Sean Livingston got some early playing time as he entered with around 4 minutes to go.  It should not surprise people; WE are short of some people. Livingston looks healthy and well as he was playing the point guard position.  It’s really unique to see a 6-6 point guard, if only he can make his open jump shots. Andray Blatche was doing the usual Andray Blatche and that was SCORING!  Knowing Blatche can score, take the team and put it on his back, makes me feel a tingle only my girlfriend can give me.  And I mean that in the most professional of terms.  After one quarter of play, the Wizards were down 22-27.

1st Quarter notable Stats:

Shooting Percentage –     Wizards, 50%; Hawks , 65%

Blatche : 9 pts; Joe Johnson, 8 pts

Blatche/McGee; 3 rebounds; Joe Johnson, 3 rebounds

As the 2nd quarter began, the Wizards brought in Nick Young and then I heard this name I remember hearing back in the 90’s, it was JOE SMITH.  HOLY CRAP BATMAN!  That man still plays? He’s probably the oldest man on that team.   I saw JaVale McGee pretend like he can dribble and then shoot, and I hear Mike Prada from BulletsForever, scream, “NOOOO,” after knowing he made the jumper, it turned to laughs.  Alonso Gee made his presence into the game with 9 minutes to go, from what I’ve seen on YouTube and in warm-ups, this kid can fly.  He had a nice put back dunk that excited the crowd.

If you would have told me before this glorious season, that the lineup of Alonzo Ghee, Nick Young, James Singleton, Sean Livingston, and JaVale McGee would be on the floor in the same time in a season that started off with Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler, I would have told you to punch me till I can’t think no more. Who would ever expect that?

Our very own Joe Glorioso said he heard JaVale McGee just call Alonzo Ghee, “young fella.” Wow this is really weird. In other Javale news, JaVale had a nice dunk by taking it from the top of the key straight to the basket, but then had one ugly turnaround jumper following it; it was uglier then how LeBron James walks.  JaVale is growing up fast, but he does need a post move or two and he would be feared by other centers in the league.

As the half ended, a three pointer was made by the Hawks Marvin Williams who a couple of years ago couldn’t shoot paper into a trash can.  But that’s the Wizards luck.

Notable 2nd Quarter Stats:

Wizards shoot 52.6% percent, Hawks shoot 61.5%

Nick Young, 13 pts; J. Crawford, 7 pts

1st half: Nick Young and JaVale Mcgee came alive and were playing well.  The Wizards new superstar Blatche was going at Josh Smith with his reverse layups and jumpers.  Josh Smith usually blocks a lot of shots but was having trouble with Andray Blatche. Dray had 13 points and 3 rebounds but had 5 turnovers.  McGee had 10 pts and 6 rebounds at the end of the 1st half.

Coming out of half, the Wizards came out a little sluggish.  Singleton came in and brought his defense also.  Blatche continues to be the leader of this young Wizards team.  Crawford forced the Wizards to think twice about playing zone as he hit two straight three pointers.  The man can get on fire easily, hotter than your mama’s cooking. Every time I see Blatche, I love seeing the confidence in him.  It fires up the crowd and gives confidence to everyone in the building.  The man is living up to his 2nd round hype and more.  Crowd gave a loud cheer for Singleton, who hustled to get an offensive rebound to reset the shot clock.  They cheered even harder when Thornton scored the layup after the hustle play by James Singleton.

Notable 3rd Quarter Stats:

Wizards shoot 50%, Hawks shoot 55.2%

Wizards out rebounded the Hawks, 29-20

3rd quarter thoughts: Blatche with 24 points leading up to the 4th quarter.   Blatche only had one turnover which is good but in the other hand, he had 6 turnovers total.

The last quarter, the Wiz Kids were down as much as 10.   JaVale McGee must have been practicing at half time a post move because he did a nice sweet layup after posting up Marvin Williams.  Foye doesn’t seem like he is comfortable playing the point guard position.  He’s naturally a two guard and should stick there in my humble opinion.  It seemed like one thing he could do well as a point guard is lob the ball to McGee every chance he could get.    Reminds me of a Chris Paul to Tyson Chandler/David West type play, where they would pick and roll all day.

Final thoughts: The intensity was picked up in the 4th quarter as always.  The Wizards played defense, hustled, and rallied but not enough to put away the Atlanta Hawks. This team needs someone who is clutch, someone who they can depend on in the final minutes of a game.  The referees made some questionable calls, especially towards the end of the game.  JaVale McGee had a career high 20 points and is showing that he can be a real force in this league.  JaVale could have shot a 3 pointer and it would have gone in. He did have one great fact that won’t be on the Friday morning stat line, and that is 8 dunks.  The learning curve continues with the Wiz Kids.

WE Correspondent: Asad Naqvi

Wizards Shoot around

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Javale McGee post game

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Andray Blatche post game

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Mike Miller post game

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Al Thornton post game

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Coach Saunders post game

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I hate to sound like a broken record but for the second straight game Mike Miller decided to start the game with a shooters mentality. Tell me if you’ve heard this one before, 1st quarter Miller is 3 for 4, the following 2 quarters 0 shots. Then the 4th quarter comes along and he tries to get it going again but shots 1 for 4 and finishes the game 4 for 8 with 11 points.

Look, I’m not trying to start a bash-fest on Miller but you don’t have to be a basketball aficionado to understand that if you don’t shoot the ball for 2 quarters your chances of being pin point accurate in the 4th are not going to be to high.

It’s such as strange thing with Miller too because it’s not like the fans don’t want him to shoot the ball. He’s hearing things from the fans because they want him to shoot more.

We also got the mixed bag of nuts from our Face of the Franchise (FoF) Andray Blatche.

Dray was impressive offensively as well as on the boards but not so much with the turnovers.

If you saw his statline, 30 points on 12 for 19 shooting, and 10 rebounds you’d think it was a very good night. What you can’t ignore is the 7 turnovers and from my angle what was a questionable shot selection at the end of the game. I’m not a big fan of the fade-away jumper from the baseline with a man guarding you tight in a two possession game.

Now out with the bad and in with the good.

Nick Young came to play, again. That’s the great news. This is the second straight game that Nick displayed a little swagger and hopefully his minutes can stay where they are right now, averaging around 24-25 over the last two. Nick is an absolutely gifted basketball player and Flip put it best after the last game, Young has to maintain the type of energy he has displayed lately whether his shot is going in or not.

My star for the Hawks, and I’m a big Michigan fan which makes me somewhat biased, but I would got with Jamal Crawford who had himself a game tonight. I seem to  remember when Michael Jordan was the GM here and there was talk that he wanted to get Jamal in a Wizards uniform but it never ended up happening. Well ever since then, and it might just be me but I feel like he always has his way with the Wizards.

Crawford, also know as “J.C.” and “Crawfish” finished with 29 points and 3 assists. Not really impressive outside of the points but it was more a matter of how and when the points came. He basically went where he wanted to when he wanted to all night long.

My Most Valuable Wizard was by far JaVale McGee. Big Daddy Wookie was in full effect tonight. Epic Vale had so many dunks I actually lost count. There is one thing nobody can deny about JaVale, the young man can jump out of the gym. As I told Jacob Bourne from DCSportsFan at the last game, I don’t think JaVale has ever seen a shot that he didn’t want to reject into the crowd.

The Big Secret was all over the place against the Hawks and has had a pretty decent stretch of games over the last 5 averaging close to 13 points and 7 rebounds per. Tonight though there was more to his game than usual.

Obviously “The Choppa” had his signature dunks, one of which ended up in ESPN’s top 10, but JaVale was getting up and down the court on both ends, communicating on the court and more importantly had a little edge to him.

Maybe JaVale is not a big Pachulia fan? Who knows, what I do know is that the crowd enjoyed his energy and play on both ends.

Kill + Mode = Cheese was in serious effect.

Quick thanks to BulletsForever for the numerous aliases of JaVale McGee.

Overall I thought it was an entertaining game game with some good energy but in the end the Wizards just couldn’t pull it out.

With 20 games left in the season, we are left positioning ourselves for the draft lottery instead of playoffs. Not exactly where any of us thought we’d be but it sure will make Conference tournament week and March Madness more relevant to Wizards fans.

- Joe Glorioso

Wizards Extreme Correspondent

For the second straight home game, the Wizards looked relaxed in pregame warm-ups, joking around, hitting both short range and long range jumpers. But as we know from what happened against the Bucks last Friday, pregame does not always translate into a good game.

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By the time the Wizards were ready to hit the floor the Verizon crowd had started filing in, not looking much different than the rest of the home games this year. Considering the team’s record and recent stretch of so-so play, I guess there is not much room to complain about those who do show up on a regular basis.

