Sacrifices. I wasn’t able to catch the Wizards-Clippers game in any form last night, well….. (my boy Shamus Serpico became the age of 28 the same day as our Tuff Juice…..unlike TJ, we are all working stiffs and must do our actual celebrating on the weekend, thus, Saturday night dinner)……the “form” in which I’m going to attempt to catch the game is via a practice in web surfing.
Ok, I do know the final score. Being a fan, I was obliged to check game updates on my phone. I also know there was an overtime thanks to Antawn Jamison’s 3 free-throws to send it there, thanks to my boy D-Mac…..the man behind the production of Wizards and Caps games on 980 AM.
Check one: Bullets Forever
If there’s ever been a game before now where a team has played for exactly 5 minutes and 10 seconds and still managed to win the game, I sure haven’t seen it.
Ok…..well, the Wizards have a historical habit of playing down to their opponent’s level. I can understand this happening, especially with Caron back…..still trying to sync up.
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Big News of the Night
Mo ‘The Wizard Killer’ Williams will not be seeing action. Mo from Mississippi dropped 13 points, 3 assists in a January 4th Washington rout and 25 and 5 (along with 6 turnovers) in a January 27th Milwaukee Bucks overtime victory. Mo Williams had 8 of his 25 and 1 assist in the final 1:19 to lead his team to victory. So, as goes Mo, so go the Bucks. I shouldn’t even have to mention the history. But why is Williams out? The reports on ESPN say pubic symphysitis…..yikes, that doesn’t sound fun at all; the life of an NBA player takes a toll on the crotch region I suppose.
Eddie Jordan recognized the exhaustion of his team against Charlotte on Saturday. The Wizards have had two days rest, at home. Not doubt that I’m taking the Wiz to run away with this one. I’m giving the 6.5 and taking over the 202.
1/4
9:01 – Brendan Todd Haywood with some cherry picking and a dunk.
What I like to see DeShawn doing: Driving to the hoop, attracting defense, and dishing to Brendan Haywood…….instead of throwing up a junker from outside.
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Still wondering about the injuries of Gilbert or Caron? DC Pro Sports Report has your back.
Caron’s hip deal is a funny thing….even he doesn’t know when he’s better. The possibility of an aggravation, this being an odd injury; I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind. All I can say is that I feel for ya Tuff Juice. Take as much time as you want as I can only imagine what it’s like trying to gain confidence with hip issues.
Gilbert…..pretty much the same to you. Knee injuries are far more common than those of the hip. So, you can rest a little more assured knowing that you’re not alone. Hey, even I am with you. I had microfracture surgery in late December ’07, and blogged about my experience once, then twice….but never followed up (unfortunately, similar to my dedication to physical therapy). One day.
Point is, Arenas is going through the confidence thing just as Caron. Whatcha gonna do?
Back to the current Wizards: It’s snowing in Toronto. The Pradamaster is a busy guy. DC Pro Sports goes into enemy territory. And I had my preview, so you’re covered.
So let’s start the show….
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Yes, it was not pretty the last time DC took a visit to Toronto. Game 44 against the Raptors was the worst loss of the season for the Wizards….to date. 122-83 was the final. The Raps were up 10-0 in the game before I knew it; from there, they didn’t look back, aided by a 21-5 2nd quarter run.
In the previous Wizards game (#43) against the Raptors, which happened to be at home in DC the night before the above game, we were treated to this quote by Steve Buckhantz, except much louder: “Noooo!!!! It’s not possible!!!!!”
Why? Well, just watch below:
Hey, at least the Wiz won that one, thus, preventing horrible, horrible nightmares about the Raptors for the rest of my life. This clip expands on the reasoning.
Before that, the Wiz beat a Chris Bosh-less Raptors in game 17.
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…and how.
- First of all, a win tonight would allow the Washington Wizards to climb back to 5-hunny. The loss to the San Antonio Spurs back on February 6th put the Wiz at the even mark, and they haven’t been at the water line since.
- This fact is pointed out on Wizards Insider, along with the fact that the Magic played a tough game against the Toronto Raptors last night. But does catching a team on the second night of a back-to-back really matter at this point of the season? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t…..but…..
- What matters more to me is that the Wizards have had the chance to rest on Monday and Tuesday.
