AT    


Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
10:30 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD
Steve Buckhantz, Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 The Fan - http://bit.ly/5yZqu8


Game Preview

Tonight's game in L.A. is a rematch of the Wizards vs. Clippers game from February 4th.  Washington was completely outplayed from the start of the game, and the final score of 107-81 doesn't even tell the whole story.  The Clippers controlled the game on both ends of the floor, dominating from the first tip.  

Interim head coach Randy Wittman currently has the Wizards playing with much more passion and more energy as they have gone on a 2 game road winning streak.  According to Michael Lee, from his Twitter account, "For 1st time in FRANCHISE HISTORY, #wizards won back2back road games by 15 points."  Although it is just a short time to be used as a measuring tool, it appears Washington's offense is finally clicking.  

The biggest matchup to watch tonight is going to be DeAndre Jordan vs. JaVale McGee.  Since the story came out that JaVale had to switch asthma medications, his performance has increased and he has been very effective.  Jordan dominated McGee in the game earlier this month, so all eyes will be on this matchup to see if McGee can respond.  

Nick Young has been very hot as of late, and has increased his efficiency in doing so.  He has been a large part in Washington's recent offensive surge.  He is coming off a game against Portland where he finished with 35 points, going 12-17 from the floor and 7-8 from 3 point range.  Washington will need Young to score early and often in this one.
 
WE can't forget about the point guard matchup.  John Wall vs. Chris Paul will be another great battle to watch.  Washington slowed Paul in their first meeting from a scoring point, but he will still able to deliver many dimes to the big men combo of Griffin/Jordan. 

If Washington wants a shot at this one, the will need to protect the ball and make smart decisions on the offensive end.  This starts with John Wall, and he will need to lead the team from the very beginning.


- Trevor Jackson
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Go Wizards!!!!!!

Every week Wizards Extreme will feature 5 burning questions and their answers pertaining directly to the Washington Wizards and the current state they are in. This week's segment addresses Randy Wittman and how the Wizards have performed under his new regime; John Wall's recent improvements; the NBA trade deadline: how the Wizards should approach it and what it could mean for Andray Blatche.

1. The Wizards are 5-7 since Randy Wittman took over. What do you think is the biggest change if anything under the new regime?

Trevor: Rotations seem to be better than they were under Saunders.  Wittman appears to be playing the guys who are making an impact on the floor rather than sticking with guys w ho are not getting it done.  The   immediate benching of Andray Blatche (prior to injury) was just 1 example of this.  The Wizards also appear to be playing with more tempo.  I have seen Wittman urging Wall and Mack to push the ball up the court faster multiple times.  The effort and intensity has picked up on both ends of the floor since the coaching switch, and although it has not translated to a large increase it wins, it has at least made the team more watch-able over the past few weeks.

Mike: The biggest change would have to be the way he is handling the rotation. Vesley, Booker, and Mack are all getting more minutes which is great to see as they are obviously building blocks for the future of this team. It's evident that they can contribute and their intensity has kept us close in many games.

Chuck: The biggest change by far has been the level of intensity and effort. The Wizards are playing much harder for Wittman. He has made it clear to these guys that if you don’t hustle and play hard you will find a seat on the bench right beside Andray Blatche. The Wiz under Randy Wittman are a run and gun team, they push the ball up the court every chance they get and the players seem to be responding to his tutelage.

Saam: You could point to a lot of things but for me, the biggest reason for the turn around is in the coaching. Randy Wittman's intensity and use of his players is making a huge difference. He's dividing the playing time evenly amongst the players and as a result, it's keeping most guys fresh. It looks like everyone is more comfortable on the court because, for the most part, they are all able to stay fresh. We're seeing Shelvin Mack get more playing time, Mo Evans certainly is being a factor and Jan Vesely is coming in to his own. One thing we were saying with Flip is that the guys aren't exactly "buying in" to what he was selling but with Coach Wittman it really looks like they are because he's holding all the players accountable. He's quickly become my favorite coach in D.C. Sports.

Joe: First things first, it has t o be the accountability. Randy came in from day 1 saying the way things were going was not the way it was going to continue. We've seen him pull John Wall a couple times, and I don't think it's a coincidence that we haven't seen Dray around either - although I will say, when Asad and I talked to him last week he looked significantly slimmer. When a coach is not afraid to "bench" his star player it sends a message to the rest of the group, and I think as you can see by his record in comparison to what we were getting from Flip, this team has responded to the new voice. Now, as fans we should wait to place our "Fat Lady Sings" Playoff shirts, there is a long road to climb but I love Wittman's approach and even more so, the guy is a walking soundbite!