At least the Wizards players are still jumping around during warm ups and they still do seem genuinely excited to be playing pro basketball for a living.

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The first half of this game was like many the Wizards have played this year. The two teams traded buckets, one taking a lead then relinquishing it to the other team. Andray Blatche came out hot in the first quarter and then disappeared until the end of the second quarter. Luis Scola, Orberto’s Argentinian teammate along with Blatche led all scorers with 12 points after two quarters.

Mike Miller who has shown signs of life only to quickly turn them off had a strong half in the rebounding department but after putting up 5 shot attempts in the first quarter only managed 4 more the rest of the game.

Unfortunately for the Wizards, after a fairly balanced 1st quarter they just didn’t have any answers for the Rockets who scored 27 points to Washington’s 18 in the second quarter as they slowly increased their lead, one which they would never end up giving back.

At least from where I sit, there are times when I’m watching the Wizards and wish they would trade the behind the back dribble for a simple hand switch. Trade the alley oop for the bounce pass or instead of slashing to the basket and taking on 4 defenders, moving the ball around the perimeter.

It would also be nice to see a guy who is known to be a sharpshooter stop leaving his feet on all his drives while looking to pass the ball. Shoot the damn ball already Mike Miller!

As I was typing that last thought, a fan from the section behind us in 104 yelled out “can you get the basics right?”.

This squad as currently constructed would be well served to ditch any and all flashy antics and just get back to doing the simple things. By that I mean, getting over top of screens, boxing out, making the extra passes, and some more help defense. You know, all the things that good basketball teams do.

All that said, it’s easy to bury a team like the Wizards in a season like the one we have before us.

In the second half there were some bright spots.

After coming out from the half and going down by 14, Shaun Livingston entered the game at the 8 minute mark and would not return to the bench. His stat line will not show anything earth shattering, 4 points on 2 of 5 shooting, with 5 assists and 1 block, but the Wizards seemed to be getting into their sets a little bit better than when Foye was running the guard.

We’re not going to get carried away with Shaun just yet and anoint him the Wizards new PG of the future but the young man has got court vision, and on this current roster, you’d be hard pressed to find somebody with better PG skills.

One of my colleagues in the media said after the game that Livingston can’t score and ultimately successful PG’s need to be able to score.

On the team I’m building I’ll be more than happy with a 6′7 point guard who is happier distributing the ball than shooting it. And to say that he can’t score is not all that accurate either. Is scoring Livingston’s strong suit, absolutely not, but on this team a pass first point guard who doesn’t dribble the Spalding off the ball is not such a bad thing to have.

Blatche had another decent statistical night finishing with 18 points and 8 rebounds but faded towards the end of the 4th quarter, and was actually pulled by Flip finishing the game on the bench.

After the game Flip mentioned that Dray is trying to put the team on his back but it’s not working. Again, to his credit, Andray said after the game that it’s on him to get his game back on track and he’d get back to work first thing in the morning.

Another bright spot came from Nick Young who continues to smile in the face of what has been a long season as he finished with 18 points off the bench. Saunders mentioned Young in his postgame presser and said the key for Nick is to continue with the energy he showed tonight whether he makes his shots or doesn’t.

Our WizardsExtreme players to watch for the game were Kevin Martin and Al Thornton. Martin had a decent game with 21 points and 3 rebounds while Al Thornton came on strong at the end of the game to finish with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.

Our player of the game through these eyes was Louis Scola who played a game high 41 mintues and dropped 23 points and 10 rebounds.

All in all, I believe very few people outside the Wizards locker room thought that Washington would pull this game out but the Wizards would be well served getting back to the type of play they had coming out of the trade deadline.

Being in the locker room after the game you can tell these guys care, they are bruised, tired and hurting but they care.

Some might not take solace in that but when you are 21-40 it’s real easy to call it quits and there isn’t a single person in that locker room who has any intention of doing that, at least from my perception.

As a tribute to one of my favorite artists, the Wizards will have “One More Chance” to show that they are a better team than what they’ve shown lately. That chance comes Thursday against division rival Atlanta.

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Joe Glorioso

Wizards Extreme Correspondent

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On Shaun Livingston:

“I thought he did some good things.  He got us into an offense.  It was the best flow we had in the game during the end of the fourth quarter.  It’s the first time he’s played extended minutes.  We will see how he reacts tomorrow with his leg, and we will see what we do as far as Thursday.”

On the game:

“Right now, every team we play, they are fighting for that eighth spot.  They are a game out.  When they come in and play against us, they know that these are big games.  They are trying to send messages in the first half.  We didn’t get a lot of calls because we were not physical early.  We were taking a lot of outside shots and not attacking the rim.  To our credit, we kept fighting back and we made some plays and didn’t quit.”

On Nick Young:

“He played with some more energy.  What he has got to do now is play with that much energy whether he is making shots or not.  Making shots cannot dictate how hard he plays.  The only thing that is constant is how hard you play.  You do not have a say in whether you make shots or not even though you want to make everyone one.  I thought he played with better energy.”

On playing in transition:

“We missed a lot of shots going to the basket early.  They just had numbers and their guards had great quickness.  What happened really is that their bigs out ran our bigs.  That has been the scouting report on JaVale (McGee) and Andray (Blatche).  We run up hill on defense and downhill on offense.  For some reason, we think our court is tilted.  We do not go as fast from offense to defense as we do from defense to offense.  Teams are making a conscious effort of really getting out.  It is not that they are scoring initially, but they are getting a lot of second chance opportunities and second chance points off of that.”

On the next stretch of games:

“It’s the Rock Star tour.  The next five games are against teams that fighting to get to second, third or those types of seeds.  Detroit is not, but Atlanta and Orlando are.  Then we go on the road to Utah, Denver, Portland and Los Angeles and they are all fighting down the stretch.”

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WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE

On the game:

“Today was by far the worst game I’ve played in the second half.  I started off good; the rims were wide to me and then it just tightened up.  We had to play so I keep forcing my shots and the same results kept coming.  I tried to make some passes and get my teammates off but it wasn’t going in for them either.  I kept trying to fight harder and harder but it just made it worse for me.  It was just a bad shooting game for me.”

On his game:

“It was just all me.  It wasn’t like they were doing a super double team, I just had a bad shooting night. The rim was tight and the ball kept coming in and out I was shooting air-balls.  That was the worst game I had by far.  Chuck Hayes is a big strong guy I was trying to back him down but he wasn’t moving.  I just have to come to the gym tomorrow and get some shots in.”

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WIZARDS GUARD MIKE MILLER

On the game:

“We picked up the energy a little at the end, but we have to find ways to have energy the whole game. We need to be able to get out there and run and play through Dray in the post.”

On Shaun Livingston:

“Shaun is a great player.  He has a lot of potential and we know what he is capable of, but it’s just a matter of him getting comfortable with what we’re doing.  He creates a big time mismatches.”

On the next three games:

“It should be fun.  The bottom line is we have 82 games this year and we have to play with a lot of energy.  I have to take care of my body especially when you know you’re going to play five games in six nights.”

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WIZARDS GUARD NICK YOUNG

On his game:

“I was just thinking on the bench that I have to come out and be aggressive.  I was just being me and trying to get comfortable and playing the game I play, playing with confidence.”

On Shaun Livingston:

“Shaun is a great point guard.  He has good vision and he’s starting to get back to normal.”

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ROCKETS HEAD COACH RICK ADELMAN

On the game:

“We got two out of three on this trip and it’s good to have Kyle (Lowry) and Trevor (Ariza) back. Our guys did what they had to do to get the win.”

On Luis Scola:

“Luis played over 30 minutes and with players back it gave us a lot of flexibility.”

ROCKETS GUARD AARON BROOKS

On the game:

“I think we were able to pull out the victory tonight because we were able to play good defense, box out and win the rebounding battle.  We need wins like this to make a push.”

On playing time:

“I felt a lot fresher at the end.  Kyle (Lowry) is one of the best backups in the league, so the fact that he was able to come in and play a lot of minutes helped my legs.”

ROCKETS GUARD KEVIN MARTIN

On the game:

“At this time of year you don’t want any type of games to slip away.  In the past couple of weeks we felt some teams that we should have beat we let slip away.  Our mindset is to capitalize on every opportunity.”

On playing better:

“I think we have the motivation to execute better down the stretch, because we had that game on Sunday slip right away from us so we knew what we needed to improve on.”

On Washington:

“Washington is a team that will play hard every night and they are still trying to find their identity.  We can’t take a team like that for granted.”

Other PostGame Interviews

James Singleton

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The Washington Wizards have exceeded their output from last year, but fallen well short of their preseason expectations. With all of their big names gone, the Wizards must now look to a new leader for the future.

