GT #52: Wizards @ Orlando Magic 7:00 PM (NBCSWA/1500 AM)

[Kanyewest]

Washington comes away with its 3rd straight win without Wall in what turned out to be a nail biter. Beal had 25 of his 27 points in the 2nd half. Kyle Lowry also had 25 points in the 2nd half including 17 points in the 4th quarter. Despite getting some hate from Charles Barkley and some casual NBA fans, Otto Porter justifies his contract in another game by getting 16 points with a 63 TS%, 11 rebounds (including the final 3 rebounds for Washington in the last 2 minutes), 6 assists, and 1 steal.

The Wizards also got solid contributions from 8 Wizards who scored in double figures. Marcin Gortat has looked much better with 10 points and 7 rebounds; one possible theory is that him being more involved in the offense has allowed him to be more engaged on the boards. Tomas Satoransky may have been a bit eager to throw the alley oop pass but overall had a solid game. Meeks also helped key the Wizards victory with 10 points all in the 4th quarter which actually drew a few MVP chants in the Capital One Arena.

Ultimately, the Wizards were able to avoid potential heartbreak due to a key 3 by Markieff Morris and Porter and Beal making 5-6 free throws in the final stretch. Lowry also missed 2 free throws in the 4th quarter including an and 1 opportunity and one after Beal clumsily turned over the ball and committed a personal foul. In a bizarre strategy, Lowry chose to make the 2nd free throw rather than miss it which may have left the fans without free chicken but ultimately gave the Wizards the win as the Raptors full court pass resulted in an Otto Porter steal to end the game. It is hard to be too critical of either Beal or Lowry since both teams would have been in deep trouble without them.

The Wizards have looked like a different team without John Wall as their offense has looked much better sharing the ball as the Wizards have averaged 32 assists per game without the 2nd lead assist leader in the league. That being said, Washington has put together good stretches like this ithout Wall have come short against below .500 teams before on the road including losses to Brooklyn and Utah. The Wizards lost their last game to Orlando without Wall 88-86 in November of 2016, where Satoransky started and played over 32 minutes. Orlando is also coming off a 127-105 victory against the Lakers and should not be taken lightly especially by this Wizards team. The Wizards have to be better defensively than they were against the Raptors when they gave up 119 points or could find themselves in trouble.

Washington has won its last two meetings against Orlando. In their last win, 125-119 Wall and Beal combined for 60 points.

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[nuposse04]

I hope you are on game thread duty for the rest of the season Kanye

[FAH1223]

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[ClutchDJ]

I think we win out until we play Boston(if Kyrie is healthy).

[FAH1223]

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[nate33]

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This is fantastic.

One of the many small things that Sato does because he really understands the game of basketball. Again, I hope John Wall is watching. You have to things when you're off the ball. You can't just camp out behind the arc and watch.

[Kanyewest]

For now, I don't think the twitter replies between Gortat and Wall mean much of anything. If you look at Wall's timeline of tweet, he usually says "Lol" (hope I don't get into trouble for using quotes like Gortat) when he agrees with anything.

Also, the Wizards have been playing better team ball lately. 8 member of the team had double figure scoring against the Wizards with meaningful contributions from Oubre and Frazier as well.

I think the Wizards were playing better team basketball against their loss to the Thunder specifically in the 2nd half. After having only 8 assists at halftime as a team, the Wizards moved the ball much better and had 17 assists in the 2nd half, with John Wall on the floor. Whatever Scott Brook said to the team has stuck with them and continued into this 3 game winning streak.

Ha. Now that sounds like reaching. Credit to Brooks and Wall then!!!!

Gotta give credit to Brooks for now I suppose for the better team ball. Although I would hope that he plays Sato more when Wall returns.

[FAH1223]

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[nate33]

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Man, people are TRYING to jinx this. Why not just guarantee a victory?

It will be interesting to see if the Wizards can keep this going. The basketball season started early this year, and the All-Star game is late. I think teams are mentally and physically dragging. Ironically, Wall's injury has given the Wizards a renewed focus and intensity at a time when everyone else is faltering.

