All Wizards Talk
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All Wizards Talk
The Wizards got the Yips
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SPEAKER_02Welcome back to All Wizards Talk Podcast on the All Sports Talk Network. I'm one of your co-hosts, Bryson Aikens. Join alongside as always by Henry Brown. And this is just going to be an episode strictly dedicated talking about the young guys as if we're being honest, it's not been great for him. This has been the most rough stretch of basketball that we've seen this kind of young core really have this season. It hasn't been fun to watch. It hasn't been good hoops. There's only really been one guy in Will Riley that has had good games consecutively. Is Keyshawn George.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, let's get right into it. Can you hear me chewing by the way? I was chewing ice. No, I could not hear you chewing. Don't worry. Um, so Keyshawn. It's I looked, it's been like a month since he made more than four buckets in a game. It's it's it's been tough. He's crazy. His consistency is all over the place in the kind of in how many shots a game he's taking. And I watched a bunch of his shots over again today, and I didn't really know what was wrong with him. Like he's still he's still not relying, he's not settling for threes as much as like I think some fans might imagine he is. He does shoot from pretty deep, but the open jumpers aren't falling. I don't know why. The transition threes it's weird. The bump the bump middies not falling, not not finding the middle of the rim. I don't really understand why, but maybe it's maybe it's like a fatigue in his role. I don't really know.
SPEAKER_02I I don't know either. Maybe it's him trying to come back from injury because he you know was injured for a little bit. Good point. He he was maybe it's that maybe lingering injury that he's trying to play through because he's constantly listed as questionable before every game, and that could be a legit injury. It could come down to like, oh, the team's just tanking, maybe we send him out this game, like just stuff like that. It's just it's so strange because he really hasn't had like a good game the entire month of February.
SPEAKER_03I was just gonna say, I'm looking at his month-to-month stats right now. In January, he averaged 17.5 points on 40 from the field and 32.5% from three. Not great.
SPEAKER_02Shooting splits, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and this month it it's it's he's fallen at 10.3 points per game, and his shooting splits have fallen even further. Now he's shooting like 37.5% from the field and under 30% from three so far, and you can feel it.
SPEAKER_02And his field goals have dropped off as well. He was taking almost 16 a game in January. Then he had a game where he took 20 shots against Denver, and that's probably his best game of the season. That or the one early on in the season against Dallas, that win. Yeah, one of those two games have yeah, have been his best game against Denver. That loss, he went 10-20, five of eight from distance with five and seven, along with three blocks. Like, that was a good game from him. That's the last game that we've seen him like really like ball out and everything look solid. Like the both games, really, against Denver. And then now it's just kind of like, what has happened? It really is now, yeah. It it's just I was just gonna say he's only taking nine shots a game now.
SPEAKER_03I don't understand. I think he would actually really benefit part of what I think is factoring in is he's getting pulled early in these games for tanking purposes, but that doesn't make any sense to me because he's clearly not a finished product, he's not even close, so why not leave him in? He has so much to learn from these reps and just dealing with coverages over and over again, finding your spots and getting comfortable in certain matchups. So he shouldn't be able to get the games.
SPEAKER_02It's not like you were going to win anyways. Like, there is no reason in the 31-point loss to Miami, he only played 19 minutes. No reason for that.
SPEAKER_03I can't get with that. I can't I especially if like the G leaders are gonna win, you might as well develop the guy and you know get the loss anyway.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like the loss against the Knicks, they lost by 31 as well. He played 26 minutes, that's better. I'll take 26 minutes, sure, because you're still giving him enough time to try to develop, go out there and play. Whereas Osko minimizing, you know, potential risk of injury, 26, 28 minutes, I'll take that, especially in games like you know you're gonna end up losing. The Cleveland game as well, they almost lost by 30 as well. He played 24 minutes, would have liked to see him play around 28 because I'm just being honest, four more minutes of Keyshawn would not have closed out a 30-point deficit.
SPEAKER_03Probably not. And here's where I think I have to give a bit of grace because I mean, it is it's a long season, but the same season applies to everyone. And last season he wasn't really under these same con I mean, he was he was locked into a much more minimized role. He was off the ball a lot more, he was sort of like in the corner finishing plays. And maybe there's reason to believe that this kind of role, it was just a quick jump. And after a while, doing this every game, now that CJ's gone, it's it's just maybe he needs that that spacing and that backcourt relief that he's not getting.
SPEAKER_02Maybe like I'm gonna go back to his last solid game that he had, where he had uh looking at the stats here, he came away with 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists. On decent shooting, 10 to 24 from the field, decent, not great, not good, just kind of you know mediocre, it's not bad either. Um, but like I said, a 23-5-5 game of two steals, all right. I've noticed a trend a lot of the times that he does have a good game. He's paired with Alex Saar. Saar is out there on the court with him. If you notice, pretty much the entire month of February, who has not played?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, hasn't played before the all-star break and hasn't played since.
SPEAKER_02Like it's I think that's part of the reason is him and Saar work so well together. He has a like a good like center that can set good screens for him, create some separation, someone that can do some dribbs with him. He doesn't really have that right now. The only center they have is Tristan Vuksevich, and as much as you know, Vuksevich is a great offensive player, he doesn't like he doesn't have the strength to really set these screens that Saar does. And saying Saar is stronger than Vuksevich isn't really like you know, saying he's leagues above him because Saar still has to get much stronger. Yes, but Saar knows how to set screens better, he knows he he knows how to pair better with Keyshawn George as well. So I think that's part of the main reason is Saar just isn't out there, so it's really taking him away a little bit.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Vuk doesn't have the consistency on either end of the floor to play big minutes, so there's not much reason for defenses to be keeping that high in a scouting report. You don't have to be afraid of him, like he's gonna do his damage, he's gonna leave. It's Keyshawn basically alone right now. And I think there I don't really I'm not as worried about that as I would be with, I don't know, a star because I'm not sure Keyshawn's meant to be the alpha offensive guy anyway. Like, if we're imagining next year's team, he's like the fourth scorer, or maybe the the third perimeter score. Like there's Sar, AD, and Trey Young. Like he doesn't have to do it alone. You just I get I guess we wish he had more spacing, so it didn't look so hard all the time.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's that's a big thing. Like, he just needs more spacing, he needs someone out there that can set him screens to where like he can go around and drive off of them, get to the mid-range, drive to the rim. I I just think he's better when he has a center like that out on the court. And if you notice, like a lot of these games, it's a little bit of a small ball lineup, or they're throwing Vuksevic out there with them, and just you know, no hate to Vuksevic whatsoever. It's just he's not as good of a screener or pairing with Keyshawn George. He's not a starting player, just call it what it is.
