[Shanghai Kid]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1680-2004Jan31.html



To paraphrase, "In a bit of news that is very surprising, the Washington Post is reporting that both Gilbert Arenas and Jerry Stackhouse could play tommorrow against Cleveland. The Wizards Insider says that they both are probable for the Wedensday game against Memphis, but one or both could play tommorrow. They were expected before to be back after the All-Star break, but since they've now participated in two full practices without any problems, they want to get back out on the court when it counts."

 

[MJG]

Very interesting. If both truly believe they are ready, then I'm happy to see them back. I'm sure both (especially Stackhouse) will get limited minutes for a couple of games, but once they get back into the swing of things, who gets cut back?

I think Dixon goes back to the end of the bench, maybe getting some spot minutes if we need some points or a full court press. I'd bet that Hayes will be a real loser here as well, considering his average-at-best play as of late. His 30-32 MPG that he has been getting could easily be dropped to 18-20 if Stackhouse can start to play full games. One of our points will also get cut back, but who will it be? I honestly think that Blake will get the backup PG job, with Knight read to come right in if Blake screws up a couple of plays in a row. A quick, off the top of my mind minutes breakdown:

PG: Arenas (32), Blake (10), Knight (6)
SG: Hughes (32), Stackhouse (12), Arenas (4)
SF: Stackhouse (26), Hayes (18), Jeffries (4)
PF: Kwame (26), Jeffries (14), Etan (8)
C: Etan (14), Haywood (22), Kwame (12)

Does that seem right? I listed Kwame at PF since that's where he started the past game or two. It completely leaves Dixon, Laettner, Butler, and Braggs out of the picture, but to be honest I think they're going to be out of luck in terms of consistent court time.

 

[Shanghai Kid]

I actually think Jared Jeffries might get his playing time cut a little. The guy is just not productive enough when he's out on the court. I think Blake and Juan will still get their 12 minutes a game, but they won't be closing out games like they've become used too. Hayes will probably still get enough minutes to contribute, but he can say goodbye to his 10ppg average.

 

[MJG]

I could see JJ losing his minutes (especially the SF minutes I listed), but I don't see how Dixon could get 12 MPG on a normal basis. He plays SG, which is a position that Hughes, Stackhouse <i>and</i> Arenas will get minutes at. Arenas only will get a few minutes per game there at best I'm guessing, but Hughes will still get at least 30 and Stackhouse will shift up there when he's in the game with Hayes. I would really like to see Dixon still get his minutes, but I don't think he will outside of special circumstances like what I mentioned before.

 

[MikeDC]

Originally posted by <b>MJG</b>!
Very interesting. If both truly believe they are ready, then I'm happy to see them back. I'm sure both (especially Stackhouse) will get limited minutes for a couple of games, but once they get back into the swing of things, who gets cut back?

I think Dixon goes back to the end of the bench, maybe getting some spot minutes if we need some points or a full court press. I'd bet that Hayes will be a real loser here as well, considering his average-at-best play as of late. His 30-32 MPG that he has been getting could easily be dropped to 18-20 if Stackhouse can start to play full games. One of our points will also get cut back, but who will it be? I honestly think that Blake will get the backup PG job, with Knight read to come right in if Blake screws up a couple of plays in a row. A quick, off the top of my mind minutes breakdown:

PG: Arenas (32), Blake (10), Knight (6)
SG: Hughes (32), Stackhouse (12), Arenas (4)
SF: Stackhouse (26), Hayes (18), Jeffries (4)
PF: Kwame (26), Jeffries (14), Etan (8)
C: Etan (14), Haywood (22), Kwame (12)

Does that seem right? I listed Kwame at PF since that's where he started the past game or two. It completely leaves Dixon, Laettner, Butler, and Braggs out of the picture, but to be honest I think they're going to be out of luck in terms of consistent court time.

That looks about right to me. It's a shame to see Juan out of the rotation, and honestly I think maybe Blake and Jeffries will lose minutes before he does, but the larger point, to me, is that we've got a lot of guys we'd like to get minutes.

Maybe we'd be better off if we traded a couple of those guys for someone who can bring more defense. I don't really have anything specific in mind, but when I see what Cleveland did in getting Eric Williams and Tony Battie, I see how we might benefit. Those three guys sound pretty unspectacular, but they're the kind of "glue" guys that I don't see on our team right now. Solid vets who can keep their composure, play consistently, and play defense. We've got plenty of scoring options in Kwame, Stack, Arenas, and Hughes, but we don't have anyone like Williams that we can sic on the other team's best option, and we don't have anyone like Battie who's solid in the middle.

 

[MentalPowerHouse]

Do you really think they will play Stackhouse 38 minutes a game when they have no chance at the playoffs? If they like Hayes they will still play him atleast 20 minutes a night.

 

[MJG]

Just because we have no shot at the playoffs doesn't mean we'll be reducing Stackhouse's minutes. Maybe he only gets 35-36 and not 38, but either way he's going to log major court time. He's signed for many more years after this one, so it's not as if Hayes is being groomed to replace him.

Also, I really don't think Hayes has done much to earn any more than 20 MPG. He has an occasional good game, but for the most part he just hasn't been that great this year -- certainly not good enough to steal minutes from one of our best players. There are many possible reasons for his average play, but regardless of why, the fact is that he hasn't been that hot. In Stackhouse's first game back, he put up numbers that really aren't much worse than what Hayes would normally put up.