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

[Typhoon20]

Hmm frankly I'm getting sick of this ''shard and dwight played their worst game, we shot lousy and still could've won'' talk.Hedo also played perhaps one of his best games in his career, he shot 7 from 8 from 3 land and he balanced it out, next game shard will shoot 9 for 5 and Hedo will shoot 3 for 7 and it'll balance itself out again.There's a reason we shot the ball so bad. Also, I thought Hedo played extremely well on D but then I read that Butler is still playing injured and is limited in his abilities, they also missed Agent Zero. We shouldn't have lost this game, it's like losing against Miami. We almost lost that one too, we can keep saying we played bad but we still coulda won but that won't change the fact that we're in a slump, for a couple of games. Miami game was bad, Indiana game was bad, yeah we won but it wasn't pretty, and we hit rock bottom against the Wiz. We should focus on WHY we're playing so bad the past couple of games and figure this out so come playoff time we won't have to witness some @sswhoopin' on our part.

Yes Dwight played horrible. Yes his offensive arsenal is limited to dunks, tips and force. Yes he is too much focusing on the call or lack of it, that is something that Dwight will have to work out in the future.There are a lot of aspects I critisize Dwight on, especially whenever he goes up for a block and goaltends it. Why does he block when the ball is clearly going down ? Let it go, that way you still have a chance that it'll miss. Defensively I'm not worried about Dwight, the reason he played bad was cause he got in early foul trouble, that happens. But it's just unacceptable that Dwight only had as many touches as Foyle. Sure he was 1 for 6 but that doesn't mean he's going to shoot that way. For us to win, WE HAVE TO INVOLVE DWIGHT IN THE GAME. That is our ticket to a championship, that is our ticket to success.

Ok so we shot bad right ? Let's analyze that.
The Wiz had 17 FTA's, connected on 11 for a lousy 64 some%
We had 26 FTA's connected on 20 for 78%. That's a 9 point differential right there.
We shot the 3 ball for 40%, the Wiz shot for a lousy 33%. We took TWICE as many 3's as them, 35 to 18.

Some players contributed to this game:
Dooling - 6 minutes and already had 2 TO's and 3 fouls. One of that turnover was pure ignorance, he just run against the Wiz player like a raging bull. That's just silly. And it was at a crucial time too.
Arroyo - 7 minutes, produced NOTHING. Took 2 shots, but missed them. No assist no nothing.
Cook - 8 minutes, 4 missed shots, 0 points.

And the biggest reason we lost, Rashard Lewis, period.
Not only shot he the ball horrible, 2 for 13 ? 1 for 9 from 3 land ? He also played horrible on D allowing a good matchup Jamison for 31 points, his 4th highest scoring game this season. Not to mention his 2 crucial TO's in the final minutes of the game. No 120 M dollar man should be allowed to play this bad. Unlike the Cavs game he wasn't in foul trouble, so he could have contested some of those shots by Jamison. Jamison is also more of a SF then a PF, like Lewis. Yet Lewis got burned against a good SF of this league, people say he should play the SF position, but I'm having my doubts wether he can guard those players as well. Jamison also doesn't play D much, yet Shard still couldn't produce. Had ''sweet'' Lew played with any focus and effort at all we would have won this game. He keeps saying he wants more touches and wants to be a focal point of our offense, yet he comes out and plays like that.

Keith Bogans and Nelson played decent to good, Keith hit some good 3's and Nelson dished out 9 assists.

About Dwight, how come he had as many shots as Foyle ? Wouldn't it have been better if we tried to create a bit for Dwight too ? We just throw him the ball and let him force his way inside, resulting in a foul. Why not circulate the ball and try to find him in better positions ? We had only 3 steals to their 8 and only 3 blocks to their 7. The problem is that we're taking bad shots at times, and it's like a virus, spreads to everyone. We don't have a set or plan, we just throw it up. Most of Shards shots were forced. Not just Shard, Cook too. I hate it when Cook just shoots whenever he gets the ball. Hedo, Shard should be the ONLY 2 players who should be allowed to shoot from anywhere at any time. Arroyo, Cook, Evans, Bogans, Dooling shouldn't force any shots. That's my biggest beef with the team. I don't mind Cook shooting the 3, or Dooling shooting it, but we need to have better ball circulation for the better shot. Bogans shot 4 for 7 and most of the 4 he made came from good ball circulation, finding the open man. Some he forced and missed, Dooling forced and missed, Cook forced some and missed. It's sickening because we have the ability to circulate the ball and find the open man.

