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Lingering Heat-Wizards thoughts

I'm still kind of euphoric from the Redskins' win over the Cowboys, so I apologize for not posting yesterday.  As Jake mentioned, I was at the Heat game on Saturday, so in no particular order, some quick thoughts.


  • We've seen the bench come in and struggle far too many times this year, so it was incredibly reassuring to see the second unit actually extend the lead in the second quarter.  Yeah, it was Miami, but that was still nice.
  • In particular, I loved the way Andray Blatche played.  The one stat that jumps out at me is the 10 free throw attempts, and that number definitely does him justice.  He was throwing his body around inside, and most importantly, when he caught passes on screen and rolls, he took it hard to the basket, instead of trying to get cute and passive.  Once he gets stronger, he'll finish more of those plays.  Granted, it's easy to throw your body around against the Mark Blounts, Earl Barrons, and Alexander Johnsons of the world, but it was still a nice sign from a guy who had been struggling recently.
  • Need more evidence that this is a football town?  When the Heat shot free throws, the jumbotron played a slideshow of Dallas Cowboys photos.
  • I will admit, however, that the new HD scoreboard is pretty nice.
  • I guess it just hit me now, but Roger Mason has replaced DeShawn Stevenson in the guard rotation.  When Nick Young and Mike Wilks checked in as the first guards off the bench, Stevenson was the first guy to go out.  What's crazier is that I totally supported that decision.  One thing that's nice about sitting in Section 408 is that you can see the entire offense at once.  In doing so, you notice two things.  One, Ricky Davis always, and I mean always, makes the wrong decision coming off a down screen (e.g. he'll pass when the big man stays inside, and he'll shoot when the big shows), and two, DeShawn Stevenson doesn't make good decisions swinging the ball.  He'll catch fire in some games, but Mason is a much better offensive option.
  • Dwayne Wade looked awful.  Though I have to say, the Wizards' defense impressed me.  Miami's offense sans Shaq basically consists of two down screens followed by a high screen and roll for Wade, so it's not like it's that hard to stop.  Still, it's not like New Jersey's offense was immensely complicated by comparison, so that's a nice sign.
  • Too many Heat fans.  That was frustrating.
  • During the fourth quarter, when the Heat made their comeback, they did it riding Luke Jackson, and it looked like he went about 20 straight possessions without passing the ball.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

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Very nice
I was equally impressed with the new scoreboard during my recent visit to the VC. It's just nice to see that clear an image. And the free-throw boo encouragement was merely a Dallas helmet, so the Cowboys slideshow seems like an upgrade.

I saw much of the first quarter and almost all of the fourth, but not much in between, so I saw little of the effective bench play you describe. The starters were still mostly in in the first, and in the fourth, the bench was so awful that the 30-point lead we had when I flipped the TV on evaporated to 16 before I had a chance to blink. I can't imagine Eddie was happy at having to insert Butler and Jamison back into the game.

Mason's nobody's idea of the second coming of Jeff Malone, but he's been a lot more consistent and effective on offense than Stevenson has recently.

I wasn't sure it was the Wiz defense that was forcing all the Heat turnovers in the first game. On several occasions, Miami players -- Wade included -- tossed the ball out of bounds under minimal defensive pressure. It seemed much more like carelessness and disinterest on Miami's part that fierce defense on Washington's. Maybe I was just in a bad mood though, because it seemed like the Wiz were doing the same thing, only to a lesser extent. Or maybe both teams just sucked in the first quarter, and Washington merely sucked less.

"Now, obviously individual production does not unilaterally equal better team production, but there's a high level of causation."

by Vanilla Gorilla on Dec 31, 2007 10:59 AM EST reply actions  

I WILL TAKE CREDIT FOR ROGER MASON
Yes, it was my suggestion that he play ahead of DeShawn Stevenson way back at the beginning of the year. I am sure he read it here and would give me all the credit for his performance.

Now, when Gilbert comes back, if we would just move Jamison to the 6th man and start Blatche like I also suggested, my plan to secretly run the Wizards through ESP will be complete and we will be in the Eastern conference championship.

07-08 Reg Season Stndgs(predicted 8/6/07) 1 Chi 52-30 2 Was 51-31 3 Cle 50-32 4 Bos/Det 48-34 6 Tor/Mia 47-35 8 NJ 42-40 9 NY/Orl 41-41

by kdp922 on Dec 31, 2007 2:11 PM EST reply actions  

AND WHILE I'M PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK
look how dead on I was in my record prediction in my siggy. I am the 2nd coming of Nostradamus.
07-08 Reg Season Stndgs(predicted 8/6/07) 1 Chi 52-30 2 Was 51-31 3 Cle 50-32 4 Bos/Det 48-34 6 Tor/Mia 47-35 8 NJ 42-40 9 NY/Orl 41-41

by kdp922 on Dec 31, 2007 2:12 PM EST reply actions  

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