On January 28, Bradley Beal struggled in a home game against the Sacramento Kings. He played 24 minutes and went 2-for-6 from the field. His sprained wrist was bothering him, a lot. After that night, Beal missed the next five games while recovering from injury.
Jordan Crawford was given a chance to step up against Sacramento, and in the subsequent thee-game road trip: Philadelphia, Memphis and San Antonio. Instead, the Wizards lost all four games (in which Garrett Temple started at the 2, not Jordan Crawford). During the losing streak, Crawford played 73 total minutes, went 8-for-27 from the field, 2-for-9 from beyond the arc, and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. He scored 21 total points, dished out four assists, and committed seven turnovers.
Now, Jordan Crawford is a Washington Wizards outcast. How did it happen so fast?
Crawford played extremely limited minutes in the two games after the Wizards returned to D.C. from San Antonio—five minutes in a win over the Clippers and six minutes in a win over the Knicks. He didn’t play at all in a February 8 home win over Brooklyn nor in a subsequent road win in Milwaukee. He couldn’t even get off the bench during a pitiful pre-All-Star break loss in Detroit, when the Wizards desperately needed scoring. And Crawford certainly didn’t play in the first game post-break, a pitiful loss against the Raptors at home. Didn’t act like he wanted to play.
DeAndre Jordan’s bricked free throw versus the Lakers last Thursday night caused the following reactions from current and former members of the Wizards:
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Fountain at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: Adam McGinnis
Um, Jordan? [via instagram/jcs_stelo]
Links.
SLAM writer and longtime Wizards fan, Abe Schwadron, had a great interview with Jordan Crawford two weeks ago. The answers on candy got most of the attention, but there’s also this tidbit about Crawford returning home to Detroit. Read more »
Watching the Wizards is different now. OK, it’s only halftime, but they are up 20 on the Nets, 51-31. And per the previous post, the stats are different, better… with certain player combinations (but mostly thanks to John Wall). Several players need to step it up. Otherwise, watching the Wizards is like a Brazilian rug-pulling dance now. Or whatever it was that Nene did to Brook Lopez to make him travel. GIF away.
The Wizards beat the Clippers, 98-90, on Monday night. This is your reaction…
Closing Time.
The proverbial set-up: ‘So Randy, how about those Clippers and injuries…?’ (L.A. played without Chris Paul, knee bruise, and Blake Griffin, hamstring strain.)
M.V.P.
Where would the Wizards be without Martell Webster? That was the first question I asked myself after the game. Washington made seven of their 12 measured 3-point attempts. Well, mostly measured. Jordan Crawford chucked up an ill-advised 3 with 7:18 left in the second quarter that got him benched for the rest of the game, but that’s another story. Webster was the star of this night with a team-high 21 points on 5-for-6 from deep. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season, and to that he added five rebounds, three assists and zero turnovers. The Wizards have long been desperate for shooters. And they knew Webster could shoot, but did they expect this?
[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. 41, Washington Wizards vs Minnesota Timberwolves; contributors: Rashad Mobley and John Converse Townsend from the Verizon Center, with Kyle Weidie from behind the television screen.]
It’s as if everything was set up just so that Steve Buckhantz could “Amen” Jordan Crawford… bless him. And that’s exactly what happened in the post-game after Steezus dropped the gift (and GIFs) of a buzzer-beating road win against Portland.
First, you had Crawford scoring 10 points over the first five and a half minutes of the fourth quarter (he had zero in 10 minutes of run entering the period). Then he missed a layup… and then a 3-pointer. Mike Prada of Bullets Forever tweeted: “There’s no rule that says you have to keep in the guy who scored 10 points earlier in the quarter. I would take Crawford out.”
And surely not many could argue. Especially after Crawford was the one responsible for giving Wes Matthews a good look from deep to tie the game at 95 with eight seconds left. And with a chance to win, the Wizards originally looked to get the ball to Nene in the post, it seemed, but the Blazers clogged up the play, had a foul to give and used it.
With just over three seconds left after the stoppage, there was no time to chuck the ball to Brazil in the post. Instead, this happened from Detroit:
Yes, we are all too familiar with Blake Griffin flops (save for petulant Lakers-cum-Clippers fans and other offending defenders). He’s funny in commercials (I genuinely like his KIA spots), he dunks really well, he usually can’t hit a free throw, and Blake Griffin sometimes plays a style of basketball that you would rather referees dishonor than honor. But, stars get calls. Also all too familiar. In this instance, Nene was called for a foul. But will Blake get fined for a flop? Or will the league deem the faux motion acceptable under the threat of assault?
[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. 37, Washington Wizards at Denver Nuggets; contributor: Kyle Weidie, Adam McGinnis and John Converse Townsend from behind the television screen.]
