WE Game Recap - Wizards at Hornets: Steezin' in the Big Easy

wizards 77 hornets 70
12/11/2012 - Verizon Center, Washington, DC
ESPN Boxscore
NBA.com Game Highlights

 

Tonight’s Wizards MVP goes to the one, the only Steeeez  -- Jordan Crawford. Shifting to his new role as Gilbert Arenas style point guard, Crawford lead the Wizards in scoring with 26 points (highest individual scoring output for a Wizard this season). 26 points also happened to be more than ⅓ of the Wizards total 77 points in the win. Crawford only shot 9-24, but the real reason he is the Wizards MVP is because he stepped up in the clutch when the team needed him. 12 of his 26 points came in the 4th quarter. He also finished with six rebounds and four assists.

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Emeka Okafor started and played just under 25 minutes, finishing 3-4 from the floor for six points. He also grabbed four rebounds and had two assists. He played some solid defense in the 2nd half but was not a huge factor in the outcome of the game.

Only 10 minutes into the game it looked like Ryan Anderson was playing NBA Jam Tournament Edition and was on fire. He couldn’t miss. He went on to have 17 points at halftime. Luckily for the Wizards, he missed his next seven shots and didn’t score again in the second half. Did the coaches make a good halftime adjustment or did Anderson just run out of his turbo? Still, he finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

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THE GOOD  

Finally, something in The Good section that doesn’t have to feel like we are talking about another “moral victory”. First I would like to touch on Bradley Beal. I have been fairly critical of the rookie in his lack of aggressiveness and attacking the basket. While I still would like to see more of that as the season progresses, I have to give credit where it's due. Beal has been stepping up his game in other areas outside of scoring, and it showed in this game as he finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The good for me tonight was the combo of Kevin Seraphin and Nene. Combined they played just over 36 minutes (16 for Seraphin and 20 for Nene). Nene finished with 10 and 10 and Seraphin added 8 and 8 as both players made an impact on the interior. Seraphin has some great interior touch on offense and Nene sure can control the glass. Once the minutes restrictions are lifted on Nene, and Seraphin figures out what it was he did to get thrown into Wittman’s doghouse, this is a frontcourt pairing that all Wizards fans can be excited about.

THE BAD

Bad? Are you kidding. When you go into a game with only two wins on the season and leave with three, there really is no bad. You count your blessings that you were able to get a win, and move on to the next one.

Although Kevin Seraphin’s airball was pretty bad, especially right after I tweeted how good his touch was around the rim.

THE UGLY

The Wizards sure came out firing in the first quarter. They went on to have the lowest scoring output of their season in a quarter and finished the first with 11 points. It doesn’t get much uglier than that to open a game.

Luckily we had Steezus to bail us out in the 4th.