The future of the Washington Wizards rests with Andray Blatche.

A month ago, that statement would have shocked even me. Blatche hadn’t shown himself to be capable of being the centerpiece of a team, let alone a starter. But upon assuming the starting role from veteran Antawn Jamison, it was apparent that Blatche had finally come into his own.

While he is still young, and still untested over the long haul of the NBA season, Blatche has shown a surprising efficiency on the floor without much veteran help around him.

Contrary to popular belief, the Wizards are better moving forward without Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Antawn Jamison.

ESPN analysts John Hollinger and Chad Ford conducted a team by team ranking and assessed their futures based on their current players, the free agent pool, the draft, available money and management. The Wizards landed 29th on the list, with the Charlotte Bobcats bringing up the rear.

Hollinger and Ford have apparently stopped paying attention to the Wizards, because their future looks brighter now than it did earlier this season when Washington was projected to be a playoff team.

If nothing else the season Washington has had thus far proves you cannot make such lofty projections about any team.

The Wizards as a whole are far from perfect with their roster right now. Their leading statistical producers are all but gone, with only Gilbert Arenas still (technically) on the payroll. With Josh Howard done for the season, it is unlikely the team will exercise the option on his contract.

Who can the Wizards turn to in their time of need?

There is no definite answer to that question right now because the Wizards are still in the early stages of a rebuild. They have four picks in the draft, two in the first and two in the second, as well as some space under the cap. The only question mark is Arenas, who is set to be sentenced for felony gun charges on the 26th.

No matter the outcome, the Wizards dug their own hole and it is going to take a lot of shoveling to dig their way back out.

In the face of so much change in the middle of a season, it is easy to write off whatever successes or failures befall a team. The Wizards have splite their last 10 games and 3-3 since trading Jamison. It says a lot about players when they can be traded and play .500 ball when they hardly know each other.

The Wizards have shown more chemistry through six games than they had all season before the trade deadline.

With all the roster turnover Washington has seen in the last few weeks, it would be understandable, if not already understood, that they’d be content to pack it in and try to get a better shot at the first overall pick in the draft. Blatche, along with Randy Foye, Al Thornton, Mike Miller, JaVale McGee, James Singleton, and Quinton Ross, beg to differ.

Only McGee, Blatche and Thornton are contracted through next season. Miller and Singleton have expiring contracts, Ross has a player option, and Foye has a qualifying offer.

This Wizards roster is playing for the future right now. Everything they do right now matters moving forward. It decides who stays, who goes, who the team targets in the draft and free agency. McGee and Thornton have to worry about the team looking to upgrade in the offseason, so they need this time to impress management enough to earn their minutes.

Blatche looks to be the safest player of the bunch and rightfully so. He has been with the team the longest.

It says a lot about a player who had brought so much off the court baggage with him to finally emerge as the player he was drafted to be. Blatche, just a second round selection, had shown flashes of his potential in limited minutes, and showed development early this season in place of the injured Jamison.

Now he’s averaging around 24 points and 10 rebound since taking over the starting power forward spot. That’s power forward, not center, which everyone seems to list him or discuss him as.

Even though he has only been the starter for a handful of games, as consistent and surprising as his output has been, it is dangerous to put so many of the team’s hopes on his shoulders.

If it is affecting him, he hasn’t shown it one bit.

The most extraordinary part about Blatche’s emergence is the efficiency he has shown therein. He has shot better than 50 percent as a starter, a number of which have been mid-range jump shots. He is also rebound especially well and pitching in a handful of assists in the process.

His steady improvement each year he has been in the league is obvious in his statistics.

His rookie year, he played in 29 games and averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. Compare that to the 58 games he has played in so far this season to go with his 11.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.Constant improvement has been the name of  Blatche’s game, even if he has been inconsistent in his overall effort.

However, Blatche’s season totals do not tell the story of how huge he has shown up in Washington’s last nine games.

Over the nine game stretch Blatche has served as the Wizards’ starting power forward, he has set career highs in points (36) and rebounds (18). Only in his last game against Milwaukee on March 5 did he score fewer than 18 points. A player who has often been considered a project now occupies the active leading scorer title for the Wizards after just nine games.

That says something about Blatche’s character, which has fallen under question in the past.

He is very deliberate in his game, and if a team gives him any room to shoot or drive, he does it. He is developing that killer instinct that all great players need. He has always had potential, but plenty of players with potential burn out before it is ever realized.

At 23 years of age, Blatche shows no signs of burning out looking for his game. He has found it.

It is impossible to say exactly what the future holds for the Wizards or Blatche. A clean slate could be the best thing for Blatche’s career and Washington’s endeavors moving forward.

Matthew Brown

Matt is a student at the University of Maryland and is a featured writer for BleacherReport.com as well as WizardsExtreme.

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It’s not to say that these were signs that the Wizards were going to improve on their performance from Wedensday night but it seemed as though the players had gotten the taste out of their mouths and were ready to move on.

The crowd at Verizon was actually pretty decent considering it was a Friday night, playing the Bucks and coming off a really bad game. However the energy level seemed to be lacking from the opening tip.

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When the game started it looked as though the Wizards picked up right where they left off on Wednesday night.

In the first half the Bucks really controlled the game shooting 47.7% from the floor while the Wizards put on a 13 for 41 shooting performance or 31.7%. Washington was out-rebounded as well by a margin of 28-20, but the most most glaring statistic was the assist differential of 16-3 in favor of Milwaukee.

Frankly,you’re not going to win a lot of games when you start off games like that. Basketball is a game that works at it’s best when the ball moves. It doesn’t matter at what level you play at, if you don’t share the ball your chances of winning decrease significantly.To add to that the Wizards are currently the third worst team in the league in assists per game, averaging 18.8 and to put that into perspective only Detroit and the Nets are worse. That is not good company to be in.

Part of the problem and it was mentioned by Flip after the game is that they are not getting into their offense and Saunders specifically pointed out Randy Foye.  It’s really not rocket science. If a team isn’t getting into it’s offense, your not going to get a lot of ball or player movement. That turns into a ton of 1 on 1’s, bad shots and turnovers. All things that we saw tonight.

The second half included more of the same as the Bucks opened up as much as a 31 point lead which included highlight reel dunks, behind the back passes and blocked shots. The leader of the dunk and block shot parade was Andrew Bogut who simply had his way with the Wizards defense. Bogut finished with 19pts, 10rebs, 4 assists and 5 blocked shots all in 3 quarters.

The Wizards fans who decided to stick around started the boo chants with about 7 minutes remaining in the game and the Wizards trailing 61-92.

The Wiz just didnt’ seem to have it tonight. It was the first game that I’ve seen since the trade where the pre-All Star Break Wizards attitude consisting of lackadaisical defense, lazy effort, bad shots, no ball distribution and just no energy were evident.

There is no reason at all that Milwaukee or any team for that matter should walk into the Verizon Center and blow out this Wizards team by nearly 30 points.

There was a lot of talk about fatigue after the game and you can see these guys are not giving up but they do look drained.

If you’re looking for a bright spot Andray Blatche who didn’t have a great night, did say all the right things after the game.

I haven’t had the chance to see Andray in the locker room until recently but he seems to be growing up before our very eyes. He understands that teams are going to start focusing on him, and his response was that he’s got to watch some film and figure out how to get his teammates involved.Not exactly the old Dray we’ve all been used to.

When asked how he planned to get over this loss, 7 Day Dre responded, “I’m gonna go home, go to sleep, wake up and come back in and get to work”, “we’ve got a game Sunday”.

Let’s hope the Wizards can get some rest, get a good practice in and get some teachable moments from this game. The painful part is watching the mistakes and the fans let the team have it tonight, but like the Nike commercial says, everybody gets knocked down, how quick do you get back up.

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Joe Glorioso

WizardsExtreme Correspondent

WE From the Floor

The story from the floor is always different than the one you see on TV or even from the stands. What I saw tonight was a team that started off solid and quickly fade into the background as the Wizards could not keep their heads above water. There was plenty of hustle on both sides of the ball but too many guys were missing too many shots. Defense wins championships but the simple act of the ball going through the hoop doesn’t hurt either.

On the floor I was able to see and hear Wizards players shouting directions, keeping the flow moving but it all in vain as the Bucks took it to them in old fashioned gritty basketball. Some of the upsides were seeing the newly acquired players get some burn time. Javale McGee plays hard but has some ways to go as he cannot match up against other big men. It was a display of doing 2 things right to end up making 3 mistakes to follow that kept them out of it. As Andray Blatche told me after the game something to the effect of, you wake up the next day and you put it behind you. Our little boy, growing up before our very eyes.

