Wizards (13-5) at Celtics (6-11) Game #18 12/7/14

[Tr1boy]

OH YEAH! 3 in a row!

+1

[hwangjini_1]

you have to be happy with the W, but again, you lose a 25 point lead, and that has me really disappointed.

That was a game to forget. IMO we did not deserve the W. Showed lots of panic in the last quarter, awful perimeter D and very sloppy decision making in the attack: lots of risky passes, forced shots, you name it. And the worst of all: it's not like it was the first time.

but the celtics DID win. everytime wins a game or two the shouldnt. this time it was the celtics and i will take wins anyway we can get them. 

[TheFlex]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

[Tr1boy]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

[Beat LA]

This is the first time all year that we can put the word, "winning (not with Charlie Sheen )," in front of, "streak," right?

[Tr1boy]

This is the first time all year that we can put the word, "winning (not with Charlie Sheen )," in front of, "streak," right?

yes!  Keep it going. Saw the highlights. rondo was pushing the pace it looks like the whole game.  That AB bradley three that sealed the deal was bc after the Rebound, Rondo was running with Green.  We have to keep this up

[TheFlex]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

Seriously? You have an obsession with Rondo. Rondo has been pushing the pace all season. We're just playing worse teams.

KO is not a horrible player, I don't think I ever said that. I just said he's playing terribly, which shouldn't really be a controversial statement.

He's a supremely offensive player but if he's not asserting himself as an offensive focal point, his defense is far too poor for him to be an impactful player. Another thing I've noticed about him with my naked (and therefore flawed) eye is that his passing performance seems to be tied to his shooting performance. If he's not shooting well he seems to become reluctant and remove himself from the game. He gets the ball less and is ill-positioned to get assists or assist the assister, even when he's not looking to score. Lastly, he's not a great rebounder, so it's not like he can just bear down on a bad shooting night and snatch 10-12 rebounds.

It's nice that he's trying but it doesn't change the result. KO gets abused in the post against a strong front court like Washington's. Here's another bit of evidence that Sully is a far superior defender than KO, per ESPN's analysis of their 2013-14 seasons:

Defensively, Sullinger actually ranked well above average against both the pick-and-roll defender and roll man, according to Synergy, which no doubt earned him Brad Stevens' trust as the season went on.

... and [KO] struggled mightily on defense, particularly on the block.

You can find the analysis on their ESPN player profile under the "Advanced Stats" tab.

The differential between the two on both ends seems to have widened this season. Sully is blossoming while KO might be hitting the sophomore wall right now.

[GratefulCs]

Saw the game, but didn't realize how many points Thornton scored


Not that his trade value is high, but does anyone want him traded?


I want him to stay here. He tries hard and can shoot. It seems like only he and Bradley have never seen a shot they didn't like


I feel like he does when he shoots... It's going in

[Tr1boy]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

Seriously? You have an obsession with Rondo. Rondo has been pushing the pace all season. We're just playing worse teams.

He has been pushing the pace for 3 quarters until the past two games (for 4 quarters).   He is trying harder on the defensive end

If you think Rondo has been the same player prior to these two games (games also we won and washington is not a crap team) then you need to rewatch the games carefully. He is playing closer to "playoff rondo".   I don' t even know why i have to point this out

[Tr1boy]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

Seriously? You have an obsession with Rondo. Rondo has been pushing the pace all season. We're just playing worse teams.

KO is not a horrible player, I don't think I ever said that. I just said he's playing terribly, which shouldn't really be a controversial statement.

He's a supremely offensive player but if he's not asserting himself as an offensive focal point, his defense is far too poor for him to be an impactful player. Another thing I've noticed about him with my naked (and therefore flawed) eye is that his passing performance seems to be tied to his shooting performance. If he's not shooting well he seems to become reluctant and remove himself from the game. He gets the ball less and is ill-positioned to get assists or assist the assister, even when he's not looking to score. Lastly, he's not a great rebounder, so it's not like he can just bear down on a bad shooting night and snatch 10-12 rebounds.

It's nice that he's trying but it doesn't change the result. KO gets abused in the post against a strong front court like Washington's. Here's another bit of evidence that Sully is a far superior defender than KO, per ESPN's analysis of their 2013-14 seasons:

Defensively, Sullinger actually ranked well above average against both the pick-and-roll defender and roll man, according to Synergy, which no doubt earned him Brad Stevens' trust as the season went on.

... and [KO] struggled mightily on defense, particularly on the block.

You can find the analysis on their ESPN player profile under the "Advanced Stats" tab.

The differential between the two on both ends seems to have widened this season. Sully is blossoming while KO might be hitting the sophomore wall right now.

Sullinger was hitting the sophomore wall last season at times also. If KO plays the same inconsistent way he is now next season, it's warranted that people be hard on him.  Right now up and downs is expected.  Next game or the game after he is going to score 15-20 pts. Then score 5 etc.  Its expected. Brad did the right thing to start Zeller and bring KO off the bench

[TheFlex]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

Seriously? You have an obsession with Rondo. Rondo has been pushing the pace all season. We're just playing worse teams.