SPEAKER_03No, it's Keyshawn with a bunch of guys who aren't starters.
SPEAKER_02Well, like, you know, Bulal could be a starter. Will he be one next year, depending on drafting everything else? Probably not. Trey Johnson, if they don't get a top three pick, I assume Trey Johnson's gonna be a starter alongside Keyshawn. And so, but yeah, no, you got a point that we're like this Cleveland loss, which I think is his highest point total in the month of February, 17 points, didn't shoot great, but he got to the line eight times, which I really like in a guy. If you can't score, try to get to the line and generate points that way and help out your team a little bit. I appreciate that. You notice he was paired alongside Jameer Watkins, Bub Carrington, Bilal, and Trey. And Trey also had a horrible game against the Cavs then as well. Oh my god, everyone did, I feel like. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Only guy that really didn't was Balal. He's had he's had his moments where he's one of the, I guess if we're if we're gonna talk about him real quick. You want to guys who are struggling compared to guys who are doing well. Um, Bilal's February has been about as good of a month as he's had right now. He's definitely he still shows like the points where he needs improvement, but as far as a disruptive defender and someone who can actually score when he's aggressive, he's one of the only guys who is willing to just attack the basket and transition. And he can shoot sometimes when defenses leave him open. Uh, but as far as the guy who's willing to actually score and try, he's been one of the more effective guys on the team so far. Like the three has it he hit like four or three threes in a game uh last week against was it the Hornets? Pacers? It was the Hornets. Uh yeah, Hornets. I didn't agree with Williams in that game. So he's got it sometimes, but you you you just wish he had that kind of aggression every week or every game.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and like we're not at like we've talked about before, we're not asking for Bilal to be a near 40% three-point shooter. We're just asking for him to be someone that can like, okay, you can go one for three every game. And you look at February, he's going one for three or one for four every single game, and it's led to him shooting 32% from distance, which I know doesn't sound great, but when you look at how how he's done this year, that's that's his best three-point shooting percentage out of any month.
SPEAKER_03It's if you look at his game log, it really is like he this he he's not known for his availability, but this season, like he'll play like seven or eight games in a row and then miss that many, and then he plays like ten, misses six. Now he's played in I believe 12 of his last 13. He missed one right in the middle. But outside of that, he's like getting regular shots up. It looks like I'm gonna do some quick math. Over his last 10 games, he's averaging over nine shots a game. Like he just needs more consistency in how hard he's you know, trying to score.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he's definitely he he's definitely doing better in February. I mean, and some of his best games of the season have come in February so far, like that that Charlotte game. I think we can agree that's been his best game of the year. Oh, yeah. 16 points in the first quarter. Don't don't tell me how many points he ended with, though. I know, I I know it's that or an early Toronto game, but in February, he hasn't been shooting bad. 45% for the field, I'll a hundred percent take that. 100% from a guy that's gonna give you almost two steals in a block a game. Yes, I'll take that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he's noticing how defensive guardian he's reacting. That's what you want to see.
SPEAKER_02I I feel like he's a you know, he's more confident now, he's a little bit more comfortable, and he's using his kind of strength and his athleticism to get to the rim a little bit. I'm seeing him drive a lot more. He's going for a ton of putbacks as well, even though some of them aren't falling. Like that shows the signs of someone that doesn't really care anymore, and he's just gonna try to go out there and you know be himself.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he still has room to grow as far as like being a smooth driver. It's a lot of straight line runs to the basket. Um, but at least he's going. He, you know, he's getting free throws and he's getting hit, and that's what you want to see. Just take advantage of the opportunity.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's it's definitely something you want to see. It's definitely what we've seen from Bilal this month, even though there are still like two or three games, you can be like, well, what about this one right here? You can do that with guys that even play, you know, extremely well on a regular basis. Like you can always nitpick some games here. But in February so far, I have been really impressed with Bilal Kulabali. He needed this. This has been yeah, he needed this. Another guy we we need to talk about. We we have to talk about him here. Trey Johnson. Understand he's coming back from an entry. I get it. Okay. Do you want to take a guess before looking at his stats? Do you want to take a guess what his three-point percentage is right now in February?
SPEAKER_0315?
SPEAKER_02You were really close. 14. Jesus. 14.3% from distance in February on 4.2 attempts a game. Granted, it's only been five games. But it's only been five games, but he's taken five, eight, eleven, fifteen, twenty-one threes, and he's only knocked down three of them.
SPEAKER_03Um so I was I was sort of gracious to Keyshawn because like he's shooting his normal shots and it's not falling right now. I'm gonna give that game sort of a bit more grace to Trey Johnson just because I mean he's a rookie, like this happens sometimes, and it's five games. And even though the threes haven't been falling, he's still shooting 37.9% from the field, which isn't good, but it shows he can still do the float floaters, he can still, you know, finish at the rim some.
SPEAKER_02Like the Indiana game, uh the second loss, or not second loss, second win against Indiana. He went six of eleven. Like that showed signs of life. He only went one of three from distance because his three-point shot just has been falling, but it showed he can still in the mid-range score, the floater, he can still score a little bit. It's just like it's just the first slump of his career. Like, this is the first true slump that Trey Johnson has gone through in his NBA career.
