Of course you have to be happy with a win; there can be no question about that. I mean for whatever reason I can’t let go of this playoff positioning (like I should) so to me we have got to start winning the majority of these games vs. the bottom feeders. Sadly there are plenty of nights where we are the bottom feeders.
But tonight was not one of them, for the most part.
Like I said I’m happy with the win but I am not happy with how we had to win it. I was about to strangle Frank when he let the bench let the Wizards go on an 18-2 run. I mean I know he wanted to rest the starters & frankly we can’t afford to do this very often but he just had to get them out of there.
Once again we had to rely on West to play hero ball to bail us out of another bad spot but in this case we let the Wizards get to much momentum and by that time the starters as a unit could barely tread water & by the end most of them were on fumes. This does not bode well for the next few games.
The bench is disgusting right now, there is just no other way to say it and honestly I think he is just going to have to give up on the 5 in 5 out thing. I know he tries to keep 1 or 2 starters in now but he may just have to scrap that and go with rotating in & out players 1 at a time. Not ideal for certain but right now the bench, in particular in this game, is just not together either on offense or defense.
Now don’t get me wrong on certain night’s elements of the bench work and individually you get some decent production but as a group they just don’t work, at least right now.
We just have a very small margin for error with our club and our starters just do not have the firepower to make a comeback vs. a good team & make no mistake if the Wizards were anything resembling a good team we would have went home tonight 0-2 on this particular road trip. Like I said happy with the win but let’s just say I’m not using this game to say we’ve turned the corner.
Short on time so we’re just going to do some quick grades.
David West: A+
He get’s the plus for actually blocking 4 shots. Ok that and totally placing the offensive load on his back & saving the game. He’s never going to be a great defender but on nights like tonight you just have to ride him to victory and this is the second time so far in the young year that he has ensured victory in what was looking like defeat.
Paul George: D+
His trade value will never be higher, just saying…
Roy Hibbert: A
Best game of the season so far for Roy and I guess home cooking and family visits and a very soft Wizards interior helped to cure some of what ills him. Now do this Friday vs. the Spurs and we’ll talk but I’ll just take tonight for what it’s worth & be happy that the results are what they are.
Lance Stephenson: B
For whatever reason Frank has a very short leash on Lance. He made a bad pass & a couple of fouls and he is done for the night. This just described Paul George’s season btw other than he gets to play through his mistakes. To be fair Sam Young was playing very well and I understand that they might be afraid that Lance will go full bore Rucker Park on them so I guess I understand. But the game is much more fun to watch when he plays than when he doesn’t.
George Hill: C-
I’m being generous here because his 2-11 field goal shooting was abysmal to say the least & going 0-6 from the three point line was particularly egregious but I will credit him for the made free throws. God knows anybody going 8-8 on our team from the line is cause for celebration. But unless they start working Lance as the backup point, which btw tonight during the first quarter (you know the one that we kicked their butts in) Lance was mostly running the point with George playing off the ball, then George better be ready to play big min. as our backup point guard is, well zombie about covers it.
Sam Young: B-
Stop shooting so many three’s. Hitting a corner three on occasion is great but let’s not get carried away here. 1-6 from the three point line was not what I had in mind when we signed him. Now solid defense & hustle, yes that I had in mind. Still can’t pass to save his life and I have no idea what Vogel uses him as the in bound passer. Lost in all of this though is that he also grabbed 8 rebounds. So basically Sam has played very well in 2 out of the last 3 games.
Tyler Hansbrough: C
Tyler was a victim tonight of having to be on the floor with that second unit and then having to not be able to come back in because we had to keep Roy & West rolling in the 4th. He did nothing bad when he was in but in all honesty he didn’t do anything great either.
Gerald Green: C-
I mean on the surface he shot well from the field for the most part but man there is just something about his game that does not translate into winning basketball. I was stunned when Quinn said that Gerald was not a player you should ever push the ball up to because he will get it up whether he has a shot or not. That’s kind of a damning statement considering I thought the whole point of him being there in the second unit was to push it and get up a shot. Also this wasn’t his strongest defensive outing either.
Ian Mahinmi: D
He needs to have “I’m Kevin Seraphin’s B!tch” tattooed on his arm or someplace. Just abysmal and poor Roy had to play till he couldn’t stand up straight because Frank had to bench the entire bench for the 4th. I mean at some point in time he is going to play a really good game and Pritchard will look sharp as a tack, but man waiting on that game is taxing. The sad thing is in pre-season he looked so good I thought he could easily be a 20+ a night min. man. I’m sure he’ll get there eventually but right now he is not there.
D.J. Augustin: D-
Hey at least he had a 1-1 assist to turnover ratio and not a negative ratio, there’s that at least. Right? I really wonder if he didn’t think he was going to start along side Hill when he came here? Surely he is not this bad, he has to be having an attitude issue. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want that either but I would almost prefer that to thinking this guy doesn’t belong on the floor.
