Wizards-Celtics React Quotes: A Taser is Born?

Business First

Steinberg's DC Sports Bog and Nancy the reader are holding a contest to nickname Dominic McGuire and Roger Mason, Jr. - Bullets Forever gave me the heads-up.....as our friend the Vanilla Gorilla has already coined the nickname "Taser" for D-Mac. (of course, inspired by the infamous 'Don't Tase Me Bro' skit/stunt). Well, what would Dominic McGuire do under similar circumstances? Judging from the photo below, D-Mac would gladly be tased broseph.....leading one to think that he just may be partial to his potential new nickname: The Taser


The Celtics Game

Solid win for the Wizards last night. [Live Blog on Bullets Forever] Regardless of the quality of the opponent, I was especially proud of the team effort and the ability the Wizards showed in sustaining a couple Boston runs. My boy Adam aka infrequent poster, the Stubborn Old Man, sent me an email right after the game which summed it up best:

After watching tonight's game versus the Celtics I am convinced that the Wizards are capable of competing with and beating any team in the league. What kills me is our inability to put forth the same effort, focus and concentration regardless of our opponent.

Last week versus the Bucks, we had Milwaukee dead in the water, but for whatever reason we allowed the lowly Bucks to erase a double digit lead and snatch a victory out of the jaws of defeat. Tonight versus a much better and deeper Celtics team we withstood the inevitable "run" and made shots when we needed to and pulled out a nice 14 point victory.

One might say that the Buck's game was different because it was Gil's first game back, but I don't buy that excuse because Gil played limited minutes down the stretch in that game and did the same tonight. If the Wizards are ever going to be the championship threat we hope they will become, they'll need to have the killer instinct to finish off ALL the sub .500 teams we play -- and being in the Eastern Conference we'll see many -- night in and night out just like the Spurs, Celtics, Pistons, and Suns do.

[Check out my full Q&A with Jeff from CelticsBlog.com]

React Quotes

"Boston already had wrapped up home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. But Boston Coach Doc Rivers remembered what happened to Dallas last season, the way his friend Avery Johnson rested Dirk Nowitzki and the stars of the 67-win Mavericks, who lost their mojo and, shockingly, their first-round series to Golden State........So Garnett squawked at whoever would listen. Pierce talked junk, too, trying to crawl beneath the skin of Butler the way Butler got in his head in their previous meetings. Not one of the Wizards paid them mind.........I don't want to hear that Boston had nothing to play for last night. There is more than a decent chance that the Celtics could encounter the Wizards in the second round. And if this is the last time these teams see each other, it was Washington that left a strong impression that it could go six, if not seven games with the vaunted Celtics. [Mike Wise, Washington Post]

""This is definitely a confidence boost, but we can't let it be a hangover," said center Brendan Haywood, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds. "It can't be one of those games that we come out the next game sleepwalking. We need to learn from this game, realize what we did well and come out with a business-like approach [tomorrow] in Detroit." [Mike Jones, Washington Times]

"Jamison doesn't do that a year ago. Sure, he might go by Garnett, but you can bet that he goes Auntie Anne's pretzel on the wild layup attempt that somehow, goes into the basket. But he dunked. Kinda hard, too. [Stet Sports]

" "I'm not used to being on 'SportsCenter,' " Jamison said with a laugh. "It happened. It's not going to define whether we make it to the second round or the Eastern Conference finals. It's just letting the young fellas know I still got it." [Washington Post]

"This victory should eradicate any doubts over whether Gilbert could fit in to the so-called "new" offensive system. Gilbert's no dummy. He's played in the Princeton for four years, and he's seen how well this team executed its halfcourt offense. [Pradamaster, Bullets Forever]

"The Wizards are a different team with Gilbert Arenas involved. Anyone who says differently is nuts. This team rarely ran with Arenas hurt. Now, they are coming up with steals and scoring easier baskets which is so very important to a team that sometimes will settle for jump shots for long periods of time. [Les Bullez]

"As Gilbert left the locker room after last night's win over the Celtics, he told SportsTalk 980's Jerry Coleman that he was done talking for the rest of the regular season. The playoffs were a maybe. That left others to do the locker room talking. [DC Sports Bog]

Are DC area hotels trying to give the Wizards an edge?

"Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, who had 4 points and seven assists in 25 minutes, went to the locker room before the start of the fourth quarter because of an upset stomach. Rondo believes he contracted food poisoning from eating a hamburger at the team hotel early yesterday morning. [Marc Spears, Boston.com]

Or should Rajon Rondo stop eating hamburgers for breakfast?

"Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan said his plan is to keep Arenas in a reserve role when the playoffs begin next weekend. "Right now, yes. That's what I anticipate," Jordan said. "That's pretty potent to have Gilbert Arenas come off the bench. Who comes off the opponent's bench to match up with Arenas?" [Washington Post]

"Beyond the fact that Doc Rivers experimented with combinations in the second half - or that the Wizards had more at stake - this opponent clearly presents the Celtics with a rare matchup problem. Like Philadelphia, another team that has played the Celtics with wire-to-wire pressure this season, the Wizards have the kind of athleticism and flat-out scoring punch that can give the C’s fits. [Mark Murphy, Boston Herald]

"Maybe its me just being an overly nervous fan...but this is frightening to watch. Let's face it, the Wizards will probably upset the Cavs (if it really is an upset) in the first round which means it'll be Boston vs. Washington in the second round assuming Boston handles their business against Atlanta. I'm going to be rooting for the Cavs like no other when they play each other. [mahonedog88, Celtics Blog]

"The Celtics once again had 2 areas of concern that will come back to bite them if they don't solve them before the playoffs. They were 14-21 from the line. Missing 7 free throws is not acceptable and could cost them a close game in the playoffs when every point counts. They also turned the ball over 20 times and this is probably the biggest concern as in the playoffs, every possession is valuable and they can't afford to turn the ball over that many times. [Loy's Place]

"I’m not going to say I am afraid to face the Wizards in the play-offs after watching the Cs drop 3 of 4 games to them during the season, but I will say this, the Eastern Conference is a lot better than people give it credit for. [Celtics 17 @ MVN]

"What game were you guys watching?! We went up on them at the first because Pierce had about 12 pts in 5 minutes, and yes the 2nd unit gave away much of that lead, but we were definitely not resting the big three. They twice built 15 pt leads on us with them in the game and if you had never seen either team play you wouldn't know we were the 60+ win team for sure. I think we would win in a 7 game series against them, but they would give us more than we wanted. That team is scary. [EJPLAYA, Celtics Blog]

"If there is one team that has given the Celtics fits this year, it is the Wizards. Be scared, very scared. Or rather, don't be. The Wiz have been lucky as to when they have met the Celtics, and that has as much to do with their three victories as anything else. [The Shamrock Headband]

"Not only that… they’ve got confidence. And confidence for a bunch of cocky bastards like the Wiz (*cough* *cough* ARENAS) is a bad thing. [Red's Army]

Meanwhile....