SPEAKER_03And it's worth noting, he also doesn't, you know, stop trying. Like he he doesn't have it. He's the opposite of a bunch of the guys in the team where he like he starts slow all the time, but he just sort of figures out as the game goes. Like, guys like Keyshawn and Trey, I feel like start hot, and then you know it happens later.
SPEAKER_02But his thought process, his thought process is I'm gonna shoot out of the slump, which are gonna lose you games. And right now, just being honest with the wizards, do you gotta lose? Yes, you gotta lose. So you're not gonna tell them just to stop. If this is a team trying to win, make a playoff push, maybe like, hey, take a little bit of a step back, get it to the hot hand here. You just haven't been knocking down shots. When you finally start knocking them down again, then go ahead and start shooting your shots here. But team losing, like, sure, why not shoot out of the slump?
SPEAKER_03Why not? Losing, and again, they don't have the necessary pieces to win anyway. Like, it's him and Keyshawn is the only real creators out there that that any teams are going to be even a little bit frightened of.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. Like right now, the Wizards have the fourth worst record in the NBA. They're only a game back from the second worst record. So that's something to note there. Um, and so it's one of those things where it's like you want to try with this draft, at least get, you know, like the goal is to finish with the worst record, which isn't out of reach, even though the Kings are the Kings. It's not out of reach.
SPEAKER_03The Pacers are just better the wizards of this game.
SPEAKER_02It's crazy. It's crazy, but it's just one of those things where like you want to finish with a bottom four record, so you secure that draft pick. Really, if you finish with the worst record and land top five, that's even better because then you secure you're getting you know one of the top talents in the draft, no matter what. Yeah. And so it's it's stuff like that. So why not tell them to shoot out of the slump? Why not? Especially considering when you look at the remaining, you know, strength of schedule. It's the fourth hardest strength of schedule left in the league.
SPEAKER_03Fourth hardest. Like it's and it won't get much easier next year, too. Like when when you know Trey's just either a bench piece or like a fifth starter on the next team, like they're gonna say, You're too good to not be in this game. Like, you just gotta get out of this. Like, you know you're gonna get out of this.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like you just it this is just the time to try to teach him like how to get out of a slump, and that's all it is. That's what it could be what it is with Keychan as well. A slump, it could be because he's not playing with SAR. That's another possibility. You could also pair that with Trey Johnson as well. It's like if you notice when he started to go downhill a little bit, was after that injury when he's not playing with SAR anymore, like the Hornets lost in J uh in January when they lost 119-115, he went six of 15 from deep, 40 with 26 points. And he was playing with Sarr that game. Like, a lot of his good games this year have been paired with Alex Saar. And I noticed that with a ton of guys, which kind of speaks on the volume, and you know, like just how much gravity he does have is like when you notice that everyone else has a good game, who's out there on the court, Alex Tsar.
SPEAKER_03You're definitely right about that, but even still, like there's I feel like he and Keyshaw are just missing like open looks, like it's it's the kind of shots that all season. Well, you're right, a little bit more space wouldn't hurt. Another potential rebounder wouldn't hurt someone who can also turn defense into offense.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's it sucks. You know, this stuff happens, but I'm confident he can get out of it. There's just one more, or really two more guys. Let's talk about one more positive. Yeah, I was gonna say keep keep going. Let's talk about one more positive, and that is Will Riley. He has been so good to where there are certain games he's not even really playing in because they're trying to tank. Like the the first uh win against the Pacers with that back-to-back, he only played four minutes because he was he's been that good of a player.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he'll show up for like five minutes, get like three buckets, and then he's just banished for a while. That happened in one of the games last week. He's sitting in a shadow. He's now appeared in how many in a row? He's he's playing in every game, and he's played in 20 straight games in like whatever kind of role, like his minutes are all over the place. Like he'll play straight from 28 minutes to three to twelve to thirty in a four-game stretch just last week.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. It's it's kind of crazy. And like I, you know, like I said, the two pacers games were games where it's like, man, he's been so good. He he he can't play because this is a game that we gotta try to out tank the Pacers. That's what it is. And then you look at the Hornets where it's like the Hornets are just a better team this year. They are, they've been hot ever since uh Bill Simmons gave Khan a ride. Yeah, thanks, Bill.
SPEAKER_03Thanks, Khan.
SPEAKER_02Thanks, thanks, Bill. They are a good team, they have an extremely hot. That's a game where it's like you can play Will Riley a ton and develop him, and he looked solid that game. Same thing with the loss against the Hawks, 29 minutes. He only missed one shot.
SPEAKER_03Seven for eight. And we've said most of what we can like nothing that happened about Will Riley's game yesterday is like a surprise. Like we we've been saying most of the stuff already, but creative, nimble, tall, just the kind of guy who can figure it out, and it's just it's just cool seeing that he has kept it going.
SPEAKER_00And he can play every position like this.
SPEAKER_03He could play every position. He's huge, he's huge. And if if the three is still you know a bit rocky, but he's also a rookie, so comes around another fun tool to monitor. Well, that's a crazy thing.
SPEAKER_02He's shooting 38.5% from three in February. This I think this has been his best three-point shooting month. And on like real attempts, too. He's not a corner sitter. It's not like he's taken like two or three attempts a game, he's taken four attempts a game. There's a game where he put up six threes, eight threes against the Kings in a win. Like, it's not like he's barely taking any shots. He's taking, you know, a good he's taking good volume shots.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he still doesn't start, but he comes off the bench, and a lot of the Wizards have been really good at the sort of thing where when the starters don't have it, which you know has happened more often than not recently, he just shows up and just has life, and that just goes appreciated, and you can feel it in the second unit.
SPEAKER_02He's playing like a guy who needs to go out there and prove something. And it felt like he definitely did to start the year, where it's like drafted late first round, a team where people weren't really talking about him either. Yeah. Like no one, no one was talking about Will Riley going into the season for the Wizards for any of their young guys. I feel like Jameer Watkins got tackled about a little bit more than Will Riley because of his summer league performance on defense.
