I watched most of the Wizards game before heading out for the night. They simply didn’t entice me to stay with their lack of energy, effort, and patience/ball movement on offense. So, watching the rest of the game on Sunday, I pick the game blog up here:
5:00 left in the 3rd, the Wizards are down 13 on the road….do they have what it takes?
Well, to start off, Songaila is scrapping, in the paint on the floor, in the midst of a fray of humanity, and comes away with the ball for an assist from his back to Caron Butler for a dunk. 72-61 Bucks.
4:16: Wiz get another turnover….Butler jets down the court, goes straight under the rim, puts Charlie Bell on his back and becomes a very easy target for a pass from Mike James. 73-63 Bucks.
Mbah a Moute muscles Butler under the rim…Blatche goes to help and that leaves Gadzuric available for the put-back. 75-63 Bucks.
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He came in cool wearing black and chewing gum.The headlines today say that Obama should attend more Wizards games…..sure, why not?
But dammit if the Wizards shouldn’t give that kind of effort and energy all the time…..the guy only lives in the same city.
But props to the President….he sat court side, had himself a beer, and seemed to take a bit of heckling well (he was openly cheering for the Bulls).
[Check the game blog on Bullets Forever here]
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“He’s a smart guy, he knows how to play the game. If he had the body of a . . . Kwame Brown, he’d be an All-Star. And he makes the most with what he has.” -Steve Buckhantz on Darius Songaila
Watching (for the first time) Saturday night’s loss to the Spurs late Sunday evening, I’d never before considered an utterance praising D-Song and digging at Kwame in the same sentence. Thank you Steve Buck.
[Runner-Up Quote of the Week: "Wizards looking for a little home cookin', but the stove is not lit." - Steve Buckhantz in reference to the refs.]
Back to reality? We’ll see.
Q1
Wow, the Phillips looks emptier that the Verizon these days. The Hawks have the 4th best record in the East…..sad to say, Atlanta doesn’t deserve an NBA team.
11:45: Caron misses his assignment to protect the hoop after Songaila goes to double Joe Johnson and Horford gets an easy dunk on Atlanta’s first possession.
Hmm….long missed jumpers from Caron, bad P&R defense from Mike James….S.O.S. (Groundhog Day) – 6-1 Hawks.
9:00: Yep, it’s 9-1 when Tapscott decides to take timeout #1.
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DeShawn Stevenson is laughing. Andray Blatche is probably thinking about laughing. Brendan Haywood has a smirk on his face. Even that random guy you don’t know, but always see on TV, is chuckling to the far right.
But if you’re actually playing for the Washington Wizards, things aren’t so fun.
Not to say that the suits would rather be injured instead of playing, but they sure don’t seem to be having a bad time like their comrades.
Q1
You’d think that it’d get to the point where when Phil Chenier discusses ‘Keys to the Game’, he’d just say, “don’t lose” — but I guess that’d be lazy.
Tonight’s key: Mike James…yes, an NBA vagabond is our freaking key to the game.
8:43: Caron turnover trying to pass to Jamison….that was just a horrible angle…..basketball instinct diminishing.
7:32: I don’t understand how the Wizards can appear to be pointing and communicating, yet completely turn their back on Igoudala who gets a lob from Miller and dunks. 10-7 Sixers.
7:05: Again…basic defensive principles. Mike James shoots, his man, Miller, runs…Butler, being the other guard, needs to take responsibility in getting back on D…against A RUN–NING TEAM. But he doesn’t…..enough of this “I’m not used to playing shooting guard” B.S. — pay attention (I know, he just doesn’t care to).
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The party has been effing ruined. I missed the Wizards game last night and have yet to decide if I’ll watch it on DVR….although, it will be damn hard to resist reliving an 22 point “thriller.” I guess I could always look for more Andray Blatche crop dusting incidents. But now that he’s in street clothes, he might get all fancy on us.
Best in Show:
[Wizards Insider]
How bad was it? Consider that the Wiz reserves were outscored 50-14 by the Heat reserves. Bottom line: this Wizards team looks a lot like the Miami team that won only 15 games last season. Some of these young guys have potential but the gap in confidence and NBA ability we’re witnessing on a nightly basis is scary.
[Wizards Outlet]
There’s no other way to put it other than this is a bad Wizards team. Only 14 assists opposed to 18 turnovers that went for 26 Miami points? The Heat didn’t shoot well at all — just 39 percent — but they made 10 3-pointers and 19 of 22 free throws. That made the difference right there.
[Washington Post]
“It’s the same thing we’ve seen so many times this season,” said Butler, who also had six turnovers as he and Jamison were again swarmed by an opposing defense. “Play well for a half or three quarters but then have problems in the fourth and lose. That’s just been our season.”
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Well, who was I kidding with this? Watched the game this morning despite my protests….newsflash: we’re terrible. Keep reading.
Q1
Caron starts by shooting a three….miss…no surprise.
McGuire is all over on D…..deflections, etc.
Wiz look sluggish in every aspect.
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Q1
8:08: Dom McGuire has gotten good at the corner jumper…..as long as he omits that hitch he has in his shot at times. 9-4 Wiz.
D-Mac, of course, can potentially be a great defender, but really must work on his lateral movement.
7:37: Blatche spin and gets in air, but the Wiz (Mike James in this instance) are making better cuts, and it’s an easy pass for a layup. 11-6 Wiz.