How is it going over in the Western Conference? [Garbage Time All-Stars]

Game 78 Preview: Washington Wizards vs. Boston Celtics

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.

I traded emails with Jeff from CelticsBlog.com earlier today, here are the results:

TAI: Saving themselves for the playoffs, Celtics starters played about 20 minutes each in a 3 point win against the Bucks last night....but considering how Gilbert ran his mouth before the Celtics blew the Wizards out on Nov. 2 (memorialized by KG's monster block on Gil) -- and then, the Wizards (sans Arenas) swept a 2 game, 2 night, 2 city series, is there any extra motivation to win tonight's game, especially with Arenas back in the lineup?

CelticsBlog.com: This team has had its motor running all year, looking for all sorts of reasons to get motivated to play the next opponent. They took the foot off the gas in the last few games, resting starters and whatnot, but the Wizards and Hawks are the only playoff bound teams left on the schedule. So in the spirit of "gearing up for the playoffs" I think we'll see an increased effort to win this game. And yes, I'm sure a little payback for the back-to-back sweep won't hurt he motivation.

TAI: As a Celtics blogger, who would you rather your team face in the first round?

CelticsBlog.com: Whoever the worst team is. How about the Heat? I don't mind playing the Hawks. They have lots of budding talent, but they still have room to grow and I think our defense will make life very difficult for them. The only thing that scares me is that they might be too young to realize that they should be losing these games and actually win a few. The Raps scare me a lot more because they can penetrate and find open shooters. If the shots fall, they can beat anyone.

TAI: Celtics Glue Guy:

CelticsBlog.com: I could cheat and say it is Kevin Garnett because he absolutely changes the mindset of everyone, but I'll say James Posey. He's the kind of guy that doesn't show up in the box score much, but he's an emotional leader on the court and a top notch defensive player who finds a way to hit an occasional 3 point "dagger" (as Buckhantz might say) to shift the momentum our way.

Many thanks to Jeff, check out the CelticsBlog.com preview of tonight's game.

Other Game Bullets.

• Antawn Jamison practiced yesterday. [WashingtonWizardsBlog.com]
  
  
• AJ also participated in this morning's shoot around and his sprained shoulder is good to go (despite having trouble lifting his arm over his head on Monday). Tuff Juice and D-Song should also be good after yesterday's practice collision. [Wizards Insider]
  
  
• This 12 year old hates Soulja Boy, and perhaps DeShawn Stevenson as well. [Pantagraph.com]
  
  
• We already know that Celtic starters (much less the Big Three) were limited in Boston's win against Milwaukee last night. Also......
  
  
• "With home-court advantage throughout the playoffs already secured, Boston's big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were held out of Saturday's win at Charlotte and Coach Doc Rivers indicated that he will rely heavily on reserves in the final six games. [Washington Post]
  
  
• "If the plan is to not allow Arenas to play back-to-back nights, do you hold him back Friday night so he can play Saturday against the 76ers? Philly's press gave the Wizards fits the last time the teams met but Arenas is almost impossible to press and/or trap. He's just too quick, even now. Strategically, it would make more sense for him to play Saturday night. [Wizards Insider]
  
  
• Another Celtics Blogger wants to write blog posts like Gilbert Arenas. [Green Bandwagon]
  
  
• Check out more links. [Bullets Forever]
  
  
• Gilbert Arenas likes to hug strangers. [Gilbertology]
  
  
• Nickname Contests are all the rage. [DC Sports Bog]
  
  
• Eddie Jordan: "We're hunting for fourth," he shouted. "We ain't gonna' be hunting sitting on our [rear ends]. We've got to be aggressive. Come on." [Washington Post]

KG FT photo from flickr/terren in Virginia

Gilbert Arenas? photo from flickr/culhane

Live Game 36 Blog: Washington Wizards @ Boston Celtics

Just how chippy will this game get?

Much less the rest of the Celtics, but for one, I'm sure that Kevin Garnett will have something to say about DeShawn Stevenson's dunk, mean mug and yell towards the Boston bench at the end of Saturday's game.

Add that to the battle between Paul Pierce and Caron Butler...it got pretty intense in the 3rd Quarter:

8:55 - Ref has to tell Butler and Pierce to calm it down a little. Just a couple gamers getting at it. They went chest to chest as Caron was trying to get to the baseline to inbound the ball. Innocent gamesmanship.

8:19 - Ok, they're still going at it. Caron on D - quick hands, and Pierce loses the ball out of bounds. Butler says something as he walks closely by, Pierce says something back...Caron then makes a swat movement with his arm as he walks away, but without touching Paul Pierce.

6:37 - .....Big time shot by Caron Butler, especially considering the battle going on between him and Pierce. Butler just hit a sweet step back deuce in Paul Peazey's grill, 51-47 Celtics.

5:56 - Butler on point with a J again....He's going America all over Paul Pierce, while looking back at the Celtics bench. 52-49 Boston.

5:36 - Pierce heard the ring and answered the phone. Buckets. 54-49 Celtics.

And not to forget that the Celtics, or anyone for that matter, do not like to lose rebounding battles. Look for them to make it tough on Antawn Jamison.

Yes, the Wizards Face a Major Challenge tonight [Washington Post]

Bullets Forever with the game preview.....and an interview with a guy from some Celtics blog. Funny how the opinion of Doc Rivers has changed in Bean Town. It's a "what have you done for me lately" world, deal with it.

Game 2 Blog [Nov. 2, 2007] Wizards 83, Celtics 103
Game 35 Blog [Jan. 12, 2008] Wizards 85, Celtics 78

So who wants to call out the obvious? I do. Whether you're a Celtics fan or a Wizards fan, we all know that the key to this game is each team's bench. Albeit, I think that Washington will need a good bit more from their bench since this is a road game. On Saturday, the Wizards got 22 from their bench and the Celtics 19 from theirs. Of course, in the first blowout, the Wiz bench outscored Boston 18-16.

So, my Bold Prediction:
[if the Wizards with the Battle of the Bench & the Turnover War, you can put a Washington W in the books]

Now let's start the show.....

1st Quarter

Game starts with some Caron Butler hustle who saves the tip from going out of bounds with a flip to Antonio Daniels -- not a bad start tonight either.

Rajon Rondo is back in the lineup....we'll see what kind of affect he has.

11:11 - Caron's pseudo double-down on KG hurts....Paul Pierce knocks down a three on the Celtics first possession.

10:15 - Let the battle begin, Caron answers by dropping a deuce on Pierce.