My shot of the game is Mike Miller during free throws. He has been a ghost for the most part and I am perplexed. he is the #1 3 point shooter in the league and has more hustle than John Travolta. Why have you forsaken us Mike? WE need you

Matt Naqvi

Wizards vs Bucks, March 5, 2010 Wizards Extreme Exclusive Pictures

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On tonight’s game:

“Some of our mistakes carried over to defense and carried over to offense and we missed layups and shots.  Right after the trade the adrenaline kicked in and we were playing really well together.  Milwaukee plays just like us but they have been playing together for a longer period of time.  We are still trying to work on our execution.  We have to stick to playing in our system because sometimes players try to do too much and it hurts us sometimes.  That is why we must play together.  Now we have to look forward to future games.”

On Al Thornton:

“He has been very sore.  He is just hurt and he’s not use to playing the minutes that he’s playing right now.  When Josh (Howard) went down all of a sudden he had to step up and work a little more.  I think that has taken a toll on him.”

On Shaun Livingston:

“I think that he can create and do some things.  He has size on him.  He got us into our offense a little bit quicker tonight.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

WIZARDS GUARD MIKE MILLER

On tonight’s loss:

“We have to bring energy.  That’s what was disappointing tonight because we have been playing hard.  Tonight they outworked us.  When we’re undermanned like we are we have to move the ball and play together.  In order for us to be good we have to share the ball and play hard.”

On ball movement:

“When we move the ball we’re a much better team.  It’s more important than ever to move the ball, get each other involved, and play harder than the other team.  We didn’t do that tonight.  When we move the ball we’re a much better team.”

WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE

On lack of energy:

“It’s not that, we’re just having tough games, and some shots aren’t falling.  We’re just not playing with the same fight and chemistry, and we need to get back to that.  We need to have that same hunger inside of us.”

On how to put tonight’s game behind him:

“Go to sleep and wake up.  There are 82 games in a season.  You can’t let one ruin the rest of the season.  These kind of games happen to every team in the league.  We have another game coming up on Sunday.”

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BUCKS HEAD COACH SCOTT SKILES

On tonight’s game:

“We were really focused tonight.  We kept them under 20 points all four quarters.  Our defense was active; our ball movement was great again.  We played like we had something to play for.  It was a great effort by everybody who stepped on the floor for us.  It was a lot of energy, a lot of boxing out.  When we are at our best is when we get stops.  We rebound the ball, get out on the open floor and play our offense…and we were able to do that.  I was overall very pleased with our approach.”

On Brandon Jennings:

“I thought he and Luke (Ridnour) were both very good.  They both make good decisions with the ball. Brandon Jennings has been able to be very active while struggling to shoot the ball.  Brandon is able to be a factor even when he is not having a good scoring game.  His defense has improved his picking up NBA concepts and NBA games.  He has a handle on our players and all of the things that go along with being a point guard.”

On Andray Blatche:

“Blatche has got a lot of moves.  We were really in tune tonight on defense tonight, and Luc (Mbah a Moute) set the tone.”

BUCKS GUARD BRANDON JENNINGS

On the team win:

“Tonight was another night that we did a good job of moving the ball and when that happens that’s when we can’t be stopped.  I felt like we came out early and got the lead which opened everything up for us.”

On being a leader on the court:

“Right now my shot isn’t falling so I have to find a way to help the team and be the floor general.  I feel I’m most effective by getting my teammates in the game and being the General on the floor.  Tonight I saw the open pass a lot. Most important was us getting the win tonight.  We were clicking tonight and guys were knocking down shots.”

On playing Cleveland next:

“We are excited about tomorrow; Cleveland is the top team in the Eastern conference.  We are going to go in there focused and ready to compete with them.  We have been playing well recently and we know they will play well so we have to do our best tomorrow.”

BUCKS FORWARD KURT THOMAS

On the game:

“We will play well as long as we continue to share the ball like we did tonight.  Brandon Jennings was outstanding.  He used the floor well and spread the ball around getting everyone involved.  Everyone started to pass the ball and guys really shot the ball well.  As long as we continue to play like that it doesn’t matter who plays in the game.”

BUCKS CENTER ANDREW BOGUT

On the game:

“We had (27) assists and (51) rebounds.  The ball was moving out there and everyone was scoring.  We were playing real well together tonight.  I missed some blocks in the first half and got a couple of fouls.  I just stayed in and tried to help my teammates.  Brandon (Jennings) didn’t score much but he knows that we don’t need him to score.  People were getting on him because he didn’t score but he put defensive pressure on the other team and in the last few games he has been getting good steals.  He is a good point guard and he is doing good things for us.”

On his play:

“Whenever you’re trying to get the ball down low and getting baskets and dunks it helps to close the game.  I just kept doing what I was doing.  I missed some shots but I got a couple of lucky plays and tried to stay with it.  I got dunked on nicely as well which is part of getting blocked shots.”

PostGame Interviews

Randy Foye

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Al Thornton

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JaVale McGee

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In the 2^nd quarter, Washington was up most of the time with smart defense and good ball movement. I would have like to have seen more aggression out of Randy Foye and Mike Miller. I can’t remember the last time I saw Miller shoot more than 4 shots in a quarter, and while he is one of the most unselfish sharp shooters in the game, I believe the Wizards would be better served if he jacked up some more.   Newly acquired Sean Livingston made his Wizards debut with 31.8 seconds left in the first half but ended the game with 0 points and a -9 +/-.

Prior to the game I spoke with Gus Johnson (famous CBS voice for the final 4) and he told me how surprised he was with how much the team had changed for the better without the “superstars.” It seems as though Gus is not alone in his assessment, as pretty much everywhere I go, people stop me and say that this team is a bit more exciting to watch than they were to start the season.

In the 3^rd quarter, Blatche decided to carry the Wizards and his all around efforts on both offense and defense were simply fun to watch. Between blocked shots, rebounds and his signature reverse layups, it seems as though the trades that have allowed Dray to get more mintues have unearthed the potential he has always been said to have. The play that had me take notice was was the charge he took. A CHARGE PEOPLE!  When was the last time when the big 3 were on the court you remember anybody taking a CHARGE!

In the 4^th quarter, Dray’s good play continued but he was joined by JaVale McGee. I saw a lot of great passion by the young big man.  The surprise of the night was when they showed Comedian Mike Epps at the game but there was nothing funny about the Wizards comeback. The crowd went crazy as Miller hit a 3 and went even crazier as he hit the LAYUP to go up one!  It went right down to the wire but Al Harrington proved to be too much with a layup as McGee tried taking the charge.  Harrington then missed his free throw to make it 112-110. That’s when Randy Foye provided a clutch jumper that tied it up followed by a HUGE McGee block that sent the game to overtime.

On Wizards first possession in overtime, Foyes fired up an airball that seemed to set the tone for the entire OT session. It felt like the loudest scream all game was when the Knicks Harrington missed two free throws to give the crowd free Chick-Filet.

Final Thoughts: The Wizards fought hard but could not finish it out at home.  Blatche had 8 turnovers but had impressive stats otherwise with, 26 points, career high with 18 rebounds and 6 assist.  Overall, the team fought hard but just could not get over that hump for the win.  McGee had a quiet 18; all of his points were mostly in the paint of course.  Foye was feeling it throughout all 4 quarters, but went completely dry in overtime. It was an entertaining game to watch and experience and this game showed there is a big learning curve for this young Wizard’s team.  But, like my mama used to tell me, one step at a time.

Asad Naqvi – aka Man In The Field

Wizards Extreme.com Correspondent

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On the game:

“We got into foul trouble and our best guys were on the bench.  Harrington went crazy hitting threes, but  we didn’t finish out quarters at all tonight.  The first quarter we were up by ten and they made six points in the last 45 seconds, then we didn’t finish out the end of the second and third quarter.  I’ve always said if you could win the first four minutes and the last four minutes of the quarter you have a pretty good chance of winning the game. “

On JaVale McGee:

“He was involved in the last two minutes in numerous plays.  He’s probably been in more plays that it mattered that we win or not in this game then he’s played his whole career in the NBA so far.”

On the game:

“That’s part of the learning process.  You look how the team does and they did some special things.  It’s just a consistency stand point and it becomes frustrating at times.  The longer they play hopefully the consistency will come farther and fewer in between.”

WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE

On tonight’s game:

“That was one of the toughest games to lose, especially when we are playing hard.  It seemed like when they would make a big play then we would make a big play.  We were able to make it to overtime and to lose in overtime is a painful way to lose.  We just have to learn from it and continue to get better.  I thought it was a great game.  It was going back and forth; both teams were playing extremely hard.  It was an exciting game.”

