SB Nation User Blog: Rook6980

2006 Draft Class

Rook6980 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:22:59 -0000

Following he jump is a list of the 2006 draft class and their status for next year. There are some interesting names including Randy Foye, Tyrus Thomas, Hilton Armstrong and our old friend Oleksiy Pecherov.

Anyone available on this list that you think could help the Wizards next year?

Pick	Player	Status
1	Andrea Bargnani	Signed a 5-year contract extension in July 2009.
2	LaMarcus Aldridge	Signed a 5-year contract extension in October 2009.
3	Adam Morrison	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
4	Tyrus Thomas	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
5	Shelden Williams	Will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
6	Brandon Roy	Signed a 5-year contract extension in August 2009.
7	Randy Foye	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
8	Rudy Gay	Have until Monday, November 2nd to finalize an extension.
9	Patrick O'Bryant	Will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
10	Mouhammed Saer Sene	Currently playing for Hyères-Toulon Var Basket in France.
11	JJ Redick	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
12	Hilton Armstrong	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
13	Thabo Sefolasha	Signed a 4-year contract extension in October 2009.
14	Ronnie Brewer	Will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
15	Cedric Simmons	Currently playing in Greece.
16	Rodney Carney	Will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
17	Shawne Williams	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
18	Oleksiy Pecherov	Will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
19	Quincy Douby	Will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
20	Renaldo Balkman	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
21	Rajon Rondo	Rondo agrees in principle to a 5 year/55 million extension
22	Marcus Williams	Will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
23	Josh Boone	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
24	Kyle Lowry	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
25	Shannon Brown	Can become an unrestricted free agent (player option).
26	Jordan Farmar	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
27	Sergio Rodriguez	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
28	Maurice Ager	Currently playing in Spain.
29	Mardy Collins	Will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
30	Joel Freeland	Currently playing in Spain.

Wizards Exercise Options on Young and McGee

Rook6980 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:39:11 -0000

Wizards Exercise Options on Young and McGee

No word on JaVaris Crittenton - so I would assume that they declined to exercise his option.

The official DeJuan Blair sour grapes thread (don't read if you're tired of this topic)

Rook6980 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:45:10 -0000

In his first NBA game action, DeJuan Blair played 23 minutes, scored 14 points on 7-10 shooting (70%), grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 3 assists.

Spurs Coach Greg Popovich inserted Blair with 1:40 left to play in the 1st quarter and the game tied at 13. The Rookie paid immediate dividends by scoring 2 points and grabbing 2 rebounds even before the quarter ended.... Giving Spurs fans hope that he might actually be able to grab a rebound for every minute of play.

Beastman, as the Spurs fans have taken to calling Blair, scored 6 points, snagged 6 rebounds and 1 assist in a little over 5 and a half minutes before he was replaced by Tim Duncan at 7:47 of the second period - with the San Antonio Spurs enjoying a 31-16 lead.

The Wizard's, who received $2.5 Million for their 2009 second round draft pick (#32 overall), played their season opener yesterday. However their stack of cash never entered the game - and was a non-factor in their win over the Dallas Mavericks.

A new era of statistical analysis

Rook6980 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:46:39 -0000

A new era of statistical analysis

Great article on the next wave of statistical analysis that may be available to teams in the NBA.

ESPN The Magazine grades the Wizards

Rook6980 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:45:54 -0000

ESPN the Magazine grades the contenders. (insider required)

Although I agree with where they ranked the Wizards; and I mostly agree with the rest of the rankings - some of the individual grades are puzzling.

Of course at ESPN, "grading" is done on somewhat of a curve; with Boston, Cleveland and Orlando getting the benefit of a positive grade on anything that might be considered iffy, while any "doubts" on the rest of the teams are strictly graded negative.

Boston Celtics
ECONOMICS — B-plus
If the Celtics don't look like contenders by the break, they may try to unload Allen. There will be takers because he's in the last year of his deal.

Washington Wizards
ECONOMICS — C-plus
Mike Miller (unrestricted) and Randy Foye (restricted) are both in the final year of their deals. Will they play for wins or stats?

