Game 80: Philadelphia 76ers @ Washington Wizards 4/12/08

[Wiz Fo Champz]

"...it looks like tomorrow is going to be like a playoff game because if we lose, we put the cards in the 76ers' hands." said center Brendan Haywood. -Washington Post

This is going to be the biggest regular season game for the Wizards. We need to get the win tonight to make sure we play Cleveland in the first round which is obviousely the most favorable matchup at this point. Also, a loss could put is in a position to actually fall to 7th and we saw what happened in Detroit last night. Tonight is a must win.

Washington Wizards [41-38]:
PG- Antonio Daniels
SG- DeShawn Stevenson
SF- Caron Butler???? (Don't know whether he'll play)
PF- Antawn Jamison
C- Brendan Haywood
6th man- Gilbert Arenas

Philadelphia 76ers [40-39]:
PG- Andre Miller
SG- Willie Green
SF- Andre Iguadola
PF- Thaddeus Young
C- Samuel Dalembert
6th man- Rodney Carney/Louis Williams

Keys to the game:

Take away their fast-break:
Philly is not effective in the half-court and struggles hitting three pointers however when they make it a transition game the points start to stack on. If we keep them in the half-court they will really struggle.

Block off the interior:
Again, the Sixers can't shoot three's, just make sure we block off the interior and they'll struggle. Keep in mind that we've set an NBA record for most three's allowed in a season. This should be a terrific advantage for us and it will be a big night for Brendan Haywood.

Antawn Jamison:
Caron Butler will not be at 100% for this basketball game while Arenas is still trying to get his 'swagger' back. Jamison needs to have a productive night, we'll see how he matches up with an athletic young forward in Thaddeus Young.

[doclinkin]

Uh Champs, you might want to update your siggy.

[JWizmentality]

Me thinks this Gil off the bench thingy won't last too long.

[Wizards2Lottery]

Must win if we want the Cavs.

[Wiz Fo Champz]

Uh Champs, you might want to update your siggy.

done

[Rafael122]

I hope the crowd is up for it. After watching last night's Caps game, there's a huge difference between Cap and Wizards fans and they don't overlap either.

[miller31time]

I like our chances since we're at home, but it troubles me that Gilbert played last night, so he'll probably be even less effective that he was then. I also an worried that Caron A) won't be able to play because of stiffness in the knee, or B) will (like Arenas) be even less effective than he was against Detroit.....that's not good.

We're going to rely heavily on dead-eye perimeter shooting and a whole lot of Antawn Jamison to come away with this one, in my opinion.

[Mr. Perfect]

LETS GO WIZARDS! Every Raptor fan will be cheering for Washington tonight, I hope you guys come away with the win.

[duppyy]

C'mon wizards, raptor fans got your back. lol.

[steve101]

Please win tonight guys!!!

[Pass_The_Sticks]

I might go to the game tonight.

Let's go Wizards!

[hands11]

I like our chances since we're at home, but it troubles me that Gilbert played last night, so he'll probably be even less effective that he was then. I also an worried that Caron A) won't be able to play because of stiffness in the knee, or B) will (like Arenas) be even less effective than he was against Detroit.....that's not good.

We're going to rely heavily on dead-eye perimeter shooting and a whole lot of Antawn Jamison to come away with this one, in my opinion.

I disagree. I expect GA to shoot a higher % tonight. I'm looking for an efficient game from him scoring and passing.

I also think we will see RM and NY used earlier.

It would also be wise for us to return to the rhythm of feeding Haywood early and establishing a post game and getting them in foul trouble in the post early.

[Wiz99]

I'll be there. Sct. 400 on the hill. Row C. Dude with the goatee explaining the game to a German guy (colleague from work who is SO psyched to see this game after I told him a bit about the last 20 yrs of Wizards history and this season's injury woes).

[Wiz99]

I think the joint'll be rockin' tonight.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Should be a great game. This is the definition of a must win game. If we win we control the 5th seed.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

I would kill to be there tonight. It's the biggest game we've had in a long time, and I'll be at UVA watchin my little sister dance I'll definitely be a texting machine, ya'll might catch me in the next Verizon/ESPN commercial as "MVP of UVA's Spring Dance Concert"

I would love for Bulletproof to revert to his 12-14, 26/8/4 self that torched the Sixers back in November. Actually I'm down with him repeating that anytime he wants, because now its just reminiscent of when Kwame dropped 30/19 on CWeb before crawling back into his hole. And 'Proof has already shown he's better than that bum... hopefully he shows up TONIGHT!

[carlos1223]

You guys will beat us by about 25 points if our inept "starter" Willie Green gets a significant amount of minutes

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

You guys will beat us by about 25 points if our inept "starter" Willie Green gets a significant amount of minutes

I wouldnt sweat it, inept starters, especially shot jackers, love to burn the Wizards. Simply you saying that makes me fear a big night from him. Shoot, didn't he burn us last year or the year before it on a night Iverson wasn't playing and we should have easily won???

[HumbleBumbleBee]

good luck boys...you probably have all of toronto cheering for you guys tonight

beat the **** out of philly

EDIT: what happened to the flame throwing thread..i loved that (tried to get one going on the raps board...it got shot down fast)

[doctaJ_92]

All of Toronto has united tonight to chant

LETS GO WIZARDS