Brendan Todd versus Dwight David
In their first matchup of the season, game 3 (the DC home opener) when the Wiz were still funkin’ around, Haywood pulled down 16 rebounds along with 10 points, 5 blocks, and 5 personal fouls. Young Dwight had 15 boards, 17 points, 3 blocks and 4 fouls. But Turkey-Gloo could not be stopped as he dropped 25 on the Wiz, leading the Magic to a 94-82 victory, as the Wizards played a “disconnected” 4th quarter.
BTH held his own…and actually negated….the efforts of Dwight D. Howard on that night; he needs to do the same tonight.
And ironically, that’s the only time the Washington Wizards have faced their division rival Orlando Magic this season. Tonight’s game blog will be on Bullets Forever, a link is forthcoming (which is here – the Live Wizards Game 60 Blog on Bullets Forever). That being said, I leave you and Dwight Howard with this picture of your friend, my friend, our friend…..Buddy Jesus.
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Back in the country, but taking more flights to more places, I was unable to catch the Wizards-Hornets rematch live or on TV. Thankfully, my friend Chris the Hockey Fan picked up the coverage again:
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They stopped the bleeding a little bit on Friday but this team is still free falling and needs to get some wins in a hurry if they are going to keep their sixth spot in the playoffs.
Missed the first half due to an early start and the fact that the game is on Comcast plus. I did catch the end of the first half in which the Wizards stretched their lead to thirteen with some great shooting that included back to back 3’s by Pecherov.
Jamison is leading the Wizards in scoring with 13 but watching DeShawn Stevenson to see if his big night on Friday is the sign of things to come down the stretch.
3rd Quarter
With the Caps home on Monday night I’m wondering if Ovie is taking in the game tonight with his Russian internet girlfriend.
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Is he in or is he out (for the season)…..what exactly is going on with Caron Butler?
At this point of the season, we can all say that we’d rather Butler heal 100% before returning to the court.
My question is: What the hell is going on with the team medical staff?
MRI #1 says strain. MRI #2 says tear. (yea, yea…that could’ve happened when Tuff Juice tried to come back) The next order: a reevaluation, of course. The franchise is mum on the whole thing because of “policy.”
Today’s Ivan Carter story in the Washington Post gives us hope that Caron might return this season. As Bullets Forever points out, the Times is not covering the latest. Maybe they don’t have a source, maybe they’re waiting for something official.
I had a conversation with a friend a while back about the medical staff for the Washington Wizards. I would call this friend a former team source. And this conversation took place back in mid, late-October…..way before the Caron Butler fiasco (per se) and pertaining to Gilbert’s 2nd time around knee issues. In any case, his assessment was less than complimentary. At the time, I didn’t think much of it….but now……
Hey, who knows? I’m sure they are all professionals who want to do their job to the best of their ability. But let’s just say that factoring in this recent history, the medical staff of the Washington Wizards is less than top notch. Of course, we could just wash our hands of this whole thing and scream Curse O’ Les Boulez until our lungs are sore.
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Ok…..coming at you after a disappointing loss to the Cavs d league team the other night. It has been a tough run for the Wizards as of late. Let’s see if they can bounce back against the Bobcats.
Ill confess that the beginning of this game is not getting my undivided attention. The Caps are locked up with the Carolina Hurricanes right now in what goaltender Olie Kolzig described this morning as “the most important game of the year.” Right now it’s the 3rd period and we are down 5-3.
Damn….make that 6-3. Looks like Ill be going to a pretty important game tomorrow against the Flyers, the Caps need a win.
1st Quarter 7:23
Cha 13 Wiz 15
Blatche looks like he came to play today, which is a good sign for this team. He needs to get tough quick if he wants to get real minutes down the stretch.
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So this is the second night of the ghostwriting (Chris stepped in on Tuesday to cover the loss to the Knicks) and I am excited to get a chance to share my thoughts with everyone.
The Cavs are playing their first game since the 11 player 3 team deal that brought Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West to Cleveland.
Right out of the gate we’re struggling w/o Caron, poor shooting and a few turnovers.
Caron is sorely missed, but the last thing I want to do is rush him back from that hip flexor injury. I had a buddy in college with the exact same injury, and he had to get surgery and miss an entire season b/c he tried to rush back onto the court after that injury.
