We are now about four weeks beyond the end of the Wizards 2012-2013 campaign and the offseason is starting to hit me a little harder. The first round of the Wizards-less 2013 NBA Playoffs is over and I'm now well into watching second round action at nights and on weekends when I can stomach it. Former Wizards knuckleheads JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche and the rest of their Denver Nuggets and Brooklyn Nets teammates are at home watching hoops just like me so I feel pretty good about that. Hating, I know...whatever!
In between rooting against the Miami Heat and New York Knicks in the second round, I'm starting to imagine a 2013-2014 season for the Wizards that ends in a playoff appearance (not ready to ask for a run yet; just an appearance would be a start). If I had the power or ability to change some things about our team, I'd start with three things: improve our field goal percentage, drop our turnovers and have us rebound at the offensive end of the court a little better. Unfortunately, I have neither the power nor the ability and each of these improvements is going to take time and effort across the entire team. No one player is going to be able to affect these changes on the team by himself.
But I do have a small wish list of individual changes I'd like to see our guys make over the summer. Again, I have neither the power or the ability to make these adjustments to our players' games but I believe they are changes that each can make on his own without affecting team play or the performance of the individual in other areas. If nothing else, it makes me feel better to put this stuff down.
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| Did Vesely leave his free throw shot in Europe? |
There are so many things about the game of basketball that Jan Vesely does well that go completely unappreciated. He passes well (especially to start the fast break); runs the floor well; finishes in transition better than most everyone; can play defense well on his man or off the ball; and studies the game and shows coachability. But there are undoubtedly two areas of his game that are at best poor and which have become lightning rods for criticism of his game: shooting from the field and free throw shooting.
During the 2012-2013 season, Vesely's field goal percentage was 50.0%. He was the only Wizard to hit half of his shots from the field. But his percentage was only so high because most of his opportunities were dunks and, if he can do nothing else, Vesely can finish at the rim strong. It was his shots away from the basket that had fans cringing each time he hoisted one up.
But I'd take gradual improvement in his away-from-the-basket field goal percentage if he could fix his free throw shooting. His free throw percentage last season was a miserable 30.8%. That represents an incredible drop of 22.4 percentage points from his rookie year. It's a nightmare each time he gets fouled in a shooting situation. The best you can realistically hope for is that he hits 1 of 2 when he steps to the line and that is just not good enough. It's killing our chances to score easy points and he absolutely can't play in crunch time at all.
During his rookie year, there were stories about Vesely having to wear a special template during free throw shooting practice to get him to space his fingers properly. But then at the end of this past season, A.J. Price suggested that Vesely's struggles from the charity stripe might be more mental than anything else and that the pressure of all those people watching and knowing he's going to fail are affecting him more than anything else.
So here's my offer to Ves. Come back from Europe early this summer; I'll take a couple of weeks off work and get some people assembled every day to watch you free throw shooting on the practice court; and we'll heckle the crap out of you while you practice. We'll tell you how bad you are; insult your manhood and your family; and whatever else you need us to do to get you concentrating on putting the ball through the hoop and not on the pressure of the situation. I want Vesely to succeed and I appreciate the little things he does on the court. But if he can't raise his free throw percentage, he's going to be done in the NBA when his rookie contract expires.
During the 2012-2013 season, Vesely's field goal percentage was 50.0%. He was the only Wizard to hit half of his shots from the field. But his percentage was only so high because most of his opportunities were dunks and, if he can do nothing else, Vesely can finish at the rim strong. It was his shots away from the basket that had fans cringing each time he hoisted one up.
But I'd take gradual improvement in his away-from-the-basket field goal percentage if he could fix his free throw shooting. His free throw percentage last season was a miserable 30.8%. That represents an incredible drop of 22.4 percentage points from his rookie year. It's a nightmare each time he gets fouled in a shooting situation. The best you can realistically hope for is that he hits 1 of 2 when he steps to the line and that is just not good enough. It's killing our chances to score easy points and he absolutely can't play in crunch time at all.
During his rookie year, there were stories about Vesely having to wear a special template during free throw shooting practice to get him to space his fingers properly. But then at the end of this past season, A.J. Price suggested that Vesely's struggles from the charity stripe might be more mental than anything else and that the pressure of all those people watching and knowing he's going to fail are affecting him more than anything else.
So here's my offer to Ves. Come back from Europe early this summer; I'll take a couple of weeks off work and get some people assembled every day to watch you free throw shooting on the practice court; and we'll heckle the crap out of you while you practice. We'll tell you how bad you are; insult your manhood and your family; and whatever else you need us to do to get you concentrating on putting the ball through the hoop and not on the pressure of the situation. I want Vesely to succeed and I appreciate the little things he does on the court. But if he can't raise his free throw percentage, he's going to be done in the NBA when his rookie contract expires.
