It took 15 losses, an 0-7 road record and the 9^th loss by double digits for fate to finally catch up to Flip Saunders.

Briefly into his third season as head coach of the Washington Wizards, Flip has been canned. The firing ends a dismal career in DC for Flip, where he won only 51 out of 181 games, including the lowly two wins tallied so far this season.

The ousting of Flip came in the midst of what has been a roller coaster of a season for coaches and players together.

Things got off to a shaky start from the very get go. After blowing a 20-point first half lead and eventually losing to the New Jersey Nets on opening night, Flip’s play calling was questioned by none other than his own Captain, Mr. Andray Blatche himself.

The melodrama created by the underachieving small forward set the tone for what has been an extremely morbid start to the season. The Wizards have been infested with a rash of various issues that have plagued them to a 2-15 start.

Play calling, player rotation, virtually any sense of offensive or defensive direction has been very minimally seen, if at all.

Besides the insurmountable shortcomings on the floor – shot selection, rebounding, pick and roll defense, movement without the ball – what keyed the decision to can Flip was the lack of certain intangibles, such as will, effort and energy. More often than not the Wizards simply did not seem like they had any desire to be on the floor, and last night’s game in Philly exemplified all of that.

Wizards Extreme wishes the best of luck to Flip Saunders, a well-rounded individual and an extremely talented basketball coach.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.”

This is the opening of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, or it is a description of the Washington Wizards this season. This season is the Tale of Two Teams. There is the team that beat the Oklahoma Thunder, played the Nuggets, Knicks, and Celtics close, and looks the part of a young team chock full of talent.

Then there is the team that travelled to Philly last night. This is the team that we've seen most of the season: a team plagued by laziness, selfishness, and a complete lack of understanding regarding the principles of basketball.

 AT           


Monday, January 23rd, 2012
7:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz, Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 The Fan - http://bit.ly/5yZqu8
Dave Johnson, Glenn Consor


Game Preview

The 2-14 Washington Wizards travel to the City of Brotherly Love tonight to take on the 11-5 Philadelphia 76ers.  This will be the 5th time these teams play this season, and Washington has managed to go 0 for 4 so far (0-2 in preseason, 0-2 regular season).  

Wizards Extreme's matchup to watch this evening will be Nick Young vs. Lou Williams.  You can almost automatically chalk Lou Williams up for at least 20 points, as he is one of the many "Wizard Killers" throughout the league.  Nick Young has been hot recently, and has averaged 21.6 points over the last 5 games, and 26 points over the past 3.  Washington will need Nick to be efficient this evening if they want to stick around in this game.  

Other matchups to keep an eye on:

Wall vs. Holiday - matchup of 2 very good, quick young point guards.  

McGee vs. Philadelphia's centers - Hawes is questionable and missed the last game with injury.  Last time the Wizards faced Philly, I predicted JaVale would have a huge impact on the game and he did not.  Let's see how this one plays out.  

As usual, intensity, focus, and efficiency will be the keys for Washington if they want to get their third victory on the year.  If they are lacking in any of these areas, it is likely they will be served another loss to this very good Philadelphia team. 

- Trevor Jackson

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WE's to Watch




WE Spotlight




Wizards' Projected Starting Lineup



76ers' Projected Starting Lineup




Funniest Looking 76er




Paying Homage






Truly Proud Moment in 76ers' History




Enemy Dancers












Go Wizards!!!!!!

Without Rajon Rondo in the line up and Ray Allen being sidelined in the first half due to injury, today's game was there for Washington's taking. Instead, the only thing the Wiz Kids got was a steady dose of Paul Pierce.

The future hall of famer had a game high 34 points and 10 assists in his best game this season for the C's and lead his team to a 100-94 victory over the home town Wizards. He was able to take Chris Singleton out of the game early by getting him in foul trouble and Washington struggled to find a defensive solution for Pierce the rest of the game. 

        AT 



Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
1:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz, Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 The Fan - http://bit.ly/5yZqu8
Dave Johnson, Glenn Consor

_________________



WE's to Watch




WE Spotlight





Celtics' Projected Starting Lineup



Wizards' Projected Starting Lineup





Funniest Looking Celtic





Paying Homage







Truly Proud Moment in Celtics' History



 

Friendly Dancers - Wizard Girls












Go Wizards!!!!!!

With every Wizards player that touches the ball, there seems to be a uniformity of negative chants blaring from the crowd.

Whether it’s “pass the ball!” while Jordan Crawford is aimlessly dribbling around the perimeter, or “God please don’t shoot it” every time Rashard Lewis makes eye contact with the basket, the fans refuse to contain their emotions, and with a record of 2-13, why should they?

But amidst all the heckling, Crawford and Lewis can still manage to draw some sort of fan pleasure from time to time.

Andray Blatche cannot.

Throughout his career, Blatche has been testing the patience of the Wizards faithful. Since his promotion in to the starting lineup following the dismemberment of the “Big 3” in 2009, Blatche has shown promising signs of an evolving superstar. However his consistency, maturity and effort has always remained a concern.

