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The Washington Wizards lost a winnable game this past Saturday against the Raptors. John Wall had 23 points, 15 assists, and 4 steals. While Wall was on fire from three (3 of 5 from the field), Wall only converted 3 out of 15 of his 2 point field goal attempts. Bradley Beal had 19 points which was more than DeRozan but at the end of the day not good enough especially since he only had 2 points in the 4th quarter. Otto Porter only took 7 shots which was the fewest among all Washington's starters . Washington's defense only allowed DeRozan and Lowry a combined 28 points but Serge Ibaka still went off for 23 points and Washington's bench was outscored 42 to 21.

Overall, Washington needs to do a better job closing out on 3 point shooters as the Raptors shot an astounding 53% from 3 point range and a 66 TS% from the field. The Wizards could also look to play their bench more in game 2. Washington's bench only played a total of 50 minutes while the Raptors benched played 87 minutes. Hopefully Washington can get Porter, Morris, Scott and Gortat going again who all had efficient scoring nights in game 1. In the meantime, the Wizards should hope to get more contributions from their bench. Satoransky only played 11 minutes. Kelly Oubre is playing with a lot of energy including getting 5 rebounds and a stea but needs to rein it in a bit offensively as he had 2 turnovers and only converted 1-4 shots. Mahinmi in 2 minutes had 2 fouls and 1 turnover and never saw the floor again in the 2nd half.

Overall there are a couple of adjustments that the Wizards and Brooks could make. The Wizards could choose to stagger the lineups more so that the Wizards could always have one of Wall and Beal on the floor at all times. The Wizards could also play more guys so that Washington can till have energy when it comes down to the 4th quarter. Finally, Wall has to be a bit prudent when driving to the basket. Overall, the Wizards need Wall to overcome some rust. Beal has to play better in the 4th quarter. Otto Porter has to be more aggressive. Or the Wizards could find themselves down 0-2 when they head back to Washington. The Wizards may have to resort to smaller lineups to defend the 3 point shot as well as create spacing for the Wizards offense. Hopefully the 2 days between games has given ample time for Washington to learn from their mistakes.

Here was the last time the Wizards won a game 2 in the playoffs in Toronto

Turn the beat around Kanyewest!

Wizards win pulling away. Wall & starters dominate and manage to hold off the Raps bench.

Wizards win this one. Wall and Beal are going to destroy


Pretty important game also, you split and head home, not sure about Toronto’s ability to win on the road. Wiz would be in firm control of the series.


Brooks needs to do a better job with the rotation. One of Wall or Beal should always be on the court, Sato should be the only guard that plays, no random minutes for Frazier. We need to get Otto up to the power forward spot. Don’t fall in love with Mike Scott.

We HAVE to defend better to win games, playing one of the worst defenders in the NBA 30 minutes is suicide.

I don't think the Wizards will win, but I think they have more of a chance than they had in Game 1. With each passing game, our strategic disadvantage in coaching becomes less of a factor. Everybody gets to know each other's stuff and takes away all of the "system points". It will eventually boil down to talent and individual playmaking. Also, Toronto invested so much mental and emotional energy in overcoming that Game 1 jinx that there might be a slight letdown on Game 2. And finally, as time goes on, Wall works off more rust and Porter gets healthier.

All that said, it's incredibly hard to have any confidence in this Wizards team. They are undisciplined and mentally weak. I have no faith in them to deal with adversity; I have no faith in their ability to consistently take smart shots; and I have no faith in their ability to score in crunch time.

This is the series. Must win game.

I want Brooks to use Oubre in our small ball lineup, but I would settle for more minutes for Sato at small forward and simply staying big like they did last game. That was a winnable game if you subtract Oubre’s choke job.

I don’t need Brooks to “get it” I just need him to not be a colossal moron.

dcstanley wrote:This is the series. Must win game.

Agreed. 100%, they are not winning 4 out of 5 after a loss tonight.

