Some also call Zach, “El Toro”

{he had 19 total rebounds, 6 offensive}

The duo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol were too much for the Wizards to handle. They combined for 43 points and 30 rebounds.

Washington doesn’t have a guy who can take up space in the paint, and that hurts them on both offense and defense. Brendan Haywood has size, but is not agile. Antawn Jamison put up a good fight against Randolph the Bull, but just doesn’t have the size.

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Pretty nice scene, huh? Well, not as nice … last night’s game was on CSN+ in D.C., not CSN HD. Heart-warming nonetheless. After the game I tweeted that beating the Bucks 109-97 was the first ‘feel good’ win for the Wizards in a long time. Mike Prada of Bullets Forever called it the best win of the year.

And the scene above captures it all. Gilbert Arenas goes down after an errant Bucks knee to his leg, not to mention losing a tooth, Earl Boykins comes in to save the day, and the two leave the court arm-and-arm and all smiles. Arenas started it with 13 points, three rebounds and seven assists, to only a single turnover, in the first quarter, and Boykins finished it with 12 of his 15 points in the final period.

It looked pretty bad when Gil went down. But after seeing him hold his thigh, and the replay, it was clear there wasn’t a reason to fear for his knee. Although, those thigh bruises do hurt. The Wizards have two days off, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Arenas sat out of Saturday’s game in Minnesota. It all depends on how deep the bruise is. He was noticeably limping right after it happened, and those things only stiffen and get worse.

So with that win, the Wizards, and their fans, will have a holiday that’s just a little bit better. But what would be this team’s ultimate Christmas (or holiday, or whatever you celebrate) wish?

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Flip Saunders and I may have different perceptions of the Wizards. And for good reason, we are different people. He’s a professional, experienced coach. He sees countless things  I don’t see when observing his team. But I’m stubborn in my opinion that derives from the things I see. Agree to disagree if you will. For instance, let’s look at the quote below from Michael Lee’s story in Monday’s Washington Post:

Despite their 1-3 record, the Wizards (8-17) still believe they made progress on the trip, with Coach Flip Saunders and several of his players commenting on how the team could’ve easily won two more games if a few more breaks had gone their way.

The Wizards have recently patted themselves on the back for not quitting and being in close contests. “Breaks” … sure, Michael Lee’s words, but the franchise has conveyed the ‘if only a couple of plays’ argument, as if some fate has intervened.

I’m under the impression that if the Wizards wanted it a little bit more, especially on defense, if they had just a bit more focus, determination, hustle, you know, all of those intangible sports clichés, then they could have notched a couple more wins.

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I experienced a “first” on Wednesday night.

In the Wizards locker room before the game, I noticed a stack of duPont Registry magazines under one of the huge flat screen televisions. If you aren’t familiar with the duPont Registry, it’s a publication full of fancy/luxury cars, etc. that only really, really rich people can afford. One of my friends had a duPont Registry once, but it was just for lookin’, not for buyin’.

So … Wednesday night was the first time I was in the vicinity of the magazine while also being in a room full of dudes who could purchase something from it.

So I have that going for me.

After Wednesday’s win over Milwaukee, I was all ready to write about Earl Boykins, as was everyone else in the world (and I kinda did … below), but life/work got in the way of a more formal game write-up. It happens.

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{starter/inactive}

Wizards

Starters: Arenas, Young, Butler, Jamison, Haywood; Inactives: Crittenton, James, Miller
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[Editor's Note: Rashad Mobley has reported on the Wizards with media credentials since the 2008-09 season for Hoops Addict. He occasionally contributes to Truth About It.net, providing excellent analysis and a different perspective from his up-close coverage of the team.]

