SB Nation User Blog: Mike Prada

Wizards top 76ers 105-98: Final wrap and appreciation for the two stars

Mike Prada — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:48:01 -0000

Flip Saunders' mass benching in the third quarter was the type of watershed moment in a team's season. It was Saunders playing the desperation card. It was yet another one of those "let's get a spark" moments, in the same vein as starting DeShawn Stevenson or yo-yoing Nick Young and Randy Foye, except this was much more drastic. It was Saunders saying he was willing to lose the battle (an analogy RamV made nicely in the postgame thread last night) if it meant winning the war.

And yet, as it turned out, the Wizards won the battle too. Sure, it was the 76ers, who displayed pathetic half-court defense all night, but it was a won battle. For that, we have two people to thank: Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler.

Both players took over the game in the fourth quarter, singlehandily erasing a seven-point deficit with smart, efficient plays. The two scores 22 of the Wizards' 33 points in the period, and the key was that they attacked the hoop with quick moves. For Arenas, this is no surprise -- that's what he did when he was healthy, and that's what he's supposed to do now -- but for Butler, it was a welcome change from the whole "pump-fake, jab-step, pump-fake, dribble, 20-foot jumper" play we've always seen from him. They both played off each other well and both deferred to each other at the proper times. I'm sure that I'll find a chance to pick out specific plays when I'm not writing from an airport wifi connection, but for now, let's just say they blended together unlike they really ever have before.

And that's kind of the key here. For all the problems with this team, the real issue was that Arenas and Butler weren't blending, both on and off the court. For better or worse, you know what you'll get from Antawn Jamison -- a ton of shots (though he took fewer tonight, which was as good as his mid-quarter tantrum was bad), a ton of production, solid rebounding, bad defense and an overall net positive -- so asking him to provide a spark is asking the wrong person. Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller are what they are (which, ironically, is a classic Miller quote). Nick Young, Andray Blatche and Randy Foye are too inconsistent to be relied upon as an everyday spark, while Earl Boykins will trade games like tonight with games like Golden State, when he was dominated. Asking those guys to perform beyond themselves is asking too much. But asking Arenas and Butler to do the same -- well, that's what they're paid to do. They're the starts, and when your stars aren't performing, you won't win.

Butler and Arenas have created a lot of self-inflicted barriers to success this year. Arenas didn't need to call out Butler publicly for taking assists away from him because he wasn't catching and shooting. Butler didn't (and arguably still doesn't) need to keep saying stuff like "my resume speaks for itself" to the press. Both players could certainly have done more to try to fit in with Saunders' system. I don't know if those barriers have inevitably been dropped -- they probably haven't. But for one night at least, they put all the bullshit (excuse the language) behind them and just played.

Maybe it took a benching to motivate both of them. Who knows? What I do know is that Saunders' gutsy move looks like it paid off in the short-term. Considering it was probably seen as more of a long-term move than a short-term one, that's a pretty nice bonus.

Four Factors (Bold=very good | Italics=very bad)

Team	Pace	Off Eff	eFG%	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Philadelphia	92	106.5	53.3	24	17.1	16.3
Washington		114.1	51.2	24.1	22.2	9.8

Snap Reaction: They shot way too well, but at least we kept them off the offensive glass and took care of the ball ourselves.

Lineup Details, via Popcorn Machine

Highest individual plus/minus: Earl Boykins (+13 in 25:54)
Lowest individual plus/minus: Nick Young and Fabricio Oberto (-4 in 20:00 and 16:18, respectively)
Best five-man unit: Earl Boykins/Gilbert Arenas/Caron Butler/Antawn Jamison/Andray Blatche (+7 to begin the fourth quarter)
Worst five-man unit: Gilbert Arenas/Randy Foye/Caron Butler/Antawn Jamison/Brendan Haywood (-7 to start the third quarter)

Snap Reaction: The little man (Boykins) brought it tonight. I guess I need to give him props.

It wasn't received well by his players, as Antawn Jamison kicked the ad banner near the Wizards...

Mike Prada — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:18:24 -0000

It wasn't received well by his players, as Antawn Jamison kicked the ad banner near the Wizards bench and grabbed a seat at the end of the bench. Asked about the benching after the game, Jamison said, "I have no comment on that."

