Ivey.

You get an explanation from coach 'Monty' on why Haywood wasn't in the game in the 4th? Was dude injured or something? He had Eddie Curry neutered like the ex-Bull he is. Curry did nothing with him in the game. But in the 4th he had steady production while EJ saw fit to keep Big Wood nailed to the bench.

Check the game flow:
http://www.popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20070117&game=NYKWAS
Eddie is +12 with Haywood out the game in the 4th.

As a human being Etan Thomas is my 2nd favorite player in the league, but from a coldhearted greedy unreasonable fan perspective, I just got to recognize the Wood factor in winning us games. I like an action flick thriller same as the next guy, but can we please simply stomp on a team now and again?

Or maybe it's a '82 games' issue: Eddie thought we'd get a win and wants to preserve his Big Guy for the next game (Dwight Howard, travel, and a back-to-back). It's a stamina thang maybe?

That's teh only explanation I'll give him for free, he's got to write his own material from now on. Seriously though, any insight on the Big Wood benching?

Could someone please suggest to Eddie the wisdom of playing Blatche more minutes? I think this guy has tremendous upside, but we'll never get to enjoy it here in the District if Eddie never plays the guy.

Look, I understand that Blatche is prone to make mistakes, but I think the quickest way to his learning how to avoid making those mistakes is during the game, not during practices, as Eddie insists. As a fan of the Wizards, I just hope that the coaching staff doesn't do with Blatche what the Portland coaching staff did with Jermaine O'Neal when he first came into the league, i.e., not play him enough to see and take advantage of his talent.

Anyway, the best thing about the Wizards now is not that they're winning -- although obviously that's a good thing -- but rather the fact that they're competing every night. Win or lose, fans appreciate a good effort.

That was a fantastic finish. While everyone is (unecessarily) piling on EJ, allow me to slam Coach Thomas. The Wiz won by one point, right? Where did that one point come from? Coach Thomas. After Marbury got the technical in the first quarter, Coach Thomas demanded the ref give him a technical too. The ref complied, and Arenas sank BOTH free-throws. Normally the argument can be made that "if something had gone different in quarter 1 then the whole game would have been different, so it's not a valid point." But in this case the point that Coach Thomas gave away happened outside the action, and was merely an extra free-throw. Well done, Coach Thomas.

The last play of the game showed what have been missing from the Wizards/Bullets the 15 to 20 years. A TEAM concept of being unselfish.

To all those who criticized Gilbert for being selfish in end game situations please STHU. : )

Anyone else notice that great defense played by Jefferies on Jamesion on the second to last Wizards possession? LOL By Jared we don't miss you.

"Hard not to believe that given the opportunity Caron Butler would not be a good clutch shooter...I say let's see teams bring double teams onto Gil during games. Only then will we really know how clutch his supporting cast is. I think we may be presently surpised. Perhaps a clutch shot by DeShawn could spice things up...when was the last time you saw that guy take a bad shot?

Posted by: Nick | January 16, 2007 01:19 PM"

-- Ok so not EXACLTY what I was thinking yesterday, but pretty darn close! Way to go Deshawn and Caron! That's how you play ball! These guys need opportunities to shine and I don't think we'll be too disappointed in how they respond in the future.

The last possession epitomized some nice team basketball, and it's great to get a win.

But playing Brendan Haywood 25 minutes is indefensible, unless there's an injury or something we don't know about.

I too am a big Etan Thomas fan, but with Brendan playing at the level that he is -- staying mostly out of the way on offense, phenomenal D, and cleaning the glass --Haywood should be in the game for 35 minutes a night!

You guys continue to kill me with the "why doesn't Haywood get 500 minutes a game" talk.

Look, let's just say we all agree Haywood is a better player and is playing inspired ball (to save time and argumentation). As a big man, it's a good idea to let some of your other physical players rotate in and take/deliver abuse to Curry. That's like 12 extra fouls to deliver, and huge amount of extra energy that Haywood doesn't have to use.

Besides all that, when a low-post or middle player gets "used" to how a particular guy is playing him, and starts taking advantage, it can be good to rotate new guys in to keep him out of a rhythm.

