Washington vs Golden State (Special Commemorative Thread!)

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Come on. You either believe is all the things that were wrong and what needed changed or you don't.

Removing EFJ and replacing him with a quality HC has removed the problem.

I'm not holding back and waiting. I have full confidence in the team under this coach.

Who's next ? We are ready to go on a roll.

I wasn't an EJ fan, and I loved the way Tapscott coached and the way the team played. But it was one game. What happens if ET does something we all hate, next game? What happens if the team comes out and loses by 20, playing with absolutely no energy? What is Etan suddenly gets 15-20 minutes of action? Etc.

Are those things likely? Probably not, but the key is that they COULD happen and if they DID happen, I don't think ET would get such rave reviews.

All I'm saying is to give it some time, then make judgements.

As for the game, it was a lot of fun to watch. Blatche was ridiculous, AJ and CB dominated, the defense was solid, the offense was en fuego, the rotations were sound. Great game. Congrats to ET for win #1.

Man, Miller. You sound as pessimistic as I usually do. For today I'm just kicking back enjoying the huge monkey off our backs... not just getting the win, but watching a game managed in a way that made sense. Tap might not be the savior, but he clearly sees so many of the things that are so glaringly obvious to most of us, but apparently not so to the one whose name shall go unmentioned.

[dobrojim]

Charley ROsen on the game: http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8848 ... rds-better

I guess he's tight with EJ, but he didn't mention a single thing about smallball. Said good things about all of our players though.

I wasn't impressed by this article at all. What really got me was that he said
if this is the real Andray Blatche, we could deal GA for a big man. That seems
really dumb to me. If this is the real Andray Blatche, we HAVE a big man already
and there'd be no reason to deal GA.

[dobrojim]

Remember when the Bulls started 0-9 and made the playoffs? This team has enough talent to do something similar. And if Tapscott continues to only play our best players and play them in positions where they can be successful, I don't see why we can't make the playoffs and be a tough out for whoever we face.

that Bulls team not only made the playoffs but was the 4th seed and won 47 games.

I also point to last year's sixers who were doing nothing until sometime around
late-feb early mar and can close to knocking us from the 6th seed, winding up 7th.
They were dead and buried at the AS break.

tomorrow will be a real test. Even if they don't win (ORL is a tough matchup
for a lot of teams incl us), if they at least make a tough game of it, that would
be a solid sign.

[tkunit]

I was just happy to see Mcgee, AB, AJ, Caron and I think stevenson all on the floor at once. I was like what the beep that line up is big. I just couldn't imagine big lineups lol. Over all it was really nice to see players hustling on the boards and after lose balls.

[crzy]

Great game guys. I really enjoy watching your team play.

[dobrojim]

48 hours ago we were in full tank mode. We win one game(repeat after me ONE GAME)and now it's back on the playoff train? I love the way we played as much as anyone and am excited about what Taps has to offer but lets settle down before talking playoffs and in the long term I still think its best we tank and get a high pick to shore up other weak spots while looking ahead to 2009 and beyond.

I disagree for the simple fact that tanking guarantees nothing.
Or maybe we have a different definition of what tanking means.
To me it implies not trying to win. I think that's bad. I could
see a scenario in which we play our youth more but I don't feel
this would be the same thing. The reason being that the youngins
are nearly as good or better than the vets.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

It's exciting because we verified that the defense is much better if you go big, and that the young bigs can get lots of boards if they play with energy and abandon.

If they can play that way for the rest of the season they should win lots of games.

We'll see I guess.

[nate33]

Charley ROsen on the game: http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8848 ... rds-better

I guess he's tight with EJ, but he didn't mention a single thing about smallball. Said good things about all of our players though.

I wasn't impressed by this article at all. What really got me was that he said
if this is the real Andray Blatche, we could deal GA for a big man. That seems
really dumb to me. If this is the real Andray Blatche, we HAVE a big man already
and there'd be no reason to deal GA.

Agreed. If Blatche is the real deal and will one day be good for a consistant 18 and 10 every night with good D, then we already have our front line of the future.

* Haywood is an elite post defender and top 10ish overall center.
* Blatche would be a top 10ish PF.
* Butler a top 5ish SF.
* Jamison is 6th man of the year off the bench as backup forward.
* McGee is 20 minutes of athletic freakishness and energy every night when Haywood sits.

Let those guys run with a top 3 PG and that's a ball team.

[GilArenas88]

Add Young to that and McGuire who I think will realy start to develope with playing time.