10:34 - Ok, a rebuttal from Pierce. 5-2 Celtics. On the other end, Caron tries, but blinks first coming up just short on a baseline jumper.

The Wiz just went to Haywood, he drew a foul and made both FTs. You gotta think with BTH having such a great year from the charity stripe....thanks again Dave Hopla.....why aren't the Wizards going to him more?

8:10 - The Lock Smith hits a tough 3 with barely enough time on the shot clock. Butler ran down most of the possession trying to go at Pierce, who missed a 3 on the Celtics' previous time down the court.

7:19 - Antawn Jamison scores a fast break bucket after a Paul Pierce 3 miss. It would be nice if Paul Peazy decided to shoot his team out of the game. He's already taken 4 shots, 1-3 from 3 point land.

5:46 - I'm pissed and you should be too. Caron makes a move to bump Pierce off him, but Kendrick Perkins sneaks over for the block. Ray Allen has a fast break with only DeShawn Stevenson in the picture....Stevenson flies by Allen, but bothers his shot causing him to miss an easy one. Unfortunately, no Wizard hustled back "just in case" and Allen was able to get his own rebound for the put-back. Timeout Eddie Jordan, he knows this team, while working hard so far, cannot afford mental errors. 13-9 Celtics.

Lock Smith is back and talking more trash. He guarded Pierce this time down the court and bothered him to the point of losing the ball out of bounds off his own leg.

4:23 - Haywood showed quick feet that time with some nice D and a charge draw on Kevin Garnett.

3:52 - Then, on a subsequent Wiz possession, Haywood makes a big mistake. He had the ball right under the basket with Rondo on him in a switch mis-match. I guess BTH didn't feel that he had his balance so he tried a power dribble, which allowed time for a double team and a turnover.

3:13 - Tuff Juice jumper - 16-13 Boston.

2:01 - Lock Smith Trey. Stevenson consecutive games started count: 204. 18-16 Celtics.

Knew the Wizards had 20 offensive rebounds in that last game against the Celtics. I did not know that was a season high for a Boston opponent.

The 1st ends with the score tied at 18. This one is a battle so far.....and the Boston fans seem a little on edge.

Pierce started out gunning, but only ended up 2-5 in the first. Ray Allen wasn't shy either, going 2-7. Ok boys, you are a combined 4-12, don't you think you should go to KG, who is only 2-2, a little more? Wait, don't do that.

2nd Quarter

10:37 - Just as I'm thinking that the Wizards are starting yet another 2nd quarter out of sync, Roger Mason Jr. answers the call with a trey. 22-21 Celtics.

10:04 - Beautiful pass from Darius Songaila to Nick Young for a baseline jumper. Really nice work. Darius faked a pass, as he sensed Tony Allen jumping the passing lane, Nick moved to a good spot, and D-Song threw him a nice bounce pass. Cash.

Oleksiy Pecherov makes an appearance in the game. He didn't play on Saturday, but you could've figured so. Just coming back, Eddie Jordan did not want him running around on back-to-back nights.

Two white guys in at the same time for the Wizards....when is the last time that happened?
Pecherov, Songaila, Blatche, Young and Mason in the game...I would've never thought.

The game is starting to get ugly with mostly reserves on the court. 7:00 left, 25-23 Boston. The Wizards haven't scored a bucket in 3 minutes.

6:04 - Timeout Eddie Jordan. Since Nick Young's jumper with 10:00 left, the Wizards have scored 2 points, missed 4 shots and have committed 3 turnovers. Still, only 27-25 Celtics.

4:25 - Perkins dunk pushes the Celtics lead to 6 at 33-27. Eddie Jordan has had a lot of trouble finding the proper sub pattern for getting the starters rest at the end of the 1st/beginning of the 2nd quarter and then back into the game sometime in the 2nd quarter.

Caron Butler is tied for the NBA lead with consecutive FTs made at 35.
34-29 Boston.

When a Turnover is Good: Brendan Haywood had the ball in the lane, was about to get called for 3 seconds, but lost it as Steve Javie was blowing the whistle. So, they called a jump ball instead.

The Wizards win the tip and what do you know....they get called for three seconds. What do you think? Makeup call or unexplained lack of awareness on the part of the Wizards?

0:21.8 - Lock Smith ties the game at 35 with a trey. 11 points for DeShawn Stevenson. You can see some swagger in his body language.

The wood chipper is on....some of the Celtics are even taking it out on the refs as Eddie House was a little upset when his requested timeout wasn't given in a timely manner.

A Ray Allen jumper at the buzzer was the result of great Celtics ball movement. At the half, the Boston Celtics are up 2, 37-35.

This game is a plate of scrapple, a physical slug fest. Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett are leading the brute from Boston's end, Stevenson and Haywood representing for the Wizards.

What's Not Good:
>> Wiz shooting 35.3% from the field, Celtics at 42.9%
>> Boston winning the battle of the boards, 19-15 - 5 offensive for Boston, 1 for DC.

What's Good:
>> The Wizards are 7-8 from the FT line, 5-10 for the Celtics.
>> 7 points from the Wizard bench. 2 from the Boston bench.

This is really a defensive battle, supported by the fact that both teams have 8 turnovers and have committed 9 personal fouls. I guess this is what you would expect from a match-up between two good teams. But the more I look at the stats, the more I feel that Boston should be leading by more. To sum it up, for a win, the Wizards need to "get buckets son!"

3rd Quarter

9th and 1oth turnovers committed early in the quarter by the Wiz (within the first 2 minutes and before scoring any points). Daniels and Butler are the responsible parties. So far, this has led to 14 Celtic points. Steve Buckhantz points out that Wizard turnovers have almost caught up with Wizard field goals, which is 12.

Field goal 13 comes off a Jamison tip-in off a Butler miss. Nice work AJ, you boxed Garnett out under the basket where he couldn't do anything. I bet Antawn Jamison has some deceptive strength that never goes recognized.

7:17 - Haywood jam ties the game @ 45. Wiz got a steal off a careless KG turnover and DeShawn made a nice look away pass to the big man.

6:33 - Caron Butler Slam Dunk through a crowd of Celtics...all they could do was watch. Game tied at 47 before.....Jamison volleyballs a rebound in his own basket, KG gets the points. 49-47 Celtics. A Stevenson 3 miss and a quick Pierce shot pushes the Celtics lead to 4. The Boston fans come alive and Eddie Jordan calls timeout.....and just like that, things changed so quickly after that vicious Tuff Juice jam. 5:39 left in the 3rd.

Things are on the verge of unraveling for the Wiz. On one end, Caron Butler gets what appears to be a good block on KG. But a foul was called, two made FTs. 53-49. On the other end, Caron makes a back cut, gets a pass and goes to the hoop. Looks like he gets fouled, no call, loses the ball out of bounds to Boston. Caron yells twice at the ref, "That's enough!!" So....back down, Ray Allen gets fouled shooting a 3, made FTs, 56-49 Boston. Washington offensive foul....Boston back with the ball.