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- When I initially read that the Wizards would unify and rally around the recent passing of owner Abe Pollin, I must admit I had a certain degree of cynicism.  I wasn’t doubting the sincerity of their feelings around Abe’s death, because I have no doubt that he touched each and every one of those players in some way.  Being touched is one thing–translating that into a team that plays well together in every facet of the game is another.  But on a night where Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler combined for 18 points, the Wizards were still able to win by 10, despite losing double digit leads one more than one occasion.  I don’t know whether Coach Saunders has found his rhythm substitution-wise, or if Abe is inspiring this team from above, but it was nice to see the Wizards put two strong efforts together.

-JaVale McGee checked into the game unusually early (with 3.27 left in the 1st quarter), and Coach Saunders clearly must have known that was the right move, because his impact was immediate.  Within 15 seconds of entering the game, McGee had a first block on Jermaine O’Neal.  Two minutes later he scored on a pretty finger roll around O’Neal.  A few seconds later he blocked a Joel Anthony shot, and then he stole the ball from Udonis Haslem with 15 seconds left in the quarter.  McGee only played 15 minutes total, and he didn’t have much of an effect on the game after the first quarter, but it was nice to see McGee do the little things and be seemingly content.

-Just last week I wrote an article about Nick Young‘s inconsistency, and I questioned whether he was truly ready to step in and be an effective contributor to this Wizards’ team.  On Wednesday, lost in the shuffle between Eddie Jordan’s return and Abe Pollin’s untimely death, was the start and solid play of Nick Young.  In that game, Young scored  20 points on 50% shooting, and he seemed to develop some confidence.  Against the Heat, Young’s confidence only increased with a 22 point, five assist performance.  But more importantly, Young played solid defense on Dwyane Wade who had burned the Wizards for over 40 points in their prior meetings.  Wade was held to 18 points on 6-of-19 shooting, and much of that was Young’s defense.  He consistently had a hand in Wade’s face, and he forced him to take some uncharacteristically bad shots.  More importantly, he played well with the starting lineup of Jamison, Haywood, Arenas and Butler.

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In this week’s Dagger Report, Mike Prada of Bullets Forever and I talk about the Wizards’ early season struggles, and how they derive from the sub par play of Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, the arrival of Earl Boykins … and of course, injuries.

And since the Wizards play the Detroit Pistons in D.C. tomorrow night, we caught up with Brian Packey of the SB Nation Pistons blog, Motown String Music. Brian, who evidently attended high school with JaVale McGee, drops some Pistons knowledge on us, reveals Epic Vale’s old nickname, and gives us some insight on the Pistons’ coaching situation past and present.

Enjoy.

Episode 3: The Dagger Report – Washington Wizards podcast

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Sure the Wizards could have gone with a younger guy, perhaps a promising prospect, or even a hard worker from the D-League … but little Earl Boykins is what the Wizards get, a move that clearly has the words ‘offense’ and ‘veteran’ in mind.

Flip Saunders and Boykins go back to the old days in Cleveland, where both were born and raised (not together of course, Saunders is 54 and Boykins is 33). Saunders also saw him play a lot when he coached in Minnesota and Boykins played for the divisional foe Denver Nuggets. Flip said that the 5’5″ guard gives the Wizards something different than what’s currently on the roster, has the ability to pick up things fast, and with his quickness, is a tough matchup for any team.

Saunders also praised Boykins for his floor effectiveness, especially in the fourth quarter, and for his ability to shoot free-throws. Boykins is a career .879 from the charity stripe and finished in the NBA’s top ten from ’03-04 to ’06-07. And free-throw shooting is something the Wizards definitely need.

Boykins wasn’t shipped all the way from Italy, where he spent last season playing. He was hanging out in Denver, Colorado, training in the high altitude, confident some team would need him and come calling … and Washington did. Sort of unfortunate for the Wizards because of injuries resulting in the need to sign someone, but certainly fortunate for Boykins.

When asked about the backcourt injuries his team is facing, going from seven deep in training camp to an available three (Arenas, Stevenson, and Young) with four down (Miller, Crittenton, James, and Foye ), Flip Saunders said, “Maybe I had this kiss of death when I said ‘those things always work themselves’ out … unfortunately they did.”

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