Sorry, I'm not buying this as a must win for anyone except Toronto. We still have 3 of the next 4 at home and our playoff crowd is a thousand times better than our regular season crowd. All we need is 1. If we go back home 1-1 then they are in trouble but 0-2 doesn't eliminate us because I still think we could come back to Toronto 2-2 with all the pressure on them in game 5

As for the game, I think our backcourt will be great, we will play harder, they will relax some, and we will tie it up heading home

We're in trouble if Ibaka shoots like he did in the first game because who's going to cover him? Kieff is listed as questionable and I know he'll go but how will he be able to contest 3's if he's a bit gimpy? He normally doesn't contest 3s when he's healthy. If Porter is healthy, I think you go with him at the 4 for at least 10 minutes in this one with Scott or Kieff at the 5 if Ibaka is playing the 4. I'd rather have a quicker and more agile lineup covering the 3-point line.

80sballboy wrote:We're in trouble if Ibaka shoots like he did in the first game because who's going to cover him? Kieff is listed as questionable and I know he'll go but how will he be able to contest 3's if he's a bit gimpy? He normally doesn't contest 3s when he's healthy. If Porter is healthy, I think you go with him at the 4 for at least 10 minutes in this one with Scott or Kieff at the 5 if Ibaka is playing the 4. I'd rather have a quicker and more agile lineup covering the 3-point line.

If Kieff was out, I would guarantee a Wizards win. His overall penchant for not closing out on shooters or giving minimal effort in terms of challenging shots literally kills this team's defense.

My hope is that Ibaka simply won't be as hot. If Markieff is playing, I'm sure Serge will get open looks, hopefully he just won't make as many.

Kieff is bad at closing out on shooters but he also had 23pts in the last game. That's a position we're not exactly stacked at. So you can move Otto to the 4 and Oubre to the 3, which ain't the greatest thing either. Not with the way Oubre is playing. You can start Sato at the 3 but then who will be the backup 2? Ramon Sessions?

80sballboy wrote:Kieff is bad at closing out on shooters but he also had 23pts in the last game. That's a position we're not exactly stacked at. So you can move Otto to the 4 and Oubre to the 3, which ain't the greatest thing either. Not with the way Oubre is playing. You can start Sato at the 3 but then who will be the backup 2? Ramon Sessions?

They could throw Ty Lawson in there, but I feel pretty comfortable with Oubre starting

NatP4 wrote:

80sballboy wrote:Kieff is bad at closing out on shooters but he also had 23pts in the last game. That's a position we're not exactly stacked at. So you can move Otto to the 4 and Oubre to the 3, which ain't the greatest thing either. Not with the way Oubre is playing. You can start Sato at the 3 but then who will be the backup 2? Ramon Sessions?

They could throw Ty Lawson in there, but I feel pretty comfortable with Oubre starting

I'm not really comfortable with Oubre on the floor period. Lawson has to play a few minutes in this game or there was no reason to bring him here from China. Either way, Kieff will start because he came back in after he was injured in the last game. Oubre has to make smarter decisions on the floor on both ends or we are in trouble because he will play a ton of minutes.

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80sballboy wrote:

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IMO, this is why they have to get Markieff off the team because he's become the veteran leader and that's one guy you don't want leading anything at this point.

Beyond Markieff, this organization needs a culture change... but Markieff is a good start.

Dat2U wrote:

80sballboy wrote:

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IMO, this is why they have to get Markieff off the team because he's become the veteran leader and that's one guy you don't want leading anything at this point.

Beyond Markieff, this organization needs a culture change... but Markieff is a good start.

They need to completely revamp their frontcourt and add more athleticism overall. It's hilarious to watch Wall push the ball up the floor and he's going 1 on 5 because none of his teammates can keep up with him. As efficient as good a shooter as Otto is, I worry about the hip and other nagging injuries that he plays through. If he was 225 or so, he'd be a much better option for the 4/5.