On his improving game:

“This is all new to me.  I’ve never been the go-to guy.  I feel like I’m adjusting, learning and I feel like I’m getting better.  There are going to be some games like this but I’m going to go home, watch film and figure out how to get better from it.  I just have to keep my head up, continue to watch film and get better.”

WIZARDS GUARD RANDY FOYE

On tonight’s game:

“It was definitely frustrating, especially the way that they won by making a buzzer beater.  I have to give New York credit because they played hard and they finished the game off.  They made it tough because they put a bigger guy on me.  I guess they knew that I was going to get the ball so they put Chandler on me and it was tough for me to make shots.  I was a little frustrated with my play in overtime because I think that I could have helped the team out a little more.”

On the Knicks:

“The Knicks always play hard and they keep on grinding. If they have open shots then they take them, and if not they try to get the ball moving and find Lee, Harrington, or McGrady in a mismatch and go from there.  I’m still trying to finish the year strong and take it one game at a time.  I’m trying play as hard as I can and I’m trying to learn as much as I can from my coaches.”

WIZARDS GUARD NICK YOUNG

On tonight’s game:

“Players always try to find a way to get their team going, and I always wanted to hit one of those types of shots.  I know that I’m a three point shooter so I took the shot. I try to bring energy and stay out there on the court doing everything that I can.  When my teammates believe in me the sky is the limit.”

WIZARDS CENTER JAVALE MCGEE

On the last possession:

“I tried to block his (David Lee) shot and I feel like nine times out of ten I’m going to block that shot.  He put it right in the right spot and I just missed it.”

On playing better:

“I’m just trying to be more patient and trying to show Coach that I can be a consistent player.  I wanted to come out quick and provide a lot of energy.  I felt like when I entered the game the energy level was a little low so I tried to bring it up.”

On tonight’s game:

“I felt like tonight showed that we are competitors and that we showed everybody that we aren’t just a bunch of guys put together.  We’re a team.  We want to show everyone we want to win.”

Javale Mcgee speaks!

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Randy Foye

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Al Thornton

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Sean Livingston

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7 Day Dray

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James Singleton

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Flip Saunders Post

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Flip Saunders Pre

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Wizards Shoot Around

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Al Thornton gives WE a shoutout

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The primary cause for concern early on was finding a player to keep Gasol in check.  JaVale McGee was assigned this duty and it became painfully clear he could not keep up with the opposing big man. It wasn’t a function of brawn and brute versus JaVale’s lanky frame but one of a finesse player who knew how to exploit a less technical player. Lets be honest neither one of the Gasols’ are known for their brute force in the paint but it was enough to over come the Wizards lack of a quality big man.

I miss Brendan.

The Wizards offense was another issue this game as neither Randy Foye or  Mike Miller were able to find their strokes. Foye, who has been the defacto starting point guard, kept the ball moving like a hot potato but on more than several straight series the solid movement led to a missed shot. Miller who is currently the leagues best 3 point shooter was quiet and played the role of distributor. He was active but gave up multiple shots trying to create for his teammates which led to several turn overs. Tying too hard? Some might say so.

The sparse audience at times could be heard yelling at Miller to shoot knowing his pass first attitude. Sometimes you have to just have to take the reigns.  Selflessness is a quality trait you want on your team but when there are struggles abound I think someone needs to authorize the use of deadly force. Miller isn’t the leagues best sniper by accident.

The game also brought to town a new comer under the guise of a 10 day contract named Mike Harris. He arrived the night before and came in to provide relief of injury sidelined Josh Howard who is cursing his ACL in his knee as we speak. Harris comes from the D League and is known as a solid player who averages 26 points. His time was limited to the last 24 seconds of the 1st and the last few minutes of the 4th but after shaking off the jitters he seemed to be comfortable running the floor. Time will tell if he can last longer than the 10 days he has been put into service for.

The game was standard issue Wizards basketball with several punctuations of cheers and excitement but it seemed the team was tired, trying a bit too hard and still nose deep in a Chemistry 101 book that plagues teams that find themselves in rebuilding mode.

The loss of Josh Howard just days after his arrival is another blow to the grand scheme Ernie Grunfeld has been busy formulating but as the team has done previous I am sure they will find a way to turn glitter into gold

Nick Youngs Facial

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WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On Josh Howard:

“We miss him as another option.  What usually happens is that when you lose a player everyone steps into different roles.  We liked Al (Thornton) off the bench because he gave us great pop, now he now has to be used in a starting situation.  The guys are just adjusting to new roles.”

On Andray Blatche:

“Andray is going through the learning process right now.  I talked to Andray and told him that he has to learn how to make the easy play out, hit our guys and trust his teammates to make plays.  It’s the first time in five years that he has had someone trying to trap him with the ball.  When you have never gone through that it can be a shock to start with but he’ll continue to get better as he does it.”

On trusting your teammates:

“I told the guys that when you’ve been a guy that has been carrying the team at times you start to think you need to do it all the time.  That’s when we start to get into problems, especially in committing turnovers, trying to make the home run plays.  I told the guys we need to just trust your teammates and the system and let it all develop.”

On Memphis:

“What happens sometimes when you aren’t making your shots is that you start to lose some energy.  One of Memphis’ strengths is they have guys that get out and like to run.”

On our effort level:

“I think overall our effort level was good.  Memphis is a great rebounding team and we battled on the boards and led for most of the game until we went through that stretch to start the fourth quarter.  I thought it was a good solid effort though.”

On Al Thornton:

“I thought Al (Thornton) played well tonight.  He gave great energy.  I felt that overall he was our best rebounder on the floor tonight.  I thought early on he did a good job on Rudy Gay.”

WIZARDS FORWARD AL THORNTON

On the game:

“We played tough.  They scored easy.  We tried to make it tough on them but they got to the basket at will for layups and dunks.  I thought we came out and played hard and played with intensity.  We made some mental mistakes on defense.  You can’t let a team like that get to the rim at will and get layups.  They were able to get easy layups and get out in transition.”

On having five games in eight days catch up to them:

“You could say that a little bit but that’s no excuse.  Every other team is playing like this.  We can’t use that as an excuse.  We have to grind it out.”

On guarding Rudy Gay:

“I think I did well.  I tried to make him make tough shots and he just made all of them.  At the end of the day Rudy (Gay) is going to take enough shots to get his.  He’s up there in terms of scoring the ball.”

WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE

On the game:

“We just were off today.  We didn’t have it as much; I didn’t get some key rebounds and if I did things would have been different.  We are still growing, they had a lot of second chance shots and if they didn’t have a lot of those shots it would have been a whole different game.  We are still working hard and playing together, we just made a couple of mistakes.”

On his play:

“In the first quarter I came out and I was getting things in but they made some adjustments in the second half and stopped sending guys in.  As a player I had to realize what was going on and try and get other people off.”

GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH LIONEL HOLLINS

On tonight’s game:

“The first half was not that pretty but we bounced back as a team.  In the fourth quarter I thought that the bench did a great job.  O.J. (Mayo) got hot and carried them.  They defended and rebounded which extended the lead and we were able to come away with a win.”

On the bench:

“For the last few games I think that changing the rotation has helped us.  We guard the basket a little bit better and we get offensive rebounds and finish.  We have been playing a little more confident.  I have been searching for the right combination to come off the bench and I think that tonight we found the right combination.”

On Marc Gasol:

“He ran the team. He didn’t do too much.  He just did what we asked him to do.  He shot when he had the shot and he passed when he had to pass.  He did his best.”

GRIZZLIES FORWARD ZACH RANDOLPH

On the bench:

“Our bench has been playing great.  Sam (Young) and Marcus (Williams)…so that’s what we need to win.  We need everybody.  I think we have guys that can definitely help us…Jamaal (Tinsley), Marcus (Williams), Hasheem (Thabeet) can all help us.  We just have to find the right combination.  Find who’s going to produce in the minutes he gets.”

On the team:

“We have to keep working.  Last night was a big game and it hurt us, but we bounced back today and played hard against a good, scrappy young team, and these are the types of games we have to win.”

GRIZZLIES GUARD MARCUS WILLIAMS

On the team:

“We started slow in the first half, then in the beginning of the fourth quarter O.J. (Mayo) got hot and he picked us up, then Coach (Lionel Hollins) put the starters back in and they finished it up.”

On his role:

“I think that Sam (Young), Haddadi and I know that we’re going to play and that we’ve got to play valuable minutes.  We know we have to play hard.  We know we have to bring something to the table in order for us to compete at the end of the game.”

GRIZZLIES FORWARD RUDY GAY

On the fourth quarter:

“We picked our intensity up.  O.J. (Mayo) gave us a good lift and he pushed us into what we needed to do and we played like we were supposed to at that point.”

