Going into the 2011 NBA Draft, The Wizards can use help at just about every position except point guard. With picks 6 & 18, the Wizards will look to add toughness to an inconsistent front court. Considered to be a weak draft class compared to recent years, the Wizards hope to land a piece to the building puzzle around John Wall.
The targets at pick #6 include:
C Enes Kanter - Great size for NBA center at 6'11" 260. Missed a whole year of basketball after committing to Kentucky because the NCAA deemed him ineligible to play for receiving benefits while playing pro ball in Turkey.
Strengths - NBA ready game, possesses great strength, back to the basket & face up skills, decent wingspan, solid mid range game.
Weaknesses- Very limited athletically, limited potential
Notes: Broke Dirk Nowitzki's Nike Hoop Summit scoring record with 34 points in 23 minutes of play. 14 reps on the bench press at the combine. 32 & a half inch vertical.
SF Kawhi Leonard - San Diego State forward averaged 15.5 ppg & 10.6 rpg, leading the surprising Aztecs to a Sweet 16 loss to the eventual Nationals Champs.
Strengths - High Energy, Terrific Leaper, Great rebounder, Huge Wingspan
Weaknesses - Poor Shooter, possesses no moves to allow him to score consistently, tweener
Notes: Has the largest wingspan ever for a player 6'6'' & under with a 7'4" wingspan.
SF Jan Vesely - International player that could've been a top 10 pick in last year's draft. One of the most athletically gifted Euro player's I've ever seen.
Strengths - Great size, 6'11'' 230, Superior Athleticism, Runs the floor well, Improving 3 pt shot, Great energy
Weaknesses - Inconsistent shooter, needs to add strength, 46% FT Shooter, Poor rebounder for his size
Notes: Played major minutes in big time pro ball in Europe the last 2 years.
C Jonas Valanciunas - 19 Year Old Lithuanian prospect that has drawn comparisions to other Euro players such as Andris Biedrins & Nenad Krstic.
Strengths - Huge Hands, Long Wingspan, Good bball IQ, Decent face up game, soft touch around the basket, Solid shot blocker
Weaknesses - Lacks Strength, limited post moves
Notes: Led the Lithuanian under-18 team to Gold Medal in the Euro Championships. Had a 31 pt 18 rebound performance in the gold medal game.
PF Marcus Morris - Versatile Forward from Kansas University. Averaged 17 ppg & 7 rpg per game in his junior year.
Strengths - Efficient scorer, good low post skills, Good form on jumpshot, high motor, decent rebounder
Weaknesses - Lacks length, limited potential, lacks explosion
Notes: Twin Brother Markieff is a projected lottery pick as well.
What the Wizards do with the 6th pick
What the Wizards Want?
Enes Kanter. The Wizards likely would've picked Kanter if they won a top 3 pick in the lottery. Falling to number 6 seemed to hurt their chances. But with the top 2 picks almost assuredly being Kyrie Irving & Derrick Williams, & Utah looking to upgrade at the point guard position at pick 3, there's a possibility Kanter could fall to 6.
What's likely to happen?
Cleveland will pick Enes Kanter at 4 & the Wizards will draft Kawhi Leonard.
Sleeper pick
Marcus Morris from Kansas.
Part 2 detailing the 18th pick soon to come.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Big East Tourney Time
Big East tourney starts today with 4 games. Hard to believe that UCONN & Nova are playing on Tuesday of this tourney. That's life in the Big East.
Depaul-UConn up first. I expect UCONN to run away early with this one. Unless DePaul can find some serious MSG magic I don't see this being much of a game.
Rutgers-Seton Hall at 2pm. This is a heated New Jersey rivalry. I think Seton Hall takes this game if Jeremy Hazell gets hot early. If not then its going to be one of those memorable Big East Tourny finishes.
South Florida-Villanova at 7pm. Don't expect this to be much of a game unless Villanova completely chokes the whole game like the have much of the last month.
Providence-Marquette for the last game. I think this will be the best game of the day. Marshon Brooks vs scrappy Marquette team. I like Providence in an upset in this game simply because its always that one guy in the BET tourny that makes magic & puts his team on his back. Marshon is that guy. I expect 40 out of him tonight.
