Washington Magic @ Orlando Wizards @ Amway @ 7 p.m.

[FFBlitzace]

lol

[yungal07]

-= original quote snipped =-



sounds about right...and your basketball fundamentals knowledge is sub par if you are unable to discern a flop from getting knocked over...especially when he is known league wide as a flopper...i am sorry...

any who, decent game by your club...no team played very well, but your squad was better down the stretch...congrats...

Haywood is known league-wide as a flopper? That's news to me. What I did see was a freak of a physical specimen throw a shoulder into Haywood and knock him down. I'm sure you're not suggesting that Howard hasn't been called for that before.

Anyway, gil is right...Haywood is one of the best defensive bigs in the NBA right now. He did a great job on Howard.

[aleZ]

I understand this was a tough loss for many but I think we should show a little more respect for how hard Washington competed in this game.

Good post, you may consider spacing or paragraphs to make it easier to read

As for Haywood, he's never been knows as a flopper, but he's not a great defender either, he's just a mediocre player having a good year. Dwight has to increase his arsenal of moves and bball IQ cuz he can't just manhandle everybody, everytime.

When a team succeeds in making his life harder down low, he has to find teammates or find other solutions. The refs don't give you the calls you're expecting? Don't whine, find other means to help your squad.

Oh and BAF, I don't think Washington was pathetic playing all year without Arenas and still making the postseason.

[MagicNolesFSU]

theThief . Hey I understand Haywoodis not a big name like Camby, Duncan, Rasheed, or even Garnett so of course if I say something about how good he is at something and Im the Anti-christ. Like I said it's my opinion Haywood is right at the top when it comes to 1 on 1 defense in the post,

There is a reason haywood is not mention with any of those names you listed.

[damo[23]]

When you get 10 points from Rashard and Dwight combined you cant feel good about your chances of winning.

[HeyIt'sMe]

Haywood flops, and it's clear as daylight that he does. I don't have a problem with him doing it when the refs ALWAYS give him the call, but at the same time, he's one of the stronger players in the league and I don't care how strong Dwight is... a player of Haywood's strength and stature doesn't go down that easily unless he's blatantly flopping.

[Wayland The Smith]

i'm still sad, hedo's career night shouldn't have ended like this. missed fts at the end hurted us so much. i think hedo missed them cause he was so tired. at the 4th quarter someone else should have defended butler...
i think rashard should have used the last ball..

and i wanna say that i hate garrity and cook... i have no idea what the hell they are doing in the nba...

[aleZ]

a player of Haywood's strength and stature doesn't go down that easily unless he's blatantly flopping.

Nobody says he never flops, just that he's not a flopper like Varejao or Ginobili , ppl like you or Thief should really stop finding new excuses every time Dwight has a subpar game. But hey, I know it's asking too much

[BassMaster]

Haywood flops, and it's clear as daylight that he does. I don't have a problem with him doing it when the refs ALWAYS give him the call, but at the same time, he's one of the stronger players in the league and I don't care how strong Dwight is... a player of Haywood's strength and stature doesn't go down that easily unless he's blatantly flopping.

Well next year should prove interesting the NBA said that they going to have refs inforce and call fouls on players who flop this rule is also suppose to go into force in college as well.

[zuppafly]

I wanna ask my fellow Magic fans dissing Haywood here: how many games of Haywood have you watched this season? By the way you guys talk about him not being a top 20 1on1 defender (I believe it was the_thief who said it), you must watch many Washington games... I don't, but I have to think there might be a reason why Washington fans keep saying he's a superb defender since last year. Don't you think that there might be a reason why he keeps making his opponents have a horrible offensive night? Yes, he's not an offensive force. Yes, he flops a bit... like any other good defender on this league. My only problem with flopping is that we don't have a big time flopper on this team.
The truth is that Haywood shut down Dwight on offense last night, and the credit is all his.

[drsd]

Firstly, I am quite bumbed by this game. But, in a game where Howard and Lewis were far from assisting a win, the Magic still had the ball in their hands with five seconds left. That's very good indeed.

I wanna ask my fellow Magic fans dissing Haywood here: how many games of Haywood have you watched this season? By the way you guys talk about him not being a top 20 1on1 defender (I believe it was the_thief who said it), you must watch many Washington games... I don't, but I have to think there might be a reason why Washington fans keep saying he's a superb defender since last year. Don't you think that there might be a reason why he keeps making his opponents have a horrible offensive night? Yes, he's not an offensive force. Yes, he flops a bit... like any other good defender on this league. My only problem with flopping is that we don't have a big time flopper on this team.
The truth is that Haywood shut down Dwight on offense last night, and the credit is all his.

To add: Haywood is routinely a target for fan trades. Clearly he is a bread-N-butter guy that fills out a roster. A couple years back, when Howard was a PF, there was a lot of chatter here about Haywood as a Center.

Look, Howard was not in double digits scoring. Any opponent Center should take full credit for the defensive effort. Full stop (period).

[Gerhalt11]

I wanna ask my fellow Magic fans dissing Haywood here: how many games of Haywood have you watched this season? By the way you guys talk about him not being a top 20 1on1 defender (I believe it was the_thief who said it), you must watch many Washington games... I don't, but I have to think there might be a reason why Washington fans keep saying he's a superb defender since last year. Don't you think that there might be a reason why he keeps making his opponents have a horrible offensive night? Yes, he's not an offensive force. Yes, he flops a bit... like any other good defender on this league. My only problem with flopping is that we don't have a big time flopper on this team.
The truth is that Haywood shut down Dwight on offense last night, and the credit is all his.

