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I don't like Wall running iso's at the end of quarters, especially at the end of games. He can't shoot so the defense knows to clog the lane. That behind the back crap was a joke.

Monster game by Webster, 24 points on 11 attempts. Wow

I tend to agree but would point out that THIS year, Wall has already
made a couple of end-of-quarter shots so I'm willing to keep it
in context that he failed this one time. Same thing for his D.
He had gotten burned but still pulled off a huge steal which
should have put the game away.

Martell is THE MAN. He's been ballin his @ss off.

Beal looks at the sky, points and says whatever every time he makes a shot. He was probably doing something similar as soon as Crawford shot went in which may be why he didn't start celebrating right away.

Wow, I'm traveling so I missed the game, but saw the last second highlight. In looking at the box score, I'm amazed we won with Wall and Beal blowing big chunks. Was Beal's wrist from the fall bothering him? Hopefully this is a short term blip for both of them. Considering how the season started, its amazing the Wizards now have the confidence to win a game like this.

A few more quick thoughts:

I am reminded of the Zach Lowe piece about how having good players matters that someone pasted a few days ago and nate's post that I repasted in the "culture change" thread about liking the construction of the roster. Nene has been struggling/laboring of late, but the Wiz have been winning because our young backcourt has been playing great. Last night the backcourt struggled mightily, but Nene and Webster came up huge. Basically with our full complement of guys, there is a decent chance that someone is going to have it going offensively among Wall, Beal, Crawford, Nene, Seraphin, Webster, etc. And good for Wittman for riding the hot hand. With a healthy roster, we actually have some margin for error.

There's a lot to like about Portland's squad. Some of their fans on the trade board are talking about trading Aldridge. I wouldn't even consider that; they're just too shallow. They need another 3 good roation players so they're overplaying their studs and/or losing leads on account of ROnnie Price, Claver, Babbit . They have cap room this summer (though they have to re-up HIckson), but I'd want them to continue to build on what they have. Meyers Leonard may prove to be really good, but he's a couple years away. He still looks like a kid. I'd consider trading him for some more "now" pieces like Gortat or Varajeo. Batum and Aldridge are fantastic.

I know nothing should ever surprise me with this crowd, but I seriously cannot believe the pixels devoted to scrutinizing Beal's reaction to the win. The guy's expression doesn't change when he dunks on people's heads. Just a cool cat is all.

Went to sleep after the 3rd. Great to see they pulled out the win. I dont remember the last time the Wizards had such a successful road trip.

Watched the game via League Pass. The Blazers' broadcasters are just awful. Kept calling out the Wiz on team defense and rebounding. Granted, they're not the best in either category. But certainly far from the worst.

nuposse04 wrote:

truwizfan4evr wrote:Beal worry about his starting spot?

absolutely not. Its a non issue. The rook is allowed a bad night or two. Wes Matthews is one of the better defenders on the wing that the NBA has to offer. Beal could just never get in a rhythm. Teams are definitely going to pay more attention to him so other players will need to come up big.

I'm saying the fact he didn't celebrate the game winning shot you think that starting spot was in the back of his mind or was he jealous of Crawford taking his min's?

fishercob wrote:I know nothing should ever surprise me with this crowd, but I seriously cannot believe the pixels devoted to scrutinizing Beal's reaction to the win. The guy's expression doesn't change when he dunks on people's heads. Just a cool cat is all.

Fish this is not directed to you. I remember earlier in the season people were saying that Beal had too much emotion and not having a game face. Now people are saying he is a "cool cat". I find that funny

Random observation: Are the Wizards Jeremy Lin 2.0? i.e. Is Wall's "freshness" and the Wizards new look taking teams by surprise? Will their "freshness" be game planned against after AS weekend?

fishercob wrote:I know nothing should ever surprise me with this crowd, but I seriously cannot believe the pixels devoted to scrutinizing Beal's reaction to the win. The guy's expression doesn't change when he dunks on people's heads. Just a cool cat is all.

This board is unbearable during games, particularly when Jay81 and queridiculo start reinforcing each other's negative comments.

I can't believe how negative this board was despite the Wizards leading, on the road, in game 4 of a west coast swing having played 3 out of the last 4 nights. If one guy has a bad sequence, all you hear is "Player X is awful". And, "What is Wittman doing putting this guy on the court?". Newsflash people! The other team is trying to win too. And they also have talent.

Beal didn't look like he was sulking. He's celebrating

noworriesinmd wrote:Random observation: Are the Wizards Jeremy Lin 2.0? i.e. Is Wall's "freshness" and the Wizards new look taking teams by surprise? Will their "freshness" be game planned against after AS weekend?

I don't think so. Frankly, the Wizards surge isn't so much because of their offense. It's their defense. Their DRtg since Wall's return is 99.6 - a number good enough to rank them 2nd in the league defensively.

And they played the 4th, 6th, 13th, 15th, 18th, and 21st best offenses in the league during that stretch, so it's a better-than-average group of teams.

I was set to take the blame for a loss. I was helping my son with a project for school and recorded the game for later viewing. Finished up in time to turn on the end of the game to find the Wizards leading late in the 4th. Portland immediately went on a run to get within two, whereupon the Wizards opened a 5 pt lead, at which point Portland came back with a 5-0 run. And I figured -- if the Wizards lose, it's gonna be my fault. But, I dug deep within myself and summoned the courage to keep watching, and Crawford hit that 3 and so now, I get to take full credit for the win!

truwizfan4evr wrote:I'm saying the fact he didn't celebrate the game winning shot you think that starting spot was in the back of his mind or was he jealous of Crawford taking his min's?

I think that's silly. This stuff about Beal's reaction last night is much ado about nothing.

I agree Zards. It's ado about less than nothing. Beal's demeanor and enthusiasm for Crawford's (and the team's) success in that 4th quarter was actually a positive.

Unable to watch the game, so I can only comment on the boxscore from which it seems that Martell Webster had an incredibly efficient game.

Portland drafted him, so I guess he was looking to show them that they shouldn't have given up on him.

Martell just has to pretend we're playing Portland every night.

DCZards wrote:

truwizfan4evr wrote:I'm saying the fact he didn't celebrate the game winning shot you think that starting spot was in the back of his mind or was he jealous of Crawford taking his min's?

I think that's silly. This stuff about Beal's reaction last night is much ado about nothing.

Very intelligent comment

http://www.nba.com/wizards/video/courts ... crawford-1

@ the 1 minute mark. The attitude of this team is fantastic right now.