Pre-Game Post

D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Raptors, Game 30

►Adam McGinnis | Jan 3, 2014

Before the season began, progncastinators pegged Miami, Indiana, Chicago, and Brooklyn as the top four teams in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers and the Heat remain in the top two, but...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Mavericks, Game 29

►Kyle Weidie | Jan 1, 2014

On New Year’s Day 2013, these Wizards were getting set to face these same Dallas Mavericks. That evening, the Mavericks won, pushing their record to 13-19 over the 4-25 Wizards. Dallas...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Pistons, Game 28

►Kyle Weidie | Dec 30, 2013

The last game of 2013 is upon us. A Wizards win gives them an even 14-14 record to end the year. From January to April, 2013—the tail end of the 2012-13...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Pistons, Game 27

►Kyle Weidie | Dec 28, 2013

The Detroit Pistons, a team that’s had Washington’s number over the past two seasons, comes to the District tonight. The two squads have not faced off since opening night in Detroit....
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Timberwolves, Game 26

►Kyle Weidie | Dec 27, 2013

Technically, this is not the end of a four-game road trip for the Wizards. They took a two-game road trip to Manhattan and Brooklyn, flew home; then took a one-game road trip...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Celtics, Game 25

►Kyle Weidie | Dec 21, 2013

The Wizards last visited Boston on April 7, 2013, and Jordan Crawford was already there waiting for them. He saw 16 minutes off the bench in a 107-96 Celtics win and...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Nets, Game 24

►Adam McGinnis | Dec 18, 2013

The Washington Wizards travel from Manhattan to Brooklyn to square off versus the Nets in the second game of their New York City road trip tonight. Washington pulled off a miraculous win...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Knicks, Game 23

►Conor Dirks | Dec 16, 2013

What better way to shake off three close losses than to lose by 16 points? The “but injuries,” “but first half,” and “but bench” crowds all looked around at each other, not...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Clippers, Game 22

►Sean Fagan | Dec 14, 2013

When last we left our heroes … last night … oh man … OK. We last left our heroes after another excruciating late-game loss, this time at the hands of the...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Hawks, Game 21

►Kyle Weidie | Dec 13, 2013

Tonight, the Wizards embark on a journey in which six out of their eight games to close out 2014 will be on the road. Tonight, the Hawks seek revenge … or...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Nuggets, Game 20

►Conor Dirks | Dec 9, 2013

When last I (dis)graced the pages of these opening statements, before last week’s game against the Orlando Magic, I hoped that the subject would change, and that TAI staff and readers...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Bucks, Game 19

►Kyle Weidie | Dec 6, 2013

Welp, the 3-15 Milwaukee Bucks… Welp is about all you can say. Empathy between Bucks and Wizards fans should certainly be a two-way street. Unfortunately, Washington is now under a much...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Magic, Game 18

►Conor Dirks | Dec 2, 2013

“Effective magic is transcendent nature,” wrote George Eliot in her novel Middlemarch. And this applies to the Wizards tonight, as they, for the first time in what seems like ages, look...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Hawks, Game 17

►Kyle Weidie | Nov 30, 2013

The last time the Wizards had an away/home back-to-back set, they lost to the Raptors in Toronto but came back to D.C. to beat the Lakers on the next night. The...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Pacers, Game 16

►Kyle Weidie | Nov 29, 2013

The Wizards, winners of five of the last six games, take on the NBA’s-bes Pacers a day after feasting on Thanksgiving vittles at Al Harrington’s mom’s house in Indiana. The Pacers are 14-1,...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Bucks, Game 15

►Adam McGinnis | Nov 27, 2013

In my season preview of Garrett Temple, I described a potential doomsday scenario: He is a high-character guy who is a positive influence on teammates. Plus, his ability to defend multiple...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Lakers, Game 14

►Rashad Mobley | Nov 25, 2013

Last December when the Los Angeles Lakers came to the Verizon Center, Kobe was healthy (and shot 9-for-29), Dwight Howard was struggling as a one-year rental in L.A., Pau Gasol was hurt,...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Knicks, Game 13

►Conor Dirks | Nov 23, 2013

Here, then, come the Knickerbockers. Somehow, this group has been more disappointing than the Wizards. But that’s like saying they jumped from the higher window. “Blessed is he who expects nothing,...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Raptors, Game 12

►Kyle Weidie | Nov 22, 2013

The Wizards begin another back-to-back set tonight, north of the border. They will face the Raptors in Toronto on Friday evening before returning to the District to face the reeling...
D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards at Cavaliers, Game 11

►Conor Dirks | Nov 20, 2013

Cavaliers were once poets. 17th century courtier poets like Ben Jonson. This is not where I compare anything that any basketball player does, including Kyrie Irving, to the poetry of...