He has been pushing the pace for 3 quarters until the past two games (for 4 quarters).   He is trying harder on the defensive end

If you think Rondo has been the same player prior to these two games (games also we won and washington is not a crap team) then you need to rewatch the games carefully. He is playing closer to "playoff rondo".   I don' t even know why i have to point this out

This win against WAS was an anomaly. We beat the Bulls earlier in the season too, and that was without Rondo. The only two wins I "trust" so to speak are those against DET and LAL.

Hard to push the pace in the fourth when you're playing a much better team that buckles down near the end of the game to erase their lackadaisical effort in the prior three quarters.

[TheFlex]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

Seriously? You have an obsession with Rondo. Rondo has been pushing the pace all season. We're just playing worse teams.

KO is not a horrible player, I don't think I ever said that. I just said he's playing terribly, which shouldn't really be a controversial statement.

He's a supremely offensive player but if he's not asserting himself as an offensive focal point, his defense is far too poor for him to be an impactful player. Another thing I've noticed about him with my naked (and therefore flawed) eye is that his passing performance seems to be tied to his shooting performance. If he's not shooting well he seems to become reluctant and remove himself from the game. He gets the ball less and is ill-positioned to get assists or assist the assister, even when he's not looking to score. Lastly, he's not a great rebounder, so it's not like he can just bear down on a bad shooting night and snatch 10-12 rebounds.

It's nice that he's trying but it doesn't change the result. KO gets abused in the post against a strong front court like Washington's. Here's another bit of evidence that Sully is a far superior defender than KO, per ESPN's analysis of their 2013-14 seasons:

Defensively, Sullinger actually ranked well above average against both the pick-and-roll defender and roll man, according to Synergy, which no doubt earned him Brad Stevens' trust as the season went on.

... and [KO] struggled mightily on defense, particularly on the block.

You can find the analysis on their ESPN player profile under the "Advanced Stats" tab.

The differential between the two on both ends seems to have widened this season. Sully is blossoming while KO might be hitting the sophomore wall right now.

Sullinger was hitting the sophomore wall last season at times also. If KO plays the same inconsistent way he is now next season, it's warranted that people be hard on him.  Right now up and downs is expected.  Next game or the game after he is going to score 15-20 pts. Then score 5 etc.  Its expected. Brad did the right thing to start Zeller and bring KO off the bench

Sullinger grazed the wall. KO is smashing into it head-first.

[SmoothTsunami]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

Seriously? You have an obsession with Rondo. Rondo has been pushing the pace all season. We're just playing worse teams.

KO is not a horrible player, I don't think I ever said that. I just said he's playing terribly, which shouldn't really be a controversial statement.

He's a supremely offensive player but if he's not asserting himself as an offensive focal point, his defense is far too poor for him to be an impactful player. Another thing I've noticed about him with my naked (and therefore flawed) eye is that his passing performance seems to be tied to his shooting performance. If he's not shooting well he seems to become reluctant and remove himself from the game. He gets the ball less and is ill-positioned to get assists or assist the assister, even when he's not looking to score. Lastly, he's not a great rebounder, so it's not like he can just bear down on a bad shooting night and snatch 10-12 rebounds.

It's nice that he's trying but it doesn't change the result. KO gets abused in the post against a strong front court like Washington's. Here's another bit of evidence that Sully is a far superior defender than KO, per ESPN's analysis of their 2013-14 seasons:

Defensively, Sullinger actually ranked well above average against both the pick-and-roll defender and roll man, according to Synergy, which no doubt earned him Brad Stevens' trust as the season went on.

... and [KO] struggled mightily on defense, particularly on the block.

You can find the analysis on their ESPN player profile under the "Advanced Stats" tab.

The differential between the two on both ends seems to have widened this season. Sully is blossoming while KO might be hitting the sophomore wall right now.

Sullinger was hitting the sophomore wall last season at times also. If KO plays the same inconsistent way he is now next season, it's warranted that people be hard on him.  Right now up and downs is expected.  Next game or the game after he is going to score 15-20 pts. Then score 5 etc.  Its expected. Brad did the right thing to start Zeller and bring KO off the bench

Sullinger grazed the wall. KO is smashing into it head-first.

Its almost as if they were both forced to play out of position, and took a physical beating every night. Maybe we will promise KO's dad we will get a center next off season.

[Beat LA]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

Seriously? You have an obsession with Rondo. Rondo has been pushing the pace all season. We're just playing worse teams.

KO is not a horrible player, I don't think I ever said that. I just said he's playing terribly, which shouldn't really be a controversial statement.