Michael Lee's account of Jamison's reaction to the mass benching of the starting unit. Pretty childish and unacceptable behavior from the supposed clubhouse leader of the team.

Wizards rally after starters benched to beat 76ers

Mike Prada — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:29:41 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

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For one night, I guess a crazy motivational tactic worked. Yay!

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards: Regular Season Game 26 Open Thread

Mike Prada — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:58:35 -0000

The Essentials:

76ers (7-20) vs. Wizards (8-17)
7 p.m.
Verizon Center
TV: CSN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Notable 76ers numbers this season

26th in expected winning percentage (.356)
28th in pace (90.7 possessions per game)
17th in offensive efficiency/offensive rating (106.8)
29th in defensive efficiency/defensive rating (111.4)

Pre-game links

Liberty Ballers, SB Nation's 76ers Blog
Philadunkia, a 76ers blog
Depressed Fan, a 76ers blog
Deep Sixer with Philadelphia Inquirer Beat Reporter Kate Fagan
GameDay 76ers

Tonight's Projected Starters
76ers	vs.	Wizards
Louis Williams	PG	Gilbert Arenas
Jrue Holiday	SG	Randy Foye
Andre Iguodala	SF	Caron Butler
Thaddeus Young	PF	Antawn Jamison
Samuel Dalembert	C	Brendan Haywood

We know the 76ers. It's our old coach, running our old sets. We also played them this year, though you have to add Marreese Speights and Caron Butler (both injured last game) into the picture. With the way Speights is playing, that swap might favor Philadelphia right now.

The other difference? Elton Brand is not starting; instead, rookie Jrue Holiday, who killed us last time, will. Again, probably not an even trade for us at this stage. Brand's upset he isn't playing, but he's not fully recovered from injury and the Sixers need to go small to push that pace (seriously, that team is 28th in pace? What is Eddie Jordan doing? In case you also noticed, Philly's is 29th in defense, after being 14th last year with the same personnel. Ladies and gentlemen, the Eddie Jordan effect!).

Regardless, we know these guys. So I'll jump off our discussion with this question: would you trade rosters with the 76ers in the long term?

Both teams have an overpaid star that's clogging their cap for a while (Gilbert Arenas, Brand). Both teams have an overpaid second banana with a long-term contract that has one fundamental flaw (Jamison and Iguodala, though Iggy is younger and better on defense). Philly has more young guys, but they also have fewer expiring contracts, meaning it's going to be harder to clear salary. I'm very conflicted. Here's the salary situation for the Wizards, here's the salary situation for the 76ers. Which position would you rather be in? We're talking bad or worse here, but it's still a fun discussion topic.

(Note: I'm going out of town tomorrow, so I won't be at tonight's game. I'll be at the OKC game on the 29th. Kyle will have first-hand reporting tonight, I'm sure).

GO WIZARDS!

As the team prepares to play the 76ers tonight, Saunders said the Wizards still have some banged up...

Mike Prada — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:16:26 -0000

As the team prepares to play the 76ers tonight, Saunders said the Wizards still have some banged up big pieces with Arenas and Jamison both forced to sit out of practice on Monday. Arenas was sore after hurting his right hip on the West Coast trip and Jamison was nursing a stinger on the left side of his neck after a collision in Golden State and a sore left shoulder after a collision in Sacramento. "Now his bad shoulder's his good shoulder," Saunders joked.

Blech. And to answer Lee's question, it's absolutely time to judge the Wizards. In fact, it's kind of criminal that Flip Saunders is saying we should wait until half the season to judge them. Half the season? Ridiculous.

Stephen Jackson Is Patient With Reporters, Not Patient Otherwise

Mike Prada — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:23:54 -0000

Stephen Jackson has probably had more "fresh starts" in his career than Shawn Kemp has children, so you'll have to excuse me for being a wee bit skeptical of this puff piece from NBA.com's Art Garcia.

But regardless, you kind of have to admit that Garcia opens up the floodgates for jokes by opening the article like this:

Most guys aren't this patient. Most guys after a loss on a road -- in a game that probably should have won -- want to hit the showers and the road. Sure, they might take three or four questions as they get dressed, but as soon as they're ready, they're gone.
Stephen Jackson isn't most guys.