And about Dwight, he's young, so it's easier to give him a break because of that. He's going to make mistakes, he's still evolving, learning, so I can live with him having a bad game, but not when a veteran like Shard completely collapses. Dwight is a player that needs the ball to find his rhythm, with just 6 shots you can't get that, all we know he could have gone 8 for 10 for his next possible 10 shots. Just cause he started to miss a couple don't mean that's how it'll go. The thing is, whenever Howard is in a mini-slump, it is up to the players to integrate him to the offense. Dwight gives his all on both ends of the floor and most of the time he puts up a screen, fights downlow, but he rarely gets the ball and he just watches our players jack up a 3, then has to track back on D, that's pretty frustrating.Yes he should keep his composure etc. but that comes with the territory.Dwight gets double triple teamed a lot and has to fight not only for his team but also against the refs. That's how you play the game, reward the player for his efforts to keep him in the game. I think us going away from Dwight is what cost us this game. How many times did we won a game where Dwight scored less then 10 points, or when he barely had 6 shots. I'm thinking not many. Our game is built around Dwight, and when you go away from Dwight you don't have a game. It's just jacking up 3's and hoping they go in, and when you force it like we did yesterday, you have no chance. Passing to Dwight isn't just throwing him the ball and let him force his way inside for a shot. It's putting him the right spots and delivering him the ball in that spot so he has the best chance to score his points.

Also about the pick&roll, lately it's been very static. Haywood comes out with Dwight Dwight puts the screen on Butler, Haywood closes Hedo and Hedo is now defended by Butler AND Haywood and right now Dwight is going to the paint, he's alone, so Hedo immediately passes it to a wide open Shard or Evans, now it is up to Evans or Shard to throw the ball ASAP into Dwights hands, we never do this. All we do is Shard or Evans either take the 3 or throw it to another outside shooter and let him shoot. Meanwhile we go away from Dwight, again. This is so annoying because it limits our possibilities offensively. This is also a pretty good play that could potentially increase our threat offensively. The pick&roll is the deadliest offensive weapon in the history of basketball, and we have 2 great guys to perform that, Dwight who is great at that and Hedo who is a good passer and shooter, but for this to work our other outside shooters have to be able to find Dwight when Hedo passes the ball to them. It basically gives us a 4 on 3 situation, we usually go for the open outside shot but rarely do we feed Dwight. We have to start doing that so Dwight can get comfortable with that play and this way we add another offensive play to our arsenal.

Hopefully Stan is working to solve this problem, how to use Dwight.

[theTHIEF]

I personally feel that Washington is a quality team when healthy, and is probably one of the most odd teams in the sense that if they are healthy you dont want to play them at all and if they have injuries you're dying to play them.

but, my comments and stance were never negative towards the Wizards...I just disagree with Haywood being a top defender, quality? sure, Dwight stopper? maybe top defender? i dont think so...I watch a lot of ball and see a lot of guys who I would throw ahead of him...

but what do i really know...

[aleZ]

I watch a lot of ball and see a lot of guys who I would throw ahead of him...but what do i really know...

I wasn't questioning your bball knowledge, I know you've played for pro teams in Europe, have NBA training experience etc. I just feel like you're ready to find new excuses for dwight whenever he has a bad game, maybe it's just me and I'm stupid, or maybe it's some kind of bigman fraternity of sorts

[MagicMadness]

This is just hilarious to me. I don't think I've ever seen such delusions of grandeur from such a mediocre team. Washington is a MIDDLE-OF-THE PACK team, folks. Get over it.

Any other season you'd be lucky to even make the playoffs, let alone be fighting for a chance to get swept by Orlando. Good Lord.

Come on now. Our board was the same way the past couple of seasons.

Washington is going to be a tough team when fully healthy though.

[mhectorgato]

Hmm frankly I'm getting sick of this ''shard and dwight played their worst game, we shot lousy and still could've won'' talk.Hedo also played perhaps one of his best games in his career, he shot 7 from 8 from 3 land and he balanced it out.

A typical game (using averages):

(no rounding up or down, just using integers )
Dwight: 21
Hedo: 19
Shard: 18
Total: 58

Last night:
Dwight: 3
Hedo: 39
Shard: 7
Total: 49

Diff: -9

So our big 3 had an average night, all things equal, we'd won by 8 points.