He's a supremely offensive player but if he's not asserting himself as an offensive focal point, his defense is far too poor for him to be an impactful player. Another thing I've noticed about him with my naked (and therefore flawed) eye is that his passing performance seems to be tied to his shooting performance. If he's not shooting well he seems to become reluctant and remove himself from the game. He gets the ball less and is ill-positioned to get assists or assist the assister, even when he's not looking to score. Lastly, he's not a great rebounder, so it's not like he can just bear down on a bad shooting night and snatch 10-12 rebounds.

It's nice that he's trying but it doesn't change the result. KO gets abused in the post against a strong front court like Washington's. Here's another bit of evidence that Sully is a far superior defender than KO, per ESPN's analysis of their 2013-14 seasons:

Defensively, Sullinger actually ranked well above average against both the pick-and-roll defender and roll man, according to Synergy, which no doubt earned him Brad Stevens' trust as the season went on.

... and [KO] struggled mightily on defense, particularly on the block.

You can find the analysis on their ESPN player profile under the "Advanced Stats" tab.

The differential between the two on both ends seems to have widened this season. Sully is blossoming while KO might be hitting the sophomore wall right now.

Sullinger was hitting the sophomore wall last season at times also. If KO plays the same inconsistent way he is now next season, it's warranted that people be hard on him.  Right now up and downs is expected.  Next game or the game after he is going to score 15-20 pts. Then score 5 etc.  Its expected. Brad did the right thing to start Zeller and bring KO off the bench

Sullinger grazed the wall. KO is smashing into it head-first.

Which also results in him picking up yet another foul (sarcasm) .  Silly billy goat...

[Tr1boy]

Really frustrating to see Turner get those minutes at the end, Thornton should have returned shortly after receiving his breather.

Also, Olynyk is playing terribly.

KO is going to be fine. Stop harping on him.  He will score 15 the next game and maybe 5 the game after that etc. He will become consistent once he builds his body further and with experience. For now  he does other little things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet to help the team

Harping on him? I hardly ever mention KO outside of when you decide to make glorification threads about him. Perhaps you are so sensitive to your favorites (KO) and least favorites (Rondo) that you think everyone is talking about them when in reality you are driving the discussion.

Not sure how much he is invisibly helping the team when he's horrific defensively and playing with such hesitance offensively that he doesn't get the ball enough to increase ball movement efficiency or take a defender out of the equation as a shooting threat.

Have i been harping on Rondo these past few games?  I wanted to see him push the pace and he has done that. 

Well for a horrible player you have just described, BS still puts KO out there.  Bc like i said he does the little things out there . He was a +3 and don't even think scored a pt tonight.  I do agree he needs to shoot more but i'm ok with his defense.  Do you seem him slack off??  He is getting beat at times but its not due to poor effort.  A better body + experience will help him become better defender in time

Seriously? You have an obsession with Rondo. Rondo has been pushing the pace all season. We're just playing worse teams.

KO is not a horrible player, I don't think I ever said that. I just said he's playing terribly, which shouldn't really be a controversial statement.

He's a supremely offensive player but if he's not asserting himself as an offensive focal point, his defense is far too poor for him to be an impactful player. Another thing I've noticed about him with my naked (and therefore flawed) eye is that his passing performance seems to be tied to his shooting performance. If he's not shooting well he seems to become reluctant and remove himself from the game. He gets the ball less and is ill-positioned to get assists or assist the assister, even when he's not looking to score. Lastly, he's not a great rebounder, so it's not like he can just bear down on a bad shooting night and snatch 10-12 rebounds.

It's nice that he's trying but it doesn't change the result. KO gets abused in the post against a strong front court like Washington's. Here's another bit of evidence that Sully is a far superior defender than KO, per ESPN's analysis of their 2013-14 seasons:

Defensively, Sullinger actually ranked well above average against both the pick-and-roll defender and roll man, according to Synergy, which no doubt earned him Brad Stevens' trust as the season went on.

... and [KO] struggled mightily on defense, particularly on the block.

You can find the analysis on their ESPN player profile under the "Advanced Stats" tab.

The differential between the two on both ends seems to have widened this season. Sully is blossoming while KO might be hitting the sophomore wall right now.

Sullinger was hitting the sophomore wall last season at times also. If KO plays the same inconsistent way he is now next season, it's warranted that people be hard on him.  Right now up and downs is expected.  Next game or the game after he is going to score 15-20 pts. Then score 5 etc.  Its expected. Brad did the right thing to start Zeller and bring KO off the bench

Sullinger grazed the wall. KO is smashing into it head-first.

Why do you have to be a debbie downer today? We won the game. Go have a beer, relax, celebrate

The team just has to do more of the same (vs Lakers vs Wiz) moving fwd. Sully might get 20 one game, KO gets 15 in another , Ab gets 15 then gets 5 another.  We don't have a team full of all stars of near all stars and as long as guys step up (seems like its different players, different nights), we will be ok. 

If we make 8th place this season, i will be a happy guy