As for the Hoyas they face the winner of DePaul-UCONN. More than likely it will be UCONN. If JTIII continues to start & give the bulk of minutes to a Jason Clark/Austin Freeman backcourt then the Hoyas have no chance. Markel Starks is the only true PG on the roster without Chris Wright. He needs to start & get more minutes than Jason Clark who has crapped the bed since Big East play has started. A guard who can't dribble & is a very streaky shooter will hurt a team without a PG on the floor.
Julian Vaughn has to utilize a pump fake or something. Every layup he puts up gets blocked. Hoyas need Julian to pick up his play as he is 1-16 shooting in his last 3 games. That is absolutely atrocious.
Bottom line is JTIII really has to coach for feel & not by loyalty. That stubbornness is getting the Hoyas embarrassed out there. Guys like Jason Clark & Julian Vaughn need to be benched when playing as poorly as they have. Otherwise they will never learn from mistakes with no accountability. A guy like Jerelle Benimon shouldn't never see the court unless its a blowout.
With that said I'll be cheering hard for a Hoya victory on Wednesday!
Depaul-UConn up first. I expect UCONN to run away early with this one. Unless DePaul can find some serious MSG magic I don't see this being much of a game.
Rutgers-Seton Hall at 2pm. This is a heated New Jersey rivalry. I think Seton Hall takes this game if Jeremy Hazell gets hot early. If not then its going to be one of those memorable Big East Tourny finishes.
South Florida-Villanova at 7pm. Don't expect this to be much of a game unless Villanova completely chokes the whole game like the have much of the last month.
Providence-Marquette for the last game. I think this will be the best game of the day. Marshon Brooks vs scrappy Marquette team. I like Providence in an upset in this game simply because its always that one guy in the BET tourny that makes magic & puts his team on his back. Marshon is that guy. I expect 40 out of him tonight.
As for the Hoyas they face the winner of DePaul-UCONN. More than likely it will be UCONN. If JTIII continues to start & give the bulk of minutes to a Jason Clark/Austin Freeman backcourt then the Hoyas have no chance. Markel Starks is the only true PG on the roster without Chris Wright. He needs to start & get more minutes than Jason Clark who has crapped the bed since Big East play has started. A guard who can't dribble & is a very streaky shooter will hurt a team without a PG on the floor.
Julian Vaughn has to utilize a pump fake or something. Every layup he puts up gets blocked. Hoyas need Julian to pick up his play as he is 1-16 shooting in his last 3 games. That is absolutely atrocious.
Bottom line is JTIII really has to coach for feel & not by loyalty. That stubbornness is getting the Hoyas embarrassed out there. Guys like Jason Clark & Julian Vaughn need to be benched when playing as poorly as they have. Otherwise they will never learn from mistakes with no accountability. A guy like Jerelle Benimon shouldn't never see the court unless its a blowout.
With that said I'll be cheering hard for a Hoya victory on Wednesday!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Back in the mix: Hoyas vs Johnnies
Finally some Hoya basketball after an 8 day break. Hoyas come back ranked 20th in the nation. Grudge match against St. John's who beat the Hoyas 61-58 earlier this month. Steve Lavin coached a great game for the Johnnies exploiting physical matchup problems & the Hoyas never adjusted.
St. John's comes into this game struggling though. Having loss 4 out of their last 5 games & in those 4 losses they loss by an average margin of 14.
Hoyas started off a dismal 1-4 in the big east but coming off 2 much needed victories over Rutgers & Seton Hall.
5 Keys to the game
1. Austin Freeman. Got to get a nice shooting night out of Austin...Hoyas are 8-1 when Austin scores over 20.
2. On Ball Defense...Dwight Hardy lit Jason Clark up at the end of the game last time with his penetration. Not to mention a scrub like Jordan Theodore for Seton Hall getting by our guards at will. This has been a constant problem this year.