No Celtics bucket...Wiz fast break and Andray is fouled by KG on a dunk attempt. The Big Ticket did not like the call, double techs on Blatche and Pierce, 1 FT made and here the Wiz are....down 6 with 3:25 left in the 3rd.

Several buckets are traded, a timeout is called with AD set to shoot two FTs. Wiz still down 6, 60-54, 1:25 left. Looks like some subs are about to come in. These teams are saving it for the 4th and final.

Antonio Daniels FTs, a couple Wiz chances, a Posey 3, and a Jamison 3 end the 3rd. Steve Buck complains about the manufactured crowd noise in Boston. 63-59 Celtics going in the the last quarter.

4th Quarter

I agree with Steve Buckhantz, why is manufactured crowd noise allowed in NBA arenas? Hell, why do they play anything during the course of play? I can understand the "Defense" drum pound, and the standard acts that get the crowd chanting and into it. But fake cheers? Music? Get all that crap out of here.

I really don't know how the Wizards are in this game with such a terrible offensive flow. They haven't come close to scoring in the first 3 minutes and Tony Allen just threw down a monster dunk.

Timeout with 8:57 left, the Celtics are up 68-59 with Caron Butler set to shoot 2 FTs coming out the break.

The Wizards try to apply some pressure to the Celtics out the timeout, with Eddie House at the point. Nothing comes to fruition so far as the Celtics still lead by 9, 72-63....and Kevin Garnett is back in the game. Washington could not take advantage with him on the bench for 4+ minutes.

7:03 - Wizards timeout after an Eddie House jumper. 12 point Celtic lead -- not surprised, not mad. You simply cannot win without scoring. 12-4 run to start the 4th for Boston.

6:22 - Eddie House long 2. 77-63 Celtics. Now I'm getting mad because I've got hate for Boston in my blood. On the other end, Washington gets their first FG of the quarter.

5:14 - A big AJ 3 cuts the lead back to 9, 77-68 Boston.

Another offensive foul called on the Wizards....there's been about 4 of those in the 4th quarter alone. And cue the text messages, my boy Adam is wondering about the same thing.

But 2 more FTs extend the Wiz run to 7, now down 7.....and Butler causes a Pierce TO. Wiz ball with just under 4 left, 77-70 Celts.

Wiz can't take advantage as the calls do not go their way. KG FTs push it back to 9 as MVP chants rain upon the Big Ticket.

Caron Butler answers with a J.
Wiz Defensive Stop.
Butler miss.
Offensive rebound.
Timeout Washington.
2:34 left, 79-72 Boston. Time to pull a play out the book Eddie.

Haywood rebound dunk, Antawn Jamison nut shot.....better get down the court son.

Celtics turnover, Wizards ball again. Antawn scoop as he turned baseline with Ray Allen on him...AND 1! -- But he misses the FT, 79-76 Boston, 13-2 Wizards run.

Lock Smiiiiiith.....GOT IT FOR THREE! Tie game at 70! One minute left.

Pierce miss, but KG gets two tips at it and the 2nd is good. It really looked like Garnett was over the back of Haywood, but they didn't call that same thing on Haywood a couple minutes ago. So Phil Chenier is right, BTH has got to man up and block Kevin Garnett out.....he never attempted to make contact with him.

0:51.5 left, Wiz down 2 with the ball.

Juice on Pierce....the drive...and he makes an absolutely unbelievable shot. He had to hang in the air, double clutch, and move the ball from right to left. Oh yea.....Caron Butler got fouled too. The FT puts the Wizards up 1 with 40 seconds left. I've seen the reply twice now and I'm still not sure how Caron Butler made that shot.

Butler is all over the court...knocking the ball away from Pierce a couple times, knocking it away from KG, almost getting the steal...KG has to force a 3, misses. But Pierce is at the right place at the right time for the rebound. He gets fouled and makes both FTs. Celtics up 83-82 with 25.9 seconds left. Timeout. [I believe this is the possession that Eddie Jordan was talking about after the game when he said it looked like Caron was guarding everyone at one point]

Do they get a quick shot? Do they wait? I say they get the best available. Run a play and if that doesn't work, put it in the hands of Caron Butler. I'd rather them score sooner than later. Biting lip.....now.

Tuff Juice gets the ball right away.....takes it to the top of the key and wastes no time in going to the basket...and an amazing right hand scoop shot for the bucket. Phil said that Pierce was talking trash the whole time...sorry sucka. 19 seconds left. Timeout. Wizards up 84-83.

Boston goes to KG in the post, he gives his patented shoulder fake and turns back to the middle for the fade-away attempt...and NOPE! Haywood held his position and contested well.

Who gets the rebound? Caron Butler of course. The 7th best FT shooter in the NBA makes his 39th and 4oth consecutive FTs. Washington up 3 with 8.6 left. Palms are sweating, keyboard is getting greasy.

Ray Allen is forced to take a fade away 3, contested by Brendan Haywood, of all people, coming off the forced screen switch. Stevenson gets the bound and is fouled with .5 seconds left. He makes both.

GAME. SET. MATCH. 88-83 WIZARDS!!!

The Patriots will probably win the Super Bowl, but I'd rather have the last three days and two wins over the Celtics. What a game....and I'm still a little in shock.

There are so many key points of the game I could point to...

Obviously, Caron "Clutch Juice" Butler gets the game ball for his poised play.

But the turning point in the game came with just under 6:22 left after Eddie House hit a long 2, which looked like a 3, to put the Celtics up 14, 77-63.

On the next possession, the Wizards scored their first FG of the 4th quarter with a Haywood tip and a Jamison three on the possession after that. Washington proceeded to go on a 16-2 run and closed the game on a 21-6 run.

Oh yea, that "bold" prediction? Well, the Wizards had more turnovers 15-14 and they lost the Battle of the Bench 13-10. Oh well, who cares about those stupid predictions......the Wizards won.

Live Game 35 Blog - Washington Wizards vs. Boston Celtics

Needless to say, this is a big one tonight. Wizards Insider tells us so anyway. Not so much a game of grand standings implications.....although any win helps. But this match tonight against the Celtics is a test. A test to see what kind of team these Wizards are....and honestly, I'm not predicting a win, but I am looking for a fight. And if the Wizards punch the Celtics in the mouth first, they may just pull this one out.