The Wizards have a brutal 6-game stretch between now and the break, with 5 games on the road. But maybe they can steal a few.

[bsilver]

It will be interesting to see how Sato does guarding Payton. Payton always seemed to have his best games against us before.

[nate33]

It will be interesting to see how Sato does guarding Payton. Payton always seemed to have his best games against us before.

Yeah, Payton absolutely owns Wall because Orlando runs so much screen and roll. I think Sato will do just fine because he fights through screens.

[FAH1223]

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Man, people are TRYING to jinx this. Why not just guarantee a victory?

It will be interesting to see if the Wizards can keep this going. The basketball season started early this year, and the All-Star game is late. I think teams are mentally and physically dragging. Ironically, Wall's injury has given the Wizards a renewed focus and intensity at a time when everyone else is faltering.

The Wizards have a brutal 6-game stretch between now and the break, with 5 games on the road. But maybe they can steal a few.

Miami lost last night

And Indiana. Plus the Wiz play Indiana on Monday.

These are big games to get a little cushion by the break.

[nate33]

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Man, people are TRYING to jinx this. Why not just guarantee a victory?

It will be interesting to see if the Wizards can keep this going. The basketball season started early this year, and the All-Star game is late. I think teams are mentally and physically dragging. Ironically, Wall's injury has given the Wizards a renewed focus and intensity at a time when everyone else is faltering.

The Wizards have a brutal 6-game stretch between now and the break, with 5 games on the road. But maybe they can steal a few.

Miami lost last night

And Indiana. Plus the Wiz play Indiana on Monday.

These are big games to get a little cushion by the break.

It's really weird that it's this late into the season and we haven't played Indiana yet. We still have 3 games against them and those games could dramatically affect the outcome of both teams' seasons.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

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Isn't this awesome?

Thank you for posting a link to the great Kevin Broom on Twitter. I saw this and thought about posting it here.

44 more passes a game!

11 more passes a quarter.

Virtually one pass a minute more.

In addition to being about 20% more passes; they've done it with the same number of turnovers. Excellent assist-to-turnover ratio.

Great stuff the way they played the last three games.

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[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Man, people are TRYING to jinx this. Why not just guarantee a victory?

It will be interesting to see if the Wizards can keep this going. The basketball season started early this year, and the All-Star game is late. I think teams are mentally and physically dragging. Ironically, Wall's injury has given the Wizards a renewed focus and intensity at a time when everyone else is faltering.

The Wizards have a brutal 6-game stretch between now and the break, with 5 games on the road. But maybe they can steal a few.

Miami lost last night

And Indiana. Plus the Wiz play Indiana on Monday.

These are big games to get a little cushion by the break.

It's really weird that it's this late into the season and we haven't played Indiana yet. We still have 3 games against them and those games could dramatically affect the outcome of both teams' seasons.

The NBA made the schedules really strangely. Some teams have played as many as 55 games. Others have only played about 49 games.

Minnesota might only have 22 games or so after the All-Star break.

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[FAH1223]

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[nuposse04]

It will be interesting to see how Sato does guarding Payton. Payton always seemed to have his best games against us before.

Yeah, Payton absolutely owns Wall because Orlando runs so much screen and roll. I think Sato will do just fine because he fights through screens.

Elfrid is putting up some nice numbers actually. Can hit the 3 ball, not the worst playmaking numbers either. I don't watch him enough to know if he is a consistent defender or not.

BTW is anyone else seeing a lot of Rubio in Tomas lately? Floor game seems really solid, Tomas might be a better set shooter and definitely more athletic. Both Rubio and Tomas play excellent defense. Or am I totally nutz?

[ducler]

[NatP4]

Just beautiful basketball. Guys are looking for Otto.

I just shed a tear

[dangermouse]

Looks like more of the same basketball from these guys. Fantastic stuff and great to watch.