Wiz Kids Win Home Finally

Wizards 95 Celtics 94

The Wiz Kids go out strong as they win their last home game of the season in a thrilling overtime win against the Boston Celtics.  Now grant it, it was the Celtics B team but the Wizards have around 6 people who were not playing,

"A grinder.  I think there is no question that when they (Boston) take out a couple of guys you kind of relax and I told our guys that we are not going to feel sorry because we got six guys sitting in suits on the side over there, and they still got guys, four guys that have been there in the NBA Finals and Conference Finals and they have got guys who have won championships there, so they were still a veteran team on the floor," said Flip Saunders after the game.

Wizards leader John Wall made some key free throws to help send it to overtime as he was fouled trying to shoot a three and made all three free throws. Jimmy finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assist.  He's slowly improving, just can't wait till he develops a jump shot!

The Celtics only sent out their 'B' squad lead by local star, former Georgetown Hoya, Jeff Green.  He was traded earlier this year from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Kendrick Perkins (horrible trade in my opinion, Danny Ainge has some explaining about that one).  The BIG 3, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen did not play.  

The surprise of this disappointing season has been the play of the rookies on this team.  Othyus Jeffers, who stands apparently, 6`5 (he's listed at 6`5 but when I stood next to him, he was like 6`2 and I'm 6`1).  He has a wide body, who can rebound (especially on the offensive end) and can play defense.   He's got something I wish other players with full of potential had, hunger.  



Jeffers isn't the only one, Jordan, no not Michael, but Jordan Crawford, has been a great surprise this year.  He may be the reason why Nick Young may not be here next year.  As of right now, we know that Coach Flip Saunders will be here along with General Manager, Ernie Grunfeld.  They did mention that they would love to have both, Young and Crawford playing here next year but with Nick Young, it's about numbers.  He has a team option on the last year of his rookie contract, which is next year. I highly doubt they will give Nick a new contract next season since they do have a Jordan Crawford, who can score, rebound, play defense, and take it to the hole with out fear.

PLEASE CHECK OUT WizardsExtreme.com photographer extraordinaire, Joe G. and his photos from last night's game.  
 
Game Quotes Courtesy of the Wizards PR Staff:

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

 

On how he summarized the game:

“A grinder.  I think there is no question that when they (Boston) take out a couple of guys you kind of relax and I told our guys that we are not going to feel sorry because we got six guys sitting in suits on the side over there, and they still got guys, four guys that have been there in the NBA Finals and Conference Finals and they have got guys who have won championships there, so they were still a veteran team on the floor.”

 

On how he felt his team played in the beginning of the game:

“We didn’t come out with the intensity up front that we really needed to, to set the tone. What really happened is I thought our bench really energized us. O (Othyus) and Larry and Yi and those guys really energized us over the course of the game and that’s where we really go our spirits.”

 

On Jordan Crawford:

“He made two huge shots. He made the one to tie it up and he made the big three to put us ahead.  With him it doesn’t matter if he’s missed five, six, seven shots and the other thing too is our guys have confidence. They are not afraid to go to him, and he is not afraid to make those shots. It’s huge.”

 

WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE

 

On next season:

“It felt good to get the win on last (home) game of the season. We competed well, all the young guys stepped up and showed what they could bring to the team, hopefully next year we can come out stronger. We had a rough season but that comes with having a lot of rookies.  Next season they should all know what it takes to come in and get some wins. “

 

On the game:

“The other guys always play with a lot of heart and intensity so I expected them to come in and carry their own. The fact that Boston didn’t have their star players didn’t matter, they’re a great team without their starters and we didn’t have a lot of our starters.”

 

WIZARDS GUARD JORDAN CRAWFORD

 

On getting the win:

“It was big because the fans have been coming out even though we’ve lost a lot of games.  They come out strong.  It was big to play like that in front of them and it was big for us.”

 

On playing such a big role with the team:

“Coach (Flip Saunders) and (John) Wall had confidence in me, and so did the rest of the team.  When they have confidence in you, you’re more comfortable and it’s easier to make those big shots.”

 

WIZARDS GUARD JOHN WALL

 

On getting the win:

“We wanted to come out and fight.  We knew it was going to be tough.  Those guys are veterans and they’ve played in the playoffs before.  We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game and we came out with a tough win.”

 

On the game:

“They started off hot and we fought our way back into it.  Down the stretch we didn’t have any turnovers and we stayed in the game.  We got stops and made shots and made it go into overtime.”

 

CELTICS HEAD COACH DOC RIVERS

 

On the game:

“I thought they played extremely hard, we made some really tough plays that we would love to have back that we had a turnover or a loose ball and then we’d turn it back over instead of grabbing and turning and dribbling through people we would commit a foul.  With Wall hitting those three free throws that was a huge play for us.  Overall I just loved the effort.  I thought the starters tonight played terrific. I thought the guys off the bench hurt us a little bit so we’ve got to work on that.”

 

CELTICS FORWARD JEFF GREEN

 

On playing hard without their “Big Four”:

“That was the key coming into this game.  We knew the Big Four wasn’t going to play so it was up to us to come in and try to build chemistry in that second unit and just play hard.  You can make a lot of mistakes but if you give the effort and you make every cut hard, rebound, make that extra effort, it can make up for a lot of things.”

 

On if he is concerned about losing momentum heading into playoffs:

“Not at all.  The playoffs are a different level.  It’s not the regular season.  Every possession counts.  We just have to continue to move forward.  We can’t look back to what we did in the past.  We have to put that behind us and continue to get better together.  Take these practices we are about to have and just push each other to the point where we are going to be a tough team to go against.”

 

On playing in Washington:

“I love coming home.  A lot of my family gets to come.  I’ve been playing here for a number of years with Georgetown, so it’s fun to come back.”

 

On New York:

“[They’re a] great team.  Two big-time scorers in Carmelo [Anthony] and Amar’e [Stoudemire].  They’re going to be challenging.”

 

CELTICS GUARD RAY ALLEN

 

On the game:

“At the start of the game you get really anxious and really want to play but I have tremendous faith in my teammates and just like they cheer me on, I’m going to do the same for them. We trust the decisions Coach makes and with the starters not playing tonight we understand that he essentially is doing what is best for the team. We have to focus on playing these next two months and being prepared and ready for that.”

 

On the playoffs:

“Our take is the same as any other season. We are taking the same intensity and focus into these playoffs as we always do. We don’t have the same team and it is going to be great experience for our new additions to play at the playoff level. You can’t expect anything going into the playoffs.  You just have to go in full force and make it happen. It’s not something to be comfortable about, you have to go in with an attitude and play your best.”

 

CELTICS FORWARD GLEN DAVIS

 

On the game:

“Today was good for the bench to really get out there and play especially when they might not get too many minutes.  It is good for them to get a rhythm going, especially when we might need them down the line.  Everyone did what they were supposed to tonight and played their roles well. I’m excited for our couple of players that are coming back from injuries and hope they stay healthy for playoffs. Everyone is ready so I’m not worried about losing the last three games, we still have one more game and then it’s a new season that is how we see the playoffs. We are just ready to play at that level.”