Steve Buckhantz tells us that we are less than 24 hours removed from a win in Atlanta....and that there was no time to celebrate it. Shoot, I sure hope that no one wanted to "celebrate" that Hawks win. Yea, it was a road win....I get excited about those too. But celebration worthy? I think not. The Wizards got 25 points from their bench, and I predicted a win at 22+....but the flow of the game did not sit well with me. The Hawks got some things a little too easily, but seemed to shoot themselves in the foot more often than being stopped on the account of the Wizards.....with the exception of DeShawn's defense at the end and some Andray Blatche blocked shots.

Bold Prediction:
[if the Wizards total more assists than the Celtics, they will win.]

(part of what doesn't sit well with me about last night's game is getting out-assisted 30-19 by Atlanta...with Rajon Rondo out, my "bold prediction" may be a little easier to accomplish)

Game 2 Blog - Wizards @ Boston Massacre [you really don't want to read it]

Start that show.

1st Quarter

Game starts out with a DeShawn Stevenson basket... And1 off the tip.....that can't be bad.

Think they're going to let Kevin Garnett have that mid-range shot tonight? Wiz didn't look to interested in guarding him on that first miss.

Got some peeps in attendance tonight. First report from Chris: Tepid Crowd. -- and usually, this is the result of the Hollywood late arrivals, but the booth seems to be packed. So why the lukewarm temperature?

This is one of the reasons why many people prefer NCAA basketball over the NBA - more emotion, more intensity in college. Yea, the play less games.....and, in addition to limited eligibility, each game is going to matter much more. But I can't help thinking that if more NBA arenas contained that raw, college-atmosphere emotion, like how the Sacramento Kings used to do it in Arco, or even Mavericks fans....then some opinions about the NBA might be changed.

But here you are and here I am in DC, and I don't think Washington is that kind of emotional sports city when it comes to basketball. It is what it is.

Meanwhile...the Wizards are up 6-5 with 8:00 left in the first.

A more viable prediction might've been if the Wiz beat the Celtics on the boards....then they will win.

6:40 - Big Ticket outside jumper....10-8 Celts. Yea, you guys better guard him out there. Crap.

5:20 - Our first "How bout that!?!?!" from Steve Buck. DeShawn starting out big again. On one end, he gets a dunk....then the Celtics come down, Stevenson deflection on D. He gathers the steal, notices that no one is racing back for Boston, so he pushes the ball hard. Butler runs with him, receives a perfect pass from DeShawn, and puts in a reverse throw down.

Coming out the timeout...Steve Buckhantz proclaims that it's extremely intense in the phone booth. Extremely? Really? Liar.

Wizards up 14-12 with the ball and 3:20 left. Jamison already has 8 rebounds. Mr. Nose-For-The-Ball. But Washington is 6-20 from the field. Ouch.

2:32 - DeShawn air ball...easy there Mr. Fitty. I know you just hit a trey and you're starting off the game pretty nice, but that doesn't exactly warrant you taking bad, contested shots, does it?

1:44 - He's got those 8 rebounds, but he can't even hit the layup he just missed. Jamison is 2-10 on FGs. Oh yea...6 of those 8 rebounds are offensive.

With a timeout, Eddie Jordan gets some subs in with about a minute left int he first. AB, Caron, D-Song, Stevenson and AD.

Quarter ends with a D-Song jumper, a Ray Allen turnover....caused by the heady Antonio Daniels, and a Songaila miss. Wizards are up 23-19. Steve Buck says they are focused and I agree. Why?

1. Balanced Scoring: 6 Wizards scored: 5,8,4,2,2,2
2. Wizards up 7-2 on offensive boards, which led to....
3. The Wiz taking 10 more shots that the Celtics. (DC = 32.1% FG, Boston = 44.4% FG)
4. 6 turnovers for the Celtics, only two for the Wizards.

2nd Quarter

2nd game report from Adam: There is way too much green in the building. AJ also thinks that the Wiz should do a better job capitalizing on offensive rebounds.

Boston fans just love coming out of the closet, don't they?

Celtics up to 8 turnovers now....leading to 8 Wizards points, DC up 26-19, 10:15 left.

I don't think I've seen this lineup before: Jamison, Mason, Young, Songaila and Blatche. And I was wrong....it's Washington's 11th best 5-man unit according to 82games.com. They got a +14 plus/minus and a 62.5 winning %.

7:10 - Nice sequence....Nick Young post feed to Andray Blatche, City cuts through to the other side, doesn't receive the pass, D-song cuts down the land from the other side, in front of his man, gets the pass from AB, and makes a tough fading shot. Unbreakable sure does have some great court vision -- give him a lot of credit for keeping those eyes working. Washington up 31-27.

The Wizards are VERY active on D and the Celtics are sloppy. DC timeout after another Boston turnover. The Celtics now have 10 turnovers...Wiz are close with 7 - 2 of them, along with 2 fouls, from Andray...the prerequisite side-effect of him being in the game.

And Jacksonville just scored a TD...up 7-0 and the Pats. Nice! I like!
(although....the honest fan in me would like to type for a second........ok, it looks like David Garrard's knee touched grass before he released the ball, so it should not have been called a TD. But New England did not challenge.)

4:01 - KG outside jumper. 35-30 Wizards. NEVER give the Big Ticket that shot, NEVER!!

3:06 - Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier are wrong. KG did trip over Roger Mason on that fast break (after KG blocked an ill-advised Roger Mason 3 attempt that he thought he could jack with a big man on him - Mason underestimated the quickness of KG) -- clear path foul called...the ultimate result is the Celtics cutting the score to 37-34 Wizards. Steve Buck later comes clean to question the play...whatev.

Another game update: Adam is disgusted by the amount of Patriot jerseys in the crowd. And I'm beginning to be glad that I didn't try to make it to the game on crutches....I might have been tempted to knock one out.

Hey look at that, Jason Campbell came to the game with a lady in a silk leopard shirt.

Boston is on a 10-2 run, but the Wizards are still up 37-36. Make that 39-36 after 2 DeShawn FTs - a minute left.

Game update: Chris says that the burrito dash was a success - "Great" - And the Patriots just scored.

0:01.1 - Paul Pierce tough fade-away makes it a 1 point Wizards lead, 41-40 at the half.

Half Stat Guts:

• Down on those assists - 8 for Wizards, 12 for Boston
  
• Big-Time D from Washington - lotta deflections.
  
• 11 (or 12, it's debatable) Celtics turnovers, 8 Wizard steals, 5 points each from Ray Allen and Paul Pierce
• Straight killin' Boston on the boards by 10, 26-16 [13 offensive rebounds to 3 for the Celtics]
• Only 3 players in d-figs: Garnett = 12, Stevenson = 10, House = 11
• That damn Eddie House, 3-4 on 3s. It's all the fault of Bullets Forever.
• The Wizards are shooting 33.3% from the field - that has got to improve because the Celtics are not going to keep turning the ball over.
• 8 points from Jamison, 4 from Butler.
  

