Washington at Boston

[Real Deal]

TIME: 7:30 PM ET

TV: NBALP

[AboveLegit]

Last night: 16pts 14rebs 5blk

Tonight: 17pts 14rebs 3blk

 

Those are Javale's statlines both games against Boston. He's been looking great lately, he's developing the hook shot in the paint, and is completely anchoring the paint. It's awesome to watch him play under control now.

[Real Deal]

Last night: 16pts 14rebs 5blk

Tonight: 17pts 14rebs 3blk

 

Those are Javale's statlines both games against Boston. He's been looking great lately, he's developing the hook shot in the paint, and is completely anchoring the paint. It's awesome to watch him play under control now.

He's finally using the length to his advantage, other than what he did with it in the dunk contest (lol).

 

And WHOA, Greg Stiemsma! He didn't look too bad out there, surprisingly. Gotta hand it to the guy. He was in full control of his game, did what he was supposed to do on the glass, and contributed as good as one could expect. He looked a bit lost on defense, and he wasn't able to really get in there and push his weight around, but with more playing and practicing, he could be a decent backup (won't step out there and say he's a permanent starter yet).

 

Hey Umair, where is John Wall?

[AboveLegit]

Hey Umair, where is John Wall?

Looks like he hit the sophomore wall (no pun intended).

 

Honestly though, I thought he played a solid game. The stat line doesn't suggest it, he had 7 turnovers, but a lot of them came late in the game. Problem he's having right now is running Flip's halfcourt sets, although Flip has simplified it quite a bit. The thing is, he doesn't know when to use his speed to his advantage, and when to slow down to catch his breath. Losing games is clearly frustrating him, and that frustration is leading him to force the issue, which leads to TO's and bad shots. It doesn't help that his teammates aren't making their shots though, he could easily be averaging over 10apg if the team had some consistency. His jumper is still broke, it seems like his shot form fluctuates every time he goes up for a shot, there's no consistency in that regard. And he's not making shots at the rim, he gets no calls from the refs, but even then, he can't score off contact. Also, there's just too much expected of him, I think he put a lot of pressure on himself from the get go, all of the hype he generated from the summer circuit, the ads, magazine covers, etc, it's all forcing him to do more than he can handle.

 

With Nick Young likely being gone at the end of the year, I wouldn't mind taking a look at Jeremy Lamb given that he develops more of a slashing ability (although the top priority is a big). That's my biggest issue with him, he can score in a plethora of ways, but can't get to the line.