Washington Wizards 2014-2015 Season Review: Regular Season Player Grades
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Kris Humphries: 8.0 PPG (47.3 FG%), 6.5 RPG
Midrange. Midrange. Midrange. Midrange. Repeat. Midrange. Midrange. Midrange. Midrange. Repeat.
Kris Nathan Humphries, placed on this Earth for the sole purpose of playing in the Randy Wittman offense. Midrange. Midrange. Midrange. Midrange.
Repeat. Kris Nathan Humphries, the dude who always does his dang job. Midrange. Midrange. Midrange. Midrange. Repeat.
Kris Nathan Humphries, featuring surprising jammability. Appreciate this man, I command you.
Grade: B+
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Rasual Butler: 7.7 PPG (42.2 FG%), 2.6 RPG
I have been watching the Washington Wizards for many a year, and I’ve seen a lot of weird things happen to this team. The Gilbert gun incident. The crab dribble. Soulja Boy. The Earl Boykins Era. Hell, I was in the building for the infamous Michael Ruffin Play.
But I think I’d be hard-pressed to think of anything more unexpected than Rasual Butler, a 35-year-old career journeyman who just narrowly snagged the 15th spot on the Wizards in the preseason, morphing into Gotdang Mothra in the first half of the season.
He was unstoppable and omnipotent, and one of the main reasons that the Wizards were able to paper over their glaring weaknesses and get off to the hot start that they did. Perfect Rasual was gone as soon as he arrived, but he played his part.
He will live in our hearts forever.
Grade: Happy memories
Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Otto Porter: 6.0 PPG (45.0 FG%), 3.0 RPG
Just about anyone who watches Otto Porter play basketball will realize that basketball is a thing that Otto Porter is good at. Except Randy Wittman, who has kept Otto Porter on the bench for long stretches of the season. LOL.
Let’s not speak of that anymore. Otto still has trouble really asserting himself on the court all the time, but he’s almost always a plus. Good defense, a sweet jumpshot, deceptive athleticism and Extend-O-Limbs.
He’s the Tayshaun Prince starter pack – plant him in the ground, water him twice a day, make sure he gets plenty of sunlight, and you’ve got yourself one heck of a wing.
Grade: B
Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Seraphin: 6.6 PPG (51.3 FG%), 3.6 RPG
I still think of Kevin Seraphin as a young guy, but I probably shouldn’t: he’s 25 and nearing the end of his fifth year in the league.
He probably is what he is at this point, and what he is is a guy with one offensive move (the hook shot, which he made about 70% of the time this year), terrible hands and a tendency to kill possessions.
On the other hand, tracking stats are very kind to his defense, as opponents shot a solid 5% below their season averages inside of six feet – a very nice number which is actually down from his performance last year. He’s a big body who has adjusted nicely to Randy Wittman’s scheme, and he looks noticeably more aware on that end of the court than he used to.
Don’t expect him to see a ton of minutes in the playoffs, and don’t expect him to get the big deal that many of us were expecting he’d get earlier in the season, but the Washington Wizards could probably do worse, maybe? I mean, this is a team that once gave minutes to Michael Ruffin AND Calvin Booth. At the same time.
Grade: C+
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Drew Gooden: 5.4 PPG (39.9 FG%), 4.4 RPG, 1.0 APG
Outside of John Wall, Drew Gooden is the most unceasingly entertaining basketballer on this Washington roster.
When he’s good, he’s pure, radiant fun.
When he’s bad, he’s the friggin’ Hindenburg.
One of the great downfalls of this Washington Wizards team is that Ernie Grunfeld put together a roster where Drew Gooden is the only actual stretch 4 – but he’s legitimately earned some playoff minutes with his performances in recent weeks.
At the very, very least, he spaces the floor. With this team, that’s invaluable. And thus, we venture into another postseason with Drew Gooden in the rotation. It actually didn’t work out too poorly last time.
Grade: C
Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Ramon Sessions: 7.4 PPG (41.1 FG%), 2.7 RPG, 3.1 APG
After a first couple of weeks filled with missed layups, Wizards Killer-turned-Actual Wizard Ramon Sessions finally came into his own and made Washington Wizards fans actually feel pretty decent about the Andre Miller trade.
No one on this team gets to the line as consistently as Razor Ramon, and his uptick in 3-point shooting – he shot almost 41% from long range since the trade – combined with him having much better mobility than his professorial predecessor gives the Wizards way more lineup flexibility.
Ernie Grunfeld failed to fix the biggest problems with this team at the trade deadline, but he at least made one move that ended up working out.
Grade: B+
Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Garrett Temple: 3.9 PPG (40.0 FG%), 1.7 RPG, 1.1 APG
Garrett Bartholomew Temple. What can you say? Lanky, hardworking, beloved by Randy Wittman, Garrett Temple is a player whom I’ve always strongly felt belongs on an NBA roster, but not in an actual NBA rotation.
Unfortunately, on the Washington Wizards, he’s one of the only players on the entire team who can play more than one position. SUCH IS LIFE IN GRUNFELDIA.
On a positive note, Temple’s shooting took a huge stride this season, with his 37.5% mark from long range easily ranking as his career best, and he was a joy and a lifeline in the season’s earliest weeks.
On a negative note, his perimeter defense was generally terrible, even as he’s regarded as a defense-first player. He also lacks the pure, visceral appeal of Will Bynum’s incredibly weird head. Final word: Meh.
Grade: C-
Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Martell Webster: 3.3PPG (26.4 FG%), 1.4 RPG
Martell Webster’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Season saw only 32 games, 10 made 3-pointers, several dozen different hairstyles and one really weird rap video with a dude who looks like Cut-Rate Skrillex.
‘Tell’s got bars though, he’s got slick jazz-inspired beats, and he’s still got two more very well compensated years on his contract. Things could be worse for him.
Grade: F
Oct 22, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Amar
DeJuan Blair: 1.9 PPG (45.6 FG%), 1.9 RPG
DeJuan Blair earned his place in the Washington Wizards Pantheon of Uselessness this season, joining such luminaries as Michael Ruffin (that’s THREE Michael Ruffin references in this column!), Eric Maynor, Oleksiy Pecherov and Chucky Atkins.
He’s also got another year on his contract. That one worked out pretty well, guys.
Grade: F