According to Arvis after the game, EJ's game plan was to harrass Curry all night. It might not have been perfectly executed -- and maybe doesnt look that way from the stat sheet -- but the game I watched, that's what we did.

Curry's been on a tear lately, going for 22ppg and shooting 63% in his last 10 games. We "held" him to 18 points on 50% shooting, which sounds horrible, but given what he's been doing as of late, I think speaks well of our new "commitment" to defense...

I'm actually surprised nobody here has commented on the fact that Donnell Taylor got almost 10 minutes of PT in this game -- he had nearly the identical amount of time in as AD, and it wasn't just garbage time, either.

EJ said he felt that Donnell was having good practices and playing good defense, so he left him in and left him on Starbury... 9 points? Not bad. He's been going for 21+ ppg the last 10 games, too.

I realize that Andray didn't play at all, but it does appear that EJ is finally taking some chances and leaving some of the young guys in during actual game situations, to see who he's going to have ready when playoff time comes.

(Just to clarify, Starbury scored 9 in 40 minutes, not Donnell :)

DT was getting lots of burn last year and was mysteriously stinking it up this year, so it's not so surprising to see him get back in the game once he finally gets his head back in order.

Blatche I can understand yanking him when he's making mental errors. But not putting him in the game at all is kind of puzzling. Course I haven't seen him in practice, maybe he sucked this week and didn't earn any playing time. You never know. That sounds like an Ivan question, "Hey Andray, how come you didn't get any burn last game? Did you suck in practice or what?"

I only saw the last few minutes of the game, but I thought the last four possessions offer enough for discussion:

4th last possession: After a NY time out, the Wizards have their starting 5 on the floor. EJ calls a timeout after this possession, so why not put your 5 best defensive players in the game? I have mentioned this before, but EJ really needs to develop a "defensive team" to put in in these situations. Instead, Jamison is in the game, is isolated on Marbury, who drives in for an easy layup. Wizards timeout.

3rd last possession: EJ probably draws up a play to get Arenas the ball. Ball inbounded to Haywood who can't get it to Arenas because Marbury (!!) is blanketing him. Haywood gets it to Jamison who burns Jeffries for a nice clutch runner. Wizards up 1, NY timeout.

2nd last possession: Jamison is again on the floor. Arenas D's up Crawford and actually does a really nice job -- it looks like an offensive foul and then a travel could have been called on Crawford -- but Crawford scores. 12 seconds left, Wiz timeout.

Last possession: EJ goes with his starting lineup, including Haywood. I believe this is the first time this season that EJ has not gone with a smaller lineup in this sort of one-shot situation, and what do you know, it pays off. Gilbert makes a terrific pass to Jamison who is wide open in the corner because his man (Jeffries) lagged in the lane when Jamison ran to that side of the court. (I am not a Jeffries basher, but he didn't do a good job those last two possessions.) Jamison does the smart thing to draw the entire defense to him, and kicks it to Stevenson. 50% of the players in the league would have shot a 3; 48% would have taken a dribble in and shot a 15 or 18 footer. To have the smarts and composure to make the play he did, probably the team play of the year for the Wizards, is awesome. The defining play of Stevenson's tenure with the team. When Stevenson got the ball, Haywood moved into the lane and boxed out a Knick (Lee?), which opened the lane to pass to Butler. 4 Wizards touched the ball, the other 1 cleared the passing lane, dunk. That was not a drawn-up play, but an improvised play that showed chemistry, smarts, and yeah, a little swag.

I agree with the comments questioning why Haywood didn't get more time. I don't have a problem with Thomas getting minutes, but why put in your 3rd string center when your first string guy is shutting down the opposing center and has one foul? And when your second string guy is having trouble with Curry, why not put the first string guy back in? Is Haywood not capable for playing more than 25 minutes? Does he have asthma or something?

I don't agree with the perception that Gilbert somehow had a subpar night. No, his stats weren't as gaudy as they had have been, but he scored 16 without putting up any forced shots while being closely guarded by Marbury and double-teamed most of the night. That's an excellent game.

Joe, I have that same question about Wood as well.