Despite the poor shooting, we are tied at 9 with 6:22 left in the 1st
DeShawn is no match for LBJ. James just drained a trey ball in his eye.
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Truth is down in Argentina ‘seeing about a girl’ so I’m taking the reigns tonight. First things first I should preempt this post by saying I’m a die hard hockey fan and casual NBA fan. To prove this point I’m tuning in late in the 3rd quarter to watch this to the end.
My bad Truth, this late start won’t happen again.
3rd Quarter 5:00 min. left
NY 61 Wiz 66
They just mentioned that this is the 60th anniversary of the Harlem Globetrotters beating the Lakers…..I can’t imagine this feat ever happening again.
David Lee with a nice steal and awkward dribble down the floor. He’s then fouled and blows the dunk, misses the free throw, gets rebound, turns it over, gets it back and dishes to Jones who misses the dunk. My first thought is that we cannot lose to this team.
The Wizards have limped into the second half but it looks like they are getting Arenas and Thomas back soon. The question is…How does Eddie Jordan ease these guys back into the mix?
2:43 NY 62 Wiz 70
Nate Robinson drives and is fouled. Nasty Nate doesn’t get enough credit for his performance in the dunk contest a few years ago….
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Wizards Insider reported that Caron Butler will probably sit out the NBA All-Star game. And Comcast SportsNite did, indeed, just report that Caron won’t play in the NOLA. Good. For selfish reasons, I’d rather him not play because I’ll be on a plane during the NBA All-Star game and I want to be able to see Tuff Juice play when he really shows out on the big stage…..after all, he was 1-7 with 2 points last year. But really, the rest will be good for him. He will be revitalized and motivated for the post-break. Plus, snub amends can be made with a replacement. It should be Hedo Turkoglu.
Onto tonight’s game, I’m excited about it. This team, despite 6, 7 game losing streaks, did come out to play in the last two games against two very good Western Conference teams. Yea, it didn’t turn out how we would like. The Wiz made some bonehead mistakes, but I recognize the effort. I’d say about 20 other NBA teams, if faced with a similar situation, would have folded.
Should the Wizards get mad and pick a fight? [SVP Style]
ME: Of course I would like someone to bust Stephen Jackson straight in the jaw, especially for something like this. But I like this Wizards team not trying to act like the Warriors; their bitching and moaning during that game was a little too much.
Did Eddie have nothin’ left or was his team not listening? [My Swog Is Phenomenal]
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Pre-Wizards-Suns Game, UNC vs. Clemson
The end of the 1st overtime in the Clemson-North Carolina game: With about 1.2 seconds left, game tied, the TarHeels tried to float a pass from a side-out on the opponent’s side of the half-court line. Clemson got a steal under the UNC basket and the Tiger player threw the ball to the other end, a shot attempt. Now, I’m not sure if he got the shot off on time…..they didn’t show a replay. But the referee, upon seeing that the ball was falling short of the basket, snatched it off the first bounce.
I know this about the game of basketball: If a shot, or rebound, goes off someone from the defending team and into the basket, it counts. I’ll go on to assume that if the ball bounces off the floor hard enough and by chance goes into a basket, that counts for points as well. So, what’s to keep me from thinking that a shot taken from the opposite basket, which leaves a player’s hand before the buzzer, and is not touched by any other player on the court, should count if it bounces off the floor and through the net?
Basically, should the referee have caught that ball?
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On to the Wizards game….if you want a preview, head to Bullets Forever, or check out my Wizards Rundown.
1st Quarter
- No Gilbert of course, no Caron, no Antonio.
- DeShawn Stevenson’s left knee is swollen, but he’s still playing.
- 11:38 – Jamison nails the first points for the Wizards, a long 2 from the right wing. I’m thinking potential 40+ point game for him.
- 10:59 – Andray Blatche makes a confident baseline drive against the porous Phoenix D. The result is an assist for AB to Brendan Haywood.
- 10:05 – Haywood needs to step up or Jamison needs get through the screen. Either way, the Wizards can’t just give Grant Hill open jumpers. 4-4 game.
- Suns get a couple easies, Eddie calls timeout down 8-4, under 9:00.
