Washington Wizards: Stability

By Keith Allison - Flickr: Bradley Beal, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

The Washington Wizards had a very disappointing season last year. This was due to injuries and locker room problems. They would have amazing games, like the game when they destroyed the Cavs but they just had some really really bad games. Another reason why the Wizards had a tough time was probably because of Coach Randy Whitman's want to play small. This took Nene Hilario out of the starting lineup and it didn't really lead to good results. Nene was a great veteran leader who brought tons of energy to the starting lineup. Kris Humphris really wasn't the best suited to start. Nene was top 5 on the Wizards in offensive rating and top 3 in defensive. On the other hand, Kris was 14th on the team for offensive rating and 15th in defensive rating! How did he start over Nene?! No clue.

Okay, now that we see the reasoning for the Wizards problems, we can now take a look at how they've been sort of solved. First, Bradley Beal was given a max contract. Now, people are complaining that Beal didn't deserve this because of injuries. First off, there is plenty of money to go around. Second, if the Wizards lose Beal, what does this do? It would probably send the Wizards back into the lottery. This not only puts the team back to a losing record, but this sends a bad message to John Wall about the direction of the team and could very well send John Wall packing. The signing of Bradley Beal wasn't just to keep Beal happy but to also keep John Wall happy.

Next, Bradley Beal and John Wall put aside their differences. Beal and Wall both acknowledged that they aren't too fond of each other at times and seem to both want to be the star of the team. However, in an interview with CSN Mid-Atlantic, Beal said, "It’s tough because we’re both alphas. It’s always tough when you have two guys who firmly believe in themselves, who will bet on themselves against anybody else, who want to be that guy. We both can be that guy. Sometimes I think we both lose sight of the fact that we need each other. I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in without John. John wouldn’t be in the situation he’s in without me, without the rest of the team. It goes hand-in-hand so it’s kind of a pride thing. We got to (hash) out our pride, figure out what our goals are individually, help each other achieve those goals, figure out what our team goal is, where do we see ourselves five years from now, 10 years from now and go from there." As you can see, Beal wants to play with Wall because he knows he NEEDS to. Hopefully they resolved this issue this summer.

The firing of Randy Whitman lead to the hiring of Scott Brooks. I think Scott Brooks is going to love working with John Wall. He is going to help Wall lead the team like he never has. Combine that with John Wall's amazing passing ability and his defense and you got the next best up and rising point guard in the league. You know he'll love Markieff. Hopefully he can adapt to using screens like the Warriors run in their offense and use that for Bradley Beal and use a lot of pick and roll with John Wall and Marcin Gortat. Kelly Oubre told my mind on sports, "I feel like everyone's bought in (on Scott Brooks' coaching)".


The Wizards also have made some great off-season moves besides the signing of Bradley Beal. Grabbing Trey Burke was huge knowing that they traded almost nothing for him. Burke has proved that he is a very efficient bench scorer in just the little amount of preseason games he has played with the Wizards. And while they did lose Raymond Sessions, who just happens to be one of my favorite players in the league, it is alright since they do have John Wall starting at the point guard slot and Trey Burke won't be asked to run the team. The Wizards also signed Ian Mahinmi who is a great guy to put in defensively. He is a great back up to Gortat and if they want to go big they can put him in for Markieff. They still have bench scorer Marcus Thornton who will bring very efficient scoring to the team off the bench.

The player I'm most interested to see this season off the Wizards bench is Kelly Oubre. He has looked so amazing in the preseason and could even take that starting role from Otto Porter. He is lengthy player and a crafty finisher. He's got a good shot and resemble Kevin Durant in some ways. I think Oubre will be amazing this season and could be a great Most Improved candidate. Oubre might just develop into something special this season.


As you can see, the Wizards look like they have fixed some major problems this season. While this doesn't fix injuries or anything, if they catch a break, they could get back into the second round of the playoffs once again.

