwhile, has thrived in two-guard setups with second-year pro Kemba Walker, leading the team in PER while earning nearly seven free throw attempts per game. Watching Washington's 30th-ranked offense struggle to generate points, it's easy to wonder how much better it would have been with a discount creator such as Sessions (two years, $10 million), especially since he could have ably taken over the reins for this stretch without Wall.
(Note: I left out the Ben Gordon pickup here for Charlotte; Gordon was expensive, but that trade was essentially a purchase of Detroit's first-round draft pick.)
Coaching
Newly installed coach Mike Dunlap has the Bobcats playing with their hair on fire -- the league's worst defense a year ago is now ranked 14th. Second-year pro Walker is pressuring the ball and causing havoc with his fast hands, while behind them Haywood's help defense and traffic-cop awareness has been a huge factor in keeping everyone on a string. Throw in the energy and effort of rookies Taylor and Kidd-Gilchrist, and the Cats seem rejuvenated at this end.
Washington, meanwhile, seems to have no rhyme or reason to its playing rotation -- the bizarre introduction of an unused Singleton with five minutes left in the loss to Utah was a defining example. The losing and the flailing with the rotation feed on each other, obviously, as Randy Wittman tries to replace combinations that aren't working. Still, the Wizards have created their usual assortment of head-scratching maneuvers -- most notably at the end of the Charlotte game on Saturday, when an obvious 2-for-1 situation (down one, with possession, 38 seconds left) somehow turned into a shot-clock violation.
Sum it all up, and the luck is exacerbating the small differences between these two clubs. Washington is going to win some games, especially when its best players come back, while the massive increase in schedule difficulty coming up for Charlotte in late December will likely knock the Cats well south of. 500. (The Bobcats have 14 of the first 21 at home, mostly against weaker teams, and also get their last three at home in April. In between, their schedule has more @ signs than my Twitter account).
But the fact that these teams are even comparable, and that Washington is the one I'm making the excuses for, remains shocking. Washington's front office succumbed for a second time in four years to the lure of quick-fix, high-cost rebuilding, and it's again failing miserably. Charlotte's more patient approach, in contrast, has stamped it as one of the biggest early-season surprises in recent annals.
Charlotte survived 108-106 in double overtime, after Washington missed a potential game-winning free throw in both regulation and the first overtime, not to mention a pair of potential game-winning 3-pointers. The result indicated not much separated the two clubs, and yet through Sunday's games, the Bobcats were a lofty 7-5 while the Wizards were mired at 0-11.
Charlotte has been outscored by 2.4 points per game, Washington by 6.5. Adjusting for the fact that the Bobcats have already played eight home games and done so against the league's easiest schedule, the difference between them to this point is somewhat negligible -- perhaps a point per game or so in favor of the Bobcats.
But the Bobcats are 7-5 in part because they've won all their close games: They're 6-0 in games decided by five points or fewer, and 1-5 in the rest. Included in the list were some unusual happenings, most notably a last-second hack on Toronto's Andrea Bargnani so blatant that the league felt compelled to issue a mea culpa about it, as well as a string of potential opponent game winners that magically bounced out.
Washington, meanwhile has had the opposite situation. The Wizards have lost three times in overtime -- once learning they'd lost after they ran off the court celebrating a game-winning basket, which was later overturned by replay. The Wizards have been in almost every game -- only one of the 11 losses was by more than 10 points -- but have always managed to come up just short at the end.
And yet, here we are. Washington enters Monday's home game against San Antonio at 0-11, far and away the league's biggest disappointment thus far. And Charlotte enters at a shocking 7-5 with a trip to Oklahoma City facing it, ranking as the league's biggest surprise.
The Bobcats, in fact, have already matched last season's win total, becoming the first team in league history to do it so quickly. Obviously, this came in part because no team in history won fewer games than the 2011-12 Bobcats, but it says something for their rebuilding program, too.
While luck is a factor in the diverging fortunes of the Bobcats and Wizards, the rest of the difference is design. Nobody expected Charlotte to be anywhere near Washington (or anybody else) in the standings right now, while the Wizards hoped to contend for a playoff spot. Even if you subtract luck from the equation, these have been two of the biggest surprises so far.
How did we end up in this position? Let's review:
Injuries
To be fair to Washington, losing John Wall for every game and Nene for all but the last two (and even then on a minutes limit) had a serious drag on its results. Put those two on the court, and some of these close losses become close wins. Charlotte, meanwhile, has been relatively healthy, with the only important absence being shooting guard Gerald Henderson.
Rookies
Charlotte picked second in the draft and the Wizards picked third, but the similarities end there. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has quietly been a hugely impactful rookie, sporting a PER of 18.85 and ranking second among rookies in estimated wins added while starting at the small forward spot that was an open sore for this team a year ago. Bradley Beal, meanwhile, has struggled to answer the Wizards' need for shooting at the off guard slot. He's made only 32.8 percent from the field, including two 3-point misses that could have won the game against Charlotte on Friday.
Later in the draft, Charlotte picked 31st and Washington picked 32nd. Charlotte got defensive pest and stealth Scandinavian Jeffery Taylor, a limited offensive player but one whose energy has been a major factor in Charlotte's massive defensive improvement. One pick later, Washington got Tomas Satoransky, a backcourt prospect who is still in Europe.