Correct. Stephen Jackson isn't like most guys. See, Stephen Jackson patiently waits a full year after signing a contract extension to demand a trade from Golden State. He patiently waits until the end of the Brawl at the Palace in 2004 before going to punch a fan. He patiently waits until after his trade demand to step down as Warriors captain. He patiently waits until after he wins a championship to say "Screw you, I'd rather play in Atlanta" to the only team one of the first teams (Spurs) willing to give him a chance in the NBA.

I know, I know, Garcia's just illustrating classic sportswriter prose here. But man, the unintentional comedy is off the roof. Maybe this 452nd fresh start will prove to be the one for Stephen Jackson.

Dwyane Wade Is Hurting Because Of The Load He's Carrying

Mike Prada — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:21:33 -0000

If you've watched a lot of Miami Heat games this year, you've probably noticed that Dwyane Wade seems, well, uninspired. Last year, he electrified the league with dazzling athletic plays and crazy buzzer beaters, all while leading the overachieving Heat to 43 wins. Any other year, he wins the MVP.

This year? Miami is still over .500 with the same crew, but Wade just hasn't been Wade. His numbers are down. His shot selection is not good. His team has suffered several bad losses and is barely .500 at home. And now, via Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald, we learn he's been nursing some nagging injuries.

The back spasms came from nowhere and have had a deep impact on his mobility. The sore right shooting wrist does impact his ability to control the ball, follow through on his release and finish strong at the rim. The knees and legs do ache at times. And that's all on top of the general burden he has to carry with this middle-of-the-pack team, one that's heavy enough alone to carry when he's healthy.

The rest of the article, though, reads like the real problem is the load Wade is carrying, between being on an average team in an obvious holding pattern until 2010 and his own free agent status. Does one mental state play a role in a player's physical ailments? The answer is probably yes, and it's something we often overlook when thinking about injuries and player performance. Dwyane Wade's "plight," if you want to call it that, proves that point.

Randy Foye's starting, learning the harsh reality of being a reserve

Mike Prada — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:28:09 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

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If there's one thing I learned about Randy Foye from talking to him this year, it's that he stays professional. He won't even come close to badmouthing a teammate, a coach or even his situation. It's a nice quality on a team that tends to speak out it's frustrations publicly.

So when he says stuff like this, stuff that even hints of dissension, it's significant.

"It definitely was a difficult situation, because that never happened to me before, coming in for four minutes and being taken out -- even if you make a shot. It was tough for me,"

He's right -- he's never been through this before. In Minnesota, they desperately pumped his psyche up and started him all the time, hoping that he would be a cornerstone like the guy they traded him for, Brandon Roy. They tried him at point guard and shooting guard, but they always gave him his guaranteed 35 minutes. They even gave him the ball with the game on the line, asking him to make the winning plays. In short, he was treated like a much bigger star than he was.

Now, he comes to Washington, and he learns the ballad all reserve players learn. Life isn't fair. You don't get the same opportunities stars get. If you play like crap, you don't get several minutes to "get into a rhythm." And Foye has not played well this year -- his on/off numbers are scary-bad, he's jacked terrible shots, can't defend two-guards well and isn't passing nearly as well as he did in Minnesota. In short, Foye is learning the lesson Nick Young has learned for three years now (and is apparently continuing to learn, as he's now been relegated by his own coach to being a reserve player despite displaying the best perimeter defense on the team).

The question now becomes whether Foye fades away or adjusts. I mean, sure, he's starting now, but as soon as Mike Miller gets back, Foye's minutes likely drop. Flip Saunders has essentially said he's starting because he doesn't want to fiddle with Young's role. It's causing a lot of raised eyebrows to those who wonder why Saunders is stunting Young's role, but at least Young has a role. Foye's gone from doghouse to starting, all so Saunders can help facilitate a smoother transition once Mike Miller comes back. It's pretty similar to Saunders' decision to start Fabricio Oberto over Andray Blatche early in the season with Antawn Jamison out. Oberto went from starting to never playing, while Blatche's role didn't change much. Longwinded explanation aside, the point is that Foye's spot in this rotation isn't guaranteed.

