Just like last Wednesday’s game against the NOLA Hornets, I attended Friday night’s game against the O-Town Magic and forgot to set my DVR to compose a game blog later. But twitter tweets provide a similar account and save me the time from having to watch a loss….again – suffered enough of that this season. So, here are the tweets from last night’s game with some guests.
BulletsForever: I wouldn’t hold it against the Magic if they tried to one-up the 3 point record they set against Sacramento. -Jake
Friday, March 13, 2009 6:53 PM
Dennymayo: Apparently the wizards were called the zephyrs way back in the day, pre-bullets. Who would have thought, or cared? Friday, March 13, 2009 7:04 PM
erivera7: I feel bad for Nick Young, JaVale McGee, and Andray Blatche. Friday, March 13, 2009 7:12 PM
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The Wizards beat an inferior Timberwolves squad, 110-99, Minny’s 10th loss in a row, thanks to veteran swag and strong contributions from the mostly youthful bench.
The four oldest players available (Jamison – 32, Dixon – 30, Songaila – 30, and Butler – 28) combined to score 81 points, 73.6% of the total.
But that doesn’t take away from what Blatche, McGee, Crittenton, Young and McGuire contributed in the win. In fact, Young and McGee led the team in +/-, both finishing +11.
The Wizards bench outscored the Wolves bench 26-16 and also contributed 16 of the team’s 46 total rebounds.
Paced By A Lithuanian
Darius Songaila came out on fire…..before you knew it, he had 11 points in the first 4:34, finishing the game on 8-9 FGs and 19 points, four off his career high.
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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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The Wizards blew a huge lead in a matter of minutes in the 2nd quarter….so what? They won, didn’t they? [Game 54 Blog @ Bullets Forever]
Ok, so Antawn Jamison’s face at halftime above says it all. He was pretty much constipated over the 10 2nd quarter turnovers that let the T-Wolves back in the game.
One day this team will learn not to make it so hard on themselves…..but sucking wind is part of the growing pains, right?
The good part…..how ’bout that Javaris Crittenton fellow? Boy he’s coming along.
- Love him in the open court.
- He makes a mistake here and there in transition, but is not as erratic as you think.
- Quick decision maker when facing pressure on the break.
- Good court vision — becoming comfortable with where his teammates will be.
- Willing to pass first, but also looks to make aggressive drives to the basket.
- Gaining confidence in his shot — as evidenced by that huge bucket he hit with 55 seconds left and no qualms.
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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.
Well….did we expect anything else? Thought so.
Q1
1st Laker Possession: McGuire is guarding Kobe (Reggie Miller calls D-Mac a defensive “Guru” whoa…easy there buddy…let the kid develop first)….he held his ground for the most part…..but still let Kobe get deep and he just missed the shot.
1st Wiz Possession: D-Mac up top as distributor says Fratello….but Kobe is a rover and Dom misses an open mid-range J (had that hitch in his shot there)
D-Mac looks a little intimidated on D…flinching at every Kobe move.
Habit: Wiz miss their first five, all jumpers. Lakers up 7-0.
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Q1
11:23: David Lee gets on board for the Knicks as they move the ball well while Andray Blatche flounders around the paint, quizzically pointing fingers at lost defensive assignments. 2-2.
11:09: Blatche, however, scores the first four points of the game….the latter pair coming on a nice behind the back dribble and pull up on Lee who gave him too much space.
It’s nice to see confidence from Andray, but I see two big problems with him: 1) being able to keep up with the energy/hustle of David Lee, and 2) lack of concentration.
8:44: Nice NY ball movement from a driving Lee to a moving Jared Jeffries leaves Blatche’s head hanging. 11-9 Wizards.
The Wiz are moving the ball fairly well themselves though and have taken a 15-9 lead on a Mike James three.
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Some will tell you that Michael Redd killed the Wizards with his All-Star play, especially that huge three he hit to put the Bucks up 93-89 with 1:20 left (Dominic McGuire got caught on a screen and Andray Blatche didn’t help like he was supposed to).
Some will tell you that Andrew Bogut was a heavy-weight in the paint with 18 points and 10 boards (sure he was trouble, but at times, the Wizards guards focused on him too much, losing sight of perimeter assignments).
