Video edited courtesy of Roni B, aka @BBallWiz330 

• Jordan Crawford, who has been struggling this season thus far, hit a 3 point shot from 40 feet away.
• On the day where the nation celebrates and honors the late Dr. Martin Luther King, the Wizards usually come out on top; 5-0 all time on MLK day; they drop to 5-1 after yesterday’s game.
• Trevor Booker brings an element of passion to this team and it shows on the court.  It’s fun watching the guy.  If only he was 2-3 inches taller, he would have been a top 5 pick and more of a force inside.   One thing that you can’t measure is his heart. He’s got a lot of it.
• John Wall really needs to work on his shot.  He needs to try and take over in more games. The Wizards’ starting 5 in scoring: Wall had 38 points, followed by Nick Young with 13, McGee with 8, Chris Singleton with 6, and Booker with 3.  That is unacceptable.  It’s clear that Wall needs help.
• Technicals were given out to Andray Blatche and Wall.  From what I’ve heard, those two did not even curse and they got a technical.  They simply questioned a call.  I guess only having one win can only win you so many arguments.
• Wizards panic when they are down.  It’s like they don’t have it in them to come back at all.
• Samuel Dalembert was abusing Blatche down low.  Dalembert finished with 20 points, 9 of 11 shooting.  Defensively, this was the worst I’ve seen from Blatche.

Wizards MVP: Clearly it is Jimmy Wall.  Finishing with 38 points, he did what he needed to do.  That was to take over and show why he was chosen to be the #1 pick.  He also finished with 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.  I don’t know what it is but John always has a good game against the Rockets (he had his first career triple double against them last year).  If the Wizards can get John to play more like this, he will naturally grow into a better player and his shot eventually will get better (only one can hope).

Wizards Least Valuable Player: It’s hard to say who it was but I had to go with Trevor Booker and Nick Young.  They are both starters and did not show with their numbers.  Young shot 3 of 11, finishing with 11 points.  Booker shot 1 of 6 while finishing 3 points.  That’s not what one expects when Wall goes for 38.  They have to help him as much as possible.

Play of the Game: This play was bittersweet.  JaVale McGee tosses the ball against the backboard and throws it down, as if he gave himself an alley oop. I personally loved it. Thought it was great.  Flip Saunders, however, didn’t agree.  He told reporters he should save those type of plays for the All-Star Game.  McGee thought otherwise, telling the media that he did not regret it.  It depends on how you look at the play.  On McGee’s defense, he said he did it to spark the team and get them hype.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!!!!







 AT 



Monday, January 16th, 2012
2:00 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 1-11 Washington Wizards host the 5-7 Houston Rockets in DC in this afternoon's game.  Things are starting to look dreadful for Washington, as they have continued to play poor basketball and struggle to find effort and consistency.

John Wall has been inconsistent and not had the same impact on the game as he did in his rookie season.  He is coming off of a near triple double from his last game against the Sixers: 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.  Wall will look to build on that momentum as he goes against one of the more improved point guards in the league.  Kyle Lowry has been a dominant force for Houston.  He is coming off of a near triple double himself in his previous game against Portland:  33 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists.  Wall vs. Lowry will be the matchup to watch tonight.

Another key matchup will be Trevor Booker vs. Luis Scola.  Booker has been getting a lot of minutes due to the latest shoulder injury to Andray Blatche.  His defense and inside intensity will be needed to try and slow Scola down.  Scola has a very good inside game, and usually picks games against the Wizards to have a big night.

If Washington can't come out early and get open looks and actually knock them down, the home crowd could be looking at another long night.

- Trevor Jackson

_________________



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Go Wizards!!!!!!

For those who don't know me, I'm a really optimistic guy. But that optimism has been taking too many hits lately. First with the Skins, who I thought were playoff bound, then with the Caps, who seem to be a different team every day, and now with the Wizards.

At the beginning of the season, I did a scan of the entire Eastern Conference. When I looked at each team's roster and past seasons, I honestly could not find eight teams that I thought would be better than the Wizards. There was very little doubt in my mind that we would finish the season with a better record than at least Philadelphia, Indiana, New Jersey, Toronto, Detroit, Charlotte, and Cleveland.

Well...Whoops.

With Philly and Indiana having 9-3 records and our only win being against a Toronto team with a better record than us, I'm starting to regret all the trash talking I did in my circle of friends. But thus is the life of a DC sports fan. Picking up Rashard Lewis, Roger Mason and Ronni Turiaf was supposed to be the balance of age and experience that would make the Wizards successful. Instead, one is on a cold streak, one is out for another couple weeks and the other can't even get on the active roster sheet on occasion.

So let's just get this out of the way so I don't have to spend the rest of this article going over it.

The Wizards are bad. Like, really bad.

They're careless with the basketball, continue to have "selfish possession" as Flip Saunders calls it, and commit fouls at a ridiculously irregular rate. With that said, the team finally did some things that needed to be done in order for them to be successful moving forward.

The team finally got some offensive production out of the Wizards new-look "big 3." This was no, Arenas, Jamison and Butler kind of performance, but it's the closest thing Wizards fans have seen since the trio's abrupt departure. John Wall, Javale Mcgee and Nick Young combined for 69 of the team's 90 points and if the Wizards are going to attempt to salvage this dreadful season, they're going to need more production like that out of those three guys. As the starters shined, the rest of the team disappeared and as a result, The Sixers' bench outscored the Washington bench 44-15.