The key, then, for Foye is to get to the point where he plays the same way with 35 minutes as he does with five. Let's set aside the obvious coaching answer to this rotation problem for a second (putting Foye at point guard, where he's played much better this year, and benching Earl Boykins), and the truth that Saunders hasn't helped Foye by making his role confusing. From Foye's perspective, he has to understand that coaches want their sixth-ninth men to display stability of some sort. Boykins may not be better than Foye, but as a coach, you know that, when Boykins comes in, he will push the ball down the court, run offensive sets (incorrectly, but he'll run them) and create some sort of shot when things go wrong. Boykins will do that in 30 minutes or five minutes, it doesn't matter. Foye hasn't reached that point. He admitted he's still in "I need to get into a rhythm" mode, and for coaches, that's code for "I can't trust you as a reserve."

Who knows, maybe this "doghouse" stint is what Foye needed. It's easy to say "I will sacrifice for the good of the team," but it's much harder to do it. So Randy, now that you have your slight chance to show your skills until your playing time gets lost again, here's some advice. Play to your strengths. Shoot spot-up threes instead of off-the-dribble long twos, understand you aren't a good driver unless you drive to pass, do less dribbling and blend in. Realize you aren't being asked to be a star. You'll get more minutes that way because you'll play like a guy who can do his thing no matter how much playing time he gets.

Jameer Nelson Returns, Misses All Five Shot Attempts In 14 Minutes

Mike Prada — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:19:05 -0000

Jammer Nelson did indeed return to the court for the Orlando Magic in their 104-99 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night. He played just 14 minutes in a reserve role, however, and looked rusty, missing all five of his field goal attempts.

However, Orlando Pinstriped Post, SB Nation’s Magic blog, writes that Nelson actually played “a decent game.” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is also quoted as saying Nelson played “pretty well” overall, considering it was his first game action in five weeks.

My thoughts on Nelson? He played a decent game, and looked excellent running two fast-breaks with Bass late in the third quarter. Johnson got the call at point guard over Nelson in the fourth quarter because, according to Van Gundy, Nelson’s “decisions on when to shoot and when to pass were not real good, and that’s to be expected.” He said Nelson played “pretty well” overall and displayed “good quickness.”

Bulls Fans: Blame The Organization

Mike Prada — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:28:01 -0000

It takes a special type of team to give up a 35-point lead at home to another club that is also below .500. You need a perfect storm of bad coaching, bad players and bad strategy.

If you ask Bulls fans, though, you also need an incompetent front office and ownership that seemingly doesn’t care to make the team competitive. Every failure the team has experienced this year can be tied back to their front office, and this blown 35-point lead is no exception. At least that’s how Blog a Bull, SB Nation’s Bulls blog, sees it.

Our owner uses this team as an out-of-sight financial boon while he focuses on his true passion. Our VP of Basketball Operations was talked out of quitting by being given a promotion. The current GM’s qualifications is stepping in and giving Luol Deng an extra 7 figures on his deal. They collectively spend nearly a whole summer trying to hire a coach, and end up with a complete unqualified unknown, and even while he proves himself to not be ready for the job, they keep him anyway.

So is it really that surprising that such an unorganized front office hiring an over-his-head coach could produce such a discombobulated team capable of choking away such a huge lead? That Derrick Rose wouldn’t be given the best chance to finish out the game (though he’s not faultless in not rising above it either), and the rest of the team would be completely tense up in ‘support’? Guys who defer to the Org. are rewarded, and it’s not surprising that it leads to deference in games.

But it wasn’t THAT shocking or demoralizing. Is this loss truly any worse than the string of blowouts on the west coast, or the home loss to the Nets? It will get more attention, but if Vinny wasn’t fired then he won’t be now. They don’t have a plan to handle the coaching, just like the coach doesn’t have a plan to keep a lead. Gar Paxdorf’s “process” is just as screwed as Vinny Del Negro’s “attack”, and we’ll be watching the results for the foreseeable future, hoping a star player decides against his best interest to save us from it in the offseason.