Washington Wizards VS Detroit Pistons (March 14)

I was watching the Wizards and Clippers game last night, so I decided to do something I haven't done in a while, a game breakdown. However, there will be tons of these once the playoffs start.

Now the first thing I want to get out of the way, is that the crowd in D.C., are horrible. So, if anybody goes to Wizards games, you need to step it up, that simple, because the atmosphere is horrible in that arena. Gortat threw down an alley-oop dunk and I heard barely anything from the crowd. The bench was cheering more than the crowd was. So step it up D.C., or else Washington could end up moving to the other Washington.

Now that I have that off my chest, let's get to the game, because the Wizards haven't played like this in a while. One thing I want to point out is that Markieff Morris is playing really well with this Wizards team. He had 3 assists and let me tell you something, they all were really great assists. He took great shots and looked really good in the offense. Morris looked so good last night and I'm very happy for his play.

I also want to point out just how great the Wizards defense was last night. The Wizards defensive rating was at a great number of 82.1. They also caused the Pistons to turn it over 20 times. But what really sent the Pistons home was them controlling the rebounding battle against the Pistons know that the Pistons are 4th in rebounding percentage.

The Wizards really contained everyone, but offensively, they were amazing as they had 34 assists, something that not many teams besides the Warriors have done this season. They moved the ball so well and it started with John Wall getting 12 of the assists. For some reason, the Pistons weren't able to defend Wall in the pick and roll and when they did, Wall would kick it out to a shooter and they would get a wide open shot. The Wizards limited their turnovers to only 10 in that game which is really good. 62 of the their points came from inside the paint. The Wizards just seemed unstoppable last night. Also, Nene provided great minutes off the bench, not letting the Pistons get any momentum as he ended with 20 points on the night. He will be a key player for the Wizards for the rest of this season.

A big reason why this Pistons' team lost was because they didn't get up enough shots. They got only 79 shots up compared to the Wizards' 90. That could have been 22 points alone if they had gotten as much shots up as the Wizards. The Pistons also didn't shoot well from the 3-point line or inside the paint. However, they shot really well from mid-range, but didn't put up enough mid-range shots. Take a look at the chart below provided by www.nba.com/stats .

Credit: www.nba.com/stats

So as you can see, their shooting was pretty bad and they kept settling for outside 3-pointer, which wasn't working. You can't take 23 three pointer if only 3 of them fall and expect to win the game.

Anyways, the Wizards are a big threat if they move into the playoffs as we have seen in this game. They can surely move up into a seed and nobody is going to want to play this team knowing their past 2 years of success in the playoffs, even thought they had lower than the 4th seed both of those last two years. The Wizards could cause a lot of damage if they play like they did last night.

Is Bradley Beal Worth Max Money?

"Bradley Beal Austin Rivers" by Keith Allison - Flickr: Bradley Beal. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons.

Bradley Beal is one of the best young guards in this league. He is merely 22 years old and is on the cusp of receiving a huge raise. He has the talent to be a top 5 Shooting Guard in this league. His shooting ability is on par with the best of shooters. He has the athleticism to beat a guy off the dribble. He has the clutch gene that makes you guard him in the 4th quarter. He has the intangibles to potentially be an All-Star. So what holds him back from being a star?

Injuries

 He is trying to do his best this season but he can't do that if he isn't on the floor.The biggest issue with Bradley Beal is his inability to stay on the court. His body is entirely made out of glass and is very fragile. I am not saying this in any rude tone whatsoever as its not his fault either. There is nothing he  can do except try to come back healthy and prepare himself more before games. 

He has not played a full season yet in his NBA career. In his first season, he played a total of 56 before getting hammered with ankle injury after ankle injury after ankle injury. The series of injuries started when he collided with his teammate, Nene, in a game vs 76ers on March 3rd, 2013. He was basically out for the season as he only played in 5 out of the next 24 games. He missed out on some key experience during that summer as the Wizards training staff didn't clear him to play in the Team USA camp or the Summer league. 