3. Accountability...If someone on the bench is giving the team more than one of our starters tonight, then JTIII has to coach "by feel" & give that guy on the bench more time.
4. Hollis Thompson...Get him more shots...you gotta find him, Hollis is money when left alone.
5. Chris Wright & Jason Clark...we need Chris to make better decisions & we need Jason to find his shot.
Lets go Hoyas!
St. John's comes into this game struggling though. Having loss 4 out of their last 5 games & in those 4 losses they loss by an average margin of 14.
Hoyas started off a dismal 1-4 in the big east but coming off 2 much needed victories over Rutgers & Seton Hall.
5 Keys to the game
1. Austin Freeman. Got to get a nice shooting night out of Austin...Hoyas are 8-1 when Austin scores over 20.
2. On Ball Defense...Dwight Hardy lit Jason Clark up at the end of the game last time with his penetration. Not to mention a scrub like Jordan Theodore for Seton Hall getting by our guards at will. This has been a constant problem this year.
3. Accountability...If someone on the bench is giving the team more than one of our starters tonight, then JTIII has to coach "by feel" & give that guy on the bench more time.
4. Hollis Thompson...Get him more shots...you gotta find him, Hollis is money when left alone.
5. Chris Wright & Jason Clark...we need Chris to make better decisions & we need Jason to find his shot.
Lets go Hoyas!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
At least we're at home...Wizards-Nuggets
If you're a Wizards I guess its always nice to know you're playing at Verizon Center. Since they can't win on the road.
Last night in the 4th quarter showed exactly why its not surprising this team is now 0-21 on the road. Whether it was Nick Young thinking we were the Sacramento Kings led by White Chocolate throwing no look behind the back passes to no one in particular. Al Thornton thinking he's at run n shoot. Andray Blatche being...well being Andray Blatche. You would like to think you would see progression at this time in the season.
5 Keys to the game
1. It's a home game. On top of that the Nuggets are almost as bad as the Wizards on the road, with just a 5-13 record.
2. Mustafa doing his thing. Such a smoothe player...always in control.
3. Flip Saunders. If certain players continue to play like crap & guys on the bench are playing better, please do everyone a favor & bench the deadweight. Your status should be earned every night.
4. Defense. I almost felt like we had to score 130 to beat the Knicks last night. Denver can score with the best of em, so you have to play a little defense.
5. No ball stoppers. I'd like to see better ball movement...but between Blatche & Thornton that's hard to do.
Matchups
PG Billups vs Wall Adv. Wall
SG Afflalo vs Young Adv. Young
SF Anthony vs Lewis Adv. Anthony
PF Martin vs Blatche Adv. Toss-UP (I wouldn't want either guy on my team but I'm stuck with Blatche)
C Nene vs McGee Adv. Nene
Try to notch another home victory.
Last night in the 4th quarter showed exactly why its not surprising this team is now 0-21 on the road. Whether it was Nick Young thinking we were the Sacramento Kings led by White Chocolate throwing no look behind the back passes to no one in particular. Al Thornton thinking he's at run n shoot. Andray Blatche being...well being Andray Blatche. You would like to think you would see progression at this time in the season.
5 Keys to the game
1. It's a home game. On top of that the Nuggets are almost as bad as the Wizards on the road, with just a 5-13 record.
2. Mustafa doing his thing. Such a smoothe player...always in control.
3. Flip Saunders. If certain players continue to play like crap & guys on the bench are playing better, please do everyone a favor & bench the deadweight. Your status should be earned every night.
4. Defense. I almost felt like we had to score 130 to beat the Knicks last night. Denver can score with the best of em, so you have to play a little defense.
5. No ball stoppers. I'd like to see better ball movement...but between Blatche & Thornton that's hard to do.
Matchups
PG Billups vs Wall Adv. Wall
SG Afflalo vs Young Adv. Young
SF Anthony vs Lewis Adv. Anthony
PF Martin vs Blatche Adv. Toss-UP (I wouldn't want either guy on my team but I'm stuck with Blatche)
C Nene vs McGee Adv. Nene
Try to notch another home victory.