As usual, EJ went smallball right when the Wiz were building a lead around the end of the 3rd quarter. Lead was 14 and he takes 4 starters out to replace the lineup to Taylor, Daniels, Butler, Hayes, and Etan. The Knicks proceeded to cut into the lead, most of them by getting offensive rebounds and putbacks w/ 3-4 smaller Wizards trying to get the rebound.

Then on some penetration to the lane, Curry was putting a body on Etan, so he couldn't protect the paint and that left nobody big enough to contest the shot.

Tough to play great defense vs. the BEST rebounding team w/ a small lineup and then you have a good lead to protect. Smallball works best for offensive shots due to spacing, not necessarily defense and certainly not for rebounding!

Damn, I'm starting to get tired of EJ. He is a pretty good offensive coach but he has no idea on game management.

On the good side of that game, the Wiz were able to win the game w/ Gil "only" putting up 16 points and Q Rich having a HOT hand w/ 35. The whole team pitched in and won collectively w/ Gil giving up the ball when he got doubled.

He is going to be seeing more that from many other teams, and his experience w/ it will make him a better decision maker and much more efficient moving the ball, something Nash does so well. Gil is the best at scoring, but with double-teams, he's going to learn how to disect the defense by making the right play EVERY TIME in all different situations and plays. Teammates will contribute more and more as their confidence builds. This is akin to what MJ went through as a scorer to become a champion. The more he sees this the quicker he will learn to adjust. So thanks to the Knicks, we just got a glimpse of things to come!

tough juice appreciation:

http://unconquerablegladness.blogspot.com/2007/01/caron.html

Was anyone surprised that NY took a shot so early? It seems to me they would have been better off running the clock a la Gilbert, and not giving the Wizards the opportunity to get a good shot off.

Any comments on the Haywood situation is just pointing out EJ's poor game management. There really is no reason for it except that he sees something that most people in the basketball universe don't.

Whoever called the lineup with Etan in there smallball is slightly mistaken. It might be quasi-smallball depending on the other team's lineup, but it's not the smallball that's sent a lot of us to see a shrink - i.e. Jamison at center.

I like Donell Taylor's minutes last night primarily bc I finally saw some perimeter defense being played.

Arenas is just pathetic on D. On the layup by Starbury at the end, Arenas was right there to slide over and cut off his path and hopefully draw a charge. Nope - don't bother just stand there. Then Arena's man takes and makes the last bucket for NY against Gilbert and Gilbert was not even in the picture to bother the shot AT ALL.

"EJ calls a timeout after this possession, so why not put your 5 best defensive players in the game?"

Bleh, having the flu sucks....

I always love Henry's posts. :)

I'm not going to re-discuss what everyone else on here has said(or even myself) it's like beating a dead horse.

Two things I would hope the Wiz start doing/practicing for the rest of the season:

1) Play defense. They have to start putting hands in people's faces. At some point they have to look themselves in the mirror and realize that they need to, to win. NY is a very average team, although they are playing better then last year. It should NEVER EVER have been that close, especially at home. Com'on guys, I know you're better then that.

2) Start running plays for the EXACT situation they they had last night. People are going to start doubling Gil and someone will always be open. Caron is good from anywhere INSIDE the arch. GREAT pass by Stevenson, I'm so glad he didn't shoot it.

There's a lot of season left and time to do this stuff. They could go so far in my mind if they just practice these things.

On a side note Jarvis seems to be playing better, I just hope it continues. I'm still down on him right now because of his shot selection. At least he's not just "throwing it up" anymore.

"Anyone else notice that great defense played by Jefferies on Jamesion on the second to last Wizards possession?"

You know, I did notice that and had to chuckle some. :)

Going back to bed now.....

**cough...weeze**

Please go vote for all the Wizards for the 2007 NBA All Star game NOW at:

http://www.nba.com/allstar2007/asb/eng/ballot.html?from=sweeps

- Ray

Did anyone notice that Jamison was guarding Marbury on the Knicks' final two possessions? I thought maybe it was the result of a switch - but there he was again guarding the speedy point guard on the next possession. Why would they put Jamison - who has no lateral movement on defense - on a point guard who just blew past him for a bucket to put the Knicks up by one?

I have to agree with the comments on Gil's lack of "D" last night -- at least 5-6 times I saw him literally just watching a Knick player penetrate.