I will tell you that the #1 problem in my book was one which has consistently plagued the Wizards’ defensive efforts for years: backcourt defense. During crucial moments of the game, it seemed that either Luke Ridnour or Ramon Sessions were getting their way against the likes of Javaris Crittenton and Mike James.
The ball handling duo for the Bucks combined for 14 assists and only 2 turnovers (both on Ridnour, who had 10 of the assists). The quick offensive movement they spawned was contagious to their teammates…..and it was the poor down-the-stretch defense of the Wizards which helped thwart any easy chances to be had on offense.
But in reality, one could point to a number of reasons and be correct. They all add up to a choking mentality, and that’s the tragedy with which this Wizards team is faced. It’s not the way they play, it’s the way they think.
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Not that anyone would want to relive such a crappy display of basketball from the Washington Wizards, but if your interested in the Wizards-Celtics game blog, it’s on Bullets Forever. Thoughts on the game….well, pretty much everyone played less than they are capable of, even on their worst day. Antawn Jamison was…..okay, but….here’s a run-down in bullet form:
- Caron Butler’s defense was horrible….and it’s becoming more than routine. C’mon guy, at least try to stay in front of Tony Allen, and be somewhat cognizant of switches and the fact that you might have to cover someone else.
- DeShawn Stevenson….it’s nothing but a head game now. But that figures…someone who can get so wrapped up in not feeling his face, among oodles and oodles of lame antics, is bound to go into the mental slump. Thing is, I feel bad for the guy. He’s been a straight warrior in the past, playing hurt, etc., so I can’t really get on him too much…..I just don’t think DeShanw should see the court much anymore, but…….
- What are the options? Nick Young? That goofy lil’ guy is undependable as they come. Maybe, juuuust maybe starting him would mean something, but he’s still a sub par defender.
- Which brings me back to Stevenson. The fact is that he still IS the team’s best defender. Yes, that’s not saying much at all. This year, DeShawn has had many more game slippages on D than in 07-08. If only something could get Stevenson going offensively, I would feel more comfortable relying on him as the main stopper…..regardless, we still have to do that anyway, right?
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After he walked (and played) in Gilbert Arenas’ shoes, and before he became a Washington Wizard, Javaris Crittenton played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies. My immediate reaction is that while I’m sorry to see Antonio Daniels go (I have love for him too), I like the idea of Crittenton’s youth, potential, and size (who doesn’t like a 6’5″ PG?).
But before I get into doing a bunch of research on the kid’s past, I wanted to asked some NBA bloggers from LA and Memphis their opinion about Crittenton. Thanks to Kurt of Forum Blue & Gold and Josh of 3 Shades of Blue for providing their thoughts. Read on…..
First from LA-LA Land.
Kurt from Forum Blue & Gold:
When the Gasol trade went down last season, the only twinge of regret for fans was losing Crittenton. Well, there was really no twinge of regret, but Lakers fans were sad to see Crittenton go. I haven’t seen him play in a year, but his game has potential with a capital “P.” He’s long, very fast, played hard on defense, was developing a shot, and he can get to the rim. He played a little out of control, especially for the rather controlled triangle offense the Lakers run, but that was a matter of youth and maturity. He could develop into a quality player in this league. He’s just in the weird spot a lot of young players are: He needs run to develop, but he can’t get run because coaches can’t sacrifice wins for experience. So he sits a lot.
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I’m going to get more down on Javaris Crittenton in the future, among others (Dee Brown, and of course, Antonio Daniels), in the wake of today’s big trade (well, maybe not “big” in the grand scale of all things NBA, or even your fantasy team….but big for the Wizards’ point guard situation), but wanted to post something quick in the interim. You can also go to Bullets Forever to join the trade discussion.
Crittenton is the big “get”…some are saying “steal”…for the Wizards. But until I’m able to do a more exhaustive write-up on the former Yellow Jacket/Laker/Grizzly/high school teammate of Dwight Howard, I wanted to remind everyone that Javaris Crittenton has once walked in the shoes of Gilbert Arenas, literally.
From a June 2008 story in the Washington Times, “Arenas’ shoes are on other feet” –
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