Game Thread - Wiz vs Boston Jan 22, 2011 - WIZ WIN !!!!

[hands11]

Flips looking so smooth in his past games lately.

[hands11]

how come when we lose, there are like 299 replies but when we win its like 134

Because so many have a harder time bitching about Flip but some people still rise to the challenge.

Because Saturday night against Boston..

Probably not a lot of folks watched it.

[Zonkerbl]

First you win. Then you get good.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

That was outstanding!

I loved everything about this game.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Wizards allowed 27 points in the entire second half.

[Zonkerbl]

Hm, and how many minutes did McGee play in the second half?

[hands11]

Even when they were down in the first, they played scrappy D.

McGee and Dray made lots of hustle plays.

I think this is the first time I have even seen such an even shot distribution from a Wizards starting line up.

Everyone had between 11-13 shots. That has to be a first in like over 20 years.

[GhostsOfGil]

wiz win get happy!

[fishercob]

Just got back from the game, and was lucky enough to have a once in a lifetime experience tonight. I sat courtside, in the first seat on the baseline right next to the Wizards bench. I spent much of the night chatting with Josh Howard and a bit with Hinrich.

My normal seats are pretty low down -- row J -- but this is just a completely different experience and gives you so much more of an appreciation for the physicality of the game.

There's a bunch of stuff that Howard told me that I don't feel right sharing, but I can share a few nuggets. For one, he says he's a week away and is feeling good. He's going to be playing more two (which he hasn't done for two whole seasons). I imagine he'll be the primary backup at the 2 and 3. I wonder if this is why we're hearing HInrich's name more in trade talks. If Shakur can prove he's worth 10-15 mins a night and we can get a pick for Kirk it may make sense to deal him.

It's widely known and discussed on the bench that Javale is a problem on the defensive boards. He just doesn't keep his hands up and has a ton of easy rebounds stolen.

Josh thinks the Wizards can still make the playoffs.

Booker should get every single solitary one of Yi's minutes.

Everyone seems to really like Cartier Martin.

There was a bit of talk of Keveen's cluelessness on the court, but he tried hard.

As to the game itself, I was really happy with how Dray (and the whole team) stuck with it after a rough start. He played great D on KG and was able to regain his composure. Boston missed a ton of open, makable shots, but i'll happily take the W.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Even when they were down in the first, they played scrappy D.

McGee and Dray made lots of hustle plays.

I think this is the first time I have even seen such an even shot distribution from a Wizards starting line up.

Everyone had between 11-13 shots. That has to be a first in like over 20 years.

When McGee gets 10 shots or more the odds are the Wizards win.

[fishercob]

Even when they were down in the first, they played scrappy D.

McGee and Dray made lots of hustle plays.

I think this is the first time I have even seen such an even shot distribution from a Wizards starting line up.

Everyone had between 11-13 shots. That has to be a first in like over 20 years.

When McGee gets 10 shots or more the odds are the Wizards win.

It was very clear tonight that McGee does less than half of what he's instructed to do on the floor. Listening to Armstrong, HInrich, Howard and Martin made as much very clear.

[montestewart]

The Celts board are crying about the refs

Blatche did bump Pierce, they have a right to cry about that. But the Celtics got a ton of calls all night. One of the most egregious was when they called it out on Rashard Lewis when Rondo clearly hit it last. There was also the BS timeout call when Davis and Lewis both had the ball in their possession.

Also the Wall charge on Glen Davis. I could see from across VC that Davis was moving sideways, but waited for the replay to confirm. His feet technically planted a split second before Wall arrived, but the top of his huge body continued on into Wall's path. I know the Celtics are the best team in the East, but Davis shouldn't be getting such lame calls. That was a blocking foul right in front of the ref. Celtics fans are complaining about the refs because they can't believe they lost to the Wizards on their own merits.

Wiz did get a few break calls ( a couple of non-calls on Blatche, for traveling and for pushing) and some borderline calls looked like makeup calls for egregiously bad prior calls.

[montestewart]

Even when they were down in the first, they played scrappy D.

McGee and Dray made lots of hustle plays.

I think this is the first time I have even seen such an even shot distribution from a Wizards starting line up.

Everyone had between 11-13 shots. That has to be a first in like over 20 years.

When McGee gets 10 shots or more the odds are the Wizards win.

It was very clear tonight that McGee does less than half of what he's instructed to do on the floor. Listening to Armstrong, HInrich, Howard and Martin made as much very clear.

It actually seems somewhat clear just watching. If McGee ever really wanted to be a great player...

[Kanyewest]

My analysis:

The Wizards' flat start can be put on John Wall who got sucked in the paint at least on 2 occasions, which left Boston 3 point shooters wide open. Lewis made a couple of baskets posting up Pierce, but it looked like it was going to be a blow out.