"Bradley Beal Amar'e Stoudemire" by Keith Allison - Flickr: Bradley Beal, Amar'e Stoudemire. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons

The following season, Beal missed nine games of the season due to a stress reaction. He returned vs New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden where he came up clutch and won the game for the Wizards, being called "Blue Magic" because of his performance. He played in limited role for a couple of months before being cleared to play full time. He was able to play through the season and the playoffs in his second season. 

In October of 2014, Beal underwent an MRI that showed a fracture of a bone in his left wrist, which would require surgery. That surgery would also cause him to miss the first 9 games of the season. After making his debut, he went on to play 42 consecutive games until February 5th where he hurt his big toe and, after going through multiple tests, he had another stress reaction in his right fibula.  Beal returned after missing 8 games and played the rest of the season injury-free!

In the 2015-16 NBA season, Beal got off to a fantastic start but the same old nemesis came to say hello as he went down with multiple injuries. He has missed 9 games already this season. Let's hope he can stay healthy for the rest of the season. 

So what makes him max money worthy?

His nickname fits because he is literally the Real Deal when it comes to on-court ability. He has always been a knock down shooter as he has shot over 38% from three in all of his seasons. His contribution in other aspects on the game is also improving at a rapid pace. He also seems to have a knack for showing up for big games. He turns it to another level when necessary. 

The 2015 playoffs alone proved his value as an elite Shooting Guard in the league. He was definitely a top 10 player in the playoffs because of his leadership of the team while John Wall was out. He had very solid numbers, too, as he averaged 23.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, along with 1.6 steals.

Conclusion

He has not proven enough to earn a max contract (especially when the cap rises) but that doesn't rule out the fact that he can still earn a max contract. The 2015-16 season is not yet over and there is still a lot of basketball to play. The Wizards held back on giving Beal a max extension last summer simply because they are a contender in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes.

The perfect scenario for Beal is if he gets traded to a solid playoff team. That would ease off the pressure a little bit and also give him a chance to regroup and come back stronger than ever. That would be the best case scenario but the worst case scenario seems to be in he gets traded in a deal for DeMarcus Cousins. He would be entering a situation of chaos where he would be the focal point of the team because Rondo sure isn't droppin' 20 a night. That pressure could ruin his career.

Throwback Thursday (Sept. 24)

Happy Birthday

"Drew Gooden Wizards" by Keith Allison - Flickr: Drew Gooden. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons.

Drew Gooden!

Drew Gooden is a great role player. He knows his role and plays some great basketball. One of the great things that Drew Gooden does, can not be shown on the stat sheet. Drew Gooden sets great screens and takes a good amount of charges. That is what he will always be know as to me. Drew Gooden seems to always know where to be on defense. You may say that Drew Gooden averaged 0.2 Blocks, and 0.4 steals over his career, but his defense is solid. Drew Gooden is a player that does the little things. 

Drew Gooden started his rookie season in Memphis, but after 51 games he was traded to Orlando, where he started 18 out of 19 games played there. His rookie season, he averaged 12.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG. After his rookie season, he would stay with the Magic for one more season before going to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

The Cavaliers was one of the best teams that Drew Gooden has ever played with. His first season there, he averaged a career high of 14.4 PPG and a career high of 9.2 RPG. He also played in all 82 games that season, starting in 80 of them. His second season was also good and was a big role player for his team. But his third season was the big one as Gooden played 80 games and started in all of them, as the leader of the Cavs, LeBron James lead them to the finals. A lot of their sucess had to do with Drew Gooden. In the playoffs, he started in all 20 games and played over 30 minutes per game. He averaged 11.4 PPG, 8 RPG, and 1 APG. The Cavaliers, however, lost to the Spurs in the Finals.