He always does the same thing -- if he gets beat off the dribble, he waits for the guy to go by him, put the ball on the floor or behind his head, and then he swipes at the ball for a steal. It's surprisingly effective, but not nearly as effective as moving your feet and staying with that player.

Ironically the one time I saw him play good D, he was in a terrible mismatch where he was fronting David Lee on the block as a result of a switch, and Nate Robinson pulled up for a jump pass and ended up traveling because he realized he couldn't get it into Lee with Gil all over him. I kept thinking Lee was going to posterize Gil on that play.

I cringe every time I see Jamison on defense the final 2 or 3 plays of the game. Flashbacks to the Cleveland series last year.

Yeah, I remember that one play Gil made on D too. He has got to stop being so lazy on defense. The swiping is not that effective at all though. So what if he is 6th in the league in steals? That is two steals for every dozen or more times a guy blows right by him a game or gets a wide open look. I would trade 2 steals for only a couple penetrations and a hand in the face anyday! Taylor sure knows how to do it. Nice D DT!!!!

Still playing like a first or second round playoff loser unless you wanna bank on Arenas averaging 40+ a game in the playoffs. I don't!

I really don't get all the EJ bashing that goes on this board, with most of it being the "Why doesn't he play all 5 starters for the entire game?!" The way I see it, EJ is the best coach that the Wizards/Bullets have had in 20 years. He may not be the best in the league, but he is certainly not the worst. He seems to understand (unlike many of the folks that constantly post negative comments about him, win or lose) that NBA ball is a marathon, not a sprint. He knows that Etan Thomas is the better center when playing 100%, and needs the minutes to get back to that level. People wonder why he puts in a small line up all the time. To me it is obvious: our best players are not big guys. When Etan was injured, and then Haywood also twisted his ankle, our lack of depth at center became quickly apparent. You work with what you have, and I think EJ has done a pretty good job of that.

Gack and others who believe that the EJ's rotating guys on Curry was effective, please consider the empirical data:

Against Brendan Haywood, Curry had:
19 min, 4 PTS (1/3 FG, 2/2 FT), 2 REB, 0 TO

Against Calvin Booth:
3 min, 2 PTS (0/0 FG, 2/2 FT), 0 REB, 1 TO

Against Etan Thomas
19 min, 12 PTS (5/7 FG, 2/3 FT), 6 REB, 1 TO

Again, I love Etan, but Curry's a terrible matchup for him. Haywood was extremely effective against him, and if he had gotten the 30+ minutes that he earned with his play (especially during the Knick comeback in the 4Q) the game never would have come down to that last possession.

All I have to say is, for the entire 4th quarter, no matter the score, you knew the Wiz would win. When Crawford shot with 12 seconds, you were thinking: What is he an idiot? You knew the Wiz would not blow it. You knew they were going to win.

When's the last time that was the case? They got us believing.
Dunk it, pass it, shoot it, slam! That's the reason I'm a Wizards fan!

"The way I see it, EJ is the best coach that the Wizards/Bullets have had in 20 years."

Wish I had a dollar for every time someone posted this on here and then a few weeks later change thier minds. ;)

- Ray

NUFF.

Man, nothing brings out the hate like an exciting finish. At the end of the day I like watching competitive sports. I like that we win the close ones. Come playoffs this team is going to know how to compete under pressure, they are going to know they have players who can get it done in the clutch, and they will be able to maintain their focus.

Coaching is as much abut chemistry and confidence as it is about rotations and plays. They say you can't coach height, well i think the same is true for character. This team has it in spades, and I think as long as they can keep doing what they are doing they are going to present serious problems for everyone in the NBA. I think deveopmentaly, we are right where we need to be to build this franchise.

If EG and EJ have think that AJ is the right guy for the team it might have more to do with his character and what he brings on the floor mentally than his defense. And if that helps us win more games than we lose I'm happy.

AJ made 2 great plays down the stretch on offense and Caron gets a moment in the spotlight that he deserves. Everybody trusts each other a little bit more each night and the games will start getting easier.

Some of you guys need get a coaching job.
Right now the future is bright in washington, just need to open your eyes a little bit.

