Wouldn't you know it, the 4th quarter is pretty important

by Jake Whitacre on Apr 13, 2008 9:10 PM EDT in Recaps

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Highest Plus/Minus: Gilbert Arenas (+21)
Lowest Plus/Minus: Antonio Daniels (-4)

(I only got to listen to the game, so bear with me as I try to make sense of what I heard.)

With the game and pivotal playoff seeding on the line, the Wizards had one quarter to show what they were made of. Here's their report card from the final quarter:

Wizards		Sixers
31	PTS	9
77.8	FG%	6.7
8	AST	0
15	REB	4

I'd give 'em an A++++++++++++++++++++++++, with a few smiley faces and a sticker. It was that good. The main story from last night's game is going to be the re-emergence of Gilbert, but don't lose sight of what everyone else did last night.

Antonio Daniels had a strong game, despite what the +/- would tell you. Stevenson was hitting from outside, he still shoots a little too much, but when he's making that shot, the offense is almost unstoppable. Roger's 5 fouls in 18 minutes kind of bothered me, but his shot was falling as well, and it's not like he's constantly in foul trouble, and the rest of his game was solid. Jamison and Songaila did their thing as always. Blatche had a strong game, and while Brendan Haywood wasn't scoring like Blatche was, he was still rebounding the ball which is huge. It seems like whenever Brendan struggles scoring he struggles on the glass as well, but tonight he found a way to contribute even though he was cold. They'll need him to do more of the same if his shot betrays him in the playoffs.

As much as people are going to want to blow up LeBron vs. DeShawn or LeBron vs. Caron or LeBron vs. Gil, the key is going to be how well the supporting cast fills their roles like they did tonight. The Wizards aren't going to be able to match the star power of LeBron, but the Cavs can't match up with the rest of the Wizards. If Washington is going to get over the hump against Cleveland, they're going to need to fill their roles like they did tonight.

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Caron

Obviously, the big question after the victory of Philadelphia is "Are the Wizards better without Caron Butler?" Obviously Butler will have to adapt to the new style of the Wizards and perhaps be willing to come off of the bench and play about 20 minutes per game.

by hotplate on Apr 13, 2008 10:53 PM EDT reply actions