2. Kevin Seraphin: More Physical Play
I love Kevin Seraphin. I love his approach to the game and improving his play. I love that he wants to be coached by Randy Wittman. And I love his use of social media to let fans into his life and that he clearly loves being a celebrity and loves interfacing with his fans. At the beginning of last season he was hands down my favorite Wizard (pre-Martell Webster, that is). And because I love Kevin Seraphin, I can say this: Kevin is a finesse player. And he shouldn't be.
The Wizards' media guide lists Kevin at 6'-9" and 275 pounds. He is a little bit of a throwback big man, preferring to play with his back to the basket rather than shooting from the perimeter. He's a big guy with a wide butt and he should be tough to move. Former teammate Kirk Hinrich named Kevin as the person who set the toughest screens when the two played together during the 2010-2011 season.
But despite improvements in his post game, Kevin still plays with too much finesse. He should be throwing his weight around and getting to the hoop a lot more than he does. This lack of aggression is reflected in last season's 46.1% field goal percentage and 9.6 rebounds per 48 minutes. For perspective, DaAndre Jordan led the league in field goal percentage at 64.3% and Reggie Evans led in rebounding per 48 minutes at 21.7. Kevin's a decent free throw shooter at a tad below 70%. If he can take it inside more without turning it over, I have to believe his field goal percentage, rebounding rate and number of trips to the foul line will improve. Get more aggressive, Kevin!!
But despite improvements in his post game, Kevin still plays with too much finesse. He should be throwing his weight around and getting to the hoop a lot more than he does. This lack of aggression is reflected in last season's 46.1% field goal percentage and 9.6 rebounds per 48 minutes. For perspective, DaAndre Jordan led the league in field goal percentage at 64.3% and Reggie Evans led in rebounding per 48 minutes at 21.7. Kevin's a decent free throw shooter at a tad below 70%. If he can take it inside more without turning it over, I have to believe his field goal percentage, rebounding rate and number of trips to the foul line will improve. Get more aggressive, Kevin!!
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| I'm not looking for Superman, just a little more physicality. |
The 2012-2013 season was a validation season of sorts for John Wall. He spent the first 33 games of the season in street clothes due to a knee injury during which time he was written off by most of the league as either a forgotten man or a first overall pick draft bust. But when he started playing, the Wizards started winning regularly (albeit mostly at home). He proved himself a difference maker in the team game and, once he got his legs under him, he showed the improvement in his own jump shot, scoring an astounding 47 points against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 25.
John still has a long way to go in a number of phases of the game. He's started slowing down at the rim enabling him to score more regularly but he could improve his fast break conversion percentages; he still turns the ball over far too regularly for an elite point guard; and he is still an emotional, moody guy in games which sometimes leads to too much one on one play and, in its worst manifestation, game ejections like the one he had at Golden State the game before he lit up the Grizzlies for 47. I believe John will work these kinks out and become an elite point guard in the NBA. Remember, he's only 22 years old despite his three years of experience.
But the one small adjustment I'd love to see John make right away is not leaving his feet before passing. If there were a short list of basketball no-no's, jumping in the air before passing would have to be pretty high up that list. Leaving your feet compromises your ability to make sound decisions. Once you jump in the air there are three possible outcomes: shoot, pass or turn the ball over. I understand John may know exactly where he wants to throw the ball before he jumps but defensive adjustments may change his mind and once in the air, he has little choice but to let the ball go. To me this is important because I really think one of the big problems with the Wizards' offense is turnovers and this behavior has to lead to more turnovers. Keep your feet, John and make sound decisions from the ground.
John still has a long way to go in a number of phases of the game. He's started slowing down at the rim enabling him to score more regularly but he could improve his fast break conversion percentages; he still turns the ball over far too regularly for an elite point guard; and he is still an emotional, moody guy in games which sometimes leads to too much one on one play and, in its worst manifestation, game ejections like the one he had at Golden State the game before he lit up the Grizzlies for 47. I believe John will work these kinks out and become an elite point guard in the NBA. Remember, he's only 22 years old despite his three years of experience.
But the one small adjustment I'd love to see John make right away is not leaving his feet before passing. If there were a short list of basketball no-no's, jumping in the air before passing would have to be pretty high up that list. Leaving your feet compromises your ability to make sound decisions. Once you jump in the air there are three possible outcomes: shoot, pass or turn the ball over. I understand John may know exactly where he wants to throw the ball before he jumps but defensive adjustments may change his mind and once in the air, he has little choice but to let the ball go. To me this is important because I really think one of the big problems with the Wizards' offense is turnovers and this behavior has to lead to more turnovers. Keep your feet, John and make sound decisions from the ground.
4. Trevor Booker: Rebound With Two Hands
During the 2012-2013 season, coach Randy Wittman settled into a rotation where Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton and Trevor Booker took turns being the team's reserve power forward. It appeared to me as a fan that coach played Singleton as the guy for a while until his performance suffered, then he would switch to Vesely and then to Booker before just starting over with Singleton again. Towards the end of the season, though, Book got more than his fair share of playing time based on his production on the court.
