So I went to see the Wizards open practice this morning. It was okay. Collins introduced the players and spoke a few words about each of 'em, then they went through some drills. I got to see some good ole rookie hazing too. When they were supposed to put the balls back on the racks, Jordan punted a ball into an empty section of seats and made Jefferies run up and get it. In addition, they gave away free tickets to tonights preseason game just for attending the session. Some other things noticed in the practice: Larry Hughes' shot looked ugly (in a bad way), Russell looks like he's slowed down quite a bit, Jordan looked surprisingly spry, Juan Dixon looks like a 15 year old kid, Kwame and Haywood look like they've added muscle, Jefferies still looks like a beanpole even after adding some weight, Laettner really doesn't seem to be much into practice, Tyronne Lue has improved offensively and appears to be the front-runner for the starting PG spot, Stackhouse sure does look good in a Wizards uni...and that was about all I got from the practice. As for the preseason game...the Wizards pounded the Sixers! Much to my surprise, Allen Iverson played almost the full game. He looked as good as ever...the rest of the Sixers looked like crap. I think they're barely a playoff team this season...I didn't even know who half of their players were. But anyways, the big news for the Wizards was Kwame Brown! He looked very solid tonight. His 20 points led all Washington scorers and he had two picturesque blocks on Todd Maculloch. I swear, he gets off the ground just as fast as any big man I've ever seen, and his speed and quickness are almost guardlike. He's still got a long ways to go as far as fundamentals, but when you see the combination of athleticism and size that Kwame has it makes it a little more clear why MJ and the Wizards took a risk on him. I don't even think I can come up with five players in the league as physically gifted as Kwame. I just hope he can learn how to utilize his gifts. On a down note, Dixon looks like he's going to have trouble transitioning to point guard. He took 18 shots in only 27 minutes to lead all Wizards players, and only made 5 of them. He also had 0 assists. I just don't see him as a point guard. I see him as a backup utility guard. And you don't take backup utility guards with the 17th pick in the draft. I still think the Wizards Public Relations department made this draft pick. Juan is almost as popular as MJ in these parts. In the game, the Wizards started Lue (PG), Stackhouse (SG), Russell (SF), Jefferies (PF), Haywood (C). It appears that right now Collins has no intention of playing Jefferies as a 3. I was surprised he started over Kwame. Jefferies got pushed around like crazy out there and didn't contribute much. After Kwame's performance in the first half Collins started him over Jefferies in the 3rd quarter. In my opinion, the Wizards depth chart this season should look like: PG: Lue/Whitney/Dixon SG: Stackhouse/Hughes SF: Jordan/Russell/Jefferies PF: Kwame/Laettner/Thomas/Jefferies C : Haywood/White/Laettner That's a pretty deep team...five of the bench players were starters on their respective teams last season. It would be nice if Hughes could finally live up to his potential. The weak spot is the big men, but they're all young...they just need some time. I predict the Wizards will finish fourth or fifth in the east, but if things go extremely well they could wind up as high as second.
Very good post. Thanks for the rundown. What's Kwame's offensive game like? Is he big/strong enough to hold his own at PF or is he still weak like Eddie?
I thought Etan Thomas looked pretty good at the end of last season... What did you think of his play?
Yeah, he did finish the season pretty strong. Unfortunately, he's out with a pulled quad, so I think he's going to be at a disadvantage when the season starts as far as playing time. He may wind up moving ahead of Laettner on the depth chart if he can pull down a lot of rebounds and gets some blocked shots. His offensive game isn't very strong. However, I have a feeling that after getting Oakley, Thomas is going to be buried on the bench and there's a good chance he'll be put on the IR. My updated depth chart: PG: Lue/Whitney/Dixon SG: Stackhouse/Hughes SF: Jordan/Russell/Jefferies/Simmons PF: Kwame/Laettner/Oakley/Thomas/Jefferies C : Haywood/White/Laettner That's 15 players! You can only suit up 12, correct? Jahidi is going to be out for a while due to knee surgery, so that alleviates the logjam a little bit, but still, if everyone was healthy they would have to put 3 of those guys on the IR. My guess would be Simmons, Thomas, and Dixon. That seems crazy to put your 1st round draft pick on the IR, but I don't know what other choice they'd have. And then of course there's Rod Grizzard, there second round draft pick, who has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, there's not a spot for him on this team. That doesn't mean they have to let him go, does it? Anyone know what the rules are on that? I think they already signed him, but if there's not a spot on the roster or IR for him, what does he do? Sit on his couch all season? It's probably a good thing that Juan Carlos Navarro, the Wizards other 2nd round pick, won't be able to come over to the U.S. 'til next season. He's the Spanish version of Steve Nash.
Funny you mention Eddie, a similarity I noticed between him and Kwame is they can both get off the ground so quick. They're like pogo-sticks. The way they can both snag one-handed rebounds in traffic is another similarity. However, Kwame is much quicker laterally, has a higher vertical, and is bigger through the upper body. He still needs to add some more weight, but he's much further along than Eddie. There's no doubt that Kwame is a power forward. As far as on-the-court demeanor, Eddie is ten times more calm than Kwame on the floor. Kwame just looks too quick and excitable for his own good at times and just comes across as awkward or clumsy. It's almost like he still hasn't grown into his size. I think his best offensive aspect is going to be his quick first step. Right now he doesn't seem to have any special go-to moves or a hook shot, but I'm sure those will come with time. He also takes 12-15 foot jump shots like he's made 'em before, and I've seen him hit a few, so he at least has a perimeter game he can worth with, not that it's great yet, but some big men just don't have the touch or capability of ever developing an outside game, that doesn't seem to be the case with Kwame. For this season however, I predict most of his points will come off of dunks and putbacks.