In comes Mustafa Shakur. While the Wizards really didn't cut into the deficit, the Celtics really couldn't pull away to put the Wizards out of reach. I also believe his play inspired Wall into how to play the right way and played much better on both ends when he was subbed back in. Wall really turned on the jets, when he was reinserted in the lineup in the 2nd quarter. He got to the paint at will which created offensive rebounding opportunities for his teammates. John Wall's 3 off the glass was huge, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.


The real turning point was KG trash talking with Andray Blatche. When Blatche was called for a technical foul on Garnett, I believe the Celtics were up 12. Blatche started to play with a lot more intensity which lit a fire into the whole team defensively. Turns out Blatche was up for the challenge and guys like Thornton, McGee, Wall, and Lewis had his back.

KG's intensity at times got the best of him. He often didn't make the extra pass and went one on one with Blatche and took less efficient shots. One time this allowed for Wall to pick his pocket which forced a 24 second violation. KG also played Blatche too agressively defensively; instead of letting Blatche settle for his mid-range jumper which he struggled all season,KG tight on Blatche, which allowed Blatche to drive on KG.


In the 4th quarter, the Wizards simply had more in the tank than an older Celtics team who was coming off a back to back. Celtics were getting away with a lot of defensive screens, KG repuation as a great defender saved him from getting fouls from the officials. But the Celtics just couldn't knock down open jumpers, much like Wizards previous game against the Suns.

Blatche did bump Pierce, they have a right to cry about that.

I actually disagree. The refs made the correct call. Pierce pumped Blatche into the air but since Blatche's vertical is so bad, he was back on the ground with his hands back in the air when Pierce launched himself into Blatche.

[Ed Wood]

Dear LIttle Celtics Fan who Sat Next to Me Tonight,

Hey kid. First of all nice job being a vocal fan but not an annoying fan, you were ahead of the curve for like five or something. I'm sorry you were disappointed that they weren't showing Celtics highlights on the jumbotron but your team is very ugly so that's probably for the best. It's too bad your formative fan experiences can't be in Boston at the Garden but this was pretty much the same crowd but with better accents and black people. You really impressed me with how you handled the tough loss. Sure you were pretty upset, but you barely even cried, way to stay strong. And when you and your dad left with four tenths of a second left I reached over and I took one of those few tears and I drank it. It was delicious.

[montestewart]

For some reason, I thought it was a 6:30 start, and was there 30 minutes too early. When the two teams took the floor to warm up, the cheering was louder for the Celtics than for the Wizards. I had a bad feeling.

When your won arena is ringing with the chant "Let's Go Celtics," there's something wrong. And if I was sitting behind that kid with the giant green leprechaun hat...that hat would get hurt.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

how come when we lose, there are like 299 replies but when we win its like 134

Because so many have a harder time bitching about Flip but some people still rise to the challenge.

ok, I'll take the bait. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and crown Flip the next Red Auerbach.

Certainly, some things were better tonight... I'm really glad to see Kserph getting consistent minutes early, but was thrilled to see him back in in the second half. And yi-vaporate keeping his sweats on all second half was a beautiful sight.

Martin in the game for crucial stretches is a good thing too...

I'd love to see this as the norm... Even when Khoney gets back, he should never, ever, ever be in the same five as Wall. I'd love to see Cartier as our backup 2... Or as Fish hinted at, jho getting back up 2 minutes.

I think this roster, though not great, has some unusual qualities that could create matchup difficulties for opponents. I also think that there is an identity lurking under the surface just waiting to reveal itself.

My sinking suspicion however is that Flip is trying his best to overlay the 2006 Pistons onto this kit of parts.

[Zonkerbl]

Dear LIttle Celtics Fan who Sat Next to Me Tonight,

Hey kid. First of all nice job being a vocal fan but not an annoying fan, you were ahead of the curve for like five or something. I'm sorry you were disappointed that they weren't showing Celtics highlights on the jumbotron but your team is very ugly so that's probably for the best. It's too bad your formative fan experiences can't be in Boston at the Garden but this was pretty much the same crowd but with better accents and black people. You really impressed me with how you handled the tough loss. Sure you were pretty upset, but you barely even cried, way to stay strong. And when you and your dad left with four tenths of a second left I reached over and I took one of those few tears and I drank it. It was delicious.

HOF

[nate33]

I have my doubts about Howard at SG. I don't understand why we don't just give Martin all of the backup SG minutes, even when Howard gets healthy. And then have Hinrich take a few more of Wall's minutes. I'd like to see Wall play more like 32 minutes a game instead of 38. He looks much better when he is fresh and aggressive.

[pineappleheadindc]

per Wizards tweet:

John Wall on his late 3 pointer:

"I think I could have broken the backboard."

LOL - You gotta the kid.