Also about last nights game Javale could have easily had 20-22pts had it not been for foul trouble and missing at least 3-4 cheapies. Once the kid really learn how to finish! Yikes.

[yungal07]

On a negative note -- Deshawn is shooting 32% from the field this year. Mr. You Can't See Me obviously can't see his season stats.

He's shooting way too many shots. 9 shots for a guy that shoots 30% -- thats 8 shots too many.

[MJG]

Few random tidbits from Elias Sports Bureau ...

Andray Blatche came off the bench to compensate for another weak scoring performance by Washington's starting guards in the Wizards' win over the Warriors. Blatche scored 25 points with 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocked shots. Only one other player in NBA history reached Blatche's totals in those respective categories in one game as a sub: Charles Barkley for the 76ers on Nov. 28, 1986.

Dee Brown (10) and DeShawn Stevenson (1) combined for 11 points, the seventh consecutive game in which Washington's starting guards were held to less than 15 points combined.

The Wizards defeated the Warriors 124-100 in Ed Tapscott's NBA head coaching debut. The 24-point margin of victory matched the third-highest for any coach in his first NBA game. The other coaches who won their first game by at least 24 points were Walt Budko (Baltimore Bullets, 39 points in 1951), Dick Versace (Pacers, 35 points in 1989) and Chris Ford (Celtics, 24 points in 1990).

Tapscott's debut was also the first game in nearly 13 years in which Washington scored at least 30 points in all four quarters. (The last was a 135-107 win over the Celtics on Dec. 2, 1995.) The only other coaches whose team scored 30 or more points in all four quarters of their first NBA game were Pat Riley (Lakers in 1991), Paul Westhead (Lakers in 1979) and Earl Lloyd (Pistons in 1971).

[Zerocious]

Few random tidbits from Elias Sports Bureau ...

Andray Blatche came off the bench to compensate for another weak scoring performance by Washington's starting guards in the Wizards' win over the Warriors. Blatche scored 25 points with 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocked shots. Only one other player in NBA history reached Blatche's totals in those respective categories in one game as a sub: Charles Barkley for the 76ers on Nov. 28, 1986.

Dee Brown (10) and DeShawn Stevenson (1) combined for 11 points, the seventh consecutive game in which Washington's starting guards were held to less than 15 points combined.

The Wizards defeated the Warriors 124-100 in Ed Tapscott's NBA head coaching debut. The 24-point margin of victory matched the third-highest for any coach in his first NBA game. The other coaches who won their first game by at least 24 points were Walt Budko (Baltimore Bullets, 39 points in 1951), Dick Versace (Pacers, 35 points in 1989) and Chris Ford (Celtics, 24 points in 1990).

Tapscott's debut was also the first game in nearly 13 years in which Washington scored at least 30 points in all four quarters. (The last was a 135-107 win over the Celtics on Dec. 2, 1995.) The only other coaches whose team scored 30 or more points in all four quarters of their first NBA game were Pat Riley (Lakers in 1991), Paul Westhead (Lakers in 1979) and Earl Lloyd (Pistons in 1971).

[LyricalRico]

If Blatche is the real deal and will one day be good for a consistant 18 and 10 every night with good D, then we already have our front line of the future.

* Haywood is an elite post defender and top 10ish overall center.
* Blatche would be a top 10ish PF.
* Butler a top 5ish SF.
* Jamison is 6th man of the year off the bench as backup forward.
* McGee is 20 minutes of athletic freakishness and energy every night when Haywood sits.

Let those guys run with a top 3 PG and that's a ball team.

Wow, that's something to salivate over. Especially when you consider a Young/Arenas backcourt.

[dobrojim]

what a difference a day, a win, a new coach make

[LyricalRico]

It's exciting because we verified that the defense is much better if you go big

QFT

what a difference a day, a win, a new coach make

QFT x 2

[JWizmentality]

Rico, Isn't it about time that baby in your avi stopped bawling? He should be dancing a jig.

[LyricalRico]

Rico, Isn't it about time that baby in your avi stopped bawling? He should be dancing a jig.

Done and done. I've been so caught up in the excitement that I didn't even notice. Thanks for the reminder!

[TheKingOfVa360]

I'm so happy to be a Wizards fan, win or lose that's the way we need to play basketball every game! Mr Tapscott is the perfect coach for this team right now. His rotations were great, he let the young guys play through his mistake, he put the big line up on the floor with Butler at SG and Jamison at SF. We've been waiting 4 years to see that line up!