Wiz start 1-5 on FGs, but go 5-5 since…thanks to the fact that Brad Miller cannot guard Andray…who has 9 points on 3-4 shooting.
5:46: Butler is having his own issues with Salmons, who just drove by him for a dunk. 17-13 Wiz.
Did the Kings just not account for Blatche in their game plan at all? Is Brad Miller that bad of a defender? Is he being left on an island? Don’t know, but Andray has 8 points already.
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Milestones: MLK day, Inauguration eve, JaVale McGee is 21, Michael Adams celebrates a B-Day as well, Wiz playing the team against which Ed Tapscott got his first win and Captain Jack does not care.
Q1
11:00:
The Good Thing: Wizards don’t have too much of a reason to collapse into the paint on Biedrins
Bad Thing: Blatche is sometimes allergic to blocking out…Biedrins gets a board and then Azubuike gets 2nd chance three. 5-2 G-State.
Not sure what Caron Butler going behind the screen on a shooter like Jamal Crawford has to do with him having to play the two-spot.
Jamison starts out focused against his former team with 6 of the first 8 points for the Wiz…..he’s also being guarded by rookie Anthony Randolph (who has to check out with 2 early fouls). 8-8 tie.
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The Question: “Which Wizard do you think would finish last in a race?”
The Answer: According to the voting via text messaging public, team choir boy, Darius Songaila, would “win” a race between him, Etan Thomas and Andray Blatche in a landslide.
Blatche received a decided 45% of the attending fan vote. Perhaps they believed Blatche’s flatulance would be a detriment, or that a stomach full of nachos would weigh him down, but most likely chose Andray because he just lacks stamina.
After the finally tally, the jumbotron displayed a video montage of answers from the Wizards themselves. Some claimed that Songaila would, in fact, finish last, but more seemed to believe that an unlisted candidate, Oleksiy Pecherov, would be pulling up the rear.
Songaila himself vehemently denied any accusations that he would be last, and I believe him. Have you ever seen Songaila run? He gets those arms moving like the propellers of the Spruce Goose, surely giving him an edge, and more than compensating for the stigma of being slow and white.
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…..to Kendrick Perkins’ Janet Jackson.
[This is essentially a repurposed photo suited to needs of the Wizards.....all thanks to the guys at The Sports Hernia Blog - "Kendrick Perkins instantly in contention for worst nip slip ever"......great place BTW, put them in your reader.]
And really, what is going on in this picture anyway? Perkins has a stink face, D-Song has his eyes closed and lips puckered, and Antawn Jamison is either trying to avoid an elbow or smooch an erogenous zone…….lot going on…..but there always is, isn’t there?….a lot going on.
Caron Butler is out again (I guess this is the “tanking it” that many have been calling for — you know and I know that if this game meant something, Tuff Juice would be spilling himself on the court.)
Q1
11:48: Andray v. Yao….Ming stars off with a fade away miss, Blatche played decent D on him the last time out.
11:00: Instead of staying with Battier,Young zones to Scola with the ball….Jamison is there, but could stand to be closer as Scola can shoot…..Who’s Your Daddy Battier is open in the corner for the swing pass…..three ball. 3-2 Houston.
10:46: Andray takes a college three (top of key) with 15 on the shot clock — don’t care if you’re open Andray — No, No, NO!!
9:50: Houston is letting Andray have the open 16 footer….and for good reason, he misses again.
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Hey…..did you guys know that the Wizards beat the Pistons [game blog on Bullets Forever]? In the midst of yesterday’s trade frenzy, I was unable to get down any thoughts on the game.
Once again, the Wiz had to claw their way back. In the first meeting with Detroit, they had to fight back just to be down 10, 31-21, at the end of the first quarter (the Wiz had been down 17 at the 3:30 mark). So, after putting themselves in a 29-14 hole after one quarter on Tuesday, you’ll have to excuse me if I wasn’t exactly confident in the ability to get a win.
But the team kept fighting, and that’s the main reason why people are saying that the Wizards are a much better team than their 4-15 record.
The Washington Post’s Ivan Carter especially noted Darius Songaila’s bucket to put the Wiz up 6 with 2:08 in the 4th as the turning point. I guess timeouts work because it wasn’t 20 seconds prior that the Pistons got three chances at the hoop, converting on the third, capping a quick 8-2 run in 2:15 to bring the Pistons within two points. But Tapscott halted play, Wes Unseld Jr. drew it up, and D-Song came to the rescue.
To withstand a final push from the Pistons and live to tell about it was huge for the psyche of the team.
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Q1
JaVale McGee starts off:
- Blocking a Gooden hook shot on help side.
- Blocking a Derrick Rose layup attempt and then Rose’s jump shot on a recovery.
- We haven’t played a minute yet.
10:37: Deng blows by Butler, slashing to the basket in transition. Caron, in my opinion, exerts a minimal amount of effort. 4-3 Bulls.
9:33: McGee closes out fast and gets a 4th block on Gooden’s jumper.
Halfway through the first quarter, the Wizards have gotten some decent looks, just not all of them are falling. The Bulls have made Washington pay in transition. At the six minute mark, the score is tied at 14 after Stevenson hits another long two near the Bulls bench……A guy with the 10th best PER on a team that is 3-15 has the gall to give Chicago’s bench a gnarly stare. Way to go DeShawn.
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