WE Recap: Wizards vs. Pacers 3/29/12

	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Wizards	26	23	20	20	89
Pacers	30	22	20	21	93

TOP PERFORMERS
Wizards			Pacers
Jordan Crawford	PTS	20	Danny Granger	PTS	25
Nene	REB	13	David West	REB	8
Shelvin Mack	AST	4	Darren Collison	AST	7
John Wall	STL	2	Paul George	STL	4
Kevin Seraphin	BLK	3	Granger / Hibbert	BLK	2
Crawford / Wall	TO	5	Paul George	TO	2
Nene / Booker	+/-	+4	Dahntay Jones	+/-	+7

Wizards Player of the Game

Playing with a sore back, Nene defied his nagging injury with 16 points and 13 rebounds. More importantly Nene was able to contain Roy Hibbert who dominated the Wizards down low in their previous matchup just over a week ago. Hibbert was held to just 9 points and 3 rebounds.

WE’s to Watch/WE Spotlight

Ahh Jordan Crawford. I received a text from a friend a few days ago which read "Congrats on getting Kobe. I just don't understand why he changed his name to Jordan Crawford." Now before we misinterpret that text, let me go ahead and clarify that this friend wasn't implying that JC plays with the caliber of a bona fide all-star and 5-time champion, but rather clowning him for the amount of head scratching shots he chucks up. Unfortunately for the Wizards, that was sorely the case last night, primarily in the final quarter as a few possesions down the stretch were wasted thanks to JC's "NOOOOOO" shots.

 Despite being a force on defense, accounting for 4 of the Pacers' 9 steals, Paul George was virtually ineffective on offense, getting into foul trouble early and finishing with only 7 points.

The Good

As impressive as Trevor Booker has been playing with that nagging sore foot, I can't shy away from Cartier Martin and his welcome back party last night. Signed to a 10-day contract a few days ago, Martin seemed as if he had never left, scoring 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting, including two 3-pointers. He also had 5 rebounds.

The Bad

John Wall and Jordan Crawford in the fourth. Their decision making down the stretch pried the offense away from Nene, who had been playing very well all night. Wall missed a game tying jumper late in the fourth and turned the ball over on an arrant pass which resulted in a backcourt violation. I love the fact that Wall has been put in clutch positions to win games, but eventually we'll need to see him respond.

The Ugly 

  The free throw shooting. The Wiz Kids missed nine freebies which was clearly a difference in the outcome of the game. In the wise words of my colleague Chuck Lamar "HOW YOU GON MISS A FREE THROW SHOT?! IT'S FREE!!!"