Another update from the game:
-- This time, unfortunately, the report is from the men's bathroom.....and get those images of Senator Craig out of your head (sorry brah, those jokes will never get old). Anyway, my boy Chris said that someone just stepped to the urinal with chicken fingers in his hand. Unsure of what to do, (What did the guy expect? A tray and a cup-holder? -- wait a minute....that's actually a good idea!). So the guy put his basket of fingers right on the ground. Damn, eating those after being on the floor, near the piss-pot of a public bathroom at a sports arena, is just a step above Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild drinking the liquid squeezed from elephant dung.

3rd Quarter

9:40 - KG jumper - Boston has come out doing what they want...hell, they're up 46-41 before I even realize what's going on. A KG FT makes that 47. 7-0 run obviously.

Report: Adam says the game is much more physical, and slow, in person.

8:55 - Ref has to tell Butler and Pierce to calm it down a little. Just a couple gamers getting at it. They went chest to chest as Caron was trying to get to the baseline to inbound the ball. Innocent gamesmanship.

8:19 - Ok, they're still going at it. Caron on D - quick hands, and Pierce loses the ball out of bounds. Butler says something as he walks closely by, Pierce says something back...Caron then makes a swat movement with his arm as he walks away, but without touching Paul Pierce.

The Celtics are the ones locking up on defense now.....4 points in the first 5 minutes for the Wizards.

Oooooh.....big time shot by Caron Butler, especially considering the battle going on between him and Pierce. Butler just hit a sweet step back deuce in Paul Peazey's grill, 51-47 Celtics.

Don't make Tuff Juice mad....or, don't shake him up, he'll only explode all over your ass.

5:56 - Butler on point with a J again....He's going America all over Paul Pierce, while looking back at the Celtics bench. 52-49 Boston.

5:36 - Pierce heard the ring and answered the phone. Buckets. 54-49 Celtics.

What a great sequence.....Pierce gets the best of Butler and blocks him, Celts come down on a 3 on 1 break......but San Antonio Daniels comes away with the steal.....drives it down the court and gets fouled taking it to the basket. [Chris would later call this a turning point in the game]

Uh oh...what is that I hear? Wizards fans getting into it?

-- AD only makes 1 of 2. 54-50.

Daniels is so calm when trapped. He really knows how to use that pivot foot....but the Wiz have to settle for a DeShawn miss.

3:20 - Ray Allen 3, 61-52 Celtics....I can hear the damn green machine brewing louder.

Well, Jacksonville tied it up at 14 - Didn't see how that happened.

1:40 - Pierce just got Caron with the straight okey-doke....Caron dribbles....makes contact with Paul, while Pierce is MOVING!....Pierce loses his balance, then takes a dramatic spin-dive like a young Steven Segal.....offensive foul on Caron Butler. I can hear Celtic Tommy right now....."praising" the defense and the ref for making the call. Sick thinking about it. Out of any team TV color guy in the NBA, Tommy Heinsohn is the biggest homer, EVER.

Well...unfortunately, as Steve Buck says, "Nick Young, this is what he did in college" as The City has the ball with the clock winding down in the 3rd, Bean Burrito turns it over, but the Celtics can't do anything with it. But hey, Nick Young hit a couple big, confident shots just before to bring the Wizards within 5, 65-60 going in the 4th.

Stat Check: Wiz are still shooting in the 30s at 36.1%, Boston has cut down on the turnovers, only 1 in the 3rd quarter.

4th Quarter

Celtic alley oop off a turnover to start.

Another Wiz turnover goes 2nd.

Patriot FG miss 3rd.

10:30 - Top key jumper for Blatche - you knew it was going in because he looked completely confident and rhythmic. 67-62 Celts.

9:07 - Great Wizards work....good ball movement all around...ended with a D-Song miss (not a bad look), but Andray Blatche was there to finish with a tip in. 67-64 Boston.

Timeout Celtics.

I think that Senator Clay Davis from the Wire is a hustla after that money in real life. It cracks me up every time I see him in a commercial, like the Southwest Airlines one they just showed. Lt. Daniels has a Cadillac commercial too. I'm sure I'm forgetting more.....

7:03 - Crazy penetration, spin and shot by Stevenson, 68-66...keeping it close.

Oh man...Butler just got a steal, took it down court....with KG getting his timing right, Butler took it up, got fouled, but he almost threw something nasty down on the Big Ticket. The ball hit the back of the rim too hard. 2 FTs, tie game.

Blatche is hurt....he can barely get up and down the court. Butler forced shot clock winding down miss on one end....Andray has to foul KG on the other. Timeout. The "home court" advantage needs to pull the Wizards through....is what I'd like to say with confidence, but I can't.

Posey 3, Jamison put-back, Posey 3. 74-70 Boston Celtics.

Butler takes it in the paint like he should, especially when KG was guarding him on the perimeter. Foul, 2 FTs, Wiz down 2. 2:40 left.

BIG THREE by Antonio Daniels, according to Phil Chenier, not the way the play was designed, but Antonio sure did step into it with confidence. The lead is taken at 75-74. Only the 2nd 3 by the Wiz on the evening, 2-17 total behind the arc.

Celts turn the ball over down the court. Haywood tipped it away from Garnett, can you believe that? Timeout, Wiz ball - 1:36 left.

Wizards move the ball around, aren't forcing anything, but the shot clock is running down....DeShawn has to take the 3...and gets fouled by Pierce.

3 crucial FTs and the Wizards take a 4 point lead with 1:14 remaining on the clock. 78-74.

Ray Allen 3 miss, James Posey 3 miss, Butler rebound...and the fans are on their feet.

Butler miss with just under 40 seconds left.....not sure if it hit the rim, but the Wizards got the offensive rebound and Haywood got fouled.

BTH is on the line for 2. Misses the first. Makes the 2nd.

On the replay, the Caron's shot definitely Did NOT hit the rim. It should have been Boston's ball. Yea, that's right Bean Town....a big EFF YOU! The Wizards got a call and you didn't. I think I just heard a Heinsohn heart attack.

KG gets it inside....Butler with a BIG foul. He really made sure that KG could not get a shot off. The Big Ticket misses the first FT, and makes the 2nd. The Wizards have held him to 2 points, off two FTs in the 4th quarter. 79-75 Wizards, 27.5 seconds left.

NE is up 21-17, but Jacksonville is threatening in the red zone.

Butler, the 8th best FT shooter in the NBA, is going to the line after some inbounds trouble. Antonio Daniels had to go up like Randy Moss to get the ball. Wiz up 81-75.

Celtics come back down and hit a 3....down 3, they foul Stevenson. 15 seconds left. FTs made, Wiz lead 83-78.

Boston Three Party in the 4th? Nope. Right now, they're 1-8...5 points.