SPEAKER_03He had that one great game. That is true. But yeah, it's like it's like think of the Wizards, like a baseball team where they have like a prospect ranking and Riley is just going higher and higher with like everyone.
SPEAKER_02Every single game he's moving up that prospect ranking a little bit to where you know he'll be top three soon.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I know.
SPEAKER_02It's like, oh, there goes Bub, there goes Bala. Like he's he's just above almost anyone. And some of it is because some of these guys are getting old enough to where like they aren't considered prospects anymore. Like you know what you're getting in SAR now, I feel like. Or like I wouldn't really classify him as a prospect. You know, like he is one of the key pieces of your team going forward.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, if you're like, I guess if you've earned a couple of rising stars nominations or you're not on your rookie contract, you're probably not a prospect anymore. Yeah, like below Koulibaly, I'm not considering it considering him a prospect anymore. I get it, especially when you know it's gonna be time for if if we're talking about second contracts, you're you're at a different point in your career.
SPEAKER_02And so it's stuff like that where it's like really the only prospects I see left on this team are like five of them. And that's like Will, it's Trey, Keyshawn, Bum, um Jameer. I was gonna say, is Watkins too old for this?
SPEAKER_03He's 24. Like he's a rookie, he is a rookie. So I guess if you're a rookie, you get it no matter what.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's stuff like that where like I consider those guys like the prospects. We're like, well, Riley, he's been he's been legit.
SPEAKER_03I'm picturing how it would go next year. Because I mean, there's gonna be, you know, maybe maybe it's gonna be like 80 and Sarp are probably gonna start.
SPEAKER_02And then one of the things it's almost gotten to the point where you have to play him in the rotation next year.
SPEAKER_03That's what I'm thinking. So he's not gonna start, but then it's gonna be Riley plus center, and he can be another handy pick and roll guy. If Trey Young's sitting, he can be another, you know, wing with height, just see over the defense. And I can see him, you know, just continuing to patch his stats, even in a role that isn't as defined as the other starters or the other prospects that we're talking about.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but there's one guy left that we have to talk about a little bit, and I'm going to try to defend. Him as much as possible because I feel like the way people are talking about him do not properly correlate to how they want to prop up other players as well. That's Bub Carrington. Carlton, I love you. Oh no, Carlton status. I love you. All right. You you show me some signs of life every now and then. Okay. Like the Miami loss in 29 minutes. Six of 13, 13 points. I'll take that from you. You went one of six from three, but still you helped out. Five assists. I'll take that. And and uh how many turnovers? Three? Not not bad. I'll take it. Uh I'll take it. He's improved in a lot of aspects throughout the season. Three of seven from distance against the Knicks in a loss. I'll take that. It's like every now and then he puts up a decent performance. He puts up something where it's like, yeah, this guy can be a point guard off the bench. 100%. I'll take that. And I think that's another reason people are like so critical of him. I feel like some of them like they see him starting, and when they talk about his performance, they're expecting it like subconsciously, expecting him to still be a starter next year because we just haven't seen Trey play yet. We haven't seen Trey Young play yet as the point guard of this team. And we know going forward, Trey Young loves DC. He's probably gonna try to stay here as long as he can, sign a team-friendly extension, okay, be the point guard for the next five, six years. Bub Carrington's just not going to start. He isn't. You just got to have it in your mind where like you need a facilitator off the bench. Has Bub been good at facilitating the ball lately? 100%.
SPEAKER_03Ah well, I mean, I think he has. I'm gonna go a step further. Like, I think he might be like fighting to stay in the regular rotation next year. Like, there's a case he made, he'll be like below like around 15 minutes per game next year, considering the other ball handlers they have, and if they can afford if his numbers take another step down, because between seasons they haven't gotten better. Um, the the three is really cool that it goes in as often as it does. He's still around 40%, even despite him slipping away this rough month that he's had. But he has cut his rim attempts in half after last season. He was already going to the rim like uh 10% of the time, I believe, last year. Um, now that makes up for about five percent of his total shots. And of course, you know, he's still shooting like around 500 from the rim, but it doesn't matter when he's shooting like that one layup a week, and it hasn't helped that the mid-range also hasn't fallen. It was like around average, a little below average. Now it's like 10 points below where it was last year. It's gone from like mid-50s to mid-40s from 10 to 16 feet, 16 to the three-point line. It's getting really hairy where you can't really excuse the three-point volume anymore. So even if he's hitting the threes, the playmaking, it's it's not anything meaningful because they just know that he's limited to a certain spot on the court. Sorry, long rant.
SPEAKER_02I was thinking about it. No, no, go off on that rant. Yeah, go ahead. That's why we're here. That's why we're here to talk about this stuff. I just feel like a lot of people, and you you mentioned it perfectly before we started this when we when I mentioned this little tangent I was gonna go on about how there is a select group of Wizards fans out there that like to still imagine a world where Reed Shepard is drafted to the Wizards. And I just gotta say, I don't think you guys realize ever since January 1st, him and Reed have had similar stats. Like eerily similar. Where it's like, you can't really like if you'd said who do you think is better player A or player B, half of you guys might choose Bub Carrington subconsciously because that's how close the stats are.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they're I mean, you mentioned it earlier, they're just in much different contexts, but they are it's funny that so many guys from this one draft class came out because I remember Jared McCain seems like he'd be in this kind of ilk as well. He's he's a step above these two guys, but yeah, I think we can agree that, yeah. They're both um, they love their three balls. Um, they can be defensively disruptive with their hands, but they're not, you know, like meaningful stoppers.
SPEAKER_02Uh I think I think Bub Carrington's been a little bit of a better defender. I think Reed Shepard just doesn't have the size to be a defender.