Two nights following a signature victory where the Wizards defeated the best team in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder, it seemed as though the Wizards finally got their swagger back. Instead they tumbled to a 108-104 defeat at home last night against the Nuggets.

The Wizards got a team high 25-points from Nick Young including 17 points in the first quarter.

Check out my report on the game followed by post-game interviews by Jordan Crawford, John Wall and Nick Young.

Video edited courtesy of Roni B, aka @BBallWiz330 

 AT 



Friday, January 20th, 2012
7:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet Plus HD
Steve Buckhantz, Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 The Fan - http://bit.ly/5yZqu8
Dave Johnson, Glenn Consor



Game Preview

The Washington Wizards (2-12) host the Denver Nuggets (10-5) as Washington looks to build momentum off of their big upset win of the Thunder on Wednesday night.  The Wizards use a surprising combination of toughness, hustle, and energy to knock off the Thunder and end their 7 game winning streak.  

Much of the same ingredients will be needed this evening if the Wizards want to get their first win streak (2!) of the season.  

Wizards Extreme's matchup to watch is going to be Al Harrington vs. Andray Blatche.  Harrington has been known to have some big games against the Wizards, so slowing him down from the start will be a key for Washington.  Blatche displayed toughness going up against Kendrick Perkins earlier this week, and the coaching staff and fans alike will look for him to keep that up.  

John Wall will have his hands full with the point guard combination of Ty Lawson and Andre Miller for the Nuggets.  Both Miller and Lawson have been extremely effective for Denver.  The past 3 games, Wall has been living up to the hype of the #1 overall pick.  He has averaged 27.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists.  He will need to maintain that aggressiveness he has shown recently to keep the Wizards in this game.  

Washington needs to get out to an early start and keep the crowd in the game.  If they show the same toughness and determination that they did against OKC, they may have a shot to start their own winning streak.

- Trevor Jackson

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WE's to Watch




WE Spotlight





Nuggets' Projected Starting Lineup



Wizards' Projected Starting Lineup





Funniest Looking Nugget





Paying Homage







Proud Moment in Nuggets' History



Nikoloz Tskitishvili, the 5th overall pick by the Denver Nuggets 
in the 2002 NBA Draft



Friendly Dancers - Wizard Girls












Go Wizards!!!!!!

Here's what John Wall, Nick Young, Andray Blatche and Trevor Booker had to say about last night's victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Video produced by Wizards Extreme correspondent Roni B aka @BBallWiz330

AT 



Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
7:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz, Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 The Fan - http://bit.ly/5yZqu8
Dave Johnson, Glenn Consor



Game Preview

The Oklahoma City Thunder (12-2) come riding into DC on a 7 game win streak to face the Washington Wizards (1-12).  Talk about two teams on the opposite end of the spectrum:  The Thunder seem to be taking the league by storm, and are having difficulty losing.  Washington's record speaks for itself.  

If the Wizards do not come out shooting hot and bringing as much intensity as they have all year, this one could get ugly fast.  The Thunder have the chemistry and team first attitude that the Wizards are lacking.  They also have an established bench and solid role players, which the Wizards seem to be missing as well.  

Wizards Extreme's matchup to watch this evening is going to be Chris Singleton vs. Kevin Durant.  Singleton has been solid on defense all year for the Wizards, but will face his stiffest test of the season this evening.  Kevin Durant has looked unstoppable, and all Singleton can do is try and disrupt his game and try to slow him down, if possible.  

Another key matchup to watch is going to be Russell Westbrook vs. John Wall.  Westbrook can score in a variety of ways, especially getting to the basket.  Wall is going to have his hands full on the defensive end.  John will look to keep the momentum rolling as he is coming off one of his best games as a pro (38 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals).  This should be an exciting pairing to keep an eye on.
 
James Harden will also be a key contributor for the Thunder and Washington will have to try and slow him down as well.  He is averaging roughly 30 minutes a game coming off the bench for the Thunder.  Harden is going to be in the running for 6th man of the year as he carries averages of 16.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.  His impact for the Thunder goes beyond the box score as well.  I had the pleasure of seeing him play in person here in DC during the Goodman vs. Drew League game.  Harden impressed on both ends of the floor.  He brings a high basketball IQ and loads of toughness on both ends of the floor. 

If Washington does not get out to an early start, this one could get out of hand quickly.  They will need to be efficient and limit the turnovers during the all important first quarter where the tone will be set.  If the Wizards can get the home crowd involved early, there could be a chance at a major upset.

- Trevor Jackson

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WE's to Watch




WE Spotlight




Thunder Projected Starting Lineup



Wizards' Projected Starting Lineup





Funniest Looking Thunder





Paying Homage







Truly Proud Moment in Thunder History





Friendly Dancers - Wizard Girls













Go Wizards!!!!!!