Monday, January 24, 2011
No recap needed...just Blatche
I'm just about fed up with the finesse power forward Andray Blatche. I don't even need to recap this game. I'll just post an excerpt from a message about from an opposing fan on Blatche's game...& its frightenly spot on.
"Hey guys. I'm not here to push any buttons although I'm sure most of you will agree with me anyway. Just wanted to say how much I dislike Blatche. This guy is lazy, selfish and honestly not very smart. Just not a good basketball player. He has some skills but I think people see a guy who has size, can shoot it (although incredibly streaky), and can handle the ball a bit too...and because of that, it's easy to say he's oozing with talent. The fact of the matter is though, he is not a winning player or anything even close to it. For every good play this dude makes, he hurts the team way more with horrendous turnovers, scary shot selection and nauseating defense. He reminds me of a guy Isiah would have filled our old Knicks teams with....except worse. Like a cross between Al Harrington and Zach Randolph with less than half the talent and not even a fraction of the work ethic. My God. For someone who aspires to be such a big time offensive player, you'd think he'd at least attempt to be in shape."
Nuff said...good night
"Hey guys. I'm not here to push any buttons although I'm sure most of you will agree with me anyway. Just wanted to say how much I dislike Blatche. This guy is lazy, selfish and honestly not very smart. Just not a good basketball player. He has some skills but I think people see a guy who has size, can shoot it (although incredibly streaky), and can handle the ball a bit too...and because of that, it's easy to say he's oozing with talent. The fact of the matter is though, he is not a winning player or anything even close to it. For every good play this dude makes, he hurts the team way more with horrendous turnovers, scary shot selection and nauseating defense. He reminds me of a guy Isiah would have filled our old Knicks teams with....except worse. Like a cross between Al Harrington and Zach Randolph with less than half the talent and not even a fraction of the work ethic. My God. For someone who aspires to be such a big time offensive player, you'd think he'd at least attempt to be in shape."
Nuff said...good night
Monkey's off our back: Wizards vs Knicks
Got to ride the momentum wave coming off the big win against the Celtics. Very entertaining game to attend with the plethora of Celtics fans there. Good to send their asses home with the bitter beer face.
On to the Knicks...A lot of monkeys to get off our backs this game. 0-2 against the Knicks this year & haven't won at MSG since 2006, on top of the 0-20 road losing record this year. Perfect time to jump on the Knicks as they've struggled these past few weeks.
5 Keys to the game
1. Get Wall going. He has struggled against the Knicks this season shooting 8-25 with 10 turnovers in 2 games. Wall shook off one of his more poor assist performances against the Celtics to lead the victory.
2. Blatche's intensity. I'd have to say Blatche played his best half of bball in that second half of the Celtics game that I've seen from him. Didn't back down from KG & played a smart game. Good for him, keep it up against Amare.
3. MUSTAFA. What a pleasant surprise he was in the Celtics game off the bench. 5 pts. 5assists 2 blocks & 0 turnovers in 10 minutes of play. He looked better than Hinrich & if he keeps it up it really makes Hinrich expendable this year. Just get him a real jersey this game.
4. Nick shake off that bad game. Nick shot 1-13 in the Celtics...shake it off Nick & don't let it turn into a slump.
5. McGee! Keep guarding that paint. Teams are starting to take notice of him as I saw Ray Allen & Rondo think twice about driving the lane against him. We need that tonight especially against a PG like Felton that likes to drive.
Remember 0-2, 2006, 0-20...lets erase those three things tonight.
LOL @ Nick Young getting Cornrows
On to the Knicks...A lot of monkeys to get off our backs this game. 0-2 against the Knicks this year & haven't won at MSG since 2006, on top of the 0-20 road losing record this year. Perfect time to jump on the Knicks as they've struggled these past few weeks.
5 Keys to the game
1. Get Wall going. He has struggled against the Knicks this season shooting 8-25 with 10 turnovers in 2 games. Wall shook off one of his more poor assist performances against the Celtics to lead the victory.