SPEAKER_03No, but he has great hands. Like that's the thing. Like he's his steal and block numbers in college. I hate to say college stats, where he a year and a half into their NBA careers, but I I trust Reed's defense a little more in the long run, but they're both guys who you're living and dying by your three-ball at this point in their careers. Bub, I didn't know would be to that degree because I thought he'd a bit more juice in the mid-range by this point. But if they're not hitting from three, then it it can look uh ineffective on the box score.
SPEAKER_02The only thing Reed is really doing like truly better than Bub in is just the point total. And part of that is because Reed is taking 11 shots a game, and so naturally taking more shots, more shots are gonna fall, all right? If you take it down to the 8.8 that bub's taken a game, they are going to be similar because Reed is shooting 42% from the field, 39% from three, bub is shooting almost 40% from the field, and 38% from three. The numbers are like eerily similar, and bub's averaging more assist. Um, turnovers-wise, Reed is averaging less turnovers um than Bub. I I I'll give him that.
SPEAKER_03I mean, some of Bub's turnovers is just brain dead stuff. Like as a whole, it had like 10 of the worst turnovers you'll see all season yesterday against that first Hawks game.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, 100%. It's just like when you look at it, like you look at the stats and it's like, man, who who really is the better player right now?
SPEAKER_03I still think it's Reed a tiny bit. I hate to sound like you know, this kind of Wizards fan that you and I both interact with a lot. But again, I I don't know. I don't know. I I trust his at least there's three-point volume there sometimes. Like he's a bit less afraid to just let it fly. And I think that can be an attribute when you're this kind of archetype.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I just like no questions. I'll agree. Yeah, I'll agree Reed Shepard like has a slight advantage. A slight slight. I think I think a reason though a lot of people like to prop up Reed is because he's just on a team that's had more success this season. He is the the Rockets have fallen off of a cliff when it comes to like oh, you know, like it when it comes to standings, they have. They aren't a top four team in the West anymore, like they were to start off the year. Oh, they actually are. They're back in it. They've had 35 and 21. It's been a week.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they've just been a winning season, all-star break.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's been a weird season for them. But like for a time, they were like the seventh eighth seed in the West, and now they're back up to top three. I feel like that's that's a part of the reason people like to prop up Reed a little bit, and it's also a reason a bunch of people will prop up other players as well. Like Donovan Kleegan, I think he's been good this season, but I've seen people make the argument that he's better than Saar. He might be. I actually don't think so. I I don't think so because part of this is because this team's actively tanking, so I think people have forgotten how good Saar has been.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, it's Saar, this is not a discredit to Saar. I just I just really like Klingon has become like a like he can actually like shoot, and his block numbers can hang with anyone in the league. Um, he he's nimble on the perimeter, sort of like Saar. Um I think the difference is Saar can do a bit more right now as like a handler, but Saar also makes more like of those same dumb wizards mistakes where Klingon just has a pretty mistake-free game.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think I think Saar overall has been just offensively and defensively a better player. Klingon this past month has really stepped it up. I'm not taking that away from him. Yeah, all right. I think I think he's a better center than Edie. I think he's the second best center from that class, is just behind Saar.
SPEAKER_03I think I might agree, but like those are those are three for draft class that was not popular, those are three awesome centers to have in the same draft.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but my thing is like when we're talking about it, Donovan Klingon and the Ringer's latest top 100 isn't a top 100 player, but Reed Shepard is over guys like Keyshawn George, Donovan Klingon. And part of that is I think it's just because his team has been winning.
SPEAKER_03A few I mean, I know the people at the ringer love Reed Shepard. I've listened to them, they all love Reed. He's also a good pick in the draft. He, you know, there was first pick buzz for like a minute there. There was. And I don't know. I think that for on Bub's side of this whole story, I think the stink of the Denny Avdi trade and what that meant to some fans also hangs over him, or he's gonna be against, you know, not in his control, but he's gonna be compared to Denny, I think, forever, compared to like what the Wizards lost compared to what they gained in that exchange. And that's not really fair, but that's just that's just the way the cookie crumbled.
SPEAKER_02It it definitely is. It's just when I'm looking at this, like I look at their list of their top 100 players this season, and I just want to look at some of the guys, you know, like that are above SAR a little bit, that I think doesn't really, or not even really SAR, but that are in the same range as Reed Shepard or below. Like, I just honestly, I think Ryan Rollins has been better than Reed this year, and he's below him. Definitely, and he and he's below him, and part of that is just because the Bucks haven't been winning this year, but the Rockets have. I think some of it is just comes down to is your team successful? Oh, it is, and you're just an average role player. We'll go ahead and throw you at this ranking right here. I know Keyshun wasn't ranked, and he's better than Reed. Um, where is Reed placed on this? He is placed 87th, you know, granted. Granted, but like I said, some of the guys that are below him, I think Klingon has been better than Reed.
SPEAKER_03Give me like two guys on the list after him.
SPEAKER_02So I'll go, I'll start at 100.
SPEAKER_03100, you got Paul George. 13 guys, yeah. Paul George, okay. Paul George.
SPEAKER_02Uh John Collins at 99. I have no John Collins thoughts.
SPEAKER_03I always none of these guys are better than Keyshawn. Tari Eason. I sound so biased. Um Atari's better than Reed.
SPEAKER_02Uh Isaiah Stewart. He's better than Reed. Here's one that I think has been better than Reed. VJ Edgeco as a rookie. Yeah, I I agree with that. I I agree with that. Uh Cam Johnson at 94, which Cam Johnson has struggled this year. He's like perfectly placed. I've no opinion on this ranking. Okonglu at 93. Probably better than Reed too. Tumani Kamara at 92. Okay, same. Dante G. Vincenzo at 91. I don't have any thought on that one. Yeah. Klingon at 90, which I think he should be above Reed. Klingon's better than Reed. Damar at 89.
SPEAKER_03Oh, poor Damar. And then who's next? Ryan Rollins at 88. And then Ryan Rollins. Yeah, I did not go into this intending to hate on Reed Shepard. Uh, nor did I Yeah, I but like you look at some of the guys that are below him.
