 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
[The Rundown: Setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the bench, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed... (As the crew at TAI works to hone their post-game coverage.)]
Score |
 |
|
|
[Editor's Note: Truth About It.net is trying something new with its game coverage this season. Of course, we will be honing this series as we go along, but here's the gist: relevant pre- and post-game quotes/analysis from those in attendance covering the game (last night it was Rashad Mobley and Adam McGinnis); D.C flag 3-star ratings for the Wizards starters and bench from three people able to watch the game (live or on television -- we will keep a running tally on the ratings); thoughts on the environment and slept-on moments; and finally, fan tweets, scenes from the game, and anything else that would be fitting to include in "The Rundown" (which totally might not be the final name of this series, especially since it's also the name of a movie featuring "The Rock" and Seann William Scott... and Rosaio Dawson, don't want to forget her). In any case, here goes... -Kyle W.]
Quick STAT: The Wizards had 20 turnovers and 10 assists; John Wall: 6 TO, 3 AST
Read more »
The Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers may as well been two ships passing in the night last season. The Wizardsbeat the Sixers twice in overtime early in the schedule, during a time when the Wizards looked promising and the Sixers were struggling mightily. Later in the season, the Sixers defeated the Wizards twice by double digits, en route to a seven seed in the 2011 playoffs–the Wizards finished 13th in the Eastern Conference and 18 games behind the Sixers.
This season, the young Sixers will attempt to build on their first-round playoff exit while the Wizards will be looking to join the party. Their respective journeys start tonight at Verizon Center, as they kickoff their abbreviated two-game, home-and-home preseason slate with each other. But before that, TAI writers, John Converse Townsend and Rashad Mobley, along with Carey Smith from the ESPN TrueHoop Blog Philadunkia, address issues for both teams. Three questions, three answers start now…
TOWNSEND: Expectations are certainly higher for John Wall in 2011-12, but Evan Turner is under more pressure. Wall’s productive first season earned him recognition as one of the league’s brightest young stars. Turner, meanwhile, was largely forgotten, despite being the second overall selection in the 2010 draft; the 6’7” shooting guard struggled with his jumper, particularly beyond 10 feet, and failed to create consistently around the rim.
Usually this feature is called “Perfect Play” and breaks down an exceptional Wizard set from the game. Well, after last night’s blowout loss to the 76ers, business as usual just feels unnatural. It was a depressing performance from a team depressed by the impending trade of Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to Atlanta.
The following play is one I would argue is exemplary of the reason the Wizards looked so terrible. It would be facile to just show Wall tossing a three off the backboard or an ugly Blatche isolation. The truth is, there is often real motion in the Wizards offense, it just doesn’t yield anything faintly reminiscent of teams like the Boston Celtics.
The Wizards were going through their offensive actions, but with no production, with no meaning behind the motion. It took eight frames to document this play from the beginning of the fourth quarter, I hope you stick around for the end, I’m sure you’ll be disappointed with the result (but hopefully not with the analysis).
On the floor for the Wizards: John Wall (2), Nick Young (1), Josh Howard (5), Trevor Booker (35), and Kevin Serphin (13)
[It's bad enough that the Sixers mopped the floor with the Wizards on Wednesday night... Making matters worse, this fan represented Washington in the city of Philadelphia.]
Tuesday night in Washington against the Indiana Pacers, Andray Blatche helped the Wizards dart out to a quick start and a 30-25 lead after one quarter by contributing 12 points himself. Then Jeff Foster did his best Dennis Rodman impression by grabbing seven rebounds against JaVale McGee in the second quarter, as the Pacers held the Wizards to just 19 points while scoring 33 of their own. Just like that, Washington was down 58-49 at the half and never recovered en route to 113-96 loss.
Last night against the resurgent 76ers in Philadelphia, the Wizards started off with a strong effort once again. In the first quarter, John Wall had nine points and six assists, and Blatche and Young had eight and seven points respectively. The score was 31-24 after one quarter, and it appeared as if the Wizards had quickly learned their lesson after a sluggish performance the night before — a performance that made Flip Saunders question who and was not entitled to playing time.
Then that evil monster called the second quarter showed up and decided to spook the Wizards once again. This time, Josh Howard was the main target. Kirk Hinrich was in street clothes and probably getting text messages about the trade of he and Hilton Armstrong to the Atlanta Hawks, which meant that when Wall came out of the game with 8:52 left in the second quarter with the Wizards up 33-29, Howard had to play backup point guard for the second consecutive night.
