Makabatabufusak

I was about to put START J DIX for the title but I thought against since he is a rookie but hey in the preseason he played fairly well, even though it is preseason, and in his only action this season he scored 6 points in 6 minutes. Just let him play he'll give you offense, defense and intensity, something the wizards are lacking as of now.

Russel is at the point where when he launches a shot everyone hold's their breath and crosses their fingers, Tyronn Lue needs to start taking more fundemental shots than his off balance pull up jumper that would even make Shaq's jumper look good. MJ needs to start, and if he doesn't what exactly is the point of the pre game shootaround, if he's hot in the shootaround just let him start so that maybe that will cross over. Stack is awesome so just let him be, only thing I would change about him is let him be more selfish since no one else is doing anything offensively, Kwame needs to get his head out of his *** and back to that all-star form he displayed in the first 2-3 games.

Larry Hughes is Larry Hughes, he thinks the NBA is like playing at rucker park, he needs to stick to doing video's with Nelly because that seems like the only thing he's good at. The only solution for the Larry Hughes quandry is too bench him until his ankle heals, and then bring him gradually into the starting role as Point Gaurd because if he finnally gets the hang of it he might be a decent to above average point in the NBA. Also he needs to pass with authority and stop passing like he has a broken arm.

The wizards overall defense is TREMENDOUS, but Doug Collin's philosophy of preaching defense seems to have gone astray. In my personal opinion defense does not win games, offense does, even though a well balanced mix of both is needed to win, a team can win alone on offense rather than defense, look at the Mavs or Kings for instance, and seriously who wants to watch a low scoring game, I'd rather watch a game that was high scoring and fast paced too keep me at the edge of my seat.

Once again back to the J Dixon issue, sorry i got but I am just so frustrated with the Wizards since they are so talent laden that I just had to vent for a bit. Anyway my solution to this problem is to go with a line up of

K. Brown at center to bring the opositions big man out since Kwame likes to play on the perimeter anyway and he did have some sucess at Center. Let Haywood back him up.

E. Thomas at PF - We need his energy and he is a post guy by default, man this guy is sculpted. Let Laetner back him up since Laetner can hit the outside shot and in my opinion has been playing good so far. Oak can back these guys up with experience down the stretch.

Stackhouse at the SF spot, Stack is tack and he's good enought to play SF, let Russel back him up here and at the gaurd spot.

M. Jordan at SG - Just let the old man play he's still got it.
Let Hughes back Jordan up at the SG and use him also as PG once his ankle has sufficiently healded.

T. Lue at PG - He's been much more efficient at PG than Hughes and let J. Dix back him up at the point to bring intensity and
offense when the team is down or up to extend the lead, also
play Dixon at the SG.



Once again I'm sorry for wasting your time guys but I hope my points are understood.

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Doggpound

I think Collins should at least give Dixon 3, 4 shots a game to see if he's warm or not. He's a streak shooter, so you at least have to check his temp every game. They need points, he's a guy who could score them.

BCH

Who are you going to sit? I am assuming you mean play him at SG because he is definitely not ready to run the point.

Doggpound

Just looking for answers right now, I really don't know whose minutes he would take.

Maybe a small ball crew for 6-7 minutes a game with

Dixon
Hughes/Stack
MJ/Stack
Jeffries/Kwame
Kwame/Haywood

I think that combo might be able to get up and down the court pretty well. Lue would be better suited at this point to be the guy up there on that list instead of Dixon, but Dixon is a better scorer than Lue which is where they are lacking right now.

BCH

Lue has been very effective with the time he has been in the game and it is highly doubtful that Dixon is going to surpass him at this point.

It might be a little early to amke predictions on Juan's NBA game because he has seen so little time.

Jaybird

BCH, I'd run him at the point... you say he's definately not ready but I have a hard time believing he's going to be much worse than Hughes has been playing these last 4 games.

If Dixon's in the lineup with Jefferies and Jordan, I don't think bringing the ball up court will be a big problem. As for the offense, in reality, Stack or Jordan should initiate the offense, through the pick and roll, or drawing double teams in the post. Collins should try to use Dixon in a similar way he used Hamilton last year, run him off screens for mid-range jumpshots. It's what Juan did continuously at Maryland and it's a role he can easily step into.

I'm not saying Juan should start, or even he deserved constant, sustained, and signifigant time... But with our shooting woes right now, I think we need to at least try something different, to see how effective it can be. What's wrong with cutting 5 minutes out of Hughes and Lue's time to try to create a spark? Aside from Jordan, there is no great offensive firepower on our bench, Juan could be but as a rookie I wouldn't include him as reliable.

Consequently I think Collins needs to find a way create it through the offense, and utilizing Dixon could be a solution. I also think they shoud be getting Stack touches in the post more often rather than Jordan, because when he draws that double, he can get Jordan easier open looks with less effort, than MJ can on his own. Between the two, I'd rather see MJ as the spot up shooter simply because he's older and catching and shooting isn't too taxing on those legs.