SPEAKER_02That's tough. Yeah. They're in the same range. Like at 86, they put AJ Mitchell at 86 when he was in talks for sixth man of the year before he got injured. He was. Like, I feel like some people have just forgotten about that. Where it's like, man, like I don't think they're on the same like kind of level. Like Saur being only five spots ahead of Reed, and like my opinion, like that's kind of like uh Washington right now, but I just can't can't quite get on the same page as that. But but you see what I'm like getting at here, where it's like some of the guys that are on like the same tier list as you know the ringer says or below Reed, like it doesn't really make sense.
SPEAKER_03Granted, if you if you have a hate watch starting to cook up, I think you're gonna be in luck because as well like that's the thing that's like I don't know if I'm just a hater or if like this is like fair reason.
SPEAKER_02Like that's where it's like I can't decide. Like, and and like I truly I can't on my own. It's like, am I just a hater? Like, is is that the case?
SPEAKER_03Or is like with both these guys? Um I definitely none of these guys are really point guards to the level that it was sort of hoped they'd be. They're both probably bench combos at this point, which really stinks for Reed, especially because he's shorter. Like, what is he, like 6'2? At least Bub's like 6'5, 6'2, 6'1, something like that. Yeah, that's that's really unfortunate. And they both have streaker jumpers than you'd think if you just watch them on their best days. You're like, wow, these guys have really good looking shots. Um it's really gonna matter next season where these guys fall in their respective rotations based on how they close. And we're watching that for Bub.
SPEAKER_02Here's here's another one I want to talk to with you about because I am an OKC guy and I don't agree with this ranking either. I think he should actually be lower on the list. Okay. But they put Caruso at 70. Okay. But I feel like he's not like if you're gonna put him in the top 100, he should be in the 90 range. I feel like like I think the I think the fact that he appeared higher than his teammate Kasen Wallace.
SPEAKER_03I actually don't hate that. Like, he's he's one of the best perimeter stoppers in the league, and he's playoff proven. Two rings. We're talking, we're talking right now.
SPEAKER_02We're yeah, we're not talking like I think this is another thing. Like, they get with, oh, look at how good he has been, though. Like, we're talking right now this season. Who has been better? Kasen Wallace has been better than Caruso.
SPEAKER_03He just has. Yeah, Caruso, he's not gonna really wow you. I think the I think I mean the ringer, I just know the ringer, they just love playoff acumen. They do. I can't say I'm shocked by that one.
SPEAKER_02They do, but like this is this is my problem with it, is they they did like I feel like they just did this list based off of like, oh, what have they done in the past? Are they on a winning team? Like, I don't think like, and you know, you you know me. Like, I grew up in Oklahoma City, big thunder guy, but like I just think like truly Casey Wallace has been a better player than Cruz, but Casen Wallace is at 81.
SPEAKER_04You don't wash your jersey during a win streak. You don't switch seats when your team's up big, and you definitely don't shave during the playoffs. When things are working, you don't change them. That's why when you drink Jaegermeister, you drink it ice cold. Anything else? Well, that'd just be bad luck. Drink it cold, or don't drink it at all. Jaegermeister. Damn, that's cold. Drink responsibly. Jaegermeister Lacour, 35% alcohol by volume. Imported by Mast Jaegermeister, U.S. White Plains, New York.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I haven't. Let me look at Casey Wallace's stats. They're probably better than Cruce's averaging six and a half points a game. That's not gonna blow anyone away.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Casey. Oh no, eight points, good for him.
SPEAKER_02But like, it's just but I feel like he just overall this season, like all over the board, Casey Wallace has been a better player than Cruuso. He's been available for I think every game besides two for the Thunder.
SPEAKER_03Like, it's he's played 56 games. Yeah, I'm gonna take your word for this. I I just know he I'm sure he's more durable. Crusoe has never been a super durable guy. Um yeah, I'm gonna take your word on this one.
SPEAKER_02This is just part like the reason like I'm not the biggest fan of the ringer because of this stuff. It's like they uh I feel like a lot of what they do is just based off of like, oh, well, they're on a good team, so we have to throw them on here. Or like, look what they did last year. It's just a little bit of a slump they're going through. It's like, I don't care. Have they been good this year? You're doing a current top 100 players based off this season. What have they done this season?
SPEAKER_03Well, we always factor in the past a little bit when we do these things. Like, I don't know, like when we're talking about who the best player is, you are factoring in to a degree what what you know they can do. That way you can, you know, how to know how to set your expectations.
SPEAKER_02It's just I'm I'm reading what they wrote for SAR right now to see what what they said about him specifically. They're they're saying the reason he's so low is because like they need to see if he can play alongside a center like Anthony Davis as a starter.
SPEAKER_03That's a that's an odd metric to use.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It hasn't happened yet.
SPEAKER_03It like uh yeah, and so it's one of the centers judged by whether or not they can play with another center.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I don't get it. They they did say that a 3D center like him is rarer than a unicorn at this point.
SPEAKER_03Well, unicorn is like a catch-all. That's not a position, that's just like like a something you saw once that you try to get back. Like unicorn can apply to a million different positions. I mean, they usually are big guys, I guess.
SPEAKER_02They kind of talked about him in like the same instance as Miles Turner. Oh no, don't roll. No, he's no, I hate I hate that that comparison. I hate that as well. I hate that as well because I see people say, like, and I am a big believer of Sar, especially when he's playing with a point guard like Trey Young. When we see this combo, we have seen what Trey Young has done for centers like Clint Capella.
SPEAKER_03Like, he is revived. Even on some of the hairier days we've seen. I mean, Miles Turner can only really block shots and shoot threes. Like, there's a lot of things.
