Washington Wizards 101, Memphis Grizzlies 92

its about time we start winning

dray was beasting!!!!

For those who were there – how was the crowd? Did it sell out?

So they were sold out : ( I was pissed so I called the manager of the ticket box at VCU and made up a kind of bs story hahahaha next thing I know I was picking up two tickets for the game : )

Oh no one regulated where you sat so I decided to sit as close as I could to the court : )

So a good win and a few things I noticed

Stevenson looked comfortable, significantly stronger or in better shape and shot a pretty 3 that seemed to me could be made consistantly. He fouled alot and was very gritty and rough on defense. Overall he did not look like the Stevenson of last year but its still way to early to say

Jamison looked surprisingly better. He shot the 3 better, had an amazing slam dunk that was assisted from Arenas that lit the small stadium (he looked like he was 24 years old when he dunked it). Butler was pretty much the same.

Arenas was strong, amazing ball handling and body control, very hesitant. He needs to gain confidence in his shooting but there is no doubt its a completely different team when he is on the court.

Fab looked good, tough, Dom McGuire was the same offered OK defense didnt do much otherwise, McGee I thought played well, Blatche helped us get the win, Nick Young was confused at times but hit a few nice shots.

Mike Miller and Foye both looked great. Miller is going to be a huge addition to our team that I couldnt see but after watching the game I see now. He makes offense really easily for his size but seems to miss easy tip ins. He had a series where he was trying to pass too much and should have just shot. I think Miller will be great for this team.

For me the highlights were easily Arenas looking so damn healthy and good at handling the ball. Jamison playing like he wants a championship ring. Butlers intensity. Stevenson hitting his first attempted 3 ball and playing pretty good defense. and lastly Miller and Foye just playing so well. Anyway I have 2 exams to study for but I think you guys should be excited for this season. We are definitly going to have some very impressive games judging by today but we still need to work out a few kinks and find some rythm and comfort.

Maybe I was expecting more, I don’t know. Aside from Mike Miller I don’t think anyone of our guys looked very good. Gil was passive, AJ and CB had trouble finishing, Nick disappeared for long stretches, Oberto and JaVale were foul happy, and the list goes on. Given all the positive buzz I was concerned with straight lack of execution all around. NOBODY shot well, and Gil was 1-5. Foye had trouble getting over the timeline on at least two occasions. The offense had little motion when the starters were on the floor, and the defense is definitely under construction.

On the positive side we (somehow) won, and Miller turned out to be a better creator and stronger around the basket than I remembered. Some other observations:

- Based on the line-ups used tonight, it looks like Flip is thinking of Miller as a SF. He played a few minutes in the 4th(?) with McGuire and Foye, but primarily he shared the floor with Foye and DeShawn. I point this out only because I think it means he won’t start.
- Based on the sample size of one, the replacement refs are dreadful. They blew several calls (from what I could tell mostly in our favor), and one of them was giving the Girzz bench dirty looks and arguing all night. At one point one of them watched the ball roll out of bounds, waited a second, heard the shot clock buzzer, then called a 24-second violation. What should have been Grizz ball on the side with 1 second became Wiz ball.
- Richmond loves Iverson, and people around me were really bummed he wasn’t playing. He signed a bunch of autographs and was supportive of his teammates the first half, but vanished at halftime.
- Rudy Gay looks just like his Mom.

Here’s hoping for better on Friday…

I analyzed the game to a t.

Every single thing that went bad was something that will and can be easily addressed and fixed.

No one was injured or nothing happened out of the control fo the coach and staff to fix.

Im not sure where the disappointment came from, if you want Gilbert throwing up 50 points a game watch some of his old videos ; )

He seemed to be having an off day shooting wise so Im not sure that him beeing a volume shooter was the best decision at the moment. I have to disagree with Gilbert needing to shoot more today. In the long run when Gil heats up and starts making shots I doubt he will pass them up and if he does I think it will be noticed and addressed.

I am personally happy with the team. May not have been the most pretty game but im excited to have a team that wins.

Gil played without fear and his shot will come around. Miler’s too. Young and Blatche seem much readier to play serious ball. Foye produced when it counted (as much as it can count in a pre-season game). And Jamison and Butler are truly solid.