          AT  



Saturday, January 14th, 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


_________________



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Go Wizards!!!!!!

 AT     



Friday, January 13th, 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 Philadelphia 76ers (7-3) host the Washington Wizards (1-9) in a rematch of the preseason games where Philly went 2-0.  The 76ers have been one of the surprise teams at the start of this short season.  

Washington may get a break as it looks like center Spencer Hawes may sit this one out with a lower back strain.  No official word yet, but he did miss the Sixers last game and many expect him to sit this one out, and possibly Saturday's game as well.  Hawes only averaged 8 points and 11 rebounds in the 2 preseason games vs. Washington, but certainly impacted both games.  On the year, he is averaging 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds and has helped Philly get out the their hot start.  

With Hawes out, this should open the door for Washington's big men to have a good game.  Specifically watch out for JaVale McGee.  The Sixers do not have anyone to match up with him athletically, and he could be in for a big game.  Trevor Booker vs. Elton Brand is Wizards Extreme's match up to watch tonight.  Brand has been an effective scorer this year, and Booker will try and slow him down using his high energy and athleticism. 

Guard play will also be key for Washington.  John Wall will need to get out of his funk on the offensive end, and will have his hands full with Jrue Holiday most of the game on the defensive end.  Washington's shooting guard position has been a rotation of bad shot selection and inefficiency.  And as usual, expect Lou Williams to light it up against Washington.

Washington should look to push the tempo from the very beginning and use their athleticism and quickness to get out to an early lead.  It remains to be seen if this will occur or not.
 
These two teams will face each other again tomorrow night in Washington, on the back to back of a home and home.


- Trevor Jackson

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Go Wizards!!!!!!

Are the Wizards the worst team ever? Thomas Boswell seems to think so and I am inclined to disagree with him. I know they have played as poorly as a team can play but with such a young team I still have some trepidation about such morose assessments. It seems as if no one has anything positive to say about the Wizards, and I totally understand that. There isn't much positive you can say about a team that's only one game. They have looked selfish, lazy, and downright awful.

This isn’t another one of those articles. I present to you the Silver lining.

The Wizards are not the worst team ever, talent-wise; this team is full of athletic freaks of nature. JaVale McGee, Chris Singleton, and Jan Vesley all have alien like wingspans and the 6’7” 236 pound Trevor Booker is the fastest player on the team and runs the floor like a gazelle. The problem isn’t a lack of talent; it’s maximizing and developing said talent.

On a night where the Wiz Kids were playing a Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls team, Washington had every opportunity to escape the windy city with a win and take a 2 game win streak with them to Philadelphia.

Despite Chicago's tenacious defense, Washington was able to overcome another dreadful shooting performance from John Wall by playing team basketball and spreading the rock.

It was back to square one for the Wizards on Wednesday night.

One night removed from their first victory in as long as a pregnancy, the Wiz Kids had a golden opportunity against a Chicago Bulls team sans Derrick Rose.

Go ahead and ‘LOL’.

Unfazed by the absence of their MVP point guard, Chicago still managed to cruise to a 78-64 victory, dropping our boys to 1-9.

By the grace of God, Andray Blatche sat out for the Wizards due to a sore hand, while Rose nursed a turf toe injury – two missing elements I THOUGHT would have worked to the advantage of the Wizards, right?

Wrong. Meet John Lucas III.

 AT

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
8:00 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

Coming off their first victory last night against the Raptors at home, the Washington Wizards (1-8) will face a stiff test tonight as they have to travel to the Chicago Bulls (9-2) on the wrong end of back to back games.  

Chicago has been playing very well this year, behind steady play from their star point guard Derrick Rose.  Rose is averaging almost 21 points and 9 assists, and will be a strong test for this Wizards team who is coming off of their best defensive effort as a whole.  On the Flip side, Washington's John Wall has struggled to find his shot on offense.  This match up of Rose vs. Wall will clearly be the one to watch, as both have the potential to take over the game with their speed and quickness.  

Flip Saunders started Chris Singleton and Trevor Booker over Rashard Lewis and Andray Blatche last night in Washington's first victory.  It will be interesting to see if he sticks with that rotation.  The combo of Booker/Singleton brings a lot of athleticism and energy from the start.  These guys always go hard when they are on the floor, and their tenacious defense seems to spread to the rest of the team.  Andray Blatche can come off the bench at either the 4 or 5 spot and not have to worry about chucking shots and shouldering the scoring load.  

The center match up will also be interesting to watch this evening.  Joakim Noah vs. JaVale McGee.  Both are defensive minded big men who can end up impacting the game on both ends.  McGee has the advantage here in term of athleticism, but Noah wins out on basketball IQ and his general motor.  

The Wizards will definitely face a tough test this evening.  If they are able to bring over some of the momentum from the Raptors game, they may be able to keep the game interesting.  The keys again will be hustle and defense, which should help lead to easy baskets for Washington.


- Trevor Jackson

_________________


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Go Wizards!!!!!!