SPEAKER_02I'm talking, I'm like, I'm hyping up Sar right now. It's like, imagine what he's gonna do with Trey Young, is what I'm saying. Yeah, no, I'm with you. I'm just saying he's even better than you know the floor that people are podcasting. Like right now, yes, he's like, I think he's even better than Miles Turner this year. I think they actually had Turner above Sar. Wow. Maybe I'm not seeing him actually. They might have taken him off the list completely. Yeah, they heard you. I I know before the season they said Turner was a better player, which I get looking at his rookie season. And it really was horrible. His PR was horrid. I do like this what they said. They said, like, what are what does it say about you if you wear this player's jersey? And it says odds are you're uh Olivier Saar. Like, yeah, yeah, you're not gonna see Saur really blow out the jersey sales right now. Haven't seen one of those yet. I live I live around DC. Haven't seen anything yet. No, it's just but my my point is like I don't get how some people have already given up on some of these young guys when you look at like other young players that these same people hype up. Like, there's a specific guy I've seen on the timeline. I'm not gonna name him because he is a he's a bad apple, all right, who has specifically hyped up Reed Shepard a ton. And he specifically said that Alex Sarr is not ever going to sniff an all-star appearance. Anyone on Whisper's foot is gonna know who you're talking about? Yes, everyone will know, but I'm not gonna name him. I'm not gonna name him. But I think it's just crazy to already like give up on these guys when we're in the second season of their career. The fact that we're propping up Reed Shepard as the guy that should have been taken above Sar and then say like Bub Carrington is chopped liver and throw him to the side, I think it's just crazy, considering how similar of players they truly have been.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I was actually I was in the Wizards media room the other day. Uh, we're talking to Ben Strober of Lockedown Wizards, and um he's asking me about uh whether or not I like we're watching Warriors Nuggets, it was on the TV before the game, and I was talking about Pajemski, how he's just seen so strangely because he's a decent player, but he just plays in a big market and he has like a mildly annoying personality, so people just don't like him. And I said he's actually sort of in that bub archetype where he like he's a decent shooter, he likes shooting from every level. He's a more aggressive driver than uh more aggressive shooter in general than Bub is, but the fact that he's on that team determines so much his reputation, and that's sort of where the read and bub conundrum lies.
SPEAKER_02I I think that's what it is. It's like you you look at the Wizards and they just they haven't been a winning team. They they haven't. Like, point of the matter. The people that say, because I see a lot of people use Darko to determine if someone's gonna be a good player. And if you're using a stat that plays heavily on plus minus, please stop watching basketball. Please, because plus minus is the most useless and overrated stat in the sport.
SPEAKER_03I didn't know it used it used just like raw box score plus minus. Impact stats are one thing, but okay, that's yeah, that's not that's not good. I thought I thought I had more stuff than that.
SPEAKER_02You can't judge if a player is good, especially when they are on a team actively tanking. Because if you are judging if Sar is going to be a good player or if he has been good this season based off his plus minus, you would think he is one of the worst centers in the NBA.
SPEAKER_03There's ways to do it, there's ways to to make this judgment. Like you can like go on these other websites and just look at whether or not a bad team is better without this questionable guy on the floor. But yeah, raw plus minus is not the way to go about it.
SPEAKER_02But let me put it, let me put it in an instance like this for people that still want to say plus minus has some uses. All right. A player goes into a game for two minutes, exits with a plus 10, but didn't put up a single shot, didn't get a rebound, had one turnover, didn't have an assist, nothing. His only counting stat was a turnover. Do you think he impacted winning basketball, or was it just he was lucky enough to be on a 10 run, 10 0 run at the moment? It works a lot better if you use a larger sample size than a game. But yes. I'm just I'm just trying to put it out there. It's like this is the stat people are using based off of a player can play for two minutes, have a plus ten because he was out there during a time the team went on a 10-0 run and never sniffed the floor again. And people will think he needs to play more because he has a plus 10.
SPEAKER_03He didn't do anything. Yeah, it's very easily misunderstood and misutilized. There's no defending that.
SPEAKER_02That's that's where I'm frustrated with it. Is like people want to use the advanced metrics, and like there are some advanced metrics that are really good, and then there are some advanced metrics where it's like if, like, for example, the the the a specific stat someone was using the other day to talk about if you know, like who has been the best player from the 2024 draft class and was showing that Klingon was, and Klingan has been really good. Like, I'm not a Klingan hater at all, like, I am admitting Klingon. And has been the second best center from that draft class. He's just behind Star. That's that's it. The reason that stats showed that he was so good was because recently, the like specifically this season, the Blazers have actually been a decent team. They have. And so when you're winning more games, naturally your plus-minus is just going to go up a little bit more. Naturally, it does. That's what happens. The Blazers are 28 and 31 this year. You put them in the Eastern Conference, they're around the same at the ninth seed, but it's not like they're you know seven games back of a playoff spot if they're put in the east. They're only four games back from a playoff spot. It just shows it's a much tougher conference to play in over there. Yeah, and they're in the division of doom over there. They are. They are almost the entirety of the play, like you know, play-in teams are going to be above 500. They are that close to being above 500. It's it's just crazy. And that's my thing. It's like stop counting out certain players because you're looking at their plusminus or their advanced metrics when the stats themselves tell you they are silver leaks players that you are hyping up.
SPEAKER_03That's my point. We gotta be careful how we do this.
SPEAKER_02It's frustrating to me. It's just really frustrating when I see people do that.
SPEAKER_03Of course, this was Bryson's rant, sponsored by All Wizards Talk. Anything else to add?
SPEAKER_02Uh, I do want to talk about one thing. One little thing that we need to keep an eye on. Keep a little eye on this, alright? The um Phoenix Suns have been dropping. Oh. They have been dropping. And I want you guys like the reason you gotta keep up with this is because if the Suns end up a lottery team and their pick is higher than the Wizards pick, they can swap. So let's say the Suns miss the playoffs, and they are you know, they have the 13th best odds at first overall, and the Wizards finish with the second worst record. That gives them, you add 14 to 1.2, a 15.2% chance to get the first overall pick, which doesn't sound like a lot, but based off the other teams, they would have the highest chance at first overall because of that right there. If the Suns continue falling off because of this Dylan Brooks injury, which is a real possibility now, let's say they finish as like the nine or 10th seed in the West and they lose their first play-in game, they're gonna finish around the 11, 10, 9 range, is where they'll end up finishing. 11, it's a 2% chance, 10, it's a 3% chance, and 9th, it's a 4.5% chance, which means highest if they you know if they finish with the ninth worst record in the league, then the Wizards say finish with the second worst record, then have an 18.5% chance at first overall.