Yessir Yessur....game ends with a DeShawn Stevenson dunk. We know what kind of team this is....one that wins Big Ones. 85-78 Washington Wizards over the Boston Celtics.

It's going to be a war in Boston on Monday.

Key to the Stats:

• Did not win the assist war, 21-13 Boston.
• I think my 2nd shot at a bold prediction, winning the battle of the boards, was more accurate. 49-30 Wizards.
• Ugly, but intense, game: Teams combined for 37 turnovers and 38.8% from the field.
• No more Eddie House points after the 1st half.
• 22 points off the bench for the Wizards - hey, my ATL prediction was +22....maybe that's the magic number.
• Boston's Big 3: 42 points
• Washington's Big 2: 26 points...plus DeShawn's 19 = 45

Dear Wizards,

Thank you for your great defense tonight. You beat the best team in the NBA by holding them to 20+ points below their scoring average.

Sincerely,
William H. Holler


NBA.com Boxscore
A Clash of Titans in the Front Court [Washington Post]
AP Wrap on ESPN.com

Stephon Marbury a Celtic?

Ok, I made that up.

But everyone is talking about how Stephon Marbury's days with the Knicks might be numbered. And yes, no team is going to take the 2 years, $42 million left on his contract in a trade. But even if he is bought out, I really can't think of an NBA team that would reasonably sign the team killer. That being said, somebody would have to, right?

BTW, the breaking news found via Slam Online is that Starbury has gone AWOL.

So, in the event that the Knicks do cut Marbury loose, I've scoured NBA rosters to see which teams may just give the guy a chance. Starting with the least likely victim and ending with the most likely.

7) The New York Knicks - Really...would this scenario be that far-fetched? Isiah would have the new contract sent before he realized that the New York-born, former All-Star guard, that he could get on the cheap, was the guy he just cut.

6) The Sacramento Kings - Mike Bibby is going to be out for at least 8 more weeks with a torn thumb ligament. Plus the Kings suck this year, I picked them to finish with the worst record in the league. On top of all that, they are no longer selling out Arco Arena. So what are the Maloof brothers to do? What any shady casino owner would do...something crazy to sell tickets. Could you imagine Marbury and Artest on the floor at the same time fighting over the ball? Or just fighting in general. Personally, I wouldn't pay to see it, but maybe there'd be a chance for some PPV duckets. Or....they could use Starbury to guarantee a sabotage of the team so they could move the Kings to Sin City, The Major League Theory. The owner of the Cleveland Indians in that movie was a former Las Vegas showgirl...coincidence?

5) The Atlanta Hawks - You just feel like some of the high flying Hawks are deprived without a good point guard. Then you realize that they drafted Marvin Williams over Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and you start to feel sick to your stomach. Could you imagine either of them with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Josh Childress? Tyronn Lue and the perpetually injured Speedy Claxton just aren't cutting it, and Acie Law is just a rookie. Strike that...considering the latest with Josh Smith, not to mention terrible ownership, the Hawks don't need a potential triple dose of cancer.

4) The Indiana Pacers - Larry Bird has never liked Jamaal Tinsley. And I'm pretty sure that he hates Marbury. But think for a second, the Pacers are off to a halfway decent start. I certainly didn't expect them to be 3-3 at this point. So what if they are in contention for a playoff spot in the Leastern Conference? There couldn't be a better way for Larry Bird to stick it to that a-hole Isiah than by taking his cast-away on the cheap and flipping it into something.

3) The Miami Heat - Pat Riley is desperate. The Shaq window closing like a guillotine. Hell, I bet he even has the numbers of Jayson Williams and Keon Clark on speed-dial. Stephon would be a gift from heaven. Penny, Starbury, Smush and White Chocolate....if those names don't say 'And1 Championship', then I don't know what.....aw crap, let me just stop right there.

2) The Los Angeles Lakers - Mitch Kupchak to Kobe Bryant: "Hey, you said that you wanted some All-Star caliber help....now go f*ck yourself."

1) The Boston Celtics - This might make the most sense. Here's a hypothetical conversation between Kevin Garnett and Marbury:

KG: What up man? Can't believe the Knicks cut you kid.

SM: That's a'ight son, it's been a tough summer. Funny thing is, Isiah was in that car with me. We tag-teamed both that intern and Anucha. That's the last time I share anything with that dude.

KG: Uh....(pause)...well anyway, what about coming to play for the Celtics? We could use the depth...and Danny ain't gonna pay you much. But still, we could recreate the good ol' days with the T-Wolves, with some more sharing of course. And, you got that shot at a ring.

SM: Aww...really KG?!? (said with child-like enthusiasm) For really real? You think they got a spot for Coney Island's Finest?

KG: Yea homey...but here's the deal, you ever seen that movie Full Metal Jacket? No? Well, let me put it this way, if you go all Private Pyle on us, we gonna strap you to a bed and beat you with bars of soap in socks until you're peeing out yo ass. Or, if you like vague 1983, Sean Penn, BadBoys movie references, it'll be Coke cans instead of soap. Do you smell what I'm stepping in?

SM: (walks over and gives KG a big hug)

Hey, it could happen. I'm just sayin'

Game 2: Wizards at Boston: Big 3 vs. Big 3

It’s always tough when a Wiz game is on national TV. I love Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier….but the ESPN broadcast of the game always looks so much better than Comcast (no, I have not jumped into the HDTV community yet…can anyone tell me how Comcast’s HD broadcast compares to ESPN’s?) In the end, I’m a home-town guy, so I’ll listen to the home-town guys.

Lot of scuttlebutt on Arena’s Sept. 28th prediction via his blog – that the Celtics would go down to the Wizards on opening night. Part of me wonders if he does these things for his own benefit, sort of a motivation technique that presses him to live up to the expectations he sets for himself. Then again, Gil has made his career on exceeding the Zero expectations set for him by others (at least that’s how he perceives it). So which is it? Is he setting the bar for himself high or low?

Ok, the first game blog was a little bit lengthy….chalk it up to opening night jitters. I’ll see if I can do better this time around.

My Keys to the Game (and a Wizards win)

1. The 3 Rs: Rattling Rajon Rondo – the Wiz need to keep him from easily getting the Celtics in their offensive, it’d be interesting to see what Doc Rivers does if he struggles.
2. Winning the battle on the boards – Obvious.
3. Efficient offense – Wiz don’t have to hit a ton of 3s, but they DO need to have a nice FG% and they DO need to make their free-throws.

1st QUARTER

Seems like Rajon is part of everyone’s keys to the game…mines, Phil’s, Ronny’s…..

Gilbert is getting the fo’ serious Touch-Boo treatment…and the Wiz are rattled by the playoff-esque atmosphere at the very start. Actually, both teams are taking bad shots...it takes almost 2 minutes to get on the board with a KG FT.

