Indiana Pacers Coach Frank Vogel addresses the media after a loss to the Washington Wizards
Prior to last Saturday night’s game against the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers Head Coach Frank Vogel wrote the following words on the white bulletin board in the visitor’s locker room, ”He’s a difference maker.”
The “he” was John Wall, and Coach Vogel was well-aware of Wall’s torrid play during the month of March, when he averaged 22 points and eight assists per game, also putting up a career-high 47 points against the Memphis Grizzlies. Vogel undoubtedly knew that earlier in the week, Bradley Beal, the other formidable offensive threat on the Wizards’ roster, was ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a stress injury to his right fibula. In the first game after the announcement about Beal, the Wizards lost 88-78 to the lowly Raptors in Toronto, and Wall was harassed into a 5-for-18 shooting night, including 1-for-10 outside of the paint. Coach Vogel went on to give specifics about the game plan for stopping Wall:
“He’s a sensational young talent, he changes their team offensively, and you really have to put most of your defensive game plan into limiting what he brings to the table … you still want to keep him out of the paint first, and hope that he’s not getting hot from the perimeter.”
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 77, Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics; contributors: Rashad Mobley, Adam Rubin and Kyle Weidie via television sets.]
“I do not recall the dates in question, your honor.” —Crawfish
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 76, Washington Wizards vs Indiana Pacers; contributors: Kyle Weidie and Rashad Mobley from the Verizon Center.]
Classics.
[Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld speak to the media about the '78 championship and more.]
John Wall on flexing muscle and
playing in front of the
1978 national world champion
Washington Bullets:
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 75, Washington Wizards at Toronto Raptors; contributors: Kyle Weidie and John Converse Townsend via televised broadcast.]
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 74, Washington Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls; contributors: Dan Diamond and Adam McGinnis from the Verizon Center, and Sean Fagan up I-95 in Brooklyn, N.Y.]
Entering Wednesday night, here are the NBA’s top five teams in defensive rating–a stat that measures opponents’ points per 100 possessions. Essentially, it’s a pure way to track which teams are best at keeping opponents’ points off the board.
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 73, Washington Wizards vs. Toronto Raptors; contributors: Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie from the Verizon Center, and Adam McGinnis from the heart of Mount Pleasant.]
The Wizards have shown the ability to bounce-back this season, at least on their home court. And that’s exactly what they did on Easter Sunday, providing a solid showing against a decent Raptors team in a 109-92 win. Washington tied the all-time series with Toronto at 33 games apiece and moved to 22-18 with a healthy John Wall. Below, Randy Wittman talks about what he called one of Wall’s “better all-around games,” and then I provide the game reaction (also submitted to ESPN’s Daily Dime).
M.V.P.
Wall finished with 18 points, 10 assists and merely a single turnover. He set the tone from the tap and played the measured point guard people want to see more consistently. Acknowledging that Wall did score a career-high 47 points a week ago, Wittman called the effort against Toronto one of Wall’s “better all-around games.”
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 72, Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic; contributors: Conor Dirks, John Converse Townsend and Kyle Weidie from the comfort of their abodes.]
LeWittmanFace
[#WittmanFace to Kevin Seraphin, image via @Above_Legit]
[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 71, Washington Wizards at Oklahoma City Thunder; contributors: Rashad Mobley, John Converse Townsend and Kyle Weidie from the comfort of their abodes.]
Lonesome Dove.
[Why the long #WittmanFace? via @recordsANDradio]
[John Wall's post-game tweet, which seems to have been deleted for some reason. Adam McGinnis was on top of the screen-grab.]