“We fell behind and lost some of our confidence. We didn’t make plays, we didn’t make shots. Their guards got in the paint and destroyed us.” – Flip Saunders
On Wednesday night, the Wizards lost 109-97 to the Philadelphia 76ers, falling to 0-17 on the road. Despite Andre Iguodala’s absence and the entire Wizards roster being healthy for the first time, the script was familiar: 1) Washington keeps the game close until some point during the fourth quarter; 2) during a timeout huddle, the players collectively decide that “defense” is no longer as important as taking “contested, off-balance shots”; 3) Washington loses in a slow, plodding fashion, as the opposing team shoots free throws for the last three minutes of the game.
I tried something new last night: while drinking (not the new part), I attempted to chart each Wizards’ offensive possession. Though my notes deteriorated late in the fourth quarter as my IV of Knob Creek was nearly tapped out, there was some wisdom to be found in my possession tracking. The results of that sophomoric effort, and other random tidbits, in bullet form:
It’s not like these things just started happening. Andray Blatche missed that layup against the Bulls on December 22, said he was in one of the worst funks of his career, said it got his head messed up, and that mentally, he just wasn’t right. I hear him. I’ve played basketball before, plenty of times. Confidence is a huge part of the game. Maybe Andray needs a hug.
Blatche has also earnestly admited that trade rumors bother him. ‘Blatche in a funk, trying to clear his mind,’ said a Wizards Insider headline on Tuesday morning. A funk indeed. But really, and again, it’s not like these things just started happening with Blatche — been this way for years, it seems. Just now, at lesser levels of understanding. But hey, you do what you can do and try what you can try. In an unrelated but could be related matter, Blatche got a new pattern cut into the side of his head.
Due to Thanksgiving holiday travel, my pictures from the November 23 Wizards-76ers game are a bit tardy. But considering the Wizards have not won a game since, enduring two embarrassing blowouts in the process, reminiscing a thrilling victory could be a good remedy for Wizards fans. Enjoy.
The most dependable aspect of Nick Young’s game, perhaps, has become his 3-point shooting. No, he’s not knocking them down at a career-high rate (36.6-percent this season compared to 38-percent total in his first three NBA seasons; he shot 40.6-percent from deep last season), but he is taking them at a higher volume, so that certainly could take some getting used to for him. In his first threes seasons, Nick averaged 3.5 3PA per 36 minutes, making 1.3. This season he’s averaging 5.7 3PA per 36 minutes while making 2.1.
But the ultimate factor involving the higher-volume long-range Nick is that he’s shooting 48.6-percent from the field this season, a career-best by far. In NBA seasons 1-3 combined, Young shot 43.4-percent from the field. Nice improvement, I’d say.
The assists still aren’t there for him, he’s now averaging a career-worst 0.6 assists per 36 minutes (and that’s on top of an already horrendous career when it comes to passing). However, the turnovers aren’t there either. Up to this season, Young has averaged 1.97 turnovers per 36 minutes. This year he just has four turnovers in 258 total minutes (0.6 per 36 minutes). Wizards fans will take improvement from Young wherever they can get it, especially when he hits game winning bombs.
And to think, it all could have something to do with Nick’s lucky fox tail. Or not. Read more »
There was 3:31 left in the fourth quarter, the Philadelphia 76ers leading the Wizards 98-89, when Andre Iguodala threw a pass that was stolen by Kirk Hinrich. The ball eventually found its way into John Wall’s hands, who looked up, found JaVale McGee, and hit him with a perfect pass. McGee, as he does so well, took the ball strong to the hole, and dunked it with authority on Elton Brand, who was late in his rotation.
Unfortunately for the Sixers, not only was Brand late rotating, but he was forced to foul, and foul hard — so hard in fact that McGee violently crashed to the ground and immediately grabbed his back in agony. The referee wasted no time whistling Brand for a type two flagrant foul, which meant an automatic ejection from the game. McGee, even as he was still on the ground in pain, managed to taunt the departing Sixer by waving goodbye to him as he left the court.
The flagrant served as a turning point in the game, as the Wizards outscored the Sixers 15-8 after that, and eventually won in overtime 116-114. When asked if that was indeed the turning point, Sixers coach Doug Collins vehemently disagreed: Read more »
Across The ESPN TrueHoop Network