Pre-Game Post
-
Opening Statements: Wizards at Raptors, Game 5
►Troy Haliburton | Apr 25, 2018
The Toronto Raptors appeared to have control of the series after exorcising their opening-game playoff demons and then following that up with a dominating display in Game 2. Toronto did what...
-
TAI Roundtable: Wizards vs. Raptors — Round 1 Playoff Series Preview
►Rashad Mobley | Apr 14, 2018
It’s been quite a mercurial week for the playoff-bound Wizards. Last Friday they laid an egg, without John Wall, against the Atlanta Hawks. Scott Brooks called his team selfish, but they...
-
Opening Statements 1: Wizards vs Sixers: The Regular Season Is Here
►Rashad Mobley | Oct 18, 2017
The regular season is finally here. Gone are truncated minutes for starters, lukewarm receptions from smaller-than-normal crowds, and experimental lineups from coaches. Those necessary preseason-isms will now be...
-
TAI Roundtable: Wizards vs. Celtics — Round 2 Playoff Series Preview
►Adam Rubin | Apr 30, 2017
Despite all the last-minute jockeying between Cleveland and Boston for the No. 1 seed, it feels like the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards were always destined to play each other in...
-
Where, Oh Where, Have The Tough Wizards Gone?
►Kyle Weidie | Mar 22, 2017
The Wizards have lost four of five games and since the All-Star break they are a measly 8-6. Remember that 2-8 start now? Still, this is a different team, even if...
-
Opening Statements 57: Wizards vs. Jazz
►Kyle Weidie | Feb 26, 2017
Utah arrives in Washington equaling the Wizards in the loss column (22), but two up in the win column (36 to 34). The Jazz have won two in a row and...
-
Opening Statements 53: Wizards vs Pacers — Buckle Up, Again
►Kyle Weidie | Feb 10, 2017
As soon as you thought the Wizards were immune to Wizardry, they Wizard-ed. They went to overtime with the Brooklyn Nets — worst team in the league, losers now of 11...
-
Opening Statements 40: Wizards vs Trail Blazers
►Kyle Weidie | Jan 16, 2017
The Washington Wizards, I can’t say, have had a true turning point this season (yet). But I can tell you around when they stopped feeling too sorry for themselves to put...
-
Opening Statements 37: Wizards vs Bulls — Washington’s Muddy Identity No Clearer After Bucks Win
►Conor Dirks | Jan 10, 2017
Teams: Wizards vs. Bulls Time: 7:00 p.m. ET Venue: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Television: CSN Radio: 1500 AM, WLS-AM 890 Spread: Wizards fav’d by 10.5 points With the Wizards back to .500 (18-18) for the second time...
-
Opening Statements 31: Wizards vs Pacers — 2 Lumps of Coal and 2 Gifts
►Kyle Weidie | Dec 28, 2016
The Washington Wizards host the Indiana Pacers tonight for the second of four meetings this season. The first, you’ll recall like a dagger full of air, happened nine days ago in Indiana...
-
Opening Statements 29: Wizards at Bucks — Another Chance for a Statement Game
►Rashad Mobley | Dec 23, 2016
Earlier this week on his “Locked on Wizards” podcast, Ben Standig (@BenStandig) spoke with TNT and NBA TV basketball insider David Aldridge about all things Washington Wizards. Aldridge spoke about possible...
-
Opening Statements 25: Wizards vs Pistons
►Troy Haliburton | Dec 16, 2016
What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger. Those are the words of George R.R. Martin, author of the Game of Thrones series. When he penned those words,...
-
Opening Statements 24: Wizards vs Hornets — Running in Place
►Rashad Mobley | Dec 14, 2016
Prior to the Wizards’ 112-101 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday night, the ‘Wizards are on the road to recovery’ narrative was shaping up quite nicely. After a bad home...
-
Opening Statements 22: Wizards vs Bucks — Grunfeld’s Ex vs His Present Day
►Kyle Weidie | Dec 10, 2016
The 11-10 Milwaukee Bucks visit D.C. on Saturday night holding down the 7-seed in the East with 75 percent of the season left, while the 8-13 Wizards rank 12th in the...
-
Opening Statements 21: Wizards vs Nuggets — Extinction Grade Wizard
►Conor Dirks | Dec 8, 2016
If you are reading this blog, you’re still alive. Good. Despite winnowing numbers in attendance (lowest for the team since 2000), there are still people out there who care about the Washington Wizards. And...
-
Opening Statements 20: Wizards vs Magic — Are Washington’s Starters Playing Too Much?
►Kyle Weidie | Dec 6, 2016
Washington’s starting lineup of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Markieff Morris, and Marcin Gortat averages 20.3 minutes on the court together per game, which ranks second most in the NBA...
-
Opening Statements 19: Wizards at Nets — Trap Game? No Such Thing for Washington
►Kyle Weidie | Dec 5, 2016
The Brooklyn Nets can be as bad as they want to be and it doesn’t matter. Because of the bridge-to-nowhere to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in July 2013, the...
-
Opening Statements 18: Wizards at Spurs — When Star Power Is Wasted
►John Converse Townsend | Dec 2, 2016
So, these Washington Wizards have a star power problem. Perhaps that’s somewhat obvious, given every Wiz fan—and their mother—knows that the team has failed to win 50 games since the ’70s....
-
Opening Statements 17: Wizards at Thunder — Remains of the Gambit
►Conor Dirks | Nov 30, 2016
Prior to the disappointing 2015-16 season, the Wizards hired David Adkins, an assistant for the University of Maryland women’s basketball team, as a player development assistant. On the surface, it was (as...
-
Opening Statements 15: Wizards vs Spurs — Brooks on Mahinmi’s Debut & Pre-Game Pops
►Kyle Weidie | Nov 26, 2016
The Wizards still have not beaten the Spurs in San Antonio since 1999, but tonight they have a chance to make it three wins in a row at home versus the...
-
Opening Statements 14: Wizards at Magic — Thanksgiving Stuffed
►Kyle Weidie | Nov 25, 2016
The Ramblin’ Washington Wizards are back in post-Thanksgiving action. This time against the Magic in Orlando, after three days off. I’m going to go ahead and call it: this is a...
-
Opening Statements 13: Wizards vs Suns — 99 Problems and Bench is Just One
►Kyle Weidie | Nov 21, 2016
Washington’s retooled bench has been a resounding failure so far this season (still the worse in the league according to HoopStats.com). But as more games pass, it becomes clear that incapability...
-
Opening Statements 12: Wizards vs. Heat
►Troy Haliburton | Nov 19, 2016
For one night, a “little Polish Wizards fan” was able to bask in the euphoria that is sports fanaticism, even though I’m sure that there is a much higher percentage of...
-
Opening Statements 11: Wizards vs Knicks — Zingis Khan Comes A-Knockin’
►John Converse Townsend | Nov 17, 2016
“The Wizards are crumbling.” “Bench is a disaster.” “Marcus Thornton stinks.” “Something smells rotten to me.” All of these things have been said about this year’s Washington Wizards. They were said...
-
Opening Statements 10: Wizards at Sixers — The Battle for I-95
►Conor Dirks | Nov 16, 2016
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It’s rarely supposed to be like this. Mired in a swampy 2-7 start, with quality wins over Atlanta and Boston but nothing else to...