I fail to see how an expiring contract on one team (Boston) is treated as a positive; while expiring deals on another team (Wizards) are graded down.... Doesn't Washington have the same option as Boston to trade their expiring contracts? If ESPN thinks that Miller or Foye could "play for stats", what makes Ray Allen so special that they can't even contemplate the same from him?

As a matter of fact... It would seem to me that Washington has an advantage over Boston here. The Wizards have a player (Mike James) with an expiring contract that does not fit into the team's long range plans. They may be able to trade that "asset" at the Trade Deadline for help down the stretch and into the Playoffs. Boston can only trade Allen and hope they get value in return.

And the Wizards get a "C" for Biology because of the uncertainty of Gilbert Arenas' knee. While the Celtics get a "B" even though ESPN admits that

The Celtics are old. Ray Allen is 34, Kevin Garnett, 33, Paul Pierce, 32, and Rasheed Wallace, 35. But the bigger deal is KG's knee. Preseason reviews were mixed. Some saw a limp, others saw that old explosiveness.

On the other hand, this is one of the first times I've seen ESPN actually acknowledge that, when healthy, the BIG-3 are capable of playing contending basketball;

The last time Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison were running at full tilt for a long stretch (2006-07), they had the Wizards revving at a 45-win pace. And incoming coach Flip Saunders has a much better supporting cast this time.

Pecherov goes for 20 and 10

Rook6980 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:38:55 -0000

Pecherov goes for 20 and 10

No - that's not a joke.

With both Kevin Love (broken hand) and Al Jefferson (Flu) out, Oleksiy started his second straight game at Center for the Timberwolves.

He looks like he's taking advantage of the opportunity. In 32 minutes he scored 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting (2-2 from 3-point) and had 10 rebounds.

Get buckets son!

One reason the Wizards will be better this year: Flip Saunders

Rook6980 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:01:11 -0000

Another reason the Wizards will be better this year is Flip Saunders ability to draw up effective in-bounds and end-of-game plays.

The Wizards ran this in-bounds play earlier in the game and Randy Foye came off a perfect screen by Haywood and hit a wide open jumper. The 76'ers didn't defend the play properly, and Flip noticed that and went back to that same play later in the game.

With 42 seconds left, the Wizards ran the same in-bounds play. This time it was JaVale McGee setting the screen for Nick Young. His defender got stuck as Nick came around the screen and the Philly Center wasn't quick enough stay with him, as Nick took a quick side dribble and knocked down the open jumper.

This play could have been run for ANY of the Wizards Shooting Guards (Miller, Young, Stevenson and Foye), or even with Caron Butler or Miller playing the SF position.

I've diagrammed the play below - and the actual game footage follows, so you can see the live action.

. . . It WAS a foul....

Rook6980 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:42:03 -0000

.
.
.

It WAS a foul....

The Hawk Set - Isolation Plays

Rook6980 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:17:10 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

Mike Miller, right, is one player Rook thinks fits well into the Hawk offense.

Browse more photos »

In this series - we'll explore some of the basic plays that can be initiated by the Hawk set.

Previously:

The Hawk Set - plays for shooters

The Hawk Set - Post up plays

The Hawk Set - Pick and Roll

In this series, we've explored some of the plays that can be initiated from the Hawk Set. This is a very flexible, but easy to learn offense, with specific plays for shooters coming off of screens, post up plays, pick-and-roll, pick-and-pop and isolation plays. Although each play has a myriad of options and wrinkles available, the basic starting positions are the same. Since the movements are not reliant on what the defense does, but rather what the set play calls for, it's easier for the players to learn the plays. Everyone in the offense knows where they start from, and everyone in the offense knows where they cut, screen, pass or shoot from.

For instance, if the coach calls out High-4, Nick Young, as the shooting guard, knows precisely where and when he needs to cut, where his screeners will be, who has the ball and what is happening with it -- and more importantly, when he might get the ball to shoot it or pass. The most difficult decisions are when a guard comes off a screen - he needs to make a split second decision to continue to the basket, pull up, or pass the ball.

Please remember that I have only diagrammed a few plays, out of dozens of plays with dozens of options available in the Hawk. Let's also remember that although the Hawk Set is part of Flip Saunders playbook, it's not the ONLY offensive set or system he uses.

After the jump, we will look at some Isolation plays that can be run out of the Hawk set.