Celtics are a little scarred of the Wiz in transition…not many hitting the offensive boards for them. I think all of Boston is drunk right now, probably a perpetual buzz from all the sports celebrations.

The first FG of the game for the Wizards is a bank shot? Uh oh.

Wow….Boston fans are chanting, “Giiiiilbert, Giiiiilbert” now.

Haywood dunk! Great positioning on the rebound…AND…the subsequent block! Please do this all year. If you do, I will write a personal letter to you apologizing for all the times I’ve referred to you as Brenda Haywood. You can hold me to that.

What?!? Eastern Motors is straight ballin’….now they have that cat from Friday (and a bunch of other stuff), John Witherspoon, in a commercial. What isn’t the world coming to?

Funny play…4:35 left in the 1st….Rondo penetrating (c’mon Gilbert, better than that), dump to KG, he surprisingly mishandles the ball, then it smacks off a sitting ball boy's head.

3:00 left in the quarter…the strong boos finally subside when the ball is in Gilbert’s hands during play, I knew it had to happen sometime.

We’re lucky that the couple of times Rondo has gotten into the paint hasn’t resulted in much.

Scalabrine? Really? C’mon Darius, that’s you. Maybe Bullets Forever is right to question Songaila’s presence towards the end of last game instead of Blatche.

1st quarter ends with the Celtics up 21-18.

2nd QUARTER

Starts with a Pierce 3 to cap a Celts 8-0.

Tony Allen gets a basket And-1…I wonder if anyone has learned from his post whistle mistake last year.

Déjà vu from the other night, the Wizards cannot guard the 3 point line. Are we packing it in too much? Another 8-0 Celtics run, to put them up 11.

Celts are in a pseudo zone and the Wiz are not handling it well…need more cuts to the basket, can’t hit outside shots (0-6 from 3 as a team) and it doesn’t help that Jamison starts 2-9. Another Wizards time-out, down 12.

KG Baseline Fade-Away Alert. Down 17. The Celtics have been playing relatively physical…guess they want to punch the Wiz in the mouth first, and they are taking the blows.

There it is…if they didn’t hype things up enough, ESPN is putting Gil’s blog comments about the Celtics on air now…..aaaagain. Don’t worry still listening the Steve and Phil, ESPN cast is on the 2nd TV feed.

Down 15, 3:53 left in the half…if they can cut it to 8 before the end, the Wiz will be alright….Aaaaand Paul Pierce is going off. Gets 19 before missing a heat-check 3.

Key to the game Numero Uno - Contain Rajon Rondo. He drives to the basket and puts the Celtics up TWENTY-TWO to end the 1st half. Time for a drink.

Keys to the game revisited:

1. Rajon had 6 points and 2 steals, but the key is ZERO turnovers.
2. Rebounds are relatively even, +1 for the Celtics 24-23
3. Wiz have made 8 of 10 FTs, but 35% from the field is not offensive efficiency.

The GAP Band has 41 between them. Well.... the Wiz aren't getting back into the game with defense. Time for this year's debut of the run-n-gun.

3rd QUARTER

Up there with almost anyone in the NBA, this Wizards team has turn-around capability...but not starting the 3rd with a couple turnovers and careless fouls.

Shooting can be contagious....unfortunately, all the Wizards have been vaccinated.

Brenda....errrr.. Brendan has continued to impress.

Leaving KG open to hit more jumpers? I hate to say it, but there is a little quit on the defensive end. You simply can-not have that when you are already basket protection challenged. Yet another Wiz timeout, how many do they have? Down 69-42.

People are ridiculous, aren't they? The absurd are already calling for Eddie Jordan's head, less that 1 and 3/4 games into the season.....all over Wizards insider. Patience is virtuous.

Funny, like me, Phil Chenier has heard the fans chanting Gilbert's name, Buckhantz hears the a-hole chant....or whatever it is that he can't repeat on TV.

Well, the Celtics are on the verge of a "hey, this is fun" comfort lead. Boston up 23... close to the end of the 3rd.

I don't care what it does for you Gilbert....that's enough bulletin board material out of your mouth, ok? 'Preciate it.

Good to see Gil learning Free Throw head games...after Rajon hit his first of two FTs with 4.9 left in the 3rd, KG & Co. go to give him daps...and Arenas bumps his way right in between Rondo and KG, probably accompanied by some inaudible words, on his way to the other side of the lane. Doesn't work Double R makes them both.

Down 22, 79-57 at the end of 3.

4th QUARTER

.....time to check fantasy stats. How come stat-tracker for Yahoo NBA Fantasy can't be as nice as the NFL one? Yup...LeBron scored 45 tonight. And I'm about to pick up Haywood in a couple of leagues...10 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists right now. Shhh.....down 15 points.

Certainly not Eddie's fault that Arenas missed a 3 which would've cut the Celts lead to 12...and then gave up a cheap foul And 1 to Pierce at the other end.

MASSIVE block by Garnett on Arenas...Gilbert goes down, but not even close to a foul. Still, allows him to cherry-pick at the other end.

This game is pig-food-slop: GA FT misses. Scalabrine drives. Forced D-Shawn lay-up misses. Paul Pierce technicals....who looked a little feminine, by the way, with his hand swat towards the ref.

I see a lot of teams these days, well team-mates, rush to help one of their own up when they fall. Rondo, the Boston starting point guard...kinda the X-Factor for the team...just got fouled hard and fell to the floor, just over 4 mins left in the game. Helping him up was an after-thought, at best, to just one Celtic. Just a thought.

I don't know what the first two options would be...but the punch-line would be: 'Brian Scalabrine hitting a 3-pointer, Priceless.'

Game closing out with more "Giiiiilbert" jeers....I haven't heard the name chant that loud since Darryl Strawberry was alive.

Well, that's all folks. 20 point loss for the Washington Wizards, 103-83.

I don't even want to look at the stats tonight. The only one that matters is the big L.

But I will mention the keys to the game in brief:

1. Rondo: 15 points, 4 steals (that dude has Arsenio Hall fingers)..only 2 assists to 3 turnovers, but I don't think it would've mattered if the Wiz contained him with a shooting night like they had....
2. ..Speaking of, Key #3: What do ya know?..finished 35% from the field, did hit 77% on the FTs though.
3. I'll ignore the rebound margin...+1 for Boston. The original key should have been fast-break points or contributions from bench....Darius had a quiet 13.

Not even talking about D-Fence...that should be a key to every game.

I'll be at the home opener against the Magic tomorrow....take notes.

Damn, just realized that this blog entry is Ron Jeremy, my bad....facing Stan Van Gundy tomorrow night. (check out the Wikipedia pic of him [linked]...unintentional humor. And I don't mean to laugh, cause it evidently involves him doing charity work...but still.