On making an effort to hit the offensive glass:

“We had to.  (James) Singleton was killing us on the offensive glass and it was helping them win so we had to do the same thing on the other end.  We did that and in the end became opportunists.”

GRIZZLIES GUARD O.J. MAYO

On the fourth quarter:

“My teammates and my coach did a great job of getting me juiced up a little bit, and somewhere deep inside I found the energy to get it going a little bit.”

On hitting the offensive glass:

“(Andray) Blatche, (JaVale) McGee, and (Fabricio) Oberto did a tremendous job in the first half.  (James) Singleton too.  Coach (Lionel Hollins) chewed us out about it at half time and let us know that no one feels sorry for us having back-to-back games and that we needed to find a way to get this win tonight.”

On tonight’s game:

“It’s a new Wizards team.  Mike Miller and (Randy) Foye are playing really solid, and bringing in (Quinton) Ross and (James) Singleton, you really just didn’t know what to expect, and it was a little difficult for us in the first half.  We felt we had to come out with a concerted effort in the second half to come out with a lot of energy and do what we do well like rebound, run and just play well together.”

On JaVale McGee:

“Another one of our peers.  McGee is a great young player.  I think you’ll see him match up against Marc (Gasol) for years.”

Mike Harris post game answering random questions?

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Mike Harris at shoot around

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New man crush, James Singleton

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7 Day Dray

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Flip Saunders post game

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But this group as it has for the little time they have been together, rebounded and fought their way to a solid victory over a good Chicago Bulls team. Things got a bit dicey at the end of the game and Derrick Rose did his best impression of Michael Jordan in the clutch, trying to put the Bulls on his back, but Chicago just couldn’t capitalize at the end.

The Wizards were led yet again by the new go-to guy in Andray Blatche who finished with a solid 25pts and 11rebs on 8 of 13 shooting in just over 41 minutes of play. After the game Blatche continued to show off that 1000 megawatt smile that seems to have come about in the last couple of weeks.

Asked about Blatche’s play after the game, Saunders was very honest in his assessment and while stating that this is the most consistent Dray has been in his career, there is still much room to grow.

For yet another night though, the Verizon Center took delight in watching a team get down by double digits, only to lead a charge, and finish the game with strong, solid defensive play as well as clutch shots.

Al Thornton played another solid game by chipping in 7rebs and 17pts, none of which was more important than a clutch fade-away-esque move in the paint towards the end of the game.

What amazed me more than anything was watching the 5 of Blatche, Quinton Ross, James Singleton, Randy Foye and Mike Miller finish the game. This team has taken on a new identity in the last 4 games and it seems to be that if you don’t bring your A game you are going to have to work your ass off to beat them or you’re going to get beat.

From a fan perspecitve, two of our newest Wizards, Quinton Ross and James Singleton have taken on some old roles. Ross it would appear is in the role that Deshawn Stevenson was supposed to excel at, locking down defenders, while Singleton is the new “old” Dom McGuire, our energy guy. The best part about it all is that the whole team is feeding off the energy and the fans are getting into the mix as well.

After the game, James Singleton said it best, “basketball is a game, and it’s meant to have fun”. If the Wizards can keep up this type of play, they will not only find themselves with a re-energized fan base, but they might just shock the hell out of some teams sitting ahead of them in the East.

www.wizardsextreme.com

-Joe Glorioso

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On the new guys on the team:
“As a coach, that’s what you enjoy when you have a group like we have, and they want to learn, so when you tell them something, they’re trying to trust it. When you get your players to trust what you’re doing, what happens is they do it a lot more aggressively and you usually have a little better outcome.”

On the four games since the All-Star break:
“We’ve fallen behind by 7-10 points every game and we just keep on battling. You’re talking about a team that’s led the league in rebounding. I wouldn’t say that we’re exactly an imposing line but everybody we have, and we play everybody, has had contributions and some guys get a hook because they know if they don’t move the ball and play the right way they aren’t going to play. So we’re getting the right idea as far as moving the ball and playing the right way and understanding mismatches.”

On tonight’s game:
“To be down 10 and lose Josh (Howard), who was on a roll when we lost him, for these guys to fight the way they did shows character and how hard they play. Before the game I said ‘playing hard is a talent and a lot of people take that for granted, but some guys have higher motors and can play harder than others and some are better jumpers than other guys.’ We’ve got a group of guys that have high motors that play with a greater volume of aggression and intensity. What’s happened is, the new guys are playing that way and now all of a sudden Andray (Blatche) and JaVale (McGee) and those guys have fallen right into place.”

On the 3rd quarter:
“I think our players have more of a sense of urgency. Not to take away from the guys we had, but I think at times they thought they could just play and we’ll get back into it when we have to, and that doesn’t always work. So I think we played with a greater sense of urgency.”

On Andray Blatche:
“He played well when we didn’t have Antawn (Jamison) at the beginning of the year, but his mindset has changed. I think it’s not just because those guys aren’t here but I think the changes he’s seen us do with our team all along, the way the organization has been handled, these guys can see, ‘they’re not messing around.’ He has had a different attitude from the standpoint of a more serious approach prior to the game, during the game, and after the game. For the first time he’s been the most consistent he’s been in his career for the last four games, and that’s just the beginning. As I’ve told him ‘when you start playing like this, your expectations become higher. Not only that, now teams are going to set their defense up to defend you and stop you from going into your key moves.’”

On the uncertainty of the players:
“I think they understand that if they play well and do good things, good things happen. Every time they step onto the court they are being judged by fans, by media, by other teams’ coaches, by other teams’ general managers and so I think a lot of those guys take a lot of pride in playing well.”

On playing well as a new team:
“A lot of people don’t know where some of these guys went to school. These are guys that have been behind the eight-ball and so they are used to being an underdog. No matter what we’ve had from a team standpoint, we’ve played our best four games our last four games. I don’t care what anyone says as far as what their talent is or how much they are being paid or who they are, as far as I’m concerned, it’s how they perform. To our guys credit they are playing very well. Am I surprised how well they are playing as a team that’s basically only been together a week? Yes, I’m surprised. It says a little bit about them.”

WIZARDS GUARD MIKE MILLER

On Andray Blatche:
“This league is about opportunity. You have a guy who is 20-and-10 in front of you for your entire career (in Antawn Jamison). It makes things a little more difficult but this is about opportunity and he is stepping up. The whole thing is about sustaining. One thing you realize with Jamison when he was here was that it was 20 and 10 every night. You could bank it. If he wants to take it to the next step that’s where it is going to be but right now he is playing unbelievable basketball.”

On tonight’s game:
“We play with energy. That’s one thing with this team. Even with Josh (Howard) going out early we continued to play. We went down 10 against a good Chicago team and came out in the second half with energy and confidence and went to work.”

On Randy Foye:
“Randy (Foye) is capable. Again, the opportunity. He is getting the opportunity and making the most of it. He’s a good point guard and really knocks down shots and had a great turnover situation tonight.”
WIZARDS FORWARD AL THORNTON

On tonight’s comeback:
“We just came out with a defensive mindset and attacked the basket and were aggressive on the offensive end. I think our defense says it all, especially in the third quarter.”

On Andray Blatche:
“I didn’t know he was that good. I knew he was talented but he’s a player. He’s a player. Down the line he can be an All-Star. He can’t be stopped when he gets the ball in the block. They got us in it the other day. I didn’t know he was that good.”

WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE

On team chemistry:
“Let me tell you one thing, it was just so crazy. When all these guys got here the chemistry was like we’ve been together since the beginning of the season. We all have one thing in mind and that’s winning. We all are working hard together competing and everything is paying off well for us.”

On his recent play:
“I have an opportunity, and I’m the type of person that is going to take full advantage of it. I’m going to try and help this organization win as many games as we can for the rest of the season.”

On the team’s attitude:
“I feel like we have a group of guys that are on the same mission and we all are playing hard together and we are winning. It’s a great feeling right now for us.”

On the team’s hustle:
“All of the new guys brought so much more energy to the team and our fans have been coming back to us and been great and getting excited. That’s what we need. We are feeding off of their energy and that has been great for us.”

On being a leader:
“I feel like a leader. I feel like I’m leading my team in the right direction. I’m just really excited. I’m just truly blessed. I’ve been through a lot of stuff and God is just finally making my plan work out for me.”

BULLS HEAD COACH VINNY DEL NEGRO

On the third quarter:
“I felt in the third quarter we were terrible. We had too many turnovers and the Wizards really pushed the fastbreak on us and got some easy baskets. When the Wizards were able to do that they got their confidence up and the crowd back into the game which put us back on our heels on the defensive end. When that happened we couldn’t do anything constructive offensively to put pressure on them. They simply out worked us.”