After they lost in the Finals, the Cavs kept Gooden for 51 more games before shipping him off to the Chicago Bulls. After that it was just chaos. Drew Gooden in the 2008-09 season went from the Bulls to the Kings to the Spurs. In the 2009-10 season he signed with the Dallas Mavericks, where he was then traded to the Washington Wizards. He was there for 4 days before being traded to the Clippers. However, he would average 14.8 PPG with the Clippers. The Milwaukee Bucks would end up signing him that free agency. He would be there for 3 seasons and would not get another offer from anyone. During the 2013-14 season, he was signed to two 10-day contract with the Wizards and was signed for the rest of the season. He currently plays with the Washington Wizards and was a big reason for their success this last post-season. He plays an important role coming off the bench. 

While Drew Gooden continues to play in the NBA, retirement is coming closer as the NBA veteran is going into his 14th season in the league. He has had important roles on multiple teams and Drew Gooden has been one of the best role players in the league. From the Kings to the Cavs to the Wizards, Drew Gooden has found himself on a team just trying to help, not do too much. Just help. And I hope he continues to do that for many more seasons to come. Happy Birthday, Drew Gooden. 

How the NYPD Ruined the Hawks Post-Season

 

When Police are tackling you, you have to cooperate. But cops should explain why they are tackling you and give some assurance. Now I don't really know what happened, all I know is that Thabo Sefolosha was injured and was out for the rest of the playoffs.

After the incident, the Hawks just lost confidence. They had no bench player who had major playoff experience. Take a look at this guy.

• 1 Steals per game (playoffs career)
• 4.6 PPG (playoff career)
• 78 Playoff games
• 67 Playoff starts

As you can see, this is a great veteran to have in the playoffs. After he was injured, the Hawks just didn't look like the Hawks. They haven't shot well, they haven't played well, they haven't been the Hawks. Korver Hasn't even been Korver as the Hawks were taken out of rhythm. They could barley beat the Wizards. Now they are struggling against the Cavaliers. I think the main problem is the Hawks defense. If they had Sefolosha, they would be a much better defensively. Thabo is a great defensive player and would be suited to play help defense and the team would be so much better.

I don't know. I just think that the absence of Sefolosha just threw the Hawks off. They can't even beat the Cavs without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. I think if they had Thabo, they would be so much better right now. Just think, this was all because of the NYPD. They are supposed to help people, but they hurt the Hawks.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 5 YouTube Breakdown)

Hawks win 82-81



Hawks lead series 3-2

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Hawks VS Wizards (game 5)

Final Score: Hawks win 82-81



Hawks lead series 3-2

Horford Traveled. That's the first thing I yelled when I saw that play. I waited for the call. It never came. I left the room so mad, not because the Hawks won, but because the NBA rules and the refs let the team win the game illegally. You can't replay this and fix it and all 3 refs missed the travel. However, the Wizards made some mistakes themselves, let's take a look.

The Wizards need to do better with help defense. they don't help and then the wrong people help and then others don't cover the people they should have been covering. It was just a mess. I looked at every defensive play that the Hawks scored on and over half of them had problems with help defense. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. They really need to fix this problem. Next, Gortat doesn't read what the defense is doing. If he is double teamed he puts up a shot and if he has a lane, he doesn't take it. They did a good job of finding the open guy on the weak side though. They also have situations where they need to do better on screens. There was poor communication and that needs to be addressed. They sometimes need to switch and sometimes need to get back on their man. The defense for the Wizards was just horrible.

The Hawks played good overall. They did have streaks where they missed shots and committed a lot of turnovers at once. They had 23 turnovers total. They also need to get back on their man and stop double teaming people. They really need to cut down on that. Jeff Teague looked lost on defense a lot of times. He just looked like he didn't know what was happening, he would walk away from his man. Someone else would guard him and he would just stand there and not find someone. He was really lazy and it just wasn't Teague. I don't know if he was tired or whatever, but he needs to play better defense. Mike Muscala played great defense and did a great job setting screens. He slipped a couple of the screens which got him great open looks. He also did a great job of using pump fakes and pass fakes. The Hawks need to win 1 of their next 2 games. Can they do it? Well, they have some mistakes to fix first.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 4)

Final Score: 106-101



Series tied 2-2

This was a crucial game. A must win for the Hawks. They needed to win or else, elimination could have been right around the corner. How did they win, and what do they need to do next game. Let's take a look.

