Posts tagged ‘Beckley Mason’

With 9:15 left in the fourth quarter, the Wizards were in the midst of an unlikely comeback against the sloppy New Jersey Nets. It wouldn’t be enough, but this play gave the Washington faithful hope that Gilbert and Hinrich’s heroics would be enough to put them over the top.

I like this play for the Wizards because it came out of structured early offense. Washington doesn’t really have the personnel to get consistent high percentage looks against set half-court defenses. However, during the secondary break, the semi-structured moments between the fast break and a called play, the Wizards’ athleticism and speed can be effective. This particular secondary break “set” came off of a free throw situation, so it’s almost certainly something Flip signalled from the bench to get a quick bucket.

The play itself is a relatively simple action that isn’t all that deceptive. However, because the Nets are in transition, they are out of position just enough to yield an open three when Hinrich attacks the middle of the paint.

Take a look:

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Michael Imperioli voice: That’s cool. John Wall just poured Yi a shot. What can your point guard do?… nuthin.

This here was my favorite play of the night because all five Wizards seemed to know where they were going and moved with purpose–not always a given. Hard screens were set, tears were shed, and Yi Jianlian drilled a 17 footer. The Wizards ran this out of a timeout midway through the second quarter in a sideline out of bounds situation.

1) The Wizards begin with Hinrich inbounding and Armstrong, Wall, Yi, and Thornton (who had a very nice game) standing in a line across the free throw-line-extended. Hinrich enters the ball to Wall who is coming off a perfunctory Armstrong screen, while Yi goes away from the space he wants to use by heading down to the block.

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