On the Wizards:
“The Wizards are playing with good energy and have developed a little bit of confidence. They have obviously had to deal with a little bit of adversity this season but they are playing hard and have good players. Andray (Blatche) played well. I thought (Al) Thornton was a big player for them tonight. Randy (Foye) did a nice job and James (Singleton) on the glass tonight hurt us. Overall the Wizards out worked us tonight and we didn’t get out in the open court and attack like we normally do.”

On playing better:
“We just have to get back to basics. We have five games in seven nights. A few of our guys struggled tonight and so we have to get back to guarding the glass and get some easy baskets. We have to learn how to get some easy baskets so we can try and prevent another team from getting back into the game like the Wizards did tonight. When we did start to attack we didn’t execute enough. We shot a high enough percentage tonight to win, just that third quarter really hurt us tonight. We have been doing a good job of executing lately; however in that second half we couldn’t get anything going.”

On Joakim Noah:
“I thought Joakim Noah moved pretty well tonight, he has to get back in game condition and that will take some time. He is going to have to catch up to the “timing” of the game, but he gave us some good energy and worked hard on (Andray) Blatche. We will see how he feels tomorrow and come up with a plan for him and if he can practice he will. Once he starts to feel better we will extend his minutes and build up his conditioning.”

BULLS GUARD DERRICK ROSE

On the game:
“It was a learning lesson for me tonight. I have to learn how to stay aggressive and put pressure on the defense. It’s hard playing back to back games. It seems like every time you wake up there is a game. We just have to figure it out and stick with each other so we can win games.”

On the new-look Wizards team:
“They are going to Blatche inside like they should, and have a great group of young guys. I am very surprised with how well they are playing together. They’re a young team, but if they can play they can play. They know the game of basketball and they are finding a way to win games.”

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Al Thornton came right into the game and acted like he was part of the team for more than a week.  The amazing part of it all is that this group of outkasts is now playing as if they have been together for years.

Andray Blatche came out with a purpose and his intensity on both ends of the court allowed the Wizards to stay close with Denver.Fan favorite Mike Miller went 0-3 in the first half. The energy was the key here folks, McGee and Blatche were making me drool and made me say WOW quite a few times.

The Wizards picked up the intensity and the shooting in the last quarter.  I feel like Phil “Flip” Saunders is not keeping the same rotation he had in the 1^st half. After the game, he said that he planned on playing the whole team A LOT for the 2^nd half of the season.   James  Singleton had the crowd rocking as he blocked a JR Smith dunk attempt which was followed up by a BIG Earl Boykins layup.

With about 10 minutes left in the game and it actually felt like a playoff crowd.  The crowd at Verizon Center has been more into the game after the Caron/Haywood/Jamison trades oddly enough.  Al Thornton has showed a really aggressive side and provided a little bit of toughness in my opinion.

This was one of the more exciting games I’ve seen this year, and probably more then when we had ALL our players healthy in the beginning of the season.  The Wizards played solid D and they really played as a team now.   I noticed that in this game  every Wizard on the court touched the ball before the ball was shot which you never saw with the Big 2 and Haywood.

My final thoughts are that WE appear to have a young nucleus and the people who trashed these trades should probably reserve judgment for a little bit.  Yeah its early to tell, but the trade so far, is better than a C, I’d give it closer to a B.  I asked Josh Howard after the game about getting into to the playoffs, he laughed and said “I always think about the playoffs” (see the video below)

PLAYOFFS!?????

Yes people, PLAYOFFS, may not be as far fetched some were thinking it would be.

Asad

Wizards forward Al Thornton (14), making his debut for Washington after a trade from the Clippers, gets a pat on the chest from teammate James Singleton during a 107-97 victory over Denver. (Peter Lockley / McClatchy-Tribune / February 19, 2010)

Game Chat Replay

<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=4293e6fb3b” mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=4293e6fb3b” >Washington Wizards vs Denver Nuggets with Asad Naqvi</a>

Postgame Quotes

WASHINGTON WIZARDS VS. DENVER NUGGETS

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

WASHINGTON 107, DENVER 97

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On tonight’s game:

“Al (Thornton) played with a great amount of energy.  I told the guys at the shoot around, ‘we have to play like a bunch of mad dogs’ and that’s how we played tonight.  We went after loose balls, we went after rebounds, we didn’t give up on plays and then the crowd gets into it and the crowd keeps our guys juiced up.”

On making changes to the team:

“When we made the decision to make changes, we thought about the type of players we wanted to bring in here.  Whether the players were going to be here long-term or not is something that will be decided but we wanted players that had high basketball I.Q., that played really hard and didn’t give up on plays and were hungry.  If we get that, we’ll start setting the tone on how we want to play down the road.”

More on making changes to the team:

“It’s the group of guys and how hard we’re playing.  When was the last time you saw Nick (Young) diving on the floor for loose balls?  It becomes contagious.  When you see a guy like Al Thornton going after it on the glass or Josh Howard, as a teammate you say ‘I’ve got to get on board,’ and that’s what everybody’s done.”

On Andray Blatche:

“Andray (Blatche) had a great first half and carried us in that half and when he picked up his fourth we went to the bench and those guys started playing well.  Even though we didn’t play Andray or JaVale (McGee) down the stretch those are the guys up on the bench cheering the whole time in the fourth quarter, we haven’t had that this year.”

WIZARDS FORWARD AL THORNTON

On defensive play:

“There’s been a knock on me that I don’t play any defense so I just tried to come out and play defense the best that I could.”

On tonight’s play:

“We all came out and played hard.  That’s something that they preach out here to just come out and play hard and that’s what we did tonight.”

On guarding Carmelo Anthony:

“I just tried to get up in him and make him frustrated.  Once Carmelo gets into a groove and gets his shot going he’s very hard to guard.   I just tried to get in him and frustrate him a little bit and make him shoot off balance shots.”

WIZARDS GUARD JOSH HOWARD

On what he brings to the game:

“Energy and hustle.  That’s all I’ve been doing since I’ve been in the league is playing hard.  I’m just going to continue to do it while I’m here.  That’s it; hopefully it will trickle down to the rest of my teammates.”

On preparing for tonight:

“We are professionals.  We have been playing this game for a while and guys know how to play.  We just went out there and did what we had to do.”

On the rest of the season:

“We have 28 games left.  Guys are hungry.  Guys want to win.  I know me personally I want to get into the playoffs. There’s a lot of goals right there to achieve.  We just have to go out there and play.”

WIZARDS GUARD MIKE MILLER

On tonight’s play:

“We played hard.  The bottom line is that when you share the ball people play hard, it’s a completely different basketball.  Everyone is excited about moving the ball. Everyone is excited about each other’s success.  That’s just the start of it, now we just need to continue to work on it.

On tonight’s win:

“Hopefully it will carry over to tomorrow.  This is a big win for us.  We are headed in the right direction.  You saw how hard guys are playing and how excited they are.  That’s a sign of a good team.”

WIZARDS FORWARD JAMES SINGLETON

On Al Thornton’s defensive play:

“I knew he can do it because he’s an aggressive defender.  People don’t think he can play great defense but I know he can play great defense.  You saw that tonight.  You have one of the premier scorers in the league and he was held to 23.”

On the crowd:

“The crowd is always the sixth player.  The louder they get, the faster we go, the harder we play.  You have to have fun out there.  It’s a basketball game, you have to have fun.”

NUGGETS HEAD COACH GEORGE KARL

On tonight’s game:

“I think Flip did a great job of going small and figuring out an offensive attack.  We were not executing our offense right.  The Wizards had trouble scoring, but when they went small they got their offense in a better flow than we did.”

More on tonight’s game:

“Our bench had a lack of defense and they let (Nick) Young come into the game and (Al) Thornton into the flow of the game.  Defensively we were playing well enough, but the collapse of our offense created big shots for the Wizards.  We take quick shots and take tough shots, but there’s a fine line between and good shot and bad shot.”

On the Wizards:

“Coming into the game, we had respect for (Andray) Blatche and we didn’t do a very good job on him in the first half…(Josh) Howard, (Al) Thornton and (Nick) Young are offensive guys who can make shots and Flip is a good offensive coach.  It seems like there was more energy on their team then they had all year.”

NUGGETS FORWARD CARMELO ANTHONY

On tonight’s game:

“I don’t like making excuses; they played hard.  They came out to play and the new guys played extremely well.  They caught us on a bad night and they won the game.”

On the newest Wizards:

“I just wanted to win.  I have played against these guys several times before.  The only thing that is different is that they are playing under a new system.  I think that Flip gave Al (Thornton) some confidence and Josh (Howard) as well. They all came out and played hard tonight.”