Jeff Teague hit a very clutch 3 pointer. Teague just had a great game. You could tell, he didn't want to lose. He hit shots, but he also found his teammates open in the lane and on the perimeter. Dennis Schroder did a great job of attacking the rim. I was very impressed with that. This Hawks team needs to play better perimeter defense as they are allowing too much on the inside and from 3. The Hawks had a total of 30 assists and it wasn't just one person contributing to that. 3 people had at least 6 assists. One thing that they should do is try to get Kyle Korver involved in the offense more. He has been horrible this series and they need to get him going. The thing I loved the most was how they got Horford involved in the offense. Horford had a total of 70 touches and he got off 18 shots.

The Wizards are suffering without John Wall. They miss the passing effect he has had on the game. If someone was open, he would get them the ball. Without him, it's tough. Ramon Sessions doesn't have nearly the offensive or defensive game that Wall has. Players have stepped up though. Will Bynum has played great and he had 10 points off the bench in the last game. Bradley Beal played a great game but he couldn't carry his team. He 34 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and a big block on Schroder. He needs others to make shots though. Without John Wall, that's hard to do. Can they win without John Wall? Tell me what you think.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 3)

Final score: Wizards win 103-101



Wizards lead series 2-1

Paul Pierce wanted to win more than anybody else. He wanted to make that shot. He had to fade-away just to get up a shot. And he made it. Pierce lied on the floor as Marcin Gortat and Bradley Beal came running toward him full speed. Of course, the Hawks made a great run to get the game tied up. Let's take a look how they managed to do that.

The Hawks had a great 4th quarter. Dennis Schroder had 16 points in just the fourth quarter. Al Horford, Paul Millsap, and DeMarre Carroll didn't really even play in that quarter. They relied on their bench for the whole 4th. In the first 3 quarters the Hawks only scored 66 points. In the 4th they had 35. A big factor was that they shot just 25% from 3 in the first 3 quarters. Kyle Korver made just 2 shots in the entire game and he ended with 6 points. That can't happen. He needs to get into the game more. Jeff Teague shot 33% from the floor and missed both the 3's he attempted. Their starters just did play well. They played bad transition defense and didn't close out. They need to change a lot and get off to a great start next game.

The Wizards had an extraordinary game. They had great ball movement and had a total of 340 passes as the Hawks only had 270 passes. You know your passing well if you out pass the Hawks. Bradley Beal did great on offense having 17 points and also 8 assists! Otto Porter had 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists off the bench. After having no field goals in the first 2 games, Nene had 17 points shooting 7-9 from the floor. Will Bynum had a great game as he shot 2 very important free throws and made them both. He also knocked down a three and had a nice layup in transiton as it was an and-1 opportunity. Paul Pierce. Well, he just won the game, that's all. Marcin Gortat had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks as he shot 6-7 from the field. This team had great individual and a great team performance. If they keep this up, they have a good shot of moving on to the next round. The only thing that they need to work on is transition defense. They didn't do too great and really need to just get back. A casual jog isn't good enough. You need to beat your opponent back on defense. Otto Porter really went after the ball and went for everything. He had great hustle at both ends. Like I said, the Wizards have a great shot at making it to the next round. Let's see what they can do.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 2)

Final Score: Hawks win 106-90



Series tied 1-1

John Wall was out. There was really no leader for the Wizards. The Hawks really did take control of the game. Let's take a look at what the Wizards need to improve on as they go back home.

