Game Thread - Wizards at Boston (11/17/10)

[pineappleheadindc]

______________________

___3-6 (5th SE Div/12th East)__________________________8-2 (1st ATL div/1st East)

1.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

2.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

3.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

4.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

5.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

6.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.

The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson



__________________________

__________Gilbert Arenas_______________________Rajon Rondo
_____15.2 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.8 rpg____________10.8 ppg, 15.1 apg, 5.2 rpg


__________________________

___________Kirk Hinrich_________________________Ray Allen
_____11.2 ppg, 5.4 apg, 3.0 rpg____________18.8 ppg, 2.4 apg, 3.3 rpg


__________________________

___________Al Thornton________________________Paul Pierce
_____12.2 ppg, 5.7 rpt, 1.2 apg_____________21.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.8 apg


__________________________

___.______Andray Blatche______________________Kevin Garnett
_____17.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.2 apg____________15.4 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.9 apg


__________________________

___.______JaVale McGee______________________Shaquille O'Neal
_____7.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.0 bpg______________9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.5 bpg


INJURY AND OTHER NOTES

1) C's G Delonte West returns to the team, following a 10-game suspension to start the season (no, smart alecks. Not for carnal relations with "The Chosen One's" mother.)

2) C's SF Marquis Daniels may be unavailable due to a family issue.

3) Wizards F/C Andray Blatche's knee has been hobbling him for a few games now. As I write this, I assume he's day-to-day but think he'll at least try to go.

4) Wizards PG John Wall suffered a sprained foot vs Chicago. While he flew to Boston, he was on crutches yesterday. I don't see how he'll play.

5) Wizards SF Josh Howard still rehabbing his knee following surgery. He's doing 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 work in practice. Assume he'll be back in December.

6) Wizards F Yi Jianlian suffered a bone bruise to the knee over the weekend vs Chicago. He's day-to-day, but I don't think he'll play.

THE ONE TO WATCH


Wizards F Al Thornton

Physical Wizards F Al Thornton has had a series of sub-par games due to a stomach ailment. He needs to step it up tonight, on both sides of the ball, in order for the Wizards to even entertain a chance.

----------------------------------------------------------

-- Can YOUR Washington Wizards keep it close?

-- Who among the walking wounded (Yi, Blatche, Wall, Thornton) will be able to play at a high level?

-- Will we see more of rookie F Trevor Booker?



Post your thoughts, opinions, and comments here:

WHAT: Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics

WHERE: TD Waterhouse Center -- Boston, MA

WHEN: Wednesday, November 17 - 7:30 p.m. EST

TV: Comcast SportsNet, NBA League Pass

RADIO & STREAMING AUDIO: 106.7 The Fan

Go Wizards!

[dlts20]

Gil Is Good But Could Be Great If......


he got over the mental hurdle of finishing at the rim. He's doing every single thing else way but from a scoring standpoint he is still dependant on his jumpshot. He's not getting to the line, isnt attacking the rim as much as he should, and when he does he either passes or doesnt go as hard which makes him miss or not get the call. Now you can talk about the injuries and he's obviously not the same athelete as he was but its still not an excuse because he is far from a gimp. Its all mental.

1st off think about all the Offseason stories about Gil playing with All Stars, looking unstoppable, driving to the rack non stop, and having numerous dunks. We always chalk it up to just Offseason street ball but I dont think thats the case anymore. I see a few signs that suggest otherwise. 1 is that his touch around the rim is back. The shot isnt going in but its very soft now. The last couple of years he was badly missing layups and the shot would hit hard off the backboard every single time. Now they are softly just spinning out.

The other thing is that he's getting more & more burst every game. He'll never be what he was or be a John Wall but these last few games and the Raptors game in particular, I saw some plays where he looked mad quick driving the ball but he rarely looked for the rim or took off alot of gas when he got there. Last but not least and the main reason why I feel that its mental is because of his rebounding. Have you been watching him? Forget the numbers he's getting but look how he gets them. He's getting way up. He's jumping over 7 footers alot of times. He'll come through the crowd with no worries and sky up for a board, yet on the Offensive end he's timid at the rim & barely leaves the ground. That crap is mental.

Gil got 20 tonight and played a very good all around game but that shouldve easily had been a 30pt game and dont tell me that its better for him to do all around stuff. He can do both, just like Wade or whoever. Im just saying that it shouldve been 30 because if he attacks more & goes to the rack like he goes for boards then he's back to getting to the line 8 times per game, espically with Wall pushing the rock. Not only that but the guy is literally probably P4P the strongest guy in the league right now. Look at him going for boards or look at him when he drives & bumps into someone. No one is stronger. He's mad powerful and guys are bouncing off him.

You get Howard back & coming off the bench while getting Dray more healthy then this team is very good if Gil just adds that final mental hurdle and yes it is mental. He gets that back and he will look unstoppable out there. Just throw caution to the wind Gil and go at the rack, jump high like you do on the boards, and try to finish. Its all mental. Dont get it twisted though. I know its early and he's just getting back so he can definetly get there but someone just needs to tell him about it also. He can do it, easily

[Donkey McDonkerton]

Gil Is Good But Could Be Great If......