NUGGETS GUARD CHAUNCEY BILLUPS

On the Wizards:

“It’s like they’re starting all over again.  Guys are going to be out there playing extremely hard, trying to earn the coach’s trust, and earn some minutes.  All the new guys came out and played so well and so hard.  They had an effect on the game.”

On playing against former coach and current Wizards Head Coach Flip Saunders:

“Flip is very familiar with me and my game and what I like to do.  I don’t know if it really worked.  I still got what I wanted all night but at the end of the day they got the win.  It was a disappointing loss for me but I’m happy to see Flip have some guys who play how he likes to play — hard and until the buzzer.”

On scoring just 15 points in the fourth quarter:

“That’s a first for this team.  They really got it rolling.  We turned the ball over a lot early in the fourth quarter and they were on a run and we couldn’t stop them.  On the other end they took us out of some of our sets.  They changed up the zone and the man.  It was a tough situation.”

Video Recap

Earl Boykins aka Earl MANkins

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Josh Howard

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Flip Saunders usually comes out and addresses the media for a few minutes prior to the game and he did come out briefly but was quickly called back into the locker room by the Wizards PR to what could only have been the announcement of Antawn Jamison being traded. We were all left starring at each other, left to imagine what had just happened until Flip came back and addressed us. Still nothing was mentioned about a trade and Jamison’s name remained on the scoreboard in the starting lineup.

Then with 5 minutes to go before tip off, it happened, the Washington Wizards continued the implosion of a team that before the season was said to be “ready to compete for a championship”.What followed was an exit video of Antawn Jamison and according to Michael Lee from the Washington Post, his last words to fans which were, “I love them more than they love me.”

So the Wizards would take the court with a lineup that included Mike Miller, Randy Foye, JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Nick Young.

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What ensued was a back and forth game that saw the Wizards go up by double digits going into the 4th quarter and then finish off a not so good Minnesota Timberwolves team. The Wizards were led by Andray Blatche who poured in a career high 33 points, JaVale McGee who had season highs 14pts, 11reb and 5blks. However, we have to mention the contributions from the newest Wizards, James Singleton, Josh Howard and in a limited role Quinton Ross.

You won’t really be impressed by the stat line as much as the hustle, energy and overall basketball sense these guys brought to the game tonight. Singleton was out-jumping everybody around him, Howard looked to be playing with a chip on his shoulder and as you’ll see in his post game interview, I believe he’d love to stick it to the Mavericks.

Look, nobody is going to claim that the Wizards have arrived and I don’t believe the roster purge is done, but for one night, the Washington Wizards gave the fans something to cheer about. They looked like a team playing with some desire. What started off looking like it might be a high school basketball game in an NBA arena, ended up being an overhauled Wizards roster leaving to a standing ovation.

What’s next? Who knows, but if this is the way the Wiz are going to play for the rest of the season, with passion, energy and hunger, Wizards fans might just enjoy these last two months of basketball. Then again, let’s put this into perspective, they beat the Timberwolves, let’s see what happens when a grown ass basketball team comes to town on Friday.

The Nuggets ain’t no Timberwolves.

Catch a copy of the transcript from tonight’s ComcastSportsNet Live chat here..

Heard after the game

WIZARDS HEAD COACH FLIP SAUNDERS

On Andray Blatche:

“Dray was a lot different.  He was a more aggressive player and a more intense, consistent player.  Sometimes when you bring people in, they take the guys that you have and bring them along right with them.”

On the last couple of days:

“If I hadn’t been in the CBA and gone through that I probably would have gone crazy.  I told the guys beforehand, ‘this doesn’t change going through games.’  I plan to stick around to compete and win.  Everyone in the NBA is a good player.  There are bad teams, but even bad teams have good players.  What has to happen is you have to learn to play well together and sometimes the whole can be better than the parts and that has to be our marching orders on how we have to play.”

On tonight’s game:

“Tonight was emotional for the players, but even during the game and at the end there was as much emotion in the new guys as the guys we’ve had all year, so I would say we have pretty good chemistry at this point.  But that’s one game, now we get to play Denver and that’s a pretty good team, so we’ll see where we are.”

On the locker room:

“Our younger guys are standing up.  Nick and those guys are different right now.  Whether they are finally realizing that this is a business, or that if you don’t perform at a certain level things can happen no matter who you are and that you have obligations to live up to, those guys have had a different sense of urgency as far as on the court.  They know there’s not a comfort level.  I think in this league the teams that have success are the ones that play with a sense of urgency.  Even if it’s a team that’s good, there are only so many opportunities to win a championship so you have take advantage of it at that point because it may not come again, so you have to create that sense of urgency.”

On the younger players:

“Just because they’re there that doesn’t mean they are going to play.  They have to play the right way in order to earn their merits.  This way nothing is given to you and you have to earn everything.”

WIZARDS FORWARD ANDRAY BLATCHE

On career night:

“I can’t remember the last time I played 32 minutes and got 22 shots so it was a lot different for me but I stepped up to the job and I took care of my business and I had a lot of great guys around me chipping in.”

On gaining confidence:

“This gives me a lot of confidence.  It gave a lot of our players confidence.  I don’t want this whole thing focused on me because we are a team.  Mike Miller played great, James played great, JaVale played great.  I just happened to catch fire and things were rolling for me.”

On tonight’s play:

“I’m just knocking down the open shots when it’s available and trying to be aggressive on the block… It was a good feeling.  All my moves I have been practicing were working for me so I kept going to them and taking advantage.”

On the fans:

“I don’t want to let them down.  I love it here in D.C., I’ve been here for five years.  I’m going to try to make the organization happy.”

WIZARDS GUARD MIKE MILLER

On his shooting:

“I picked my spots.  I told you from the beginning I’m going to pick my spots.  Fortunately tonight, I made a few.  I got aggressive there for a little bit when the game got close down the stretch.”

On tonight’s game amidst distractions:

“We’re going to play basketball.  The ball was popping tonight, which is a good thing to see.  We played hard.  We got on the ground for loose balls.  That’s what it’s going to take for us to win.”

On moving forward:

“It’s going to take a bunch of us.  Obviously, with where our record is at, we’re going to need to bring everyone together and go out and play hard.  We played hard tonight.  We have Denver on Friday and we’ll be able to test ourselves there.”

WIZARDS GUARD RANDY FOYE

On his expanded leadership role:

“I always try to be in a leadership role as a point guard just trying to be vocal and trying to direct the team in the right way.”

On the rest of the season:

“I think the focus now is to try to go out and win as many games as we can – stay focused on the little things and get the job done.”

On team recording 24 assists:

“The ball was moving.  We got the ball moving around and when guys were open, we passed it to them.  We had confidence in them to knock down shots, especially in that third quarter.  Josh was in the open area – the mid range – and he was knocking down shots.”

On the youth of the Wizards:

“The main thing for us as young guys is to try to get better every day.  You have to know this season is a grind.  There’s ups and downs. There are still 31 games.  The main thing is that we have to understand that we have to go out there every night and try to do that.  Even when you’re not scoring or you’re not grabbing rebounds you have to do other things to make your team win.  ‘Dray did an unbelievable job tonight attacking their guys and getting their bigs in foul trouble.  JaVale did a great job on the boards.”

WIZARDS GUARD/FORWARD JOSH HOWARD

On his first game:

“It means a lot, a whole lot to just come into a new organization and show them that I want to be here.”

TIMBERWOLVES HEAD COACH KURT RAMBIS

On tonight’s game:

“The game did not feel any different for us tonight.  I felt that we had a lack of effort and we were not doing the right thing.  We didn’t get as many stops as we should have gotten.  We didn’t put on the defensive pressure.  We turned the basketball over a lot and we didn’t rebound well either.  In critical moments we did not do the right defensive things.”

On Darko Milicic:

“As of right now I don’t know what to expect from him.  He was drafted pretty high in the draft and he has great potential.  He’s a 7-footer with a lot of capabilities at both ends of the floor.  This is a great opportunity to see what he can do.”

TIMBERWOLVES FORWARD KEVIN LOVE

On tonight’s game:

“The whole game felt weird.  Washington went on a big run, then we went on a big run.  They came back, then we came back, and then Washington pulled ahead for good towards the game.  It was just a weird game.  Antawn didn’t play because of the trade and they made a huge trade earlier in the week.  It was just a little different feel for both teams.”

On Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee:

“Andray (Blatche) and JaVale (McGee) both stepped up and played well for Washington tonight.  After not playing big minutes early in the season they stepped up into bigger roles tonight.”

Postgame Interviews

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Goodbye Antawn, you will be missed!

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JoeG signing off!