Q&A Part I: Washington Wizards Visit Utah Jazz

Dec 14, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) passes the ball as Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) defends during the second half at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 93-84. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Wizards are in town for a tilt that was scrubbed by ESPN in favor of the Atlanta Jazz Hawks at Golden State Warriors. Nevertheless, the Utah Jazz decided to keep the late 10:30 p.m. eastern start time, much to the consternation of east coast residents.

John Converse Townsend (how cool is that middle name for a basketball writer?!) took a few moments to entertain a Q&A about the Wiz from me.

John is the co-editor of TruthAbout It.net, the ESPN TrueHoop Network blog. He can still shoot the
3, and has the wheels, but his handles are rustier than the Barclays
Center.

Clint Peterson: Many pundits picked the Washington Wizards to take the next step and go to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2014-15. How do you feel about their chances versus the others in the East?

John Converse Townsend: Those pundits sure did. Vegas liked ’em, too, setting the over/under on Wizards wins at 49.5. Of course, only a fool would have picked the over: they’re still the Washington Wizards. Truth is, despite the “arrival” of John Wall—he’s mostly blameless—they’re really not much better than the 2013-14 version. (For the record, I pegged them at 46 wins.)

CP: What happened to begin February that had the Wiz dropping 9 of 12 games?!

JCT: What went wrong? A number of things, including:

1. Bradley Beal getting hurt, twice, and not living up to his potential.

2. Letting Trevor Ariza, the team’s best perimeter defender, walk — leaving only John Wall to lock down dribble threats AND carry the entire offense.

3. An old roster built to win in 1995 with limited upside and an offense that continues to be fueled by midrange jump shots.

The underachieving Wizards might manage to escape the first round of the playoffs (if they play Chicago), but the second round is definitely the end of the road.

The Wizards were just SO tired and desperate for the All-Star brea— wait, that didn’t help at all. If you were to ask Randy Wittman what happened, he’d tell you that they lost their “mental physicality,” or that his players weren’t giving the necessary effort.

If you were to ask Bradley Beal, he’d spit out the very same CoachSpeak about being tough and gritty. If you were to ask Marcin Gortat, he’d draw a blank (but would likely be thinking being benched for every fourth quarter isn’t a winning strategy).

Reports of the defensive drop-off were greatly exaggerated. And the truth is that the string of losses was mostly a result of Washington’s offensive philosophy being exposed for what it is: inefficient. The Wiz would make more field goals than the other team, and sometimes shoot a better percentage from the field, but lose.

CP: Washington has won four straight, the third-longest win streak in the NBA (the Utah Jazz are first at six straight — something’s gotta give tonight). To what do you attribute as the biggest factor in getting back on track of late?

JCT: By the numbers, the Wizards are finding ways to, finally, put the ball in the basket. Washington has averaged 105 points per game on better than 50 percent shooting from the field—the Wiz scored more than 10 fewer points per game, on average, during that 4-13 stretch.

Turnovers are down, which helps.

It’s hard to pick just one thing, but I will say it’s nice to see Marcin Gortat rounding back into form, instead of being showcased as a $60 million participation prize on the sideline.

CP: Do you miss Trevor Booker? We love him in Utah.

JCT: Short answer: Yes. Very much. Adam McGinnis especially.

CP: Shade on my man Adam Mac!

The Jazz and Wizards each feature a pair of towering front-courts, Utah with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert, Washington with Nene Hilario and Marcin Gortat — a couple of players I love to watch play basketball. Who do you see winning the battle for the restricted zone?

More from The J-Notes

JCT: Tough one.

Both teams are very good keeping teams away from the basket. The Wizards allow just 15.0 made field goals inside five feet per game (ranked 3rd), while the Jazz allow 15.6 (4th). So, it’ll come down to which frontcourt duo can produce more points.

My gut says that Gobert and Favors, at home, will plant their green and gold flag in the restricted area, but my heart says John Wall will pull enough strings to get the Polish Machine and his Brazilian sidekick going.

Part II, where John quizzed me, can be found here.

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