SPEAKER_03The issue is I'm looking at the Western Conference standings right now, and there's a deep chasm standing between the players and 11 through 15. Because you like the Clippers and the Warriors are two playing teams, like they're both incentivized to win. They have no reason just to just to tank. Um, and then you have the Grizzlies who are gonna end the season like 10 games below the next closest team. It's it's a long bridge to cross to get to the Grizzlies, Mavericks, Chads, Pelicans, Kings tier.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and there are some, you know, they do have a really easy strength of schedule left. 22nd uh hardest left. Uh the combined total, they're the combined win total per win percentage of teams they're facing off against, they have 23 games left, is 494, where it's like all the teams that they're playing left combined have a you know less than you know 500 wins uh total. It's so it's just one of those things where like it is you know going to be harder for them to actually drop that low, but it it's it's a legit possibility now that's back on the table because of their injuries that they're dealing with. Yeah, I'm gonna keep a good eye on that. He must have that's all I'm saying. Keep keep an eye on it, all right. Dylan Brooks has been out, Anthony Cole or Cole Anthony has been out. I always read it from like last year. Corbin on the Suns. I don't think I knew that. He is on the Suns. Wow. He is Goodwin's also out for him, and I feel like Goodwin Goodwin's been balling for him this year. Three points a game with five rebounds. Like that, like a lot of their decent role players, and like arguably, like this their second best player in Dylan Brooks, are out now where like they could go on a little bit of a losing streak because of this, and then you have higher odds at first overall than any other team.
SPEAKER_03That's a good note.
SPEAKER_02And so I didn't know what I want to end on there where it's like keep an eye on the Suns. Like, right now, you should not just be watching the Wizards, you should also be watching Suns games as well. Because there's your hate watch. There, there's your hate watch, guys. Watch watch the Suns games because, like I said, all right, uh, and this is just saying, let's say this is the best case scenario. All right, I'm gonna go with the best case scenario here. Wizards end up with the worst record. Okay, lowest they can drop is fifth. All right. The Suns end up um as the 10th seed in the West. They lose their first play in game. That means they finish at 11th. Alright? Or yeah, 11th. They finish 11th, okay? That means they then get a 16% chance at first overall, uh, a 15.6% chance at second, and then a do the math real quick in my head, 13.1, 15.1% chance at third. Which means you almost have a 50% chance to land in the top three. I like those odds.
SPEAKER_03This is sweet. I needed this. I've been worried recently. I know I shouldn't be. I've been worried about that pick of ours.
SPEAKER_02Don't worry about the pick. Like, I'm telling, like, every Wizards fan, I'm telling you right now, the the pick, don't worry. It is going it like the Wizards are gonna finish with a bottom four record, whether like you guys are worried about it or not, because the Pelicans, they've already, you know, jumped the Pelicans in the standings because the Pelicans are actually trying to win, and they have DeJounte Murray pack now, which is gonna help them out a ton. Where like you can see the Pelicans trying to make a push to make the play in tournament. Sweet. Which is going to be extremely hard.
SPEAKER_03It's going to be like I'm gosh, yeah, it's not gonna be easy. I will say they're only like four games back of the of the of the 11 seed.
SPEAKER_02Better than nothing. Like it's it's better than nothing, but standings real quick. I'm I'm pulling up the stands real quick before we hop off here. They're the 14s. They are they're there's yeah, they're 17 and 42 right now, but I mean they're they're 11 games back of that spot, which it's going to be extremely difficult for them to make it. But I won't be surprised if they finish with around like 28 wins because they're just trying to go out there and win as many games as possible. Because if they no matter what, their pick is going to the Hawks. Like, they don't have a pick this year, so they got like they have to try to start winning. I want to them and the Bucs. Them and the Bucs have to start winning. Yeah, I wish them both luck. And so, like, that's the thing I look like. There are teams in here right now that actively have to win or else they lose their pick. The Hawks are another team like that where they have to win, or that pick goes to the Spurs. The the Pacers have to lose, I'll say that. And then the Nets, it's so weird with the Nets what they're doing. Playing competent basketball on an occasional basis. I know. It's weird. Like they'll play good basketball, and then the next day they'll look like the worst team in the league. It makes no sense. It makes complete sense. I see who they rest. There, there are like I'm just saying, right now, with teams that are in the lottery right now, four of them are actively trying to win because they don't have their pick. That's great. This is such a weird NBA. Like, that's just that's just so crazy. Does that include the Pacers? That does not include the Pacers. Why because the Pacers gotta lose. Yeah, Pacers. Pacers gotta lose. And so it's it's just one of those things where it's like you look at it, it's like they they actually have to go out there and and try to lose a little bit.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'm looking at who doesn't have their pick. Yeah, the the eastern plane is full of those kinds of teams. Gosh, the Bucs are still in 11th seed.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but like like I said, even like even off the off chance, like the Suns end up jumping and the Wizards. Let's say the Wizards fall to six again, but you have that Suns pick because they were the team that jumped all of a sudden. You have a guaranteed top four pick because of it.
SPEAKER_03That'll be a crazy way to clinch the deal. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm gonna do a reading on that. Yeah, and so it's probably what I'm gonna be right about, be writing about next. Of course, hate watch is on. I'll if I had a glass of right now. The hate watch is on. And so that's all we got. Thank you guys for listening to another episode of All Wizards Talk. We appreciate you guys as always. Follow us on social media at All Wizards Talk on Twitter. Check us out there. I'll just be posting our writing work as well. Um, like I said, we appreciate each and every single one of you guys, and we'll see you in the next one. Peace.
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