Roster building
The Bobcats spent about $18 million over a combined six contract years to answer two roster holes with Ramon Sessions and Brendan Haywood. The Wizards spent $30 million for four (after subtracting what they owed the departed Rashard Lewis) and took themselves out of the 2013 free-agent market to get Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor, even though they didn't especially need Okafor. As much as rookies, injuries and luck have all mattered, the biggest difference might be right here.
Ariza and Okafor have been both expensive and not particularly good. Ariza has helped defensively, but mired by horrible shot selection, he has converted just 32 percent from the floor; Okafor, meanwhile, is mired at 40 percent. The presence of both also blocks the development of Washington's slew of young forwards. Players such as Cris Singleton, Trevor Booker and Jan Vesely have been left scrambling for minutes.
Ironically, after investing in those two veterans, Washington went cheap at the backup point guard spot with A.J. Price and Jannero Pargo, a decision that proved disastrous when Wall was hurt. Pargo has already been waived while Price has been replaced by the less-than-ideal stopgap solution of shot-happy Jordan Crawford and scrap-heap pick-up Shaun Livingston.
Contrast that with Charlotte, which got Haywood on the cheap in the amnesty auction and found itself with a first-rate defensive anchor. (Washington could have participated in this had it not made the trade for Ariza and Okafor). He costs the Bobcats just $2 million this season and the three after it, a bargain for a quality defensive center.
Sessions, meanwhile, has thrived in two-guard setups with second-year pro Kemba Walker, leading the team in PER while earning nearly seven free throw attempts per game. Watching Washington's 30th-ranked offense struggle to generate points, it's easy to wonder how much better it would have been with a discount creator such as Sessions (two years, $10 million), especially since he could have ably taken over the reins for this stretch without Wall.
(Note: I left out the Ben Gordon pickup here for Charlotte; Gordon was expensive, but that trade was essentially a purchase of Detroit's first-round draft pick.)
Coaching
Newly installed coach Mike Dunlap has the Bobcats playing with their hair on fire -- the league's worst defense a year ago is now ranked 14th. Second-year pro Walker is pressuring the ball and causing havoc with his fast hands, while behind them Haywood's help defense and traffic-cop awareness has been a huge factor in keeping everyone on a string. Throw in the energy and effort of rookies Taylor and Kidd-Gilchrist, and the Cats seem rejuvenated at this end.
Washington, meanwhile, seems to have no rhyme or reason to its playing rotation -- the bizarre introduction of an unused Singleton with five minutes left in the loss to Utah was a defining example. The losing and the flailing with the rotation feed on each other, obviously, as Randy Wittman tries to replace combinations that aren't working. Still, the Wizards have created their usual assortment of head-scratching maneuvers -- most notably at the end of the Charlotte game on Saturday, when an obvious 2-for-1 situation (down one, with possession, 38 seconds left) somehow turned into a shot-clock violation.
Sum it all up, and the luck is exacerbating the small differences between these two clubs. Washington is going to win some games, especially when its best players come back, while the massive increase in schedule difficulty coming up for Charlotte in late December will likely knock the Cats well south of. 500. (The Bobcats have 14 of the first 21 at home, mostly against weaker teams, and also get their last three at home in April. In between, their schedule has more @ signs than my Twitter account).
But the fact that these teams are even comparable, and that Washington is the one I'm making the excuses for, remains shocking. Washington's front office succumbed for a second time in four years to the lure of quick-fix, high-cost rebuilding, and it's again failing miserably. Charlotte's more patient approach, in contrast, has stamped it as one of the biggest early-season surprises in recent annals.
- Oct 24, 2010
- 94,426
- 33,490
i really hate this nick name :x
miamin2
Supporter
- Oct 22, 2004
- 5,468
- 6,752
that pierce vid was hilarious!
- Jun 24, 2005
- 17,326
- 3,613
at that Steve Blake fight video
- Oct 8, 2005
- 13,424
- 4,833
you dont want it with steve blake
- Jan 18, 2001
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just as bad as black mamba :x
- Jun 23, 2001
- 5,814
- 1,937
Blake, Dixon, Drew Nicholas was a good era at UMD.......Lonny Baxter? College Park was jumping.
at Blake and Duhon being teammates now.
at Blake and Duhon being teammates now.
- Oct 24, 2010
- 94,426
- 33,490
nah black mamba is OK i guess, i dont like it that much either.
D
Deleted member 38182
Guest
Chris Wilcox was there too I thinkBlake, Dixon, Drew Nicholas was a good era at UMD.......Lonny Baxter? College Park was jumping.
at Blake and Duhon being teammates now.
- Jan 20, 2006
- 17,900
- 793
And outside of y'all chip the most memorable thing about that squad was coming back in the final minute & some change to win after playing a horrible game, hell you can argue that it was actually more memorable than the chip
D
Deleted member 38182
Guest
Antawn Jamison is ripping up Cleveland on Mason and Ireland.... damn I've missed LA
Last edited by a moderator:
- Mar 2, 2011
- 30,498
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What the scrub say?
- Sep 5, 2010
- 92,862
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- Nov 1, 2011
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He said that Dwight is "jokative."
Also said "things of those natures" about 5 times.
- Status
