Orlando Pulse, blurred vision for the Washington Wizards
[flickr/Kyle May]

Had on the Washington Wizards-Orlando Magic game as I was getting ready to go out on Saturday night. Thanks to my laggard adoption of DVR technology, I figured I could just watch it again later and hack out a game blog.

But as the walloping swelled, it became more and more evident that I’d never be watching the game again. And a game blog? You’ve got to be kidding, right?

I’m certainly distraught about the beginnings of this 09-09 season, but surprisingly, any anger I should have is subdued as if my drinks were being drugged.

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Bridge to Nowhere in Milwaukee? flickr/Zack K

NEW FEATURE: Andray Blatche Threat Level Color Coded Alert System.

Ok….I’m glad they’re starting Andray Blatche (Etan Thomas is out with an ankle….Michael Redd is also out for the Bucks with an ankle). I still got hope for the kid and this time, it’s hope that this elevated status, and past poor performance of course, drive him to succeed.

If I could think of the perfect two words to describe Scott Skiles, it would be ‘piss ant’

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Detroit Skyline – flickr/Joseph.S

If the Wizards would’ve shot better that 37% against New Jersey, they would have won, right? Yea…..who knows. When it comes to winning and basketball, no two areas are preached more about than defense and rebounding, no matter what pulpit the message is coming from. So against the Pistons, for game blog purposes, I’m going to ignore the offense and concentrate on defense and rebounding. Not all boards are attainable, and you can play great defense and not stop a bulk of an opponent’s shots from going in. That being said, I’m going to attempt to selectively focus on the particularly great or horrendous occurrences in those areas.

Q1

10:48: Ron Thompson mentioned that transition D would be key in the pregame show…here, Billups brings it down the middle in off a Wizards turnover (Etan had great position in the lane, just lost the ball). Amir Johnson comes to screen Antonio Daniels just inside the three point line. Jamison is laying back a little to protect the basket, but there’s just too much space, AJ needs to be closer to help on Chauncey. Billups takes one dribble off the screen and gets an easy jumper on the left elbow. Johnson’s screen was semi-illegal….but this is the NBA. 4-0 Detroit.

10:23: Next time down, Amir Johnson gets called for an illegal screen…..laid his butt into DeShawn.

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AP Photo via Yahoo!

Why am I pumped (or seised) about a preseason game tonight? Yea, well, got my DVR set up….and we’ve got the season’s starting lineup (Etan, DeShawn, Antonio, Caron and Antawn) ready to show….something.

What about Pop’s beard? Something he’s been needing to do for a while. The guy doesn’t exactly have the best…..complexion. And our buddy Haywoode Workman is refereeing again.

Q1

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Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

[note: this game blog also appears on Bullets Forever]

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Ron Thompson on Comcast with his “Ronny’s” tonight…..some type of award with a creative nickname.

The Warrior Award: DeShawn Stevenson – agreed. My 2nd place would be Antawn Jamison
Most Improved: Roger Mason – agreed again. Just as Ron said, it was a difficult choice between Mase-ON and Brendan Haywood.
Mr. Dependable: Obviously Jamison.
Mr. Complete: Caron Butler
(I’m beginning to think that they selected players first, and then named awards according to their games.)
The Overachiever: Eddie Jordan – I’m caught on this award. I hate to call Eddie an “overachiever” for doing his job and being the good coach that I know he is, and whom I’ve supported, from Day 1.

Anyway, the game…

This is the Pacers ‘De La Soul’ game….you know, the Stakes Is High. If they lose, they can pretty much count on watching the playoffs from home. And that’s fine with me, I’d rather see the Atlanta Hawks step up to bat. The task won’t be easy, Danny Granger has been killing lately (much less being an upcoming Wizards Killer, a la Mo Williams) and both Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler will be resting injuries tonight.

Quarter One

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Sometimes these game blogs get way too long. At times, it becomes difficult to temper my enthusiasm. When the Wizards do well, I’m just typing away as a result of the abundant offense (usually). If they are playing poorly, I got words too. Tonight, I’m really going to concentrate on selectivity. D’oh! Forgot this is a Triple Play…..Wizards on the main feed, Caps playoff game #1 on the left. The strugglin’ Nats on the right. Oh well, we will see.

I got a preview/run-down of all (some) things Wizards here. Laters.

Also, check out the Bullets Forever game thread for comments.

Previously on Ready to Die.

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Welcome to the Wizards-Celtics game preview. To start……

What Happened Last Time?

Wizards Game 2 in Boston: Celtics 103-83: Gilbert talked pre-season smack then got his name chanted (a la Dar-ryl Strawberry) and booed by the playoff atmosphere in Beantown. The Kevin Garnett block on Gilbert Arenas typified the night.

Wizards Game 35 in DC: Washington 85-78: Shocker in DC! (I’m talking about a win vs. the Celtics, not the fact that the Verizon Center crowd was actually *cough* good). Caron Butler and Paul Pierce had an intense 3rd quarter battle. DeShawn Stevenson capped the game with a dunk and trash talk to the Celtics bench.

Wizards Game 36 in Boston: Washington 88-83: Shocker Part II! Tuff Juice was all over the court in the late going…..hitting a double-clutch shot AND1 to put the Wiz up one with 40 seconds left, playing insane D on Paul Pierce, hitting a scoop shot to again put the Wiz up one with 19 seconds left, rebounding a KG miss and hitting FTs to put the Wiz up 3 with 8.6 seconds left, etc., etc…..

Sincerely From Boston.

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flickr/ellievanhoutte

Time for some quick react quotes from the past two Wizards games. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Wiz were able to squeeze out dubs versus both Miami and Chicago. Considering the injuries, I’ve become comfortable in the fact that the Wizards can mange wins while trying to find a rhythm. These are not your father’s Washington Wizards Bullets…so let’s not get spoiled by four playoff appearances in a row. Even so, wins against the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls are hardly anything to write a blog post home about, or is it?

Next Up: Boston Celtics, 7pm, Wednesday April 9th. Onto to the quotes….

Miami Heat

“Last night, when the Wizards clinched their fourth straight playoff appearance with a 109-95 victory over the dreadful Miami Heat, the reaction from the crowd was the basketball equivalent of a golf clap, and players reacted with relief rather than excitement. [Washington Post]

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Well, that answers Ivan Carter’s question, Gilbert Arenas will sit out and rest the knee tonight against the Chicago Bulls, opting out of the back-to-back. Who knows what that means….I thought it was normal rest earlier this season, then all of a sudden, he’s having another surgery. Antawn Jamison, as most know, will also be dress-code suited on the bench.

The update is that Gilbert is out as a precaution.

Quarter One

11:41: Can of Tuff Juice from long distance to start.

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