Official Thread - Hornets at Wizards (3/2/08)

[wateryd]

hellllllll yeah that was a good time tonight. jamison set the tone early on and it was just a jamison kinda game for the whole team. hot and cold (1st and 3rd, ugh, 2nd and 4th, oh yes) but always staying composed and playing hard. everyone on the roster made a contribution and EJ worked the lineups well, i thought. he subbed out both brendan and deshawn pretty early in the third and they both came back with tons of energy and were difference makers in the 4th. just a terrific win.

[RickRoll_inDC]

one thing i've noticed lately is that ball movement has been so much better. Hopefully when Gil gets back we can still do the same thing. He'd still get his points by cutting backdoor and getting a bounce pass.

when i checked back in in the 4th quarter, i think i saw 4 or 5 backdoor cuts in the last 7 minutes.

Grades for tonight:
3's: C- :less than 30% won't win a lot of games
FG: B+: 43 is pretty good and no one was held scoreless
FT: A- : Apart from Haywood, only 2 misses
Reb.: A: 15 offensive rebounds!
Def.: A :forced 15 turnovers including 6 on Paul

overall: B+ effort in the win. 3 point percentage could've been better, but apart from that, everyone played great.

[DCZards]

How does this team continue to beat quality teams with two missing all-stars and a lousy head coach.

[miller31time]

How does this team continue to beat quality teams with two missing all-stars and a lousy head coach.

Not saying EJ is a lousy head coach but....

Improved defense
More Haywood
AB getting better and better
Role players stepping up

Then add EJ's preparation and offensive system into the equation and you have a team that's able to compete.

[bulletproof_32]

How does this team continue to beat quality teams with two missing all-stars and a lousy head coach.

Not to mention the fact that our starting lineup consists of:

An over the hill PG that can't guard his shadow.
An overpaid, below average SG, that can

[miller31time]

And the White Ruffin (ok, well maybe that one is accurate).

But really, Song's been playing well as of late. His jumper is back which at least makes him a passable NBA player.

[clubbing_caveman]

That was a great game. I didnt know Pech was such a good 3 point shooter.
I am really impressed with the effort this team put out today. For some reason, they match up well with the Hornets. EJ did well with the substitutions.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Jordan coached a good game and everyone played hard

[Ruzious]

West and Chandler both hate Brendan.

Yeah, whenever West came into the lane, he was met with force. Even when Haywood was out, Blatche and Pech gave him heck. He was very frustrated by the Wiz defense. The interior D was outstanding against a very good team. I can live with the few alley-oops completed to Chandler.

[mh83]

BTW how many times does EJ have to prove himself to you guys? On almost every other team you would see a fullscale collapse if the top two players were injuried. Say what you will about hovering around .500 but clearly that has not happened. Credit has to go to Grumfeld as well.

[wateryd]

west was clearly frustrated from the very beginning. early on brendan tied him up for a jump ball but borderline mauled him and from that point on west felt like he should be getting calls every time. he didn't, and he was upset.

"They made more than we attempted," said David West, who scored 14 points, "so you're not going to win a game when it's that lopsided in terms of free throws. I thought we took the ball hard to the basket. I thought we were aggressive. I thought we attacked."

sorry dude, you just got outplayed and outworked on this night. he's still a great rising star, though, i see a lot of antawn in him.

[DCZards]

BTW how many times does EJ have to prove himself to you guys? On almost every other team you would see a fullscale collapse if the top two players were injuried. Say what you will about hovering around .500 but clearly that has not happened. Credit has to go to Grumfeld as well.

I think I can answer your question. For some posters (fortunately they're a small, yet vocal, minority), EJ has to "prove himself" on just about every possession...and after every timeout. It's in their DNA to second-guess, criticize, play wannabe NBA coach, and fire the head coach at half-time of every game.

You'd think EJ would get some credit for the way he has kept his team together and playing well despite adversity, like the loss of two all-stars. He's plugged in previously unproven players like Nick, AB, Mason and DMac and the Zards have kept on truckin'.

(BTW, shouldn't we be thankful that our team--and some on this board--have effectively shut up those who wanted to "tank" the season.)

But, hey, the "furious five" is finding less and less to complain about. In fact, have we heard from Hands, Lyrical or Dat since last night's win?

[dobrojim]

Brendan has been shaky from the free throw line lately. Hopefully it's just a short slump.

You're right. The last few games he's been pretty mediocre.
Hopefully he gets his groove back. Still a pretty solid overall
effort by BTH last night. Loved that he played most/all the 4thQ
(iirc)

[dobrojim]

-= original quote snipped =-

miller31time wrote:
Wow, someone might want to get on that Peja guy...I hear he can shoot a good 3.



It just amazes me how we tend to do this...not only in this game, but it's been a pattern.

The thing that bothers me most about this is that is seems like they
typically don't gain any advantage in some other respect by leaving
shooters. Stay right in their jerseys, deny them touches...that is the
way I would tell my team to guard a guy like Peja or Mo Pete for
that matter. It seems like the TO corrected that issue. Nice call EJ.

[dobrojim]

AD cannot guard Paul

pretty true

but the strange thing is, DMac does seem to give CP3 problems.
You'd think he'd bust right by him but it doesn't happen.

[dobrojim]

McGuire hitting J's....we got this game on lock!

How about that! Me likes.

He hits a couple J's just like a decent NBA player....then he missed
the chippy at the basket. Oh well. DMac is finding a groove now.
Good to see.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

-= original quote snipped =-



How about that! Me likes.

He hits a couple J's just like a decent NBA player....then he missed
the chippy at the basket. Oh well. DMac is finding a groove now.
Good to see.

he missed the lay in 1st....then hit shots, hilarious it is.

[BigA]

-= original quote snipped =-

You're right. The last few games he's been pretty mediocre.
Hopefully he gets his groove back. Still a pretty solid overall
effort by BTH last night. Loved that he played most/all the 4thQ
(iirc)

Hope we don't have to break out the "Fire Dave Hopla" thread.

[dobrojim]

just got back from the game. Man it was nice! anyone else in section 108? i'm gonna have to get some more tix, maybe even for magic wednesday!

107 is my regular section (AS package)

next game for us is a freebie they sent, CHA SAT night.
[edit- not in the lower level...presumably nosebleeds but
can't argue with the price]

Gotta win that one, especially if GWallace doesn't play.
Also, we may catch a break vs TOR as Bosh is out for the
time being.

[Higga]

Byron Scott is Eddie Jordan's bitch.