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Agent Zero Returns, Wizards Win!

It's the Warriors, but welcome back, Gilbert Arenas!!

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Fourth quarter close out was great.

Butler and Gil hitting free throws. Caron getting a double-double (first time all season?) and playing intense, smart basketball. This was a great win and I thought we did a good job controlling the tempo. It was a fast tempo, but not the frenetic pace the Warriors love to play at.

It seemed like they decided the shot jack this game and we decided to take it to the rim. Fantastic game by Gil (45pts. 13assists)!

Welcome back!

by Craig_ on Dec 19, 2009 1:18 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

You know it is the warriors

but the mix of alcohol, late hours and Gil dropping 45 has me hoping for big things.

by ccrun1800 on Dec 19, 2009 4:08 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

problems loom

if we don’t upgrade the supporting cast somehow, either through internal improvement or a trade. flip played gil the entire second half. he didn’t trust the bench. and i don’t blame him.

good chance tomorrow night will be a rough game for the wiz.

we had to have the win tonight tho. so good job big 3 and brendan. but you guys need some help. seriously.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 19, 2009 1:31 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I agree.

However it needs to be tempered with some sort of standard rotation from Flip. I know he’s trying to find the right solution, but EJ went through this problem as well. If the players don’t know what they’re getting in terms of playing time… it adversely affected their play in games. NY comes to mind and it seems to be happening with Foye.

by Craig_ on Dec 19, 2009 1:36 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

nick young

i think you give him too much credit. flip’s given him plenty of opportunities.

i mean, outside of our top 4 and blatche (who’s inconsistent), we’ve got absolutely nothing. zip. nothing. young, foye, and stevenson don’t even deserve the inconsistent label, just ineffective. and boykins and mcguire are limited players.

don’t mean to be negative, but i think i’m being realistic here. this is a big problem.

maybe we’ll get something out of james or crittendon? we can hope anyway.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 19, 2009 2:10 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I really don't want to rely on James.

James is not our answer and I think that was even made clear last year. Critt would be a welcomed person in our back court to take some of Earl’s minutes. I may be the optimist, but I think Young’s been playing well. He’s been playing a lot better defense and he’s been contributing a lot more when he’s not scoring. He hasn’t be the biggest zero on the bench.

Tonight he was +12 off the bench. The only one with a positive +/-.

by Craig_ on Dec 19, 2009 2:54 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

deshawn

had a positive +/-. all it means is young played with the starters at the end when gilbert ran away with it.

i don’t have much faith in james or crittendon, but something might be better than nothing.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 19, 2009 3:15 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Gilbert

Despite the string of chokes, he kept playing with intensity. (Gilbert and Haywood are the heart of the team right now. And I’m kind of surprised to be saying this, but Butler’s in it to win lately too. Oddly, Jamison is the one who’s not playing smart.)

But back to the man of the hour. Wow. What are his averages for the last four games or so? He’s been coming on. And tonight he simply exploded.
 
What I like best is Gils is going to the hoop now. Those two closer drives were great to see from him.

He’s still a bit clunky handling the ball, but I’m guessing that’s on the way back too.

by Legislator on Dec 19, 2009 1:37 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Looks like

Everyone goes to sleep. They’re light weights.

by bigrm18 on Dec 19, 2009 1:54 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Well the game did end around 1:00 AM eastern time right?

Everyone probably turned off the TV and went right to bed….dreaming about the playoffs!

Playoffs?!?!

by formula0 on Dec 19, 2009 1:55 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

sleep, wait…

by Fundefined on Dec 19, 2009 2:28 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

The illusion of playing the Warriors

Warning! Wins and stats against the Warriors are less impressive than they appear. (ask Brandon Jennings)

I expected a win here because the Warriors are a joke. They barely pretend to play defense, and a lot of their offensive plays are out of control. I have no idea how they’ve won 7 games. The Wizards looked composed and disciplined by comparison.

Still, this team, and especially Arenas, need confidence. I think this will definitely help Arenas. He didn’t look that great (5 turnovers, iffy shot selection), but he was aggressive and the Warriors don’t defend. I don’t think it will matter to him that he didn’t necessarily play his best — he’s probably looking at that line in a win and feeling a lot better about himself. That would be a very good thing, because I think he’ll start playing better when he stops second-guessing himself. He still won’t defend, but if he could be lights out on offense again then his contract won’t be so crippling.

by steadyhand on Dec 19, 2009 2:49 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

My whole point is that the line is misleading

The Warriors don’t play defense. Any ball-hogging point guard with talent can put up tremendous stats against them.

by steadyhand on Dec 19, 2009 3:04 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Not saying Gil was ball-hogging the whole game

Just at the end, which I’m actually in favor of given the ineffectiveness of every other approach used. The assists are nice to see, but again, don’t forget the opponent. I’m not saying he played badly, just that he didn’t play as well as his line indicates.

by steadyhand on Dec 19, 2009 3:09 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

We’ve played alot of joke teams and lost, any win is a start.

by Fundefined on Dec 19, 2009 3:00 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

agree 100%

but maybe the confidence boost will help.

tho we’ll likely get knocked back to earth tonight.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 19, 2009 3:07 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Confidence

Arenas’ confidence is returning (although he has limited leaping ability after a quick first step).

Butler said Flip gave him a dose of confidence before the game.

AJ is AJ.

Haywood is getting minutes and is playing for a contract so his confidence is intact.

The rest of the team has either lost its confidence or has limited skill. Flip needs to go to work on Blatche, Young and McGee (all of which have skills). I’m not sure if Foye’s problem is confidence or skills. The rest have limited skills. MM’s return will be helpful, but is not enough.

by Izman on Dec 19, 2009 9:13 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Supporting Cast

I may be in the minority, but I think that Flip needs to stick with Blatche and Young. They have been inconsistent for sure, but you can’t coach their atheltic ability and talent.

I think it’s up to Flip to get those guys consistent and going. Either through support, scheme or perhaps Areanas and Jamison taking them under their wing.

I think a killer group would be Areanas, Jamison, Haywood, Blatche and Young. That group give them speed. scoring, length and versatality

PS – the Legislator Rocks

by Buttgras on Dec 19, 2009 12:07 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

nope, you’re in the majority. Most people in BF think very highly of Young and Blatche.

by Fundefined on Dec 19, 2009 1:10 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

yup

i’m the one in the minority.

flip IS sticking with blatche. we can’t blame flip for blatche’s inconsistency.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 19, 2009 3:23 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

A few thoughts

This was a great game to get to see live. It was wonderful to see Gilbert playing like his old self and to see Caron actually play within the flow of the offense and take smart, in rhythm shots.

Nick Young really played excellent defense for most of the night but it didn’t show up in the box score because Monta Ellis made ridiculously hard shots. Flip really needs to carve out a role for him in the rotation .

Why was Blatche in for the entire fourth quarter? I like that Flip is giving him more run, but last night was not his best game and the Warriors had no answer for Brendan (and Brendan was playing good D on Randolph generally). Not sure why Brendan didnt get back in.

Finally, it was fairly clear that our offensive problems were fixed becuase it was the Warriors we were playing. The matchups were SO GOOD that everyone could get going. They have no one who can stop Arenas and Caron was always being played by someone much weaker – we had mismatces at almost every position and so it was easy to get off. Makes me wonder more about why Antawn had such trouble. The neck injury aside, he was taking terrible contested shots all night long. He could have had a field day posting up and spinning baseline.

by Manimal Smith on Dec 19, 2009 12:27 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

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