Keeping Things Simple

Losing to the New York Knicks can naturally set off a fan base as fragile as ours. Considering all the stuff we've been through, it makes sense for fans to go crazy after every bad loss. It's easy to forget that the Knicks, as bad as they were last year, did win 23 games, some of which were blowouts. Bad games happen, and even back-to-back bad games happen.

Reading some of the comments on the latest Wizards Insider entry made this post necessary. I feel like the problem with the Wizards through 7 games this year is not as complex as people are making it out to be. Time and time again, fans wondered aloud why the Wizards weren't taking the ball to the basket in this game. Ivan Carter himself even mentioned it. All these complaints ignored the fact that the Wizards scored over a third of their points last night on free throws. They were 36-40 from the line!!!! There are lots of reasons the Wizards got spanked last night, but a lack of aggressivness taking the ball to the rim is not one of them.

To me, the problem is much, much simpler. Jones on the NBA has a great post preaching patience and showing tons of examples of teams trying to do too much too quick. He applies this logic mostly in terms of front office moves, but I see the same type of things happening with the Wizards on the court. Players are pressing because they are trying to do too much. It's as if they are thinking in the back of their heads about their deficiencies instead of figuring out how to maximize their strengths.

Gilbert Arenas isn't going to turn into a playmaker overnight. Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood aren't going to be great every night right away. Jarvis Hayes hasn't played in a real game in a long time, so expecting him to suddenly fit in is unrealistic. I feel like the Wizards have failed thus far because they are trying to become a perfect team too quickly. Instead of looking at development as a series of stages, the Wizards want to jump all the way to the end.

I don't really have any emperical evidence to prove this, but it seems to me that the last two games have indicated that Wizards players are overwhelmed out there. Arenas is not playing with the same free flow as he did last year, probably because he's become overwhelmed with his deficiencies. Same with Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood. In general, the offense seems too routine; it's as if I can predict exactly what will happen on any given possession. Defensively, there have been high points and low points, but we can't expect the team to become a better unit right away.

What I'm advocating for is a simple mindset change. The Wizards have gotten away from their scrappy style in the last few games, and that needs to return. Interestingly enough, Detroit is another team that has to regain their mentality early on. I hate resorting to an argument like this, but the bottom line is that whichever team can regain their edge will win tomorrow.

Is this warranted? Should we actually be concerned after 7 games? Is this really the problem?

Second Guessing the Crunch Time Lineup

Yesterday, the Wizards, who struggled last year with finishing and winning the close games, whipped out a crunch-time lineup of Arenas, Daniels, Hayes, Butler, and Jamison.

Yeah, that's right. A lineup featuring four guards and a forward who plays like one. The lineup is interesting, to say the least. Wierder was that Hayes was the one that drew the LeBron assignment for much of the fourth quarter until they switched Butler back on him in the last two minutes. Not only that, but the ball was not in Arenas' or Butler's hands with the game on the line. Hayes had an open shot, but why was he even coming off that screen in the first place?

Even the Phoenix Suns would have said the Wizards went small last night. It's no wonder that Varejao was ever to get those two big rebounds and loose balls at the end of the game.

Reader Brett had this to say about the lineup.

I was disappointed to see newly minted starting C Thomas and newly acquired defensive stopper Stevenson on the pine down the stretch. After the 2 minute mark, there were 2 field goals made, both by Cleveland. One an uncontested dunk by Hughes and the other an uncontested lay-up by James. With the game on the line, our role players are forced to put up jumpers (Jarvis) while their stars are waltzing down the lane.

I agree with him to a point. I wouldn't have put Stevenson in there last night. The Wizards were down and it was only because of Antonio Daniels' aggressivness that they even got back in the game. I don't know what would have happened if Stevenson was in there instead of him. But I completely agree about Thomas. Why was Hayes in there instead of him? Thomas was tearing it up when he was in there, so why take him out for the trigger-happy Hayes? With Arenas, Jamison, and Butler, along with Daniels, you have plenty of scoring already. I realize Thomas is undersized, but he's going to get those loose balls that Varejao got yesterday. He'll also make it a little more difficult for Cleveland to get to the rim. I just never really understood what Hayes added to the attack by being out there.

I've scanned the Post for answers to this question and Ivan Carter never pulled the trigger, or at least never mentioned it in the beat article. I'd like to know whether he brought the crunch-time lineup with Jordan and what Jordan's response was. Why was Hayes in there when Thomas was playing so well? It's true that Washington was causing matchup problems with 5 perimeter players, but they are still causing matchup problem with Arenas, Butler, Daniels, and Jamison in there. I'd like to know where Jordan was coming from with that decision.

The Wizards struggled at the end of games last year, turning what should have been a 46 win season into a 42 win one. They lost to the Cavaliers in the playoffs last year mostly because they couldn't execute down the stretch. I realize most teams don't have a guy like LeBron who can completely break down a defense at the end of games, but the Wizards made it easier for him and Hughes by leaving Thomas out of the game.

Agree? Disagree? What should be the crunch-time lineup if last night's one isn't?

[update]: Carter disagrees with me. Here's what he said in his blog entry.

I did like the smaller lineup that consisted of Arenas, Butler, Hayes, Jamison and Daniels however. They were getting drive and kicks and creating good shots. The fellas just missed too many open looks. Jarvis had those two baseline J's and the three that would have given the Wiz a lead, and Jamison missed that open three at the buzzer.

Interesting...

[update 2]: Apparently, Eddie Jordan does too.

"Frankly, I thought the small lineup helped us," Jordan said. "I thought we defended [LeBron] James well enough. I thought we did some good things defensively. We got some steals. I think we were down 11 and we went to the small lineup and went up by two. When we had the big guys in there, they would run pick-and-rolls and our big guys were on the perimeter anyway. All the time, you said our small and midsize guys have to rebound the ball better and we didn't do it."

Songaila Out Three Months

This is very bad news for the Wizards. Darius Songaila's back troubles are ultimately going to lead to surgery to repair the herniated disc and will miss at least half the year. Andray Blatche better grow up in a hurry, because otherwise the Wizards are going to struggle again with their frontcourt depth.

Who knew that when Songaila missed the first practice in training camp that it would ever become so serious?

How big a deal is this news? What do the Wizards need to do to compensate?