Nobody said EJ was the worst coach in the league or stated that all 5 starters had to play the entire game. Plenty other posters have mentioned playing Blatche, Taylor, et al in some combination w/ the starters not a wholesale substitution w/ Jamison at the 5 when you are trying to protect a lead.

Haywood played effective defense and hit the boards last night vs. Curry. He got 25 minutes PT and sat most of the 4th quarter. He certainly wasn't close to playing the entire game.

Of course the Wiz bigs aren't the best players, but they happen to be the BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYERS and would be your last line of defense, protecting the paint and rebounding. My point w/ Etan in that lineup is that he's not completely recovered from injury, so he needs more help from the 4 position in which Hayes is playing and in no way is Hayes supposed to be a 4.

Win or lose, there are always things that need to be improved. Just because you're winning, you don't ignore important things unless you're one to find fault only when you lose. If you find the problem areas while winning and correct them, you're being proactive and will be better for it. If you try to correct them when you're losing, you're too late and desperate for change.

EJ is not the worst or the best coach for sure, but he's a much better coach b/c his players sure help him look good despite some of his very questionable game management skills. Everyone says he's the one who's responsible for the Wiz making the playoffs 2 straight years, and it's true to a certain extent. But it's also true that the talent that Grunfeld has assembled should at least account for half of it. Think about the Wiz's talent base, how many years has it been since they've had this much talent on the team or had close to three all-star players? I've followed them for 20 years and I don't recall any collection of talent approaching this team - maybe during the Webber/Howard/Strickland era and IMO they were not quite as good. They certainly weren't quite as clutch players as this team.

Ben,

Props for compiling those numbers. All I was trying to say is that *in general*, it's a good idea to keep your big men rotated, rather than riding a single guy for too long.

I certainly agree that Curry seemed to be having more trouble with Haywood than Etan, at least partially because Etan was coming to him more versus just taking up space and trying to force Curry into taking bad shots, but on the other hand, maybe EJ was just giving Etan minutes to help him work back into the lineup, who can say.

Certain guys are probably going to be better matchups than others, for sure. I'm always a "stats over conjecture" guy, but it does make you wonder if the Wiz coaching staff have any time to really watch tape and dissect what's happening, the way, say, an NFL coaching staff might.

Ivan/Michael? Any clue on that?

Don't give me props. I should be crediting my sources: http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=612983&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=324

Check out Nate33, halfway down the page. Nate's a stats ninja.

Dudes, my dog Steve Buckhantz was on 980 this morning. He was talking about great it is that the Wizards are learning how to win. Basically saying, think about this team in years past, they would have lost this one. You have to win the ugly games too. I thought it was a nice point.

The squadron must win some ugly games when Gilbert is off, or the offense is clunky. That's what good teams do. Like we saw in Oklahoma, we are not there yet.

I love Caron Butler like I love afternoon naps.

more than anything, i love the fact that this team can be so jovial amongst each other. you could clearly see this by watching the postgame videos on washpost sports homepage. gilbert could be a complete ballhog, or he could have an off-day like this, and these guys still are laughing, messin around after the game making funny comments.
that can't be duplicated. this team has really formed a great bond, and let's see....is a #1 seed out of the question?!?!

I don't think a #1 seed is out of the question at all, but OTOH I'm not sure it really matters as we ALWAYS make games close, regardless of whether the team we're playing is better or worse than us. I think we're in for a war regardless of who we play in the first round.

If they were a little better at winning the games they are supposed to win, the Wizards could get the top seed, because they play better vs. the West than just about any other Eastern Conference team.
My only take on Coach Jordan's rotations is that I want Taylor and Blatche to get about 10 mins. a night. That would go a long way on the defensive end. Those two guys who with enough experience during the season could be a pleasant surprise in the playoffs.

In case someone from Comcast is reading this: if you're trying to set the record for "Most Live Action Missed, Season", relax: you've already got it.

Example: player A makes a basket. Comcast producer focuses on his face for 5 full seconds as he heads back up for court. Meanwhile, we've missed most of the fast break the Wizards were running.

Or, after Comcast shows us the third replay of the previous play, we come back to: "Oh, great pass by Arenas leads to the slam! Too bad you missed see it, though, 'cuz our genius producer would rather keep showing you the previous play..."