I’m really trying to put together the right words to delineate my thoughts and feelings after the Wizards’ throttling of the Portland Trailblazers last night.

It kind of feels like that Coors Light train just blindly swept through with a drafty snow shower, instilling a refreshing ambience of excitement and joy amongst Wizards fans. Oh, and the blonde chick with the fancy knit cap from the commercial can be here too, she was cute.

Am I sounding over-exuberant? Perhaps, but come on folks, this abnormal sensation of pleasure is not something I’m used to.

The Wizards picked up right where they left off in the second half against Detroit a few nights ago, and ran the Blazers right out of their building with a 124-109 win.

AT    


Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
10:00 PM ET
TV: Comcast SportsNet HD, NBA TV
Steve Buckhantz, Phil Chenier  
Radio: 106.7 The Fan - http://bit.ly/5yZqu8
Dave Johnson, Glenn Consor
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Go Wizards!!!!!!

ESPN's color commentator Jeff Van Gundy has seen some success in his coaching career. Even though he never won the championship with the New York Knicks or the Houston Rockets, I considered him to be a solid coach.

My thoughts of him as a commentator, however, are a completely different topic.

The other night during ESPN's NBA broadcast, Jeff Van Gundy stated the following; "Can Washington be banned from national TV?" After his broadcast partner mentioned that the Wizards have a "part-time" commitment to defense, Van Gundy came right back and stated that a "part-time commitment would be an upgrade".

Last night was magical. The Wizards not only won but won in convincing fashion. The Wizards not only played smart energetic defense but they did it for four quarters. Pistons head coach, Lawrence Frank said it best "JaVale was the MVP of this game".

Leading the way with 22 pts, 11 rebs, and two blocks McGee had one of his most dominant games of the season. In addition to the two blocks, there were the countless altered shots and the 8 dunks.

But the most exciting part of last night was watching John Wall and JaVale McGee alley-oop the Pistons off of their home court. Are we getting a glimpse of what could be the making of Lob City Mid-Atlantic, or how about Lob Chocolate City?

Although he still has mental lapses from time to time, JaVale has been one of the lone bright spots this season. We’ve all seen the play and everybody had a good laugh about it but what everybody fails to point out is the hustle and effort he gives to get back on defense.

On a team where hustle and getting back on defense are foreign concepts, he gives 100% every night.

With the Wizards lacking offensive firepower outside of Nick Young and Jordan Crawford (that was painful to write), the Wizards have the opportunity to develop McGee as the big man of the future. I’ve noticed far too often McGee does the dirty work and positions himself in the post only for Nick or Jordan to take an ill-advised jump shot.

no comments

Following basketball as a Wizards fan can be strenuous to say the least.  Enjoying it is virtually impossible. Besides the few spurts of production over the course of the season, the Wizards have been about as entertaining as Paul Walker.

Although what occurred last night may have been one of those “spurts”, it’s safe to say that the exceptional display of domination we witnessed late in the 3^rd quarter was arguably the best sequence of basketball we have seen from our boys all year.

We can only hope it was invigorating enough to be the turning point in what’s been a misfortunate season for the Wizards.

Outside of their comfort zone (the road), the Wizards still managed to stay on the brink of pulling away several times against Detroit last night, but the Pistons, led by the hefty ex-Hoya Greg Monroe, kept hanging around. Despite having an excellent night on both ends of the floor, one thing JaVale McGee did realize is the significance of a weight room as Monroe muscled him for a game high 27 points.

no comments

The Wizards are in no place to compete for a championship this season. The Wizards aren't even in a spot to compete for a playoff spot this season. But the Wizards are in one of the most important races of all-- acquiring another big name superstar over the summer.

This summer's free agent class is, although quietly, huge. Names such as Gerald Wallace, Dwight Howard, Nazr Mohammed, Andrew Bynum, Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will all be unrestricted free agents by the end of the 2011-2012 NBA season.

AT    


Sunday, February 12th, 2012
6:00 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!!!!!!

As the matchup against the defending Eastern Conference champs was looming, dreaded thoughts of a massacre were instilled in the minds of many of the Wizards faithful.

The pre-game conversations weren’t about whether the Wizards were going to win or lose (even though those conversations usually end up with the same lopsided consensus), but instead you wondered how bad the far less talented, shallow Wizards would get blown out.

After the Jeremy Lin Show successfully swept through Chinatown, there was very little desire of an encore by “Lob City East”, at least not for the 30% of fans in the arena that wasn’t sporting a black and red #6 jersey.