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Open thread: Regular season game 67


The Essentials:
Wizards (34-33) at Heat (12-55)
7:30 p.m.
American Airlines Arena
CSN

This Year:
December 13: Wizards 104, Heat 91
December 30: Wizards 96, Heat 72

Notable Heat numbers this season:
28th in expected winning percentage (.244)
15th in pace factor (89.8 possessions per game)
28th in offensive efficiency/offensive rating (103)
26th in defensive efficiency/defensive rating (111.7)

Key Links (drop any others in the comments)
Ira Winderman
Crazy From the Heat
Post: Wizards wary of Heat
Wizards blog: Game Day Miami
Advising Gilbert to hire an agent
Awkward O-Pec.

Starting Lineups:
Heat
PG: Chris Quinn
SG: Daequan Cook
SF: Ricky Davis
PF: Mark Blount
C: Earl Barron

Wizards
PG: Antonio Daniels
SG: DeShawn Stevenson
SF: Caron Butler
PF: Antawn Jamison
C: Brendan Haywood

Tonight's Lines
Wizards at Heat: Wizards by 13.5
Over/Under on Total Scoring: 193 points.

Gotta make this quick.

Lingering Magic/Wizards thoughts: In lieu of a recap, here are a couple quick thoughts about the huge Orlando victory.

If anyone wasn't already aware of Brendan Haywood's value to this team, last night sealed his improvement.  It wasn't just his defense on Dwight Howard, but it was also his rebounding.  Yet again, we see the perils of relying on individual rebounds per game.  Haywood had only six defensive boards, but he held Howard to 0 offensive rebounds.  That's pretty unbelievable.  He was getting a body on him while letting other guys like Antawn Jamison (8 defensive rebounds) and Caron Butler (7) grab the actual board.  I'd venture to say Haywood won us that game more than anything.

Of course, Jamison was unbelievable as well on both ends.  Obviously, he was scoring and rebounding, but he teamed with Butler to stop Rashard Lewis (2-13, 7 points).  Orlando's two forwards are so good that if you stop one, the other goes off (as Turkoglu did), but you can survive if only one of them are hurting you.  

And how about Butler, gutting through his wrist injury and putting in the big shot that put the Wizards ahead.  His numbers aren't great, but it never ceases to amaze me how he can take any roll and fill it.  He's the type of guy every good team needs, and I know that's a cliche, but how can you say it isn't true?

Anyway, huge road win against a very good team.

Automatic win: Everyone's saying all the right things, but this should be a blowout.  In Miami's last game, they scored only 54 points in a loss to the Raptors, the second-lowest total ever in the shot clock era.  I don't envy Miami Heat bloggers like Crazy From the Heat.

When you think it can't get any worse, the Miami Heat find another way to reinvent the term `misery'.

There's absolutely no silver lining to draw when a team comes out and gets thoroughly dominated to this extent.

How in the world does a team that won the ultimate prize in the sport only two years ago fall this far into oblivion?

More Gilbert: I strongly encourage everyone to read this thought-provoking Jones on the NBA post advising Gilbert Arenas to hire an agent.  A year ago, I would have been very nervous about this possibility, because usually people only hire agents if they are strongly thinking about switching teams.  But like Jones said, things have changed.  I doubt Ernie Grunfeld would immediately offer Gilbert the max contract like he would have before, and with that, it's important for Gilbert to get smart advice.  I also think that smart advice will have him staying in DC instead of bolting somewhere else, but more importantly, Gilbert needs someone to help him be more careful with his words.  His sprouting off could be more controlled, and an agent could do that.

Anyway, it's a good read.

What do we do if we lose: Jump off a cliff?  Pull a Gus Ferotte?  Hopefully neither.

GO WIZARDS!

0 recs  |  Comment 8 comments

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Comments

Display:

I'm worried...
There is absolutely no reason for us to lose this game, making it exactly the type of game we have been known to lose.

How many times has it happened this season that we'll have a great win over a good team only to follow it up by losing to a team we should beat?

That can't happen tonight, not with the playoff race getting so close. We NEED to blow them out.

by Gilbert4SpaceJam2 on Mar 21, 2008 3:51 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

There is no way in hell we lose this game -
I think Miami also only dressed 7 players for their last game. I'm still stunned by how far they fell and how quickly. Poor Wade. I also wonder is Marion misses Phoenix yet. Picks - Wiz, under

by ooba on Mar 21, 2008 4:03 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Picks
Wizards
Under

by MikeMid on Mar 21, 2008 5:06 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

OMFG!
It's a Rony Seikaly sighting!

You, sir, are a champion.

Also, given how we play against undermanned doormats, I wouldn't touch this game with a 7-foot pole, and neither would Cezary Trybanski.

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

by Vanilla Gorilla on Mar 21, 2008 5:08 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Taser
If Dominic McGuire doesn't play the entire fourth quarter, this game is a failure.
Bullets Forever: Where discussion on personnel decisions turn into arguments about Lindsay Lohan.

by JakeTheSnake on Mar 21, 2008 5:14 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Picks
I think Jamison and Butler are going to get some rest. So we win, but not a blow out.

Heat (Gasp!), under.

The Washington Wizards: providing career scoring nights for unknown opposing bench players since 2004.

by mamemimo on Mar 21, 2008 5:29 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Nick Young?
Any word about why he didn't play? Also, Pecherov's sunburn was 100% hilarious.

by jvflail on Mar 22, 2008 1:43 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Nick had a thigh bruise
According to Ivan.
Bullets Forever: Where discussion on personnel decisions turn into arguments about Lindsay Lohan.

by JakeTheSnake on Mar 22, 2008 4:00 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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