At least we get a day of rest and some time to prepare for the Hornets. I am curious how we will respond.
But tonight was not one of them, for the most part.
Like I said I’m happy with the win but I am not happy with how we had to win it. I was about to strangle Frank when he let the bench let the Wizards go on an 18-2 run. I mean I know he wanted to rest the starters & frankly we can’t afford to do this very often but he just had to get them out of there.
Once again we had to rely on West to play hero ball to bail us out of another bad spot but in this case we let the Wizards get to much momentum and by that time the starters as a unit could barely tread water & by the end most of them were on fumes. This does not bode well for the next few games.
The bench is disgusting right now, there is just no other way to say it and honestly I think he is just going to have to give up on the 5 in 5 out thing. I know he tries to keep 1 or 2 starters in now but he may just have to scrap that and go with rotating in & out players 1 at a time. Not ideal for certain but right now the bench, in particular in this game, is just not together either on offense or defense.
Now don’t get me wrong on certain night’s elements of the bench work and individually you get some decent production but as a group they just don’t work, at least right now.
We just have a very small margin for error with our club and our starters just do not have the firepower to make a comeback vs. a good team & make no mistake if the Wizards were anything resembling a good team we would have went home tonight 0-2 on this particular road trip. Like I said happy with the win but let’s just say I’m not using this game to say we’ve turned the corner.
Short on time so we’re just going to do some quick grades.
David West: A+
He get’s the plus for actually blocking 4 shots. Ok that and totally placing the offensive load on his back & saving the game. He’s never going to be a great defender but on nights like tonight you just have to ride him to victory and this is the second time so far in the young year that he has ensured victory in what was looking like defeat.
Paul George: D+
His trade value will never be higher, just saying…
Roy Hibbert: A
Best game of the season so far for Roy and I guess home cooking and family visits and a very soft Wizards interior helped to cure some of what ills him. Now do this Friday vs. the Spurs and we’ll talk but I’ll just take tonight for what it’s worth & be happy that the results are what they are.
Lance Stephenson: B
For whatever reason Frank has a very short leash on Lance. He made a bad pass & a couple of fouls and he is done for the night. This just described Paul George’s season btw other than he gets to play through his mistakes. To be fair Sam Young was playing very well and I understand that they might be afraid that Lance will go full bore Rucker Park on them so I guess I understand. But the game is much more fun to watch when he plays than when he doesn’t.
George Hill: C-
I’m being generous here because his 2-11 field goal shooting was abysmal to say the least & going 0-6 from the three point line was particularly egregious but I will credit him for the made free throws. God knows anybody going 8-8 on our team from the line is cause for celebration. But unless they start working Lance as the backup point, which btw tonight during the first quarter (you know the one that we kicked their butts in) Lance was mostly running the point with George playing off the ball, then George better be ready to play big min. as our backup point guard is, well zombie about covers it.
Sam Young: B-
Stop shooting so many three’s. Hitting a corner three on occasion is great but let’s not get carried away here. 1-6 from the three point line was not what I had in mind when we signed him. Now solid defense & hustle, yes that I had in mind. Still can’t pass to save his life and I have no idea what Vogel uses him as the in bound passer. Lost in all of this though is that he also grabbed 8 rebounds. So basically Sam has played very well in 2 out of the last 3 games.
Tyler Hansbrough: C
Tyler was a victim tonight of having to be on the floor with that second unit and then having to not be able to come back in because we had to keep Roy & West rolling in the 4th. He did nothing bad when he was in but in all honesty he didn’t do anything great either.
Gerald Green: C-
I mean on the surface he shot well from the field for the most part but man there is just something about his game that does not translate into winning basketball. I was stunned when Quinn said that Gerald was not a player you should ever push the ball up to because he will get it up whether he has a shot or not. That’s kind of a damning statement considering I thought the whole point of him being there in the second unit was to push it and get up a shot. Also this wasn’t his strongest defensive outing either.
Ian Mahinmi: D
He needs to have “I’m Kevin Seraphin’s B!tch” tattooed on his arm or someplace. Just abysmal and poor Roy had to play till he couldn’t stand up straight because Frank had to bench the entire bench for the 4th. I mean at some point in time he is going to play a really good game and Pritchard will look sharp as a tack, but man waiting on that game is taxing. The sad thing is in pre-season he looked so good I thought he could easily be a 20+ a night min. man. I’m sure he’ll get there eventually but right now he is not there.
D.J. Augustin: D-
Hey at least he had a 1-1 assist to turnover ratio and not a negative ratio, there’s that at least. Right? I really wonder if he didn’t think he was going to start along side Hill when he came here? Surely he is not this bad, he has to be having an attitude issue. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want that either but I would almost prefer that to thinking this guy doesn’t belong on the floor.
At least we get a day of rest and some time to prepare for the Hornets. I am curious how we will respond.
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