And of course there's the ever popular run a full screen advertisement over the action.

Guys: FOLLOW THE FREAKIN' BALL. Seriously. Watch TBS or EPSN coverage to see how it's done.

Ok, now this rumor makes a little more sense for the Pacers. I was scratching my head after I heard about the other trade:

Fox Sports:

According to three NBA executives, the Pacers are now in talks to move Mike Dunleavy to the Los Angeles Clippers for dynamic swingman Corey Maggette. Indiana has been after Maggette since last season when they were looking to trade Ron Artest.

- Ray

Yeah burke, I've felt the exact same way for the longest time about the Comcast broadcasts (Terps games too). I always find myself yelling at the TV because Comcast refuses to show the action.

Another one of my favorites is when they decide to switch to that under-the-basket camera angle mid-play, so you get completely disoriented and are ensured the worst possible angle for the action.

Ben, nice posting. Nobody is saying Haywood or Etan are the best players, but they definitely serve a purpose. Anyone watching these games can tell that these other lineups/matchups aren't working well for the team. I get frustrated bc EJ does not see it for some reason. The NY game should have been over midway through the 4th. I like Gilbert's off game. He did not shoot well, but he had 16/10/8, I believe. Jason Kidd numbers for sure and people act like he is the greatest PG in the league still although his team sucks!...Oh well.

Watching some of this Dallas vs. Lakers game tonight and the little general has already barked at a couple players for not playing D or missing an assignment. Wish EJ would do that on occasion!!!! I think he is too much of a "player's" coach sometimes. Too nice ala Norv Turner.

Agreed he is not the worst coach, but he is definitely not the best. As far as the Bullets history is concerned, your comparing EJ to guys like Gar Heard et al.
It's not that hard to look good by comparison. Even Mr. Unseld was an average coach at best.

Let's pick it up Wiz!!! First place on the line tomorrow.

Good post Burke. You are absolutely right. It drives me crazy that Comcast doesn't stick with the action. They miss the first 8 seconds of the last 3 quarters consistently. They do replays over live action all the time. This is one of the many reasons I watch the networks over the locals when we get that option. The only thing they clearly have over the networks is the quality of the sound. Comcast's sound makes you feel like you are right there in the crowd beside Buck and Phil. But they need to re-think how they do everything else.

The breakdown of the last 4 possesions was priceless. Thanks for that post. Coach continues to go for the "5 best athletic" players on the court when things get tough. I like Etan but it was clear to me that Curry was consistently using him and so Haywood should have been playing more. Sometimes the rotations just make you want to holla.

Big game Friday. We need to get some distance in the division and take charge. This will continue to enhance our confidence. I think if we get more confidence, along with consistent rotations, we will stop having these stinkers against poor teams that we should crush.

Right on Bmore Rev the Wizards need to get on another big roll because Miami is creeping closer and Shaq will be back soon. I am more worried about the damn Heat than the Magic.

I thought I'd throw out a question that might cause a LITTLE discussion. An earlier poster said Jordan goes small because he wants his 5 best players on the floor. But who are his best or most effective players? Let's just focus on the top 3.

That's easy, right? But could it be that this season, the top 3 are Arenas, Butler and ... Haywood? Some of the numbers support that position:

- Haywood has the second highest +/- figure on the team per 48 minutes on the court (6.0 vs. Arenas' 6.3), i.e. the Wizards outscore the opposition at a faster rate when Haywood is on the floor than when any other player is on the court except Arenas. Jamison has the fifth highest (1.5).

- I came across a weird stat yesterday on 82games.com. Click on the player pairs article and then Wizards. The first chart shows how each player's +/- rating compares to that player's average rating when on the court with a particular player. For example, when this chart was done, Stevenson's overall average +/- was +1; while on the floor with Arenas it was +5, and while on the floor with Hayes it was -20. Every Wizards player who plays a substantial number of minutes has a higher +/- rating than his average when he is on the floor with two players: Butler and Haywood. (Thomas plays very slightly worse than his average with Arenas, but otherwise everyone plays better with Gil.) By contrast, four of the top seven core players play worse than their averages with Jamison. And what is really interesting is how much higher players' numbers are when playing with Haywood -- every player but Daniels has a +/- rating at least 6 points higher than his average with Haywood.