BCH

First, Hughes has been hurt. it may a little quick to drop the axe on him.

Second, there is nothing wrong with the Wizards offense. I have been watching their sets and they are not taking advantage of the opportunites that they get out of it. I believe that part of it is Hughes gimpy knee, and players not responding because of lack of familiarity. However, they are there none the less. Agression and making the right pass and cut will make this offense work. Right now you see Stack be aggressive with MJ on the bench and MJ be agressive when he is in the game but they are rarely doing it together. They need to start to synchronize what they are trying to accomplish better.

I have been watching Kwame and Laettner play similar positions in the offensive set and Laettner is light years ahead of where Kwame is. Good or bad, whether you like Laettner or not, that is what is happening. It is not necessarily a knock on Kwame but he can apply more pressure when he gets the entry pass on the elbow extended than he does. He also can be a better target by moving more effectively off the ball.

Anyone notice that Laettner is our best perimeter threat so far?

The issues the offense is having will be fixed over time as the players get more comfortable. Throwing Dixon into the mix might give a brief look at a streaky shooter but it will not bring cohesion to the starting lineup and the rotation overall. Playing and working at it, will get the desired results. It is really a matter of the little things, that will make things start to click. Once that happens this team will start to be successful. A legit, all the time perimeter threat would be nice, but what we gain in shooting we probably lose on defense making it a zero sum exercise.

Let me add that we really are an offense that can be run without a traditional PG. Hughes will be fine, once he finds his role.

jazzy1

The Wizards are struggling an its no mirage why I agree with the Thread Starters LIne-up, It gives us the best chance to win, MJ and Stack need to play together in starters minutes MJ as a part timer is not effective and Lue shooting ability and overall game is much more stable at the point, we can always go to Hughes when we face bigger points otherwise I think we should move Hughes back to the 2-3 spots he's not a pg and his turnovers as well of lacking a jumpshot are causing teams to sag on Stack as our only option in the starting line-up. Kwame and Etan down low gives us 2 big guys who can bang and block shots inside. I like that line-up.

Dixon should be the back-up point guard he can shoot the ball period he can be at least as effective as C Whit was you don't need a natural pg to come off the bench just somebody who can produce given time I think Juan could provide the outside shooting that is lacking currently, Hughes I think could thrive as the top scorer in the second unit with Russell and JJ they could defend and score and quite possibly allow MJ to rest more playing their natural roles as opposed to being forced to produce as scorers and Pg's which Hughes and Russell are clearly not at this point.

BCH

THe Wizards usually start off with a high 1-4 set.

You will be surprised when the guys we have really start to execute the offense, and Kwame becomes more adept at being more of an offensive threat. Right now, running a screen and roll/pop, which is an option out of the offense, is pretty much useless when it is run with Kwame. In the future that hopefully will not be the case.

The midrange shot is there as well, as MJ has shown when he is in the game, off of the second curl. Rip used to hit that for us, and as Hughes/Stack/Russell get more time in the offense they will pick that up as well. I am going to watch to see how this develops with the starters tonight versus the subs.

This is not all we run, but it seems to be the most predominant set we use.

Makabatabufusak

So give him time then, by the way today's game so far vs the Cavs has been both pitiful and enjoyable, Stack cruises for 20 first half points while the rest of the Wiz are incapable of generating more points and now the Cavs have come back from 17 down, just pitiful.. at least Russel is hitting some shots now.

Get J. Dix in there lol

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BCH

Dixon gets in and they start a comeback run. Why? Because he can't do it yet against quality guys. He is a serious work in progress and the Wizards' staff know what they are doing.

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Jaybird

Are you serious? You'll blame on Juan for the run the Cavs made in the last 4 minutes of the game? How exactly is he responsible for that? He scored 6 points in 4 minutes, played reasonable defense, and he takes the blame for the team having trouble against the press? That's something that the team had trouble with at times throughout the entire game. Is Juan also responsible for the runs the Cavs made during the first half, when they were playing the same game plan?

Going by your logic though, the Cavs really started their run at the 2:30 mark, about the exact same time when Larry Hughes and Jared Jefferies came into the game for Russell and Stack. Are they to blame because their entering the game coincided with the Cavs run too?

You're stretching here, and while I readily agree that Juan isn't ready for signifigant minutes, he is a very good shooter, which is something the Wizards do lack. Consequently, I do think Collins should find a way to steal minutes for him as often as possible to get real game time experiance for Dixon. Because on nights like the one against the T'wolves, his shooting can be a great asset if things aren't working out for the Wizards, and the more time he gets more he'll be able to contribute.

BCH

Maybe you missed the sarcasm. In all seriousness he is not ready. My comments should be taken as serious as comments that Dixon is the answer to anything right now.

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