[Gerhalt11]

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Come on now. Our board was the same way the past couple of seasons.

Washington is going to be a tough team when fully healthy though.

Shhhh.....let me vent my anger over the loss on innocent Wizards fans, okay?

[DrunkOnMystery]

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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.

I live in south Maryland, watch or attend nearly every Wizards game, and this is a pretty accurate assessment. Calling Haywood the best post defender in the league is hilarious, but he's certainly not a slouch either, and unlike the Varejaos of the world, he's not going to suffer a whole heck of a lot on most nights from an anti-flopping rule. He flops, but only against players who are typically noticeably stronger than he is.

[Typhoon20]

A typical game (using averages):

(no rounding up or down, just using integers )
Dwight: 21
Hedo: 19
Shard: 18
Total: 58

Last night:
Dwight: 3
Hedo: 39
Shard: 7
Total: 49

Diff: -9

So our big 3 had an average night, all things equal, we'd won by 8 points.

I'd have to disagree here.

Hedo + Dwight + Shard = almost 9 asist total per game ON AVERAGE.

Against the Wiz it was 6. 3 less assists equals min. 6 to max. 9 points. And since we shoot the 3 more at least 1 of that assist would be of a 3, which would result in 7 points. So it's all balanced out in the end when you factor all aspects of the game, such as PPG allowed, TO's, fastbreak points etc.

[magicman123]

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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.

says cartman

[dlts20]

Wiz fan here and I will end it like this. Thanks to those guys who gave us some props at the end.

I think some of our fans are just upset because you guys seem to be pissing on us for no reason. I dont think weve had any beef with you. Were not like the Philly or Raps fans who keep saying that they want the 6th seed so they can play the Magic. We dont even want that seed. We want our revenge on the Cavs. It just came out of nowhere how you guys started crapping on us without us even saying anything bad about you guys. We hate the Cavs, not the Magic. I think the Magic are one of those teams that everyone pretty much roots for when your not playing them.

Like Typhoon wrote, I dont think its fair to diss our win by just saying that you played bad and still only lost by 1. Then you say all the things you did wrong but acted like we played a perfect game. We didnt. We had just as many problems as you on the court and more problems then you off the court. We also had problems with the FT's, not getting any loose balls, turnovers, and bad shooting. You guys led by 6 after 1 and like 8 minutes into the 2nd quarter you had only scored 8 points but your lead got even bigger because to that point we had only scored 6 in the quarter. Its not like we were lighting it up or playing our best while you guys were totally sucking.

The fact is that we both have 2 good teams that would make a great playoff series. Its just a bad feeling how it seems how you guys look at it like your the all powerful 3 seed and were the crappy 6 seed who should have no chance. That is true in most cases but there is no way we would be a 6 seed without those injuries so I do think we deserve a little more respect. Anyways, good luck the rest of the year. Peace

[magicman123]

No one is looking for sympathy but we deserve our respect. We knocked you off minus Arenas, an all-star starter, one of the best 5 players in the East. I'm tired of people down playing what we are doing this year. I can't remember the last time a team had so many injuries to key players yet remain in the playoff race.

welcome to the world of being a magic fan, why give you respect when we arent getting any?.....also you are confusing, are you a die hard wiz fan? or a laker fan? or a magic fan? since you post here a lot

[mhectorgato]

I'd have to disagree here.

Hedo + Dwight + Shard = almost 9 asist total per game ON AVERAGE.

Against the Wiz it was 6. 3 less assists equals min. 6 to max. 9 points. And since we shoot the 3 more at least 1 of that assist would be of a 3, which would result in 7 points. So it's all balanced out in the end when you factor all aspects of the game, such as PPG allowed, TO's, fastbreak points etc.

Which is why I said earlier:

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.

Which it still boils down to, Shard and Dwight had miserable nights, and we were within a single bucket of winning.

[mattyBoi]

Absolutely shocking that people are denying Haywood as being a flopper lol he is notoriously known for flopping along with the best of em.

Didnt we already beat the Wizards this year at full strength?

Hasnt one of our starters (Battie) missed the whole season?

Didnt Dwight just go off for like 23 and 13 against Haywood a couple weeks ago?

Aren't guys on your team ALWAYS getting hurt? Ever considered them to just be injury prone and deal with it?