- Haywood has the lowest opposing team's effective FG% among the core players (49.5%); Jamison's has the highest (52.7%). Not surprising -- Haywood's the team's best defender, Jamison's the worst.

There are some other measures, too (Haywood's FG%, etc.). Rather than express my conclusion on this point, I thought I would just ask everyone for theirs.

Are the coaches being put in a "vice" such as too much Gilbert is bad for your health or perhaps oh writer of Sports English, they are being put in a vise? Be if far from me to critize.

Henry,

The real mouth-breathing stat nerds at RealGM have known this for quite some time: the Brendan effect improves the team dramatically simply by having the presense of a true-to-life strong seven footer.

There's some question whether the Big Wood's effect is so pronounced because nobody else on the Wiz plays defense and the Wiz don't have any other real option at center--

--that is: Etan gives more effort than effectiveness out there. He works hard, or looks like he's working hard, but he damn well better because he's undersized and can't actually stop anybody.--

--Or whether Brendan is actually a decent defensive player, and would be on any team.

Consensus seems to be the latter: 'Wood might look awkward or offensively inept, but even when he's only decent he's always long, strong and intimidating.

The +/- of the Big Wood effect shows up defensively. It doesn't show up in the traditional box score-- his rebounding numbers are okay, block shots, fair-- but Opponent defensive FG% drops dramatically when he's out there.

He changes more shots by accident than anyone else on the squad does on purpose. His occasional awkwardness actually acts as an intimidating factor, dude might smack the hell outcha just trying to get good position.

No matter if scoring potential drops, Everybody on the squad is a better defender when Brendan is on the floor. We still don't have the lateral quicks to defense the perimeter, but with B in the box, players can risk a little more gambling for steals, playing the lanes, keeping a hand up, because they have a safety net behind them.

The death of the Big Man is just a spurious rumor. Small ball is cute, and the new rules emphasis allow it to occasionally be effective-- but championship ball is played by teams with an honest-to-goodness Big Fella. Even Dallas began to win big when Dirk started playing down low.

So, yes, Brendan is a poor fit for the high-post motion-offense point-pivot Princeton hybrid game that EJ wants to run, but he's still indespensible for the team.

The Wiz can just run the offense _around_ Wood and let him be an afterthought (despite decent FG% when he can actually catch the ball)-- and the Wiz will remain effective. It's not like Jamison, Butler or that Zero Kid will have any trouble finding away to score anyway.

Problem is Etan is just a highly likeable fella, who actually puts in a great deal of work. Coaches like to reward that kinda thing, even if a half-assed Brendan is often more effective.

Stop by the Wiz Board sometime and ask the question, you'll get the highly sourced and statified version of the same response.

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=35

By the way Henry, I like your link site.

-doc.

Bridgewater: "vice" is a proper alternate spelling of "vise". I suspect I.C. was just channeling his inner Brit.

Linkin & Henry: some great insights from you both.
@ the end of the day, us mere mortals have nothing more to go on than historical & quantifiable stats to judge some1's contributions to a team.

Haywood's body of work this year suggest the Wiz are better when they play him.

EJ's is trying to make the personnel FIT INTO his system, when we all well know that you tailor the system to the personnel @ hand.

Btw, I still don't get any system that brings the big guys away from the basket esp. when it takes away from their natural talents of rebounding & putbacks.

"I came across a weird stat yesterday on 82games.com."

Yeah, I saw that site also Henry but was chicken to post anything on it due to a lack of info. :)

I was looking up stats for shooting, specifically "shots" vs "layups" to see what the percentages the Wiz have compared to everyone else.

Haywood changes peoples shots. He might not block them every time, or even rebound, but the guy is HUGE when he just puts his hands up.

Glad you posted that, been saying since preseason Haywood should be the starter.

I wonder how long Jordan is going to go before he puts Etan as starter again, I'm just waiting for that.

- Ray

"or looks like he's working hard, but he damn well better because he's undersized and can't actually stop anybody."

You know, I didn't know Etan was actually 6'10" for the longest time? I always though he was like 6'8" or something.

Why? Because he plays like it.

- Ray