Young’s performance reminded me of what Deshawn did to Lebron a few games back. Dwyane was getting frustrated by Nick’s D, and he was trying to take it to Nick in the 2nd half, but it just worked to the Wizards’ advantage. The more their star turned things into a 1-on-1 game, the more their offense suffered. Nick also made him expend a lot of energy guarding him on the other end of the court, and I think that made a difference later in the game.

was that whenever Miami got close – wiz didn’t panic or fold and kept their composure. That is very encouraging.

more than arenas, cuz the agent zero is not the same.

we play so much better with boykins on the floor, he doesnt turn the ball.

sit gil a couple so he can learn his freaking lesson, and stop playing like a douche bag sometimes, with his half court passes smh

he arguably outplayed wade head up.

very glad flip benched gil after he played zero defense in the 3rd quarter. (unintentional pun there) i was wondering if he was hurting. if not, i don’t know what to make of that.

I didn’t really notice that much when watching, but he put up a phenomenal line. What I did notice was that he didn’t do anything wrong, but he had 10P/9R/0TO by making the right decisions. It’s no wonder Flip is comfortable with him at the end of games. I’m not saying I expect him to always play that well, but what an asset to have for games like this.

Night and day between eShawn Stevenson (No D) and Young on Wade. I really feel like Young or Dom should be in the game instead anytime Flip thinks about using Stevenson (except against Lebron — watching him implode against Stevenson was priceless).

Seriously has know one else noticed this but he is actually regressing game after game. He is no longer taking it into the lane and his aggressiveness is way down. Did anyone else notice that Chalmers went off for 16 in the 2nd half while Gil mostly defended him. I want to give Gil a pass as much as the next guy but right now he is getting out-played by a 5’ 5 pg that is on a non-guaranteed contract. When do we start the sounding the alarm?

Guys it’s clear Arenas is not going to be pushed hard on the court. Simone behind lockers told me he plays harder in training than he does in actual games. It’s too early but when he’s feeling better he will be back.

Anyone see Kobe? Can’t wait to play the Lakers.

With MM out, Flip has settled on playing nine guys and benching FO, DS, DM which suits me just fine. Additionally, the five-man rotations for the last two games have made sense. My only minor criticism is less minutes for AJ. In any event, the team should play better going forward.

But to excel, as others have noted, Arenas (and Caron) will need to get better.

Long term, even after Arenas gets his rythym back, I’m not convinced that he can be a pure point guard and handle the ball exclusively by himself (with MM or NY at the 2). By playoff time as the defensive effort picks up, back-court pairings of Arenas/Foye and Boykins and MM or NY may make more sense.

In the meanwhile, maybe we should give Arenas a night off?

It was interesting that Flip said he sat Gil because he didn’t want his knee to tighten up. Everyone knows that’s BS. It was about the fact that the offense, right now, has a lot more energy, and runs a lot more efficiently, with Boykins running it. Earl makes good decisions, and has quickness and explosion Arenas still lacks.

I’m also glad to see JaVale getting real minutes; he’s earning Flip’s trust. I still can’t take my eyes off the guy when he’s in. He always seems to make something happen.

This Wizard season should teach us to not jump to conclusions right away. Case in point

1. Gil looked great when the season started but not now
2. Nick Young looked horrible – but great now
3. Andray Blatche has surprised us all
4. Caron has looked terrible
5. Randy Foye looked awesome early on – but has slipped
6. Oberto seemed like the back up center option – but now it is McGee
7. Jamison and Haywood have been the only consistent play
8. Earl Boykins came out of no where to be a great contributor
9. Miller looked great – but is now hurt

My point is that there has not been any consistency with either players, line-ups or flow.

The good news is that Flip has alot of talent and optionsn to work with. Hopefully roles and performance will settle down – still too early to get on or off any bandwagons

The reason I ask is because I read a quotation from Flip Saunders after the game, in which he explained that he kept Gilbert on the bench in the fourth lest his knee “seize up” on him; he said he didn’t want to take any chances. I didn’t know there was still a chance of knee trouble at this stage. That worries me.

That may be, but it still worries me that they’re talking about Gil’s knee at this stage. If the knee is a concern (or a potential concern), why is he playing at all? Also, he’s obviously not close to 100%. I assumed that was conditioning, shooting rhythm, etc. But if the coaching staff is holding him out of quarters because of his knee, maybe there’s more going on.

And I thought he sat out the 4th just because Boykins is playing better than he is right now.

Coaches should sit people to avoid aggravating old and/or recurrent injuries. EJ did the opposite while he was here. The same flawed philosophy will haunt him in Philly.

Flip is only slightly better than EJ in this regard.

This team is injury prone. Flip ought to go to a 10 man rotation when MM returns and limit the Big 3’s minutes.