- 10:21 – I guess we’re living with the outside jumpers from Amare Stoudamire?
- 7:38- Comcast is struggling with their coverage…missed a Suns fast-break point earlier and randomly threw the Wizards logo on the screen during a made Haywood jumper.
- The game is getting sloppy for the Wizards, a couple turnovers, a foul on a Suns fast-break….17-8 Phoenix lead. Amare Stoudamire set a pick that clocked Roger Mason coming down the court one time…..the Wizards need to raise their defensive awareness.
- Andray Blatche has been active in multiple areas: deflecting passes, hitting the offensive boards, looking for teammates.
- The Wizards are doing a fair job on defense as the Suns go a stretch of over 3 minutes without scoring, 4 minutes between FGs, both by Amare Stoudamire. 3:33 left, Suns up 17-14.
- But the spacing and patience for Washington on offense looks off on a couple possessions.
- 2:56 – Jamison rebound put-back…..he also has the potential to make Phoenix pay with his effort on the boards. 2 offensive, 4 total rebounds already. 19-16 Suns.
- The Wizards are scraping and keeping the packed house quiet. Game tied at 21 after a long Nick Young jumper, 1:40 left – 13-4 Washington run in last 5 minutes
- Phoenix scores the next 6 points to finish off the first 12 minutes, 27-21 Suns.
- DeShawn Stevenson limps to the bench. I mean really….what’s next?
- The Suns are shooting 57.1% while the Wizards are at 34.6%.
- Phoenix has only taken 3 three-pointers, making 1.
- The Wizards need to keep hitting the boards hard, 5 offensive rebounds so far.
- Eddie Jordan tells ESPN he wants Nick Young to be aggressive in the open floor. Let’s see if he complies.
- It would help if Brendan Haywood guarded Amare Stoudamire, he’s 6-6 with 13 points.
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Well, none of us were surprised that Caron Butler sat out last night. No word on his status for the 4 game west coast trip. Tony Longoria Parker was not in the lineup as he is out for about 3 weeks with a heel. By now, we all know the outcome, so let me provide this video of Big Tigger dunking before I get to the game notes.
Uhhh….enjoy?
I must say, a much better effort than those idiot fans who were trying to jump off of one leg during the Laker game.
I saw it live and there was nothing exciting about this game at all….and the outcome, well, it was expected. Now, I will say that in my opinion, the Wizards played a decent bit better in last night’s 5th loss in a row than they did in the previous four.
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“Super”, it’s Tuesday.
The Wizards need this win tonight….but you already knew that.
The next 6:
@ Philly
vs. Spurs
@ Denver
@ Phoenix
@ Golden State
@ LA Clippers
Ivan Carter on Wizards Insider wonders what the fan prediction will be for these six.
I would be very happy with 3-3. After more consideration, even going .500 seems to be a little auspicious.
The Nuggets, Suns and Warriors are all very hot right now…..a combined 22-8 in the last 10 games for each team. The 76ers, Spurs and Clippers are a combined 13-17 in the last 10.
The Spurs are still the Spurs, the World Champs. And unfortunately, the game against the Clips, the team among those 6 with the worst record right now, comes at the tail end of the west-coast voyage.
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I had the unfortunate privilege of attending the Super Bowl Sunday game between the Wizards and the Lakers. Yea, I wanted to go to the game. It’s hard to pass up the chance to see Kobe Bryant in person, and the chance to see his team, the Lake Show, get a beat down from my Wizards. Little did I know…..not even close.
The morning started off well enough with brunch and Bloody Marys at Clyde’s, along with a friendly wager with my friend Dean, the Lakers fan. My dad set the line since before the game, since one was no where to be found. With the presence of two all-stars, Caron Butler and Pau Gasol, in the balance, bookmakers weren’t touching this match-up. So, even though the Wiz were at home, from pops, they would get 3.5 from the Lakers, and 5.5 if Butler did not play.
Well, at some point during the game, probably when the Lakers built a 26 point lead, their largest, I naturally complained about the line set by my father. “It wouldn’t have mattered if I set the line at 12,” he retorted. The Wizards lost by 12, 103-91. But in the end, I didn’t deserve to win and the Wizards didn’t play like they deserved to win.
So, I present notes of a tragedy:
1st Quarter
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