I actually live in DC so I watch and attend Wizards games on a pretty regular basis. I'll say Haywood is a solid defender. He's a banger on the defensive end and he's not afraid to put a body on you. He does flop a lot, but I wouldn't say he's one of the more aggregious offenders in the league.

Having said all that, he is hardly top-tier in terms of low-post defending. I'd say he's better than most, but it's gibberish to claim he was totally responsible for Howard's horrible night.

[surflawyer]

I didnt get to go to this game so I cant comment but from the other posts Ive read I can interject this observation from all the other games.

Dwight gets frustrated very easily and has a bad habit of "banging" rather than "moving" the defender. Dwight needs to get low and use his legs to get position. His body language when he goes in with that lowered shoulder is nohing less than a "CALL A FOUL ON ME" sign.

Just like various other superstars in the league, Howard is being figured out. Chauncey was exposed when teams started to guard him with a bigger guard. T Mac was exposed by being guarded by taller athletic players. Ray Allen was exposed when he was guarded by smaller quicker players. And on and on. Great players adapt and grow. Howard needs to listen to Ewing who (I hope) is telling him how to cope with this new found way to guard him. We cant change the refs we can only change the way we play.

I am personally looking forward to Dwight's next 3 point game. If he does his homework and learns from this experience it will still be a double double with 20 rebounds and 10 assists.

GO MAGIC lets steal one and get back on track!

[mhectorgato]

i'm still sad, hedo's career night shouldn't have ended like this. missed fts at the end hurted us so much. i think hedo missed them cause he was so tired. at the 4th quarter someone else should have defended butler...
i think rashard should have used the last ball..

Hedo had a great game.

Unfortunately when you take the game winning shot and miss, many times that is forgotten and you get the criticism for not winning the game.

If Howard scored more than 3 points ...
If Rashard connected one of his 8 3PA misses ...
If we stopped Jamison one more time ...
If Dwight turned it over only 3 times ...

But to shoot 33.8% as a team and only loose by 1 point, well it's still a lose, but we still gave ourselves a chance to win the game.

[theTHIEF]

1) I never said Haywood didn't do a good job with Howard, never.
2) Haywood is not a top one on one defender, period.
3) Haywood flopped on his first trip to the deck, don't forget he had multiple. Haywood admits that he is floppalicious, there was an article on ESPN awhile back regarding flopping and he was asked about his flopping and he said "i think it's a gift" or something like that...so there is no refuting what comes from the horses mouth...I'm sure someone can track down the article, i don't have the time...

and you don't have to watch every Haywood game to know a flop from a hit, it's not that hard to spot one, if you know your ball that is...I watched a lot of Haywood at Carolina, but that doesn't make me a Haywood expert. One game or 100, it doesn't matter...and it's silly to even ask that question...

this is the silliest discussion ever...

people take utter offense to having one of their guys called a flopper, but in most cases it benefits their club. get over it...just be glad you have someone who is willing to put himself and his teammates in danger by hitting the deck and move on...the Magic don't have one of those guys, yet....but we're waiting...

Gortat

[Optimus_Steel]

If i was a Wiz fan i would be concerned. Dwight and Lewis had their worst games of the season. Maybe Dwight's worst game of his career. The Magic shot 34% from the field. And it still took some missed FT's late and a missed shot at the buzzer to beat the Magic by one whole point. Those guys dont scare me.

[maginno]

Missed the game too but I don't really take too much from it. They had a let down after the Cavs game which they were naturally up for. They will rebound (so to speak). Not too concerned. Step away from the ledge.

As for Dwight. I think he has the other moves but that Stan doesn't want him relying too much on new things. If it becomes a problem then he'll mix it up with a few things you could see him trying and getting better at during the preseason and early regular season games.

[nate33]

1) I never said Haywood didn't do a good job with Howard, never.
2) Haywood is not a top one on one defender, period.
3) Haywood flopped on his first trip to the deck, don't forget he had multiple. Haywood admits that he is floppalicious, there was an article on ESPN awhile back regarding flopping and he was asked about his flopping and he said "i think it's a gift" or something like that...so there is no refuting what comes from the horses mouth...I'm sure someone can track down the article, i don't have the time...

I watch every Wizards game. Believe me when I tell you that Haywood almost never flops. He occassionally draws charges because he has good position and guys run into him, but he never falls on the ground to try to get the whistle.

Haywood is an exceptional post defender. He might be the best post defender in the league. This is not an exagerration. He completely owns most low post threats like Curry, Z and Jefferson. Haywood's not perfect. He has problems against mobile bigs like Camby; and guys like Brad Miller who can stick a jumper can hurt him. But Haywood is about as good as it gets at defending the post.

[theTHIEF]

wow...

so even if he says he does it, that means he doesnt?

whatever...

congrats...you have the most underrated player in the league...

top F/A in 2010, Brendan Haywood...

[TooNice00]

haywood is a good post defender but top post defender in the league? i think not. in terms of giving dwight trouble i would have to go with rasheed and yao ming.