Booker has one more year of NBA experience than Vesely and Singleton and is clearly the superior rebounder of that trio. He posted an average of 5.0 rebounds per game in about 18.5 minutes average game time. That rate puts him with more than 30% higher than either Ves or Singleton if those two had spent as much time on the court in an average game as Book.
But there is one thing I'd like to see improved in his rebounding. Book has a tendency to rebound the ball with one hand or sometimes even one arm. He rebounds this way despite there being no opponent holding his other arm or even any where in the vicinity. Every so often, a rebound gets away from him, which results in a turnover. This is not a big issue game after game, but every turnover adds up, especially for a team that has to work on getting their turnover number down. God gave you two hands for a reason, Trevor. In your case, it might just be to grab the ball with two hands and secure it. Use them! Please.
Booker has one more year of NBA experience than Vesely and Singleton and is clearly the superior rebounder of that trio. He posted an average of 5.0 rebounds per game in about 18.5 minutes average game time. That rate puts him with more than 30% higher than either Ves or Singleton if those two had spent as much time on the court in an average game as Book.
But there is one thing I'd like to see improved in his rebounding. Book has a tendency to rebound the ball with one hand or sometimes even one arm. He rebounds this way despite there being no opponent holding his other arm or even any where in the vicinity. Every so often, a rebound gets away from him, which results in a turnover. This is not a big issue game after game, but every turnover adds up, especially for a team that has to work on getting their turnover number down. God gave you two hands for a reason, Trevor. In your case, it might just be to grab the ball with two hands and secure it. Use them! Please.
5. Nenê: More Passion
At the 2011-2012 trade deadline, the Wizards sent away perennial knucklehead JaVale McGee and his immense potentially never fulfilled potential in exchange for Nenê. The trade instantly reset the franchise's moral compass and signaled that management was serious about building a winning team around a team first concept. JaVale McGee is serious about his eating cinnamon and creating cartoon alter egos; Nenê is serious about making his team better and winning basketball games.
Nenê is so good at all phases of the game. He can score, rebound, defend and is possibly the best passer on our team. He makes everyone on the court better and makes the team way better. And so it's difficult for me to criticize any aspect of Nenê's game. But I do have one wish: I wish he would be more passionate about playing. And that wish may be totally unfair.
During the 2012-2013 season, Nenê sat out games for a variety of reasons, mostly due to plantar fasciatis, and at the end of the season there were reports of him considering retirement instead of playing in pain. I have no real idea how much pain Nenê plays through and I probably shouldn't question his toughness in any way but it seems to me that there are a lot of guys playing in the NBA in way more pain than Nenê does. I just have to look at Joakim Noah playing for the Bulls in the first round of this year's playoffs. Noah could barely drag his body up and down the court some possessions but he was out there battling.
The Washington press criticizes the McGee-Nenê trade every so often because the skinny on Nenê is that he gets hurt regularly, which isn't really true all the time. But he does sit a lot and the first report of him sitting the last few games on last season came from Nenê himself and not from the team which leads me to wonder is Nenê hurt regularly (even though he's not) because he's actually hurt or because he has a low threshold for pain. I guess I'll never know but I'd love him to suck it up more and play more. No doubt we are way better with him on the court.
Nenê is so good at all phases of the game. He can score, rebound, defend and is possibly the best passer on our team. He makes everyone on the court better and makes the team way better. And so it's difficult for me to criticize any aspect of Nenê's game. But I do have one wish: I wish he would be more passionate about playing. And that wish may be totally unfair.
During the 2012-2013 season, Nenê sat out games for a variety of reasons, mostly due to plantar fasciatis, and at the end of the season there were reports of him considering retirement instead of playing in pain. I have no real idea how much pain Nenê plays through and I probably shouldn't question his toughness in any way but it seems to me that there are a lot of guys playing in the NBA in way more pain than Nenê does. I just have to look at Joakim Noah playing for the Bulls in the first round of this year's playoffs. Noah could barely drag his body up and down the court some possessions but he was out there battling.
The Washington press criticizes the McGee-Nenê trade every so often because the skinny on Nenê is that he gets hurt regularly, which isn't really true all the time. But he does sit a lot and the first report of him sitting the last few games on last season came from Nenê himself and not from the team which leads me to wonder is Nenê hurt regularly (even though he's not) because he's actually hurt or because he has a low threshold for pain. I guess I'll never know but I'd love him to suck it up more and play more. No doubt we are way better with him on the court.
I know none of these guys will ever read this and I really honestly don't want them making adjustments to their games based on fan input. But that's my Wizards wish list for this summer. Maybe I'll go bug them about it during Summer League.
Up Next: Off Season Priorities
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