Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls are in town tonight to face the Wizards. Scroll down for a couple pre-game photos and keep going for some must-read links.
Al Thornton and Quinton Ross getting to know each other.
Time for a win folks. I’ll be on ESPN’s Daily Dime Live around game time to discuss. Got a good feeling about this one.
The Wizards don’t want to be number one with seven
If the Wiz lose by four points or less again, they’ll surpass the 76-77 Suns with the most consecutive losses within that margin. The spread is Golden State by 2.5.
The Suns’ first loss in their streak came against the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 19th, 1977. Their seventh game on March 4th came, ironically enough, against the Warriors. The Suns didn’t lose to Golden State by four or less, they lost to them by five, 101-87. In fact, the Suns ended up losing 12 total before winning again.
Big game between the Wizards and Celtics on TNT tonight … read below the picture of the patch on the Wizards’ jerseys honoring Abe Pollin for what you need to know.
Andray Blatche vs. Kevin Garnett
Talked to Andray Blatche a little before the game about the recent long, “Back To Basics” practices the Wizards have had (that’s a pic of ‘Dray’s jersey above). He said that Flip mostly focused on his desire for the team to get out and run, and to find more tempo in their game.
I asked him what the team needed to do about setting better screens. He said, “Need to get up on them … BAM! Lay the wood on them,” and then proceeded to let assistant coach Randy Wittman know about his enthusiasm for setting screens.
I then asked him about Garnett, who he looked up to growing up … and a couple times when they’ve met, Garnett has given him no slack with the trash talk (like K.G. is apt to do with opposing players).
{video: Arenas & Jamison on the Wizards’ struggles and facing Eddie Jordan and the Sixers}
As you are aware, team owner Abe Pollin passed away today, which certainly sets a different tone on reporting about the game. Sad that the man had to die amidst his team’s 3-9 record and perceived bickering among the players. A ton of people spoke about Mr. Pollin before the game (including Wes Unseld, Phil Chenier, Eddie Jordan, Ernie Grunfeld, and obviously the players). I’ll have more on Mr. Pollin’s passing later.
DeShawn Stevenson described the feeling around the locker room as a state of shock, but the mood is still to go out, play to win, and play with respect.
Andray Blatche dedicated this game and the rest of the season to Mr. Pollin. “Whatever is holding us back, we gotta get over it for him,” he said.
The previous storyline of tonight’s game was the return of old coach Eddie Jordan, exactly a year to the day that Jordan was fired after handing out Thanksgiving turkeys to the needy at a team sponsored event.
Tonight, at a team sponsored event after the game, the currently injured Mike Miller is scheduled to hand out turkeys in conjunction with the Wizards Care community organization.
Spoke with DeShawn about Jordan before the game. He said their relationship was cool because Eddie gave him an opportunity to start. Stevenson said he had no problem even though some of his teammates do.
Andray Blatche, on the other hand, said, “Eddie Jordan is not in his mindset right now,” but did express that he’d probably work a bit harder with his old coach in the house.
Michael Lee of the WaPost has more on Jordan’s return via Wizards Insider and via Wizards Outlet, Mike Jones of the WaTimes reports on Jordan’s surprise at the Wizards’ struggles.
The Wizards play the Thunder at 8 pm tonight in Oklahoma City. I’ll be Twittering and perhaps chatting a bit on ESPN’s Daily Dime.
We’ll see if the Wiz have the consistency, energy and focus it takes to win. Word out of Oklahoma is that the Thunder practiced their zone offense at shoot-around today.
Watch out for that Thabo Sefolosha cat. His on-ball defense is something to get excited about … when not playing the Wizards, obviously. It won’t be easy for Mike Miller or Caron Butler, whomever Thabo is guarding. That means … no dribbling around and trying to force things, Caron.
Brendan Haywood will also being going against his old buddy, Etan ‘The Poet’ Thomas. Wizards Insider has more on the game’s matchup.
Finally, it’s Zero vs. Zero tonight, as my fellow ESPN TrueHoop Network blog, Daily Thunder, points out. Russell Westbrook vs. Gilbert Arenas … hopefully it will be fun to watch (and Gil’s not throwing up stink bombs from deep).
I’ll be reporting from the game tonight with a Live Twitter Blog (hopefully, if the wordpress plugin works), and will also be checking in on ESPN.com’s Daily Dime chat. Until then, here’s what you need to know …
(and oh yea, GO WIZARDS!)
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“It will take a little while to blend together, but I think the guys are looking forward to playing a good team with the best player in the league, and it’s always a very exciting game when these two teams meet.” -Flip Saunders
The Wizards are in Miami tonight for a rematch with Dwyane Wade and the rest of whomever he plays with.
The sense of urgency is elevated. Yea, yea … it’s early. But considering where things stand, tonight’s game and how the Wizards respond to their self-induced and injury-induced adversity is much more important at a record of 2-5 than if the Wizards were, say, 4-3 and still learning how to play with each other.
Reporting today from the Verizon Center for a 1 pm start between the Wizards and the Suns. So … I’ll be missing out on the Redskins-Falcons game … not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Considering I’m a Wizards fan first and foremost (and the Redskins are likely to lose), it’s probably a good thing. However, confidence in this Wizards team is a bit waning right now. How they respond after a horrid, horrid effort in Indiana will be extremely key.
Things you need to know:
The last time the Wizards beat the Suns was on December 22, 2006 in Phoenix — the night that Gilbert Arenas put up 54 points.
Randy Foye and Fabrico Oberto will start today … along with Arenas, Butler and Haywood.
In reference to Foye, Saunders said he was looking for “offensive consistency”, i.e., what Nick Young does not provide.
Before the game Saunders said Oberto is an excellent pick-and-roll defender — so, it will be interesting to see if Fab matches up against Amar’e Stoudemire while Haywood chases the 3-point shooting Channing Frye around the perimeter.
ENERGY! – The Wizards need a heavy dose of it. When I asked Flip how, aside from Antawn Jamison speeches/tirades, this team gets themselves going today, he essentially said, “We’ll have to wait and see.” He went on to express concern about this being an afternoon game saying that NBA players always have trouble with day games where they have to wake up and play without the normal routine.
Gilbert Arenas surpassed 10,000 career points against the Pacers — Today, DeShawn Stevenson needs two points to surpass 5,000 career points.
In terms of Caron Butler’s game against Indy (24 points, 8-21 FGs) where he seemed more aggressive, but not particularly effective, Saunders was asked if that was the “balance” he was looking for out of Tuff Juice. Flip simply answered, “I didn’t like anything I saw on Friday night.”
The Suns are 5-1, beating the T-Wolves and Warriors at home and the Clippers, Heat, and Celtics on the road. Their one loss was at the hands of the Magic in Orlando.
Final Quote, Flip on Friday’s Pacers game: “I was searching, I was searching for a lot of things. Couldn’t find anything, but I was searching.”
That’s about all I got … I’m going to go to the media room and refill my soda and then get ready to watch the Gilbert Arenas and Steve Nash show.
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