The Wizards need John Wall. Simple as that. This guy averages over 10 assists per game. He runs the offense. He is like a Ricky Rubio that can score better. When he is on the floor, everyone plays so much better. Take a look at this, the Wizards took more contested shots than uncontested shots. That is a sign of lack of ball movement. Next, Nene and Gortat only had a combined 12 points. Wall's ability to get it low to the posts is better than anyone else in the league. Wall is like Chris Paul dishing to DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin or Rubio dishing to Kevin Love or Pekovic (throwback to last year). When you take away Chris Paul and Ricky Rubio, what do you have, 2 bigs having to try really hard just to touch the ball. What did they do great of? Ramon Sessions played great. He had a great second half. Paul Pierce shot great from the three point line. In fact the whole team shot 54.5% from deep, which is very impressive for a team like the Wizards. Last, they contained Jeff Teague to only 9 points.

The Hawks played a great overall game. They had 10 turnovers but made them all up with 10 steals. Everybody went for every loose ball and played their hardest. They had great ball movement and wanted to get everyone involved. One thing they could do better is get Kyle Korver some more touches. This guy only had 14 points off of only 40 touches. He needs the ball more. His usage was the lowest on his team at 13.2%! That is unacceptable. Other than that they look like they are in great shape for the next game as long as they play the same in game 3.

On to the Next Round: The Semi-Conference Finals

On to the next one. I can't believe the first round is over. It is so shocking and I can't believe it. All the great match-ups we have, and I will breakdown all of them for you.

Warriors VS Grizzlies: This is an easy one for me. I think that the Warriors will win and have an easy time is Conley isn't back. Stephen Curry (your MVP) will have an easy time with Nick Calthes and Ben Udrih. It should be easy for this Warriors team. Marc Gasol will have a tougher time with top notch defender, Andrew Bogut, guarding him. And Zach Randolph will have a really tough time with Draymond Green guarding him.

Hawks VS Wizards: Oh man, this one is tough. I think that the Hawks will win just because they have had more success this season. The only thing is that the Wizards have won a lot of late and you think that must give them more of a chance to win. John Wall is going to have to play great against Teague like he played against Lowry. Bradley Beal vs. Kyle Korver is the main match-up I will be looking at though. I think that these two teams have great match-ups with teh starting line-ups which is what makes it such a tough one to predict. Everyone is so evenly matched and no-one has an advantage.

Rockets VS Clippers: I think that the Clippers will win. The transition and inside game for the Clippers is way too good for the Rockets to handle. J.J. Redick will have to pick up his defense but I honestly think that Matt Barnes should guard James Harden for most of the series. I think that for any wins for the Rockets James Harden will do most of the "heavy lifting".

Cavaliers VS Bulls: I think that this is pretty much unpredictable. The whole Chicago Bulls roster is unpredictable. The Bulls I think could win this though. They are a great team and the Cavs will not have Kevin Love for the series and J.R. Smith for 2 games. It will be tough for this Cavaliers team. I think that Derrick Rose will have to do a lot and kind of keep Kyrie contained. The real question is, who will guard LeBron.

I am so sorry by the way. I was in Canada. I just want everyone to know, Winnipeg is a great place to go to. I got to wear a Wizards shirt without anyone being able to make fun of me and it is defiantly a friendly place to go to. Do not stay at the Days Inn there though. I give it a half a star. I had to change rooms because the doors didn't work, the TV remote didn't work, there was nasty stuff all over the bathroom floor, the AC was way too loud and barley could cool down the room (it would make random noises in the middle of the night), the Wi-Fi was the worst ever, and the TV just shut off right in the middle of Dr. Phil. It was getting intense. This lady was about to find out if her "boyfriend" was real. I felt like we could have jsut have gotten to bad rooms, but this kid name Calvin had the same problem with his room doors. So if you do go there, try pushing on the doors to open them and see if you need the key to open them. If it pushes open, you got room 209.  

