Wizards Net a Win

Hey; 3-12 is worlds better than 2-13. At least the team is in a joking mood again. But the formula for victory seems simple (just like for the Redskins). It's:

  1. Three players scoring 20 points or more.
  2. Low turnovers.
  3. No easy baskets.
  4. Take high-percentage shots.

It's not rocket science, but with this squad's current makeup, it's not like chewing gum either.

That third scorer is going to be different every night. Against the Jazz it was a Jamison, Butler and a McGee/Young combo; Against the Warriors it was Jamison/Butler/Blatche (with McGee coming in with 14pts); last night it was Jamison/Butler/Stevenson (with Young contributing 12pts).

Two things that can keep turnovers low are making baskets and having a good ball handler. Now that they've seemed to have settled on a rotation, the players should be more comfortable and won't "overthink" on the court. And without a traditional point guard, the bigs with handle are going to have to play more "point forward" than they may want.

Ed Tapscott has said that the team needs to have an identity, especially on defense. I remember when Larry Bird was coaching the Pacers; his philosophy on defense was "no easy baskets." It was simple and applicable. It didn't put the burden on just one or two players to play "lockdown defense" while the others roamed. It made everyone accountable in every situation, from set offenses to fast-breaks. Make the opponent earn their points at the line. Simple.

Getting high percentage shots is hard when there's only one player who can take their opponent off the dribble (Caron Butler). Which is why I'm glad that the Princeton Offense hasn't been completely abandoned in the Tapscott Era. Nevertheless, if their games show anything, it's that the Wizards have struggled to get a basket. For the time being, the best remedy is to employ offenses that involve driving to the basket and post play; it slows the game down and puts the opponents in foul trouble (which will affect their intensity later in the game). Alas, the Wizards aren't the best free-throw shooting squad out there.

My hypothesis is that if they can get three out of four of these components accomplished per game, they'll be at least two games under .500 by the end of the month.

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