Washington VS Orlando

[JWizmentality]

Orlando Magic VS Washington Wizards




Thursday, November 27, 2008
8:00pm EST
TNT/ ESPN 980
Verizon Center
Chatroom


Upcoming Schedule

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Alright Ed Tapscott!! All it took was one game to obtain a better winning percentage than Eddie Jordan (Okay, that's the only potshot I'll be taking at Eddie ). Still kinda euphoric over last night. Yes, it was only the Warriors but I couldn't help but think that this was what we had envisioned with this team. The substitutions were perfect, the pace of the offense was flawless w/o too much pointless weaving at the 3pt line, bad play was promptly punished, Etan was glued to the bench, Songs played the 4, and the defense...WTF?!? Don't know if just a few practice sessions with Tappy turned on a light bulb, or Jordan's firing lit a fire under their behinds. But I Like It!! The Orlando game is going to be a real test though. I'm interested in seeing if this was a major fluke or this team has finally decided to play to their potential.


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This should be fun to watch. Lemonhead isn't nearly as strong as Howard, and though I think Tappy will let the young kid have a go at Howard, it will probably be best if he let Etan pick up those fouls, or perhaps even Blatche since he did defend him well last time. Nevertheless, I think McGee will be pumped for the game and I'm looking forward to the highlights. If McGee can keep out of foul trouble and give Howard hell on the other end, I see the rejuvenated Wizards pulling this one out. It's either that, or this is some really bad grass I'm smoking.
What the enemy is saying...

NBA.COM Preview

It's not uncommon for teams to play with extra motivation and energy in their first game after a coaching change and come away with a victory. The key is to continue playing with that passion and string together more wins.

The Washington Wizards look to build off an impressive victory in Ed Tapscott's coaching debut when they host the red-hot Orlando Magic on Thanksgiving.

Washington (2-10) fired coach Eddie Jordan on Monday and replaced him with director of player development Tapscott. The team responded with a level of enthusiasm and hustle not seen earlier in the season.

The Wizards notched season highs in points and rebounds (54), matched their season high in assists (27) and forced a season-high 20 turnovers in Tuesday's 124-100 win over Golden State.

"We just fed off the energy," said forward Antawn Jamison, who had 25 points and 11 boards. "We knew we had to get this win. It's been a crazy 24 hours, and we just wanted to stop the bleeding."

read more...


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[toughjuice03]

Nice thread J-Wiz if we can continue this strong play and our bench plays well I don't see why we can't squeak out a win.

Wiz-104
Orl-99

[ZonkertheBrainless]

If this team plays like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off like they did yesterday, they can beat anybody.

Whatever Etap put in Blatche's water he needs to keep doing it.

[closg00]

We should expect to see Etan getting PT unless Tap plans on doubling Howard in the post with McGee & AB (doubtful). Perhaps watching AB & McGee tear-it-up last night will light a fire (at-least for 1 game) underneath Etan and he will hold Howard's numbers down. That's my fantasy anyway.

[nate33]

That Tapscott image is hilarious, JWiz

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

We should expect to see Etan getting PT unless Tap plans on doubling Howard in the post with McGee & AB (doubtful). Perhaps watching AB & McGee tear-it-up last night will light a fire (at-least for 1 game) underneath Etan and he will hold Howard's numbers down. That's my fantasy anyway.

This is exactly why NBA teams carry 4-5 bigs... this is precisely the kind of game where Etan can come in in very spot duty with one instruction... bang the cr*p out of Howard. Make him earn a few of his points from the line, play so rough that he gets no "and-1s", tire him out so that he is less effective down the stretch, slow the Magic's rhythm....

And then, sit him down entirely for another six or seven games until we come up against another dominant, physical center.

This is how real NBA coaches use their roster. The Wiz have no center who can deal effectively with Superman (other than Brendan, of course), so you have to beat him down with numbers... between McGee, Blatche, Etan, Songalia and Stewie, you have 30 fouls to give. Use them... but whatever you do, don't leave the Magic open from the perimeter. In general, double down only on occasion to keep the Magic off balance.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

Dang this is the first game thread I've been able to check out this year... darned good job, JWiz, and that image of Tapscott is priceless

I hope Etan plays spot minutes to bang hard on Howard and allow McGee to stay out of foul trouble. I'll be disappointed if McGee is limited after picking up a couple quick fouls.

[tkunit]

interesting to see them play against a slower team with a major post presence. Its like a 360 from last night.

[dobrojim]

agree with Long Sufferin

use as many bigs as needed to bang Howard around and hope
he has an off night from the charity stripe. However you should
try to do it in strategic ways and not put us in the penalty early
each quarter. But once were in the penalty, foul him early and
often, esp with Etan and Stewie

The important thing in this game will be keeping their fwds in check.
Howard is unlikely to score enough by himself to beat us.

Stay at home on their shooters, do NOT double team Dwight. Foul him
as needed instead.

[Munson79rip]

Orlando on the 2nd game of a back-to-back. I think this game will come down to the 4th quarter, hopefully the rested legs will prevail.

[FreeBalling]

I'm going to call this a Wizards win, 117- 103.

Tap gets his 2nd win.

[hands11]

JWiz
So who is the chick ?

[miller31time]

This is a really big game, though it may not seem like it, because it will in part show the direction of this season.

Was last game just an aberration for Blatche, or was EJ really holding him down?

Will the Wizards' offense be as crisp as it was last game, or was that just bad D from GSW and a hot shooting night for the Wizards?

Can we string together another game of solid defense, especially getting out on 3pt shooters?

Will Tapps stick with the rotations that worked so well last game? Darius at center? Is Tapps going to stick with the rooks, even through mistakes?

And will the team play as inspired as they did last night, tomorrow?

All of these questions, and more, answered in the latest installment of "As The Wizards' World Turns",

[JWizmentality]

Beauty is Tiara Harris. Most of her pics leave much to be desired. I pick the best of the best.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

Go Phillie! Wear out Orlando!

[pancakes3]

i don't know about "much to be desired" but she is one fine piece of woman.

[toughjuice03]

I like our chances tonight since orlando is coming in on no rest. Also if Orlando uses that 8 man rotation like they did yesterday I see them wearing down fast. If Caron can D up on Turk good and if AJ can keep Lewis off the 3 pt line I think we win this game. Our bench will out play theirs IMO but Battie scored 20 in 20 so we gotta pay him just as much attention as Howard when he's on the court.

[MJG]

I expect a loss. Orlando is miles better than Golden State, and while they are on the second night of a back-to-back, I worry about some of our guys being a little sluggish after a big Thanksgiving meal earlier in the day. If that sounds a little silly, well, when was the last time you got anything especially productive done after 5:00P Thanksgiving day?

[nate33]

I expect a loss. Orlando is miles better than Golden State, and while they are on the second night of a back-to-back, I worry about some of our guys being a little sluggish after a big Thanksgiving meal earlier in the day. If that sounds a little silly, well, when was the last time you got anything especially productive done after 5:00P Thanksgiving day?

Interesting thought. Home court advantage on Thanksgiving Day might well be a disadvantage.

I wonder if Abe is throwing any kind of Thanksgiving dinner for the players without family or with family too far from home.

[Shishnizzle]

I didn't expect to see all the hope you guy's are displaying.

Good Luck