Playoffs Day 4

Cavaliers VS Celtics

Cavaliers lead 2-0


Raptors VS Wizards

Wizards lead 2-0


Rockets VS Mavericks

Rockets lead 2-0


April 22

• Hawks VS Nets game 2
• Grizzlies VS Trailblazers game 2
• Clippers VS Spurs game 2

Raptors VS Wizards (game 2)

Final Score: Wizards win 117-106



Wizards lead series 2-0

This was a great game for the Wizards as they have a chance to put the series home with them leading the series 2-0. Let's take a look at the Wizards first.

The Wizards played great. They found out a way to get DeRozan contain a little bit. One player taht had a great game was John Wall. After having a tough offense game, he came back with 26 points and 17 assists! Just a wonderful performance from him. Bradly Beal was hitting a bunch of shots on the floor and was well spaced through-out the game. They just played great overall basketball as they out scored Toronto in the 2nd and 3rd quarter by 27 points.

Toronto has a lot of work to do. They must play Wall really good and force the ball out of his hands. They can't let him even touch the ball. Wall is a play-maker not only for himself, but for his teammates especially. He had 17 assists in the game but also 111 passes in the game. The was the most for any player, and he was the only player with over 100 passes in the game. Lowry and Vasquez combined had only had 93 passes and they were the leading players for passing for their team. They need to take Wall out of the game. The second thing they need to do if they are to stay in this series is to stay out of foul trouble. DeRozan had 5 fouls and Vasquez, Williams, and Amir Johnson all had 4. However, out of those 27 fouls from the Raptors, the Wizards only shot 34 free throws meaning that alot of the Raptors fould were floor fouls which they need to cut down.

It could come down to 2 games at Verizon center. The Wizards could put this one away, but you know the Raptors want at least 1 more game at Air Canada Centre.

Playoffs Day 1

April 18th

Raptors vs Wizards:Wizards 1-0



Warriors VS Pelicans: Warriors 1-0



Bulls VS Bucks: Bulls 1-0



Rockets VS Mavericks: Rockets 1-0




Games on April 19th:

• Cavs VS Celtics
• Hawks VS Nets
• Grizzlies VS Trailblazers
• Clippers VS Spurs

Raptors VS Wizards (game 1)

Final Score: Washington Wins 93-86 in OT



 Washington leads series 1-0

Paul Pierce is a Villain in Toronto. He lead another team to another win against Toronto in the first game of the playoffs. Air Canada Centre is a hard place to play. It is so loud and for the Wizards to win there, that makes the win so much more important. The Wizards got off to a slow start but caught up and had the lead for the whole second half. Of course Vasquez has to come out and tie up the game. The Wizards had control in overtime though and they came out with the win.

I noticed at the beginning of the game, the Wizards had trouble getting the ball inside. They shot a lot of mid-range jumpers and threes. Toronto didn't really get to the paint til the second half. Toronto would have had an easy game if they forced the Wizards to force up jumpers.

Once you force up a jumper, you have to get the rebound. Toronto rebounded horribly. The Wizards out-scored them 61 to 48. Not to mention, the Wizards had 19 offensive rebounds.

What made me mad was Toronto was drawing tons of fouls and that was a result of the Wizards doing a lot of lazy defense. They switched on defense way to much. They need to hedge more. Toronto seems like a more perimeter oriented team and I would hedge more on them. The Wizards were really lazy and just didn't want to hedge. Instead of them playing good defense they ended up sending them to the line. They did pick it up in the second half though.

DeRozan was playing pretty well, but John Wall and Sessions kept Kyle Lowry contained. He ended up fouling out of the game and only had 7 points. That was a crucial point to Washington's win. If they can keep Lowry contained for the rest of the series, the Wizards will have a great chance to win the series.

Pierce was going absolutely crazy in the game. He lead his team with 20 points and he was 4-7 from 3 point range. If Toronto is going to have any chance in this series, they have to keep Pierce contained.

Anyways, congrats to the Wizards on the win but they have one more at Air Canada Centre before they go off the Verizon for 2 straight games. Can they get 4 wins, or will they fall to the Raptors?