RealGM

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___________VS_________

__7-2 Overall (0-0 vs West), Streak: W3______________7-3 Overall (2-1 vs East), Streak: W3
__1st Southeast Div / 2nd Eastern Conf________________3rd Southwest Div / 5th Western Conf


It feels as though the Wizards are playing an NFL schedule, with what seems like a week between games. Following a workman-like win on Saturday night vs the Orlando Magic, YOUR Washington Wizards gear up for their first game against a Western Conference opponent this season and the visiting Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs (as this is written) are coming off of a 131-117 ABA-style win versus the Minnesota T-Wolves, including 30 from SG Monta Ellis. Perennial all-star and future Hall of Famer PF Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 20.3 points (27.6 PER) for Dallas.

Let's meet the starting lineups.

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_______PG John Wall, 6'4" (Kentucky)_______________PG Jameer Nelson, 6'0" (St. Joseph's)
________19.4 ppg, 9.1 apg, 3.9 rpg______________________6.7 ppg, 3.9 apg, 2.3 rpg


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_______SG Garrett Temple, 6'6" (LSU)__________________SG Monta Ellis, 6'3" (Lanier H.S.)
________9.1 ppg, 2.1 apg, 3.9 rpg________________________18.4 ppg, 4.4 apg, 2.6 rpg


_____

_______SF Paul Pierce, 6'8" (Kansas)__________________SF Chandler Parsons, 6'9" (Florida)
________11.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.8 apg_______________________14.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 apg


_____

_______PF Nene Hilario, 6'11" (Brazil)_________________PF Dirk Nowitzki, 6'11" (Germany)
________12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.8 apg________________________20.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.4 apg


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_______C Marcin Gortat, 6'11" (Poland)____________C Tyson Chandler, 7'1" (Dominguez H.S.)
________13.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.3 bpg______________________11.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.7 bpg


For Wizards fans, this game may mark one of the last in the "Garrett Temple Starting" era for a while. SG Bradley Beal is scheduled to start practicing this week following pre-season surgery to his non-shooting wrist and hopes to make his return to the lineup on Friday versus the Cleveland Cavs. In recent games, SG/SF Rasual Butler has filled in well. In fact the Wiz bench mob of Butler, PF Kris Humphries and SF Otto Porter have all contributed greatly to recent Washington efforts. Because of Nowitzki's mobility, don't be surprised if Wiz Head Coach Randy Wittman breaks out PF/C Drew Gooden at some point in the game as a defensive match-up.

And if you're a Dallas fan, you're invited to partake in the Wizards trolling and insults thread. Come in a good-natured spirit and drop your most clever, witty, and snarky bombs at the Wiz. It's a safe place, we invite it. (With fair warning that we'll give it as good as we take it.)

Yeah, the Polar Vortex is on its way in on Tuesday -- thanks for nothing, Ji. But it'll be warm within the confines of the Phone Booth. The Mavs seem to be the perfect (perfect meaning most difficult) match-up for the Wiz. A small, quick, and shifty PG. Mobile bigs who can score away from the basket. Mobile big in the middle who can challenge Gortat and also protect the rim.

Can YOUR Washington Wizards up their game versus one of the Association's quality teams? Post your thoughts and predictions here.

What: Wizards vs Mavericks
Where: Verizon Center -- Washington, DC
When: 7:00 p.m. Eastern
TV: Comcast Sportsnet, NBA League Pass, quasi-legal internet streams
Radio: 99.1 WNEW FM / WFED 1500 AM

Go Wizards!

Felton to begin serving his ban this Monday.

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/i ... ban-monday

Last year we were 2-7 and guys had that meeting for players only, now we're 7-2. What a difference! Let's protect our home again:

Gonna be a tough game for sure. Nice to have the crowd backing us for this one though

First true test of the season.

The Mavs are one of the best coached teams in the NBA. Rick Carlisle will definitely outcoach Wittless on Wednesday night.

