Wizards win in Milwaukee on the second game of a back-to-back

by Mike Prada on Dec 23, 2009 10:37 PM EST in Recaps

I really thought we were in big trouble once GIlbert Arenas went out. Instead, we all came together, ran Flip Saunders' offensive sets as crisply as we have all season, and we pulled away from a tough Bucks team when they were rested and we were not (back-to-back). What a great performance by everyone. I'd venture to say, considering the circumstances (back-to-back, flight from Washington to Milwaukee overnight, a tough defensive outfit like the Bucks, etc.), this is the best win of the season.

Now let's just hope Gilbert is okay.

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stud stat of the night

Haywood’s ‘quiet’ 6 blocks?

by rzawrecktah on Dec 23, 2009 10:40 PM EST reply actions

Happy days

Hope Gil is just sore, Some good D tonight though I always fancy us
when playing jump shooting teams, Also hoping Foye’s minutes continue
to increase and Boykins can keep to that level.

by wuds100 on Dec 23, 2009 10:44 PM EST reply actions

weird stat of the night

One offensive rebound for the Wizards.

by purpleonblack86 on Dec 23, 2009 10:44 PM EST reply actions

argh

i feel badly going negative, ’cause any win in the nba is deserved

but – other than the 1st and 4th quarters – i don’t think tonight’s game was a recipe for success. too many quick J’s. they obviously didn’t read bwoods’s article.

and i think milwaukee just looked bad tonight, some of that was good D by the wiz, but jennings was nonexistent, and i haven’t looked at the stats, but i’m guessing the bucks shot miserably from behind the arc tonight. they just couldn’t throw it in the ocean.

bucks did not have it going tonight at all and wiz did enough to win. but wiz still need to play better. like flip said, and like someone on the game thread, the wiz totally shot the bucks back into the game.

and boykins won’t be that effective against a lot of teams.

couple good plays by foye though. some reason for hope there.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 23, 2009 10:46 PM EST reply actions

5-25

bucks behind the arc. most of those were open looks.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 23, 2009 10:50 PM EST up reply actions

agree they didn't look like world-beaters or anything

but as you say foye in crunch time playing pretty well is a good thing. he can play with gil in the 4th when boykins doesn’t match up well or isn’t playing well.
mainly though this team needs confidence and reasons not to mentally check out of the season. wins, no matter how or against whom, are what they need.

"how ironic - you came here with a mouse in a bottle, now YOU are the mouse in the bottle" - B.M. Smith

by little stevie colter on Dec 23, 2009 10:58 PM EST up reply actions

I can't seem to shake it ethier

When was the last time we won and looked good doing it. A win is always a good thing but I can’t seem to shake that nagging feeling that the bucks lost that game more then we won it.

by ccrun1800 on Dec 24, 2009 4:18 AM EST up reply actions

Watched it FSN Wisconsin

They where constantly going back to the fact that they where 30odd%
and we where 50odd% plus we had more FTs and they where still in the game
in the last 4 mins.

by wuds100 on Dec 23, 2009 10:50 PM EST reply actions

promising win considering the bucks team on the floor

The team seems to be gelling better but let’s see if we can get one in minnesota. I know thier a bad team with some bright spots but that’s about all I know. Wondering what people think about minnesota coming up? Haven’t been following them much. Agree with Boykins against other teams.

by purpleonblack86 on Dec 23, 2009 10:51 PM EST reply actions

we HAVE to win in minny.

they are not a good team.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 23, 2009 10:52 PM EST up reply actions

Three in a row

Could turn our season and we might need it with a tough start to next year.

by wuds100 on Dec 23, 2009 10:58 PM EST reply actions

Much better flow with...

Foye starting. Also, the substitution options with NY and the little one work much better.

While everybody says Redd torched Foye, the opposition was held to less than 100 points in total. Good overall D. Redd was 8-21. He was ~~16 on +/~~. Foye was 4-8 and +14 on the +/-. Two starts for Foye, two wins. Anybody but me superstistious?

by Izman on Dec 23, 2009 11:16 PM EST reply actions

third one is the one that counts.

by Fundefined on Dec 24, 2009 12:29 AM EST up reply actions

Redd started the game 5-5 against Foye

Then Flip put Young on him, and although Nick didn’t play Redd by himself all night (Butler took a turn, Dom McGuire had a couple of possessions, Foye came back on him in the 2nd half, etc…) after that initial burst against Foye – he was 3-16 the rest of the way.

As I was saying in the game thread, I think either Miller or Young should be the starting SG, and Foye should be backing up Arenas….. There are too many of those 6’6", 6’7" SG’s in the EC (like Redd)….. and Foye just does not match up well against them.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Dec 24, 2009 12:41 AM EST up reply actions

Redd was salivating at the matchup

And he enjoyed the feast.

Nick’s got him some nice, long arms too.

My swag was phenomenal.

by se7en on Dec 24, 2009 3:16 AM EST up reply actions

Here is the Win/Loss...

depending on who starts at the 2:

MM 2-6
NY 4-5
RF 3-1
DS 1-5

by Izman on Dec 24, 2009 9:01 AM EST up reply actions

Not bad

Not good, but not bad. Which is definitely an improvement. I’m now convinced that Gil can come all the way back. He’s almost there now that he’s found his confidence again. Now if he would just play defense he’d be worth all that $$. (Pipe dream, I know.)

