Cleaning Up the Wizards: Bursting Bubbles
Yesterday I made my case for keeping some key Wizards on the roster. In a nutshell: Washington can win 50 games with Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, Antwan Jamison, Darius Songaila and Antonio Daniels as their starting five. And for his hustle in the playoffs, I said Andre Blatche deserves another chance on the team.
So now, allow me to assess the players on the bubble: guys who play (or lack thereof) may not have been as consistent as the ones above, or as impressive, but still deserve consideration. This group includes DeShawn Stevenson, Jarvis Hayes, Donell Taylor, Roger Mason and Michael Ruffin.
Let me say this before I get started: I'm not calling for drastic changes here. As Mike Wise, Michael Wilbon and Thomas Boswell all hinted (in one way or another), blowing the team up isn't necessary. But some guys deserve more scrutiny than others.
So why are these players on the bubble? Well...
Stevenson was brought in for defense; specifically to fill the defensive void Jared Jeffries created with his departure to the Knicks. While he didn't have the "defensive stats" one would expect for a player in his role, I saw enough games to understand how he had a hand in disrupting the opposing team's offense. My concern with him was not he couldn't come through offensively in the Playoffs (he went from 11pts/game to 6pts/game which is understandable considering he didn't have as many high-percentage opportunities with Butler and Arenas out), it's that he failed to show up defensively. His job is/was to stop/slow down the opposing team's best scoring guard, which in this case was Larry Hughes (it's ridiculous to ask him to guard LaBron James). Hughes went from 14.pts/game in the regular season to 19pts/game in the playoffs. Now you tell me: would the Wizards have been better off with Stevenson trying to keep his average up, or holding Hughes average low? Let me just add that Stevenson's drop plus Hughes' rise equals a near ten-point swing in the Cavs favor.
Despite what some detractors may believe, Hayes does have "J." What he doesn't have is the right to live up to this comparison, that was made around the time he was drafted: "Mitch Richmond with defense." Now for those who don't know Mitch (who was hear for awhile until the Michael Jordan Era) this was a guy who played defense threw his offense: he was such a proficient scorer, the guy guarding him would barely have the energy to make a layup on the other end. Does that sound like Hayes to you? It doesn't to me. I see Hayes becoming more like a Glenn Rice: a very good shooter and OK "scorer" whose defense will be occasional (to say the least). Problem is, he won't led his team unless he's their best player, and Hayes is not a franchise guy by any stretch. To make matters worse, he's not the type to drive to the basket in order to get a score or foul (has he ever taken a hit going to the hoop like Daniels or Arenas?) Granted, this was his first Playoff Series and he had an unexpected role. And too his credit, he raised his game some in those four games. That's why we have to consider the regular season and the post-season.
I'm lumping Taylor and Mason together because neither received much playing time (although Mason played all four games). Among the bench players this season Mason one of the best 3-pt-shooters and he carried that over into the Playoffs. Taylor's speed on offense gave Cleveland minor fits, but more importantly it led to the most assists for a non-starter (tied with Songaila). Both guys showed the hustle and grit you need if your team plans to run 80% of the time.
Last we have Ruffin. I love his "hustle stats" and the little things he's done to keep the team in and win games this season. But I can't help but dwell on that Toronto game; the one where he inexplicably threw the ball partially in the air and it eventually became a Raptor Desperation Three that put the Wizards in an overtime game that led to their defeat. Had they one that game, would they have been playing Toronto instead? It's a very real possibility. And if that had occurred, maybe we'd be talking about the next Wizards game instead of who needs to stay and who needs to go. It's not fair that this happened to Ruffin, but in truth you have to wonder whether it could ever happen again.
Now if you're looking for me to say, "Well Player A can stay but Player B's has to go" here, don't hold you're breath. All these guys are on the bubble in my book, meaning they have a small margin of error (compared to the first set of guys) from this point on.
Next: The guys we could afford to lose...or could keep, but it's no big deal either way. And the one player who absolutely, positively, must go.
So now, allow me to assess the players on the bubble: guys who play (or lack thereof) may not have been as consistent as the ones above, or as impressive, but still deserve consideration. This group includes DeShawn Stevenson, Jarvis Hayes, Donell Taylor, Roger Mason and Michael Ruffin.
Let me say this before I get started: I'm not calling for drastic changes here. As Mike Wise, Michael Wilbon and Thomas Boswell all hinted (in one way or another), blowing the team up isn't necessary. But some guys deserve more scrutiny than others.
So why are these players on the bubble? Well...
Stevenson was brought in for defense; specifically to fill the defensive void Jared Jeffries created with his departure to the Knicks. While he didn't have the "defensive stats" one would expect for a player in his role, I saw enough games to understand how he had a hand in disrupting the opposing team's offense. My concern with him was not he couldn't come through offensively in the Playoffs (he went from 11pts/game to 6pts/game which is understandable considering he didn't have as many high-percentage opportunities with Butler and Arenas out), it's that he failed to show up defensively. His job is/was to stop/slow down the opposing team's best scoring guard, which in this case was Larry Hughes (it's ridiculous to ask him to guard LaBron James). Hughes went from 14.pts/game in the regular season to 19pts/game in the playoffs. Now you tell me: would the Wizards have been better off with Stevenson trying to keep his average up, or holding Hughes average low? Let me just add that Stevenson's drop plus Hughes' rise equals a near ten-point swing in the Cavs favor.
Despite what some detractors may believe, Hayes does have "J." What he doesn't have is the right to live up to this comparison, that was made around the time he was drafted: "Mitch Richmond with defense." Now for those who don't know Mitch (who was hear for awhile until the Michael Jordan Era) this was a guy who played defense threw his offense: he was such a proficient scorer, the guy guarding him would barely have the energy to make a layup on the other end. Does that sound like Hayes to you? It doesn't to me. I see Hayes becoming more like a Glenn Rice: a very good shooter and OK "scorer" whose defense will be occasional (to say the least). Problem is, he won't led his team unless he's their best player, and Hayes is not a franchise guy by any stretch. To make matters worse, he's not the type to drive to the basket in order to get a score or foul (has he ever taken a hit going to the hoop like Daniels or Arenas?) Granted, this was his first Playoff Series and he had an unexpected role. And too his credit, he raised his game some in those four games. That's why we have to consider the regular season and the post-season.
I'm lumping Taylor and Mason together because neither received much playing time (although Mason played all four games). Among the bench players this season Mason one of the best 3-pt-shooters and he carried that over into the Playoffs. Taylor's speed on offense gave Cleveland minor fits, but more importantly it led to the most assists for a non-starter (tied with Songaila). Both guys showed the hustle and grit you need if your team plans to run 80% of the time.
Last we have Ruffin. I love his "hustle stats" and the little things he's done to keep the team in and win games this season. But I can't help but dwell on that Toronto game; the one where he inexplicably threw the ball partially in the air and it eventually became a Raptor Desperation Three that put the Wizards in an overtime game that led to their defeat. Had they one that game, would they have been playing Toronto instead? It's a very real possibility. And if that had occurred, maybe we'd be talking about the next Wizards game instead of who needs to stay and who needs to go. It's not fair that this happened to Ruffin, but in truth you have to wonder whether it could ever happen again.
Now if you're looking for me to say, "Well Player A can stay but Player B's has to go" here, don't hold you're breath. All these guys are on the bubble in my book, meaning they have a small margin of error (compared to the first set of guys) from this point on.
Next: The guys we could afford to lose...or could keep, but it's no big deal either way. And the one player who absolutely, positively, must go.
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