A win would be fantastic but I'm not expecting one. We're undermanned and facing a very talented Dallas team that's clicking on all cylinders right now.

But because we're at home, we have a shot. Should be fun and I'm really hoping for a loud atmosphere from the VC-faithful.

Playing with house money on Wednesday.

Hey, good turnout for the Orlando game, hey? Must have been because it was a saturday game. Hope there's a big turnout for dallas even though it's a Wednesday game.

lots of good comments above.
toughest test yet.
house money
expecting a loss but we have more than a puncher's chance.
Wall should dominate Jameer.
We'll need an outstanding defensive effort.

This is a tough match up for us. We'll need the bench to step it up once again. I worry whether Temple has the foot speed to keep up with Ellis. It will be fun watching Gortat and Chandler mix it up. I won't be too disappointed with a loss, so long as we keep it close.

Apparently, the Wizards requested big gaps between games so that everyone would have time to participate in NaNoWriMo. Six players are already finished. Sources tell me Wittman is close, and has a chance to finish up before the Dallas game.

Sources also tell me Wittman's book is "young adult fiction" about a high school basketball player who fell in love with mid-range jumpers and worked obsessively to "perfect his game" in that area. The big ending has the kid being picked first overall in the NBA draft.

One critical area of focus -- turnovers. The Mavs are 19th on DRtg, and they're 7th worst in Efg% allowed. But they force the highest turnover rate in the league. If the Wiz can limit turnovers, they should be able to find some offensive success against Dallas.

One area for hope may be the Wizards interior D. While Dallas is shooting it well from just about everywhere (they're actually only average shooting 3's), they are murdering people in close -- 71% from 0-3 feet. That's Chandler, Branden Wright, and Dirk. The Wiz are 11th (slightly above average) defending shots close in. Hopefully our interior beef can force a subpar night from from their bigs -- maybe get them in some foul trouble -- and good things can flow from there.

We haven't beaten a good team yet (although we've only played two good teams: Miami, Toronto) so I would really like to see a win here. Beating Dallas on Wednesday and Cavs on Friday would make me so giddy.

I'm dreading how many Ellis/Dirk PnRs we are going to switch >.>

Expecting a loss, hoping for a dagger. Carlisle is the 2nd best coach in the NBA and it should show come Wednesday night. Prove me wrong Randy. Plz.

we are again a top 10 defense but we play the top 2 offenses in the league coming up. With that being said, neither of those defenses scare me at all. Nene, PP, and Wall should light up Dirk, Parsons, and Nelson. Its the same with the 2nd unit and its the same with the Cavs. Neither team should stop us

Bench-mob or bust. Stellar production from our bench will be the only way we can avoid a beat-down.

usually I would post this in the nba discussion thread but since they are our next opponent, Ill post here. Watching the Mavs-Bobcats 1st half and that Offense is on point. Just great unselfishness and not much weakness but I still think we can matchup much better than the Bobcats and that they can be had on defense

closg00 wrote:Bench-mob or bust. Stellar production from our bench will be the only way we can avoid a beat-down.

I still think we are a better team then our fans give us credit for and we can play with anyone when we are right. We are due to put it all together. I dont see us as an inferior team to the elite like others do. I dont expect a beatdown but I would feel alot better with Beal

dlts20 wrote:

closg00 wrote:Bench-mob or bust. Stellar production from our bench will be the only way we can avoid a beat-down.

I still think we are a better team then our fans give us credit for and we can play with anyone when we are right. We are due to put it all together. I dont see us as an inferior team to the elite like others do. I dont expect a beatdown but I would feel alot better with Beal

That hasn't been proven yet, we're about to find out.

Mavs offense is absolutely filthy. I think we probably lose this by double digits without BB. However I absolutely believe we can beat Cleveland on Fri.

Mavs demolished the hornets on the road....god I hope the law of averages evens out on Wednesday...