Still, I was certain that this team was psychologically done for after the Indiana game. I’m not convinced they’re back, but I see some signs of life. Flip seems to be figuring out (better late than never) which guys he should be playing, and that benching had a surprisingly strong impact. I still wouldn’t bet on finishing with a winning record, but hope is creeping back in. When Miller comes back, we could have a really solid rotation.

by steadyhand on Dec 23, 2009 11:22 PM EST reply actions

I've missed the last two games

1.) How has Young’s defense looked?
2.) What happened to Arenas?

Ridiculous Upside, where developing talent and winning are not mutually exclusive.

by Jon L on Dec 23, 2009 11:53 PM EST reply actions

Young's Defense

2.) He’s looked pretty good on defense to me. Sometimes people get around him a little quickly, but he’s been pretty good to me. Any stats we can get on his opponents FG% when he’s guarding them? Where are our stats wizards? No pun intended.

1.) Bruised left thigh, but he was in good spirits on the bench and it doesn’t look serious. But I don’t know for sure.

My swag was phenomenal.

by se7en on Dec 24, 2009 12:00 AM EST up reply actions

Best win of the season

Expectations mess with your opinions, and I’m down on my Wiz since they’re worse than I expected. But there was no way I’d expect them to beat Dallas on their home floor. I think that was the most impressive win of the season. Let’s hope it’s not all downhill from there. Can anyone else smell a turnaround, or are we crazy?

My swag was phenomenal.

by se7en on Dec 23, 2009 11:56 PM EST reply actions

No I think it’s logical we turn around if AND ONLY if we stick with this formula. Get Well Arenas. Def liking Caron again. FO def helping along with Young, Foye, Blatche.

Call me crazy but I see a 3-4 game winning streak. Afterwards a loss, a win, a loss and some exciting games with Gil fully healthy and Miller back.

Will we keep Caron? I’m almost thinking we should if he plays like he has the past two games.

by Unxpekted on Dec 24, 2009 12:50 AM EST via mobile reply actions

No I think it’s logical we turn around if AND ONLY if we stick with this formula. Get Well Arenas. Def liking Caron again. FO def helping along with Young, Foye, Blatche.

Call me crazy but I see a 3-4 game winning streak. Afterwards a loss, a win, a loss and some exciting games with Gil fully healthy and Miller back.

Will we keep Caron? I’m almost thinking we should if he plays like he has the past two games.

by Unxpekted on Dec 24, 2009 12:50 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Turnaround?

Don’t know about that, but the last three games of December SHOULD be wins(Minn, Memphis, OC) though OC might run us over. The only way this becomes a turnaround is if we beat good teams. The month of January is a brutal stretch, we’ll find out soon enough where this team is going.

by Mike Uhrich on Dec 24, 2009 5:48 AM EST reply actions

The month of January is a brutal stretch

Brutal? I disagree with that. There’s 16 games in January with 8 of them against teams with LOSING records…. and most of the games against winning teams occur at home in the Verizon Center. Only 5 away games ALL MONTH… 11 home games. Most of the road games are very winnable (Philly, Chicago, New Jersey, etc…)…

I’d hardly call January “brutal”…. Cakewalk? Fortunate scheduling? Walk in the park? – - – Maybe… but not “brutal”…

Now March…………………. THAT’s a brutal schedule. 11 of the 16 games are on the road. After a home-and-away series with Milwaukee it gets really tough. TWO western road trips; including a real bad stretch against the Jazz, Nuggets, Trailblazers and Lakers… 5 back-to-backs. Plus games against Boston (at Boston) and Orlando..

That month will determine this team’s playoff future.

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Dec 24, 2009 9:00 AM EST up reply actions

Cakewalk?

Apparently you have forgotten the Wizard’s record and the way they have played. Only 2 teams(NJ, Phil) in January have a worse record than ours and Chicago is tied. All three of those games are on the road.

While we have a definite advantage in home games in January the Wiz have not shown that to be an advantage this year or last year. Thirteen of those teams have a better record in the last 10 games, again Chicago is a tie, NJ and Phil are worse. Seven teams have 20 wins already, we play 5 of them. 4 back-to-backs.

No doubt March will be harsh, but those games may very well mean little. The context of my post was based on the “have we turned it around” comments and January is still the pivotal month for this team concerning the direction they are headed…not just the playoff picture, but mentally also. If they flame out there will not be one important March game for them to play.

by Mike Uhrich on Dec 24, 2009 12:57 PM EST up reply actions

Tooth

Did Arenas really lose a tooth?

WaPo said he did, but I didn’t notice it during the broadcast.

by MR on Dec 24, 2009 8:57 AM EST reply actions

That would really suck…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laydODN6xVk

by hibachi on Dec 24, 2009 10:55 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

If Boykins keeps playing like this, and if the Wizards can turn their season around..

Then he’ll deserve 6th man of the year consideration. It’s rare that a team can get a player (one who had actually left the league, in this case) and see him contribute so much.

by satchmore on Dec 24, 2009 10:26 AM EST reply actions