I chose this first play because in previous articles I had not shown many plays that were specifically designed for the Small Forward. The Wizards have a particularly skilled SF in Caron Butler, and here, I wanted to show how the Hawk Set can be used to exploit his particular skill set (mid-range shot, passing and ball handling).

This next one is an play designed to get the Shooting Guard isolated in the corner with an option to drive to the basket, pull up for a shot, or pass to a teammate. In watching this play, I was aware that Nick Young would NOT be my first choice as SG in this play - as it requires too many decisions. On the other hand, it would be perfect for Mike Miller or Randy Foye. I thought Miller in particular would be ideal in this play for several reasons:

He's an outside threat - therefore his defender should be more susceptible to the drive.
He has great court vision, and he's a very good passer
At 6'9", he's tall enough and strong enough to finish at the rim.

As we move through these plays, we should remember that although the standard Hawk set usually starts off with the same players in the same positions, there are variations. In this play, the center and SF are not in a stack in the post. The SF is on the wing, and the center starts nearer the free-throw line.

As this play develops, you can see opportunities for the SG cutting to the basket. There are also opportunities for the small forward at the wing. However, the play is ultimately designed (if you go all the way through with the play to the end) to get the point guard into the lane with options to pass to open shooters, or take it strong to the rim. This play looks particularly well-suited for Arenas, especially if the forwards on the floor with him can shoot the 3-pointer (Jamison, Miller, Butler).

In this next one, we are going to reverse the roles of the shooting guard (2) and the power forward (4). The 2 will set the initial pick for 4, and the PF will make the Hawk cut. The small forward sets a pick for the center, and the center cuts to the elbow.

The play is designed to be a two-man game with a guard and center, but with a twist. The guards take turns cutting off the center in a rotational pattern. I think this play would be good for any of the Wizards' guards, but particularly for Arenas and Foye, as they are both good at coming off screens and making decisions with the ball.

In conclusion

The only question I had about the Hawk Set coming into Preseason was whether the Wizards big men could set good screens, considering that picks and screens were not a huge part of the Princeton Offense that they ran for the last five years. Those concerns and questions have been answered in the first few Preseason games - as Jamison, Blatche, Haywood and especially Fabricio Oberto have set very good screens. No one has been called for an illegal screen and I haven't seen any poor execution yet from those players. Nick Young, Randy Foye and Caron Butler have set some nice screens as well.

I have been impressed by Miller, Foye and Arenas coming off screens. I am especially looking forward to seeing Arenas with the ball in his hands to start every play. There are a ton of opportunities for the PG to score or get an assist in this offense. Nick Young is learning to come off screens (Hamilton-like), and has looked impressive at times. I've seen Jamison, Haywood, Blatche and Oberto get good open looks from Hawk plays during the preseason games. Caron Butler especially looks like he'll have a good year. His game, more than anyone else's on the team except Arenas, is tailor made for the Hawk sets.

There are also a few players that I think may struggle within this offense. JaVale McGee has a tendency to move on his picks. He's also a bit impatient and doesn't always hold his position long enough, instead quickly rolling to the basket hoping for a lob. Interestingly enough, even though Dominic McGuire is usually solid in the rest of his game, he's not a very good screener. And although he's been working on his mid-range shot, McGuire has still been a bit erratic with it during preseason. Deshawn Stevenson does not look comfortable coming off screens and shooting the basketball, probably because (like Nick Young), he's rarely had to do it in his career.

As we've seen during this series, the Hawk Set is a very versatile offensive scheme. Because there are so few decisions to be made, It requires a minimal learning curve. Most of the players on the roster seem to fit well in the offense - so I'm really looking forward to watching this team execute the Hawk this year.

Etan Thomas to start for the Thunder?

Rook6980 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:37:11 -0000

Etan Thomas to start for the Thunder?

Apparently Etan's "fake" energy, flailing elbows and swinging dreds have enticed another Head Coach to award him a starting job.

ESPN Insider needed:

"Thunder coach Scott Brooks might balance out his starting lineup with more toughness and interior defense. Inserting Thomas into the starting unit"

Toughness and interior defense? Poetry and Interior decorating, maybe.......

Wizards fans know better.