I mean come on Wiz fans you'll are getting wayyyyyyyyy ahead of yourselfs

[theTHIEF]

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I wasn't questioning your bball knowledge, I know you've played for pro teams in Europe, have NBA training experience etc. I just feel like you're ready to find new excuses for dwight whenever he has a bad game, maybe it's just me and I'm stupid, or maybe it's some kind of bigman fraternity of sorts

i wasnt replying to you at all...and, where were my Dwight excuses? it's hard to excuse his play...you'd have be blind, deaf and dumb not to have understood what happened last night...i never not once defended Dwight or made excuses...please, take time to search back...i will wait.........

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i just disagreed with Haywood being labeled a top defender, a top 1on1 defender and then finally a top low post defender or arguably the best or whatever, and the boy took a flop last night...it is more ridiculous to me, for everyone who "watches every game and goes to every game" who witness a player perform this act, and then completely dismiss is for various reasons...

i guess it just boils down to this, a guy like me who is a strong believer in old school basketball, and a stickler for rules and playing the game the right way, i get upset when guys take the easy way out and then get praised or categorized for the wrong reasons...

to me, Haywood is a solid player, a contributor for his team and provides quality defense for his position...I still see him as a college player, playing college ball in the pro's...nothing more, nothing less...i'm not out to discredit Haywood and i darn sure never said anything or even hinted at discrediting the Wizards, that's not my style, not who i am...

and if you know me, you know that i call fouls and bad calls on my own guys too...try sitting next to me at a game...i bet you hate me...

and my basketball experiences as a player have zero barring on just about anything i say and do on this website...im just as qualified as the majority of you...



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now for my first comments about the actual game...

worst players of the night were Keyon Dooling and Lewis...

end of story...

[mattyBoi]

And stop trying to put the Wizards and Magic in the same company!!!!! What in the world is going on here????

[MagicMadness]

Wiz fan here and I will end it like this. Thanks to those guys who gave us some props at the end.

I think some of our fans are just upset because you guys seem to be pissing on us for no reason. I dont think weve had any beef with you. Were not like the Philly or Raps fans who keep saying that they want the 6th seed so they can play the Magic. We dont even want that seed. We want our revenge on the Cavs. It just came out of nowhere how you guys started crapping on us without us even saying anything bad about you guys. We hate the Cavs, not the Magic. I think the Magic are one of those teams that everyone pretty much roots for when your not playing them.

Like Typhoon wrote, I dont think its fair to diss our win by just saying that you played bad and still only lost by 1. Then you say all the things you did wrong but acted like we played a perfect game. We didnt. We had just as many problems as you on the court and more problems then you off the court. We also had problems with the FT's, not getting any loose balls, turnovers, and bad shooting. You guys led by 6 after 1 and like 8 minutes into the 2nd quarter you had only scored 8 points but your lead got even bigger because to that point we had only scored 6 in the quarter. Its not like we were lighting it up or playing our best while you guys were totally sucking.

The fact is that we both have 2 good teams that would make a great playoff series. Its just a bad feeling how it seems how you guys look at it like your the all powerful 3 seed and were the crappy 6 seed who should have no chance. That is true in most cases but there is no way we would be a 6 seed without those injuries so I do think we deserve a little more respect. Anyways, good luck the rest of the year. Peace

Talking crap about lesser East teams makes us feel better about ourselves. We're like that kid who gets to hang out with his cool brother and his friends (Celtics, Pistons) and then exerts his supposed superiority over his middle school mates (Wizards).

RESPECT US

[Wizardspride]

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welcome to the world of being a magic fan, why give you respect when we arent getting any?

Because it's the right thing to do.

[craig01]

Crummy loss last night.

Live by good shooting....and die by bad shooting.

I don't think the Magic came out ready to WIN.

No big deal though, they still nearly won the game.

[theTHIEF]

and to the guys that are down talking a team or trying to make excuses for the loss while pointing out how bad of a team Washington is using injuries and so on....disgusting...don't forget, just last season that team monstered all over us...

it's great to be doing so well, but like the saying goes...never forget where you came from, and never forget the road you took...

[Devin 1L]

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Talking crap about lesser East teams makes us feel better about ourselves. We're like that kid who gets to hang out with his cool brother and his friends (Celtics, Pistons) and then exerts his supposed superiority over his middle school mates (Wizards).

RESPECT US

(Has nothing else to add.)