So much for that awful decision to insert Trevor Ariza into the starting lineup, eh? Not sure Ariza can counted on to provide 28 points and six three-pointers every night, but he kept the Washington Wizards close enough to make their season-opening 113-102 to the Detroit Pistons interesting until the final minute or so.
Clearly we maxed out the wrong player. RT @mattkremnitzer Ariza: 24 points on 12 shots. Wall + Beal: 24 points on 30 shots.
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) October 31, 2013
The Future: We will be peppered with "If Trevor Ariza is leading the #Wizards in scoring... " lines. #SoWizardry
— Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) October 31, 2013
Season opener.... pic.twitter.com/UeKuC0PFjF
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) October 31, 2013
The stat lines for John Wall (20 points, 11 assists) and Bradley Beal (17 points) are somewhat misleading in that they indicate solid performances, but neither was the player the Wizards will need them to be in order to make the playoffs.
Bynum blows by Wall,and then Billups sticks a three right in Beal's eye...
— Rashad Mobley (@rashad20) October 31, 2013
Yep, that's John Wall letting Will Bynum blow by him for some reason. #Wizards https://t.co/Yufr3RUiR3
— Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) October 31, 2013
Wall not only misses his jump shots, he's not even close on his misses. #Ugly
— The Ball Hogs (@BallHogsRadio) October 31, 2013
He's had a bad night. He has 20 and 11..lol #statsinavacuum
— Ward Watkins (@PhoneBoothWiz) October 31, 2013
Lots of people will talk about Wall’s issues. Bradley Beal has also played very poorly.
— Mike Prada (@MikePradaSBN) October 31, 2013
John Wall and Bradley Beal went 13-for-39 tonight. Not what #Wizards were looking for. #WizardsTalk
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayCSN) October 31, 2013
AHHHHHHHHH pic.twitter.com/Iag8hKD93n
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) October 31, 2013
But, it's only one game, and Marcin Gortat looked pretty good, scoring nine points and grabbing nine rebounds in only 17 minutes of playing time. It'd be a surprise if he isn't in the starting lineup from here on out.
Gortat is a baller. Way better footwork than an I expected.
— Ben M (@BenAgent0) October 31, 2013
Gortat’s playing really well … but you can’t let a point guard foul you like that.
— Mike Prada (@MikePradaSBN) October 31, 2013
What a drop step by Gortat on Monroe. #WizardsTalk #NBA #WizvPistons
— J. Michael (@JMichaelCSN) October 31, 2013
why nene & martin gore depeche mode not play together? just because #SoWizards?
— wizznutzz (@wzzntzz) October 31, 2013
GORTAT SANITY
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) October 31, 2013
POLISH TIPPING MACHINE! #wizards
— Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis) October 31, 2013
Thats why you make the trade... Okafor can't do that.
— The Ball Hogs (@BallHogsRadio) October 31, 2013
gortar
— Amin Vafa (@AminNBA) October 31, 2013
Did last season end? pic.twitter.com/5ARmW3ga76
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) October 31, 2013
Sigh. Someone talk us off the ledge.
This won’t be the worst result in the world. They’ll clean up the back-end rotations. Wall and Beal both playing poorly is concerning though
— Mike Prada (@MikePradaSBN) October 31, 2013
There's stuff to like about this Wiz team. Too many pts in paint allowed & not enough of that on offense.
— danny rouhier (@funnydanny) October 31, 2013
No.
— Wiz Win Last Night? (@DidTheWizWin) October 31, 2013
Well, at least there's 81 games left to go
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) October 31, 2013
You deserve this, Wizards. You deserve it. No excuses. pic.twitter.com/1FOxiKeC9Y
— B. Mendoza (@mrbmendoza15) October 31, 2013
Plus, the Wizards are guaranteed a win in their home opener Friday, when they'll take on the Philadelphia 76ers, who as we all know, started tanking before the season even began.
Michael Carter-Williams puts up 22 pts, 7 reb, 12 ast and 9 stls in his @NBA debut. @Sixers beat the Heat, 114-110. pic.twitter.com/3vpmMF1DZq
— The NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 31, 2013
And the Sixers begin their Tank Quest with a victory over the World Champion Miami Heat. No words ...
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) October 31, 2013
If it wouldn't ruin their plans to get Andrew Wiggins, PHI might have Allen Iverson retire 40 more times this season
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) October 31, 2013
"Heads will roll." - Sam Hinkie
— Eric Freeman (@freemaneric) October 31, 2013
Updated Power Rankings: 1. Philadelphia 76ers....
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) October 31, 2013
Washington will play Magic Johnson and the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night at home.
— Ben M (@BenAgent0) October 31, 2013
Wut? C'mon, give us something to look forward too...
xoxoxoxoxooxox RT @addc: @AminNBA wzzntzz It had to be done pic.twitter.com/C2H6449815
— wizznutzz (@wzzntzz) October 31, 2013
I'll be expecting an invitation in the mail. What else was going on around the association last night?
Just got home, turned on the Lakers game, first thing I see is Nick missing a jumper.
— David Steele (@David_C_Steele) October 31, 2013
Love watching Nick Young try Olajuwon moves 30 feet from the hoop.
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) October 31, 2013
Don't we all.
New #Suns promotion: if an opponent misses both FTs on a trip to the line, fans get free Carl's Jr. chicken tenders. Lopez fed the masses.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) October 31, 2013
!!!! HEY PHOENIX, BACK OFF. WE DIDN'T TRADE YOU OKAFOR AND OUR LAME GIMMICKS FOR GORTAT.
For actual coverage of Wiz-Pistons, check out our StoryStream, as well as recaps from: [WaPo | AP | CSN Washington (recap, Nene sidebar | Wiz of Awes | DC Pro Sports Report | Wizards.com | Gameday blog | ESPN | Detroit Free Press (gamer, column) | MLive | Detroit News (gamer, sidebar)]
Here's some game highlights, plus links to postgame interviews with Wittman, Wall, Beal, Ariza and Gortat.