2. Blatche's intensity. I'd have to say Blatche played his best half of bball in that second half of the Celtics game that I've seen from him. Didn't back down from KG & played a smart game. Good for him, keep it up against Amare.
3. MUSTAFA. What a pleasant surprise he was in the Celtics game off the bench. 5 pts. 5assists 2 blocks & 0 turnovers in 10 minutes of play. He looked better than Hinrich & if he keeps it up it really makes Hinrich expendable this year. Just get him a real jersey this game.
4. Nick shake off that bad game. Nick shot 1-13 in the Celtics...shake it off Nick & don't let it turn into a slump.
5. McGee! Keep guarding that paint. Teams are starting to take notice of him as I saw Ray Allen & Rondo think twice about driving the lane against him. We need that tonight especially against a PG like Felton that likes to drive.
Remember 0-2, 2006, 0-20...lets erase those three things tonight.
LOL @ Nick Young getting Cornrows
Saturday, January 22, 2011
4 Quarters please? Wizards vs Celtics
If you aren't going to play 4 quarters of basketball can we at least get the Wizards play the last 3 quarters well? First back to back home game since 2005.
The good news? Its a home game so there always a chance to get a victory.
The bad news? We're playing the Celtics coming in with a 5 game winning streak.
Kirk Hinrich won't be playing tonight due to injury. Wizards have signed Mustafa Shakur to a 10 day contract.
Shaq will be out as well for the Celtics, starting in his place will be Semih Erden. He seems likely to be the next "guy you never heard of" to have a great game against the Wiz.
5 Keys to the game:
1. Consistency! Can't have mental lapses & droughts against a team like the Celtics...it will get ugly & fast.
2. Feed Nick Young, he's averaging 26 in his last 6 games..find him J. Wall
3. McGee. If he can learn from his mistakes he'd be a top 10 center in the NBA...but he doesn't...yet. If could play smart he could play attack bball against Erden.
4. I would say defense especially against Paul Pierce but that would be wishful thinking. So lets hope Pierce or Allen have an off game.
5. Wall vs Rondo. I've been waiting for this matchup with the 2 Kentucky guards. Rondo is one of the best floor generals in the game, & Wall is working his way to that point. I feel like eventually even as good as Rondo is he will be a middle class man's John Wall in the future.
Matchups
PG Rondo vs Wall adv. Rondo(for now) but Wall's passing the past 3 games have been on a Rondo level
SG R. Allen vs Young adv. Young (at this point in the season)
SF P. Pierce vs Lewis adv Pierce
PF Garnett vs Blatche adv Garnett(by a mile)
C Erden vs McGee adv McGee
See you at the VC!
The good news? Its a home game so there always a chance to get a victory.
The bad news? We're playing the Celtics coming in with a 5 game winning streak.
Kirk Hinrich won't be playing tonight due to injury. Wizards have signed Mustafa Shakur to a 10 day contract.
Shaq will be out as well for the Celtics, starting in his place will be Semih Erden. He seems likely to be the next "guy you never heard of" to have a great game against the Wiz.
5 Keys to the game:
1. Consistency! Can't have mental lapses & droughts against a team like the Celtics...it will get ugly & fast.
2. Feed Nick Young, he's averaging 26 in his last 6 games..find him J. Wall
3. McGee. If he can learn from his mistakes he'd be a top 10 center in the NBA...but he doesn't...yet. If could play smart he could play attack bball against Erden.
4. I would say defense especially against Paul Pierce but that would be wishful thinking. So lets hope Pierce or Allen have an off game.
5. Wall vs Rondo. I've been waiting for this matchup with the 2 Kentucky guards. Rondo is one of the best floor generals in the game, & Wall is working his way to that point. I feel like eventually even as good as Rondo is he will be a middle class man's John Wall in the future.
Matchups
PG Rondo vs Wall adv. Rondo(for now) but Wall's passing the past 3 games have been on a Rondo level
SG R. Allen vs Young adv. Young (at this point in the season)
SF P. Pierce vs Lewis adv Pierce
PF Garnett vs Blatche adv Garnett(by a mile)
C Erden vs McGee adv McGee
See you at the VC!
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