[Wizards2Lottery]

We win this by 15+.

[obye]

Hope to see Wall in the lineup !I'd like to see him versus Rondo!
On other notes:
Ray-Ray SG - Gil/Kirk (we WIN)
Pierce SF - will kill Thornton
Garnett/Davis PF - Blatche ( his inconsistency will loose the battle with elbow-hustling Garnett)
Shaq/O'Neil C - McGee ( the years of experience will speak for themselves)

We have e futuristic front court BUT , lack of self esteem and experience kiss us every game.

Celtics should own us all 4 quarters !
The faith right now stands in focus and team play witch we lack the most !

[closg00]

a Match-up nightmare for us, how do you counter? We may use all of our front court guys tonight.

[LyricalRico]

a Match-up nightmare for us, how do you counter? We may use all of our front court guys tonight.

Seraphin will play again tonight. Either we'll be down by 20+ in the 4th or everybody else over 6'8 will have fouled out.

[Rafael122]

We're going to get killed. I'm sorry, I try to be positive, but this is like the Orlando game where you know you don't stand a chance.

[gesa2]

Yeah, we'll get creamed tonight. Flip knows it too, that's why he played Gil and Hinrich deep into the fourth quarter last night - better to give Gil some more confidence and swagger than to rest him for tonight, since we're gonna get killed anyways. We have no answer for Rondo or any interior scorer - we won't have an answer for big baby let alone Shaq.

[dlts20]

I dont care what anyone says, Im pumped for this game. I still say we matchup really well with this team. Dray dominated KG more than anyone in the league did last year. Thorton gives guys like Melo & Pierce fits. Now we have Gil & Wall to go against Allen & Rondo. We can matchup with that team. The only problem is that I think they wont take us for granted considering how we played them last year and the C's fans are already talking about Dray & McGee going up against a now healthy KG and how he will get big time pay back.

I think Wall is going to play and Flip will start Gil. Gil has also always played well in Boston before he got hurt. He use to drop 40 on the regular in that building. Defense is the big question. Im actually more concerned about Allen then I am Rondo. Gil has played awesome D this year but he's always hated chasing guys off of screens and it seems to hurt him on Offense. I probably would put him on Rondo & Wall on Allen but Wall has that bad ankle so you might not want him to chase guys off screens either. You also might not want him getting hit by big guys setting picks alot. This may open up the door for Flip to again start Kirk just to guard Allen but I hope not. I want to see that Wall & Gil tandem with a motivated Dray & Al going against the C's forwards. If it comes down to it then just play more zone.

This could be a classic game and I think we will play way better than everyone thinks. Unless we get blown out and then forget I said that..............;-D

[closg00]

It was Wood and Blatche that made Boston work to get by us last year. Rondo will destroy Kirk & Gil. The Inside game? A knife through butter baby

[nate33]

If Shaq abuses McGee in the post (which is likely), the Wizards can counter by having McGee sprint down the court on every possession. He'll wear Shaq out in 3 minutes. We'll need Wall to push the tempo though.

I actually like the matchup of Thornton on Pierce. Pierce is the type of player that Thornton defends well.

Rondo is going to be a real problem, and a healthy KG is going to neutralize Blatche. When you factor that Blatche is banged up, Gil's minutes are limited, Wall will be out or hobbled, Howard is out, and we're on a back-to-back, it's tough to see how we can win this one. Also, we suck against disciplined defensive teams.

[GhostsOfGil]

this is a team that passes well and defends. so pretty much.... they will pick apart flips zone and expose our crappy offensive jump shooting system. gg

[JWizmentality]

We're going to get killed. I'm sorry, I try to be positive, but this is like the Orlando game where you know you don't stand a chance.

When has Boston ever blown us out of the water?? Bad as we are, we've always given them hell. We match up very well with them.

[pancakes3]

blatche goes for upwards of 30/10. book it.

[closg00]

We're going to get killed. I'm sorry, I try to be positive, but this is like the Orlando game where you know you don't stand a chance.

When has Boston ever blown us out of the water?? Bad as we are, we've always given them hell. We match up very well with them.

That was when we had Wood, Wood was key in our match-up battles with the Celts. Dray is not %100 either. Celts will clog the middle with their beef and just let us shoot tonight. Tonight they will win the rebound battle easily.

[gesa2]

It's a terrible back to back for a young undisciplined team like us. Everything came too easy against Toronto.

[Rafael122]

You've guys seen the movie Pulp Fiction right? The scene with Ving Rhames? He's in the room and he has the ball in his mouth? Remember that? Yeah, that's going to be the Wizards tonight.

[jimij]

I wonder if in his post-game press conference Flip will opine on how much Blatche reminded him of KG tonight (i.e. a gimp playing on one leg).

[fishercob]

I'm guessing that KG, Big Baby and Shaq are huddled with the coaching staff right now trying to come up with a way to handle Hilton Armstrong.