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The Washington Wizards continued to be plagued by an unproductive bench in their 75-74 loss Monday night to the Denver Nuggets.
Missing leading scorer Ty Lawson, the Nuggets got 34 points from their bench, led by Nate Robinson, who scored 16 points and ended up playing more minutes than fill-in starter Andre Miller. Robinson wasn't efficient, shooting 6-for-15 from the floor, but his plus-11 led Denver.
(Before we get to the Wizards' bench, this seems like a good time to remind you that Robinson signed a two-year deal in the offseason, reportedly for $4.1 million. Eric Maynor also signed a two-year deal last offseason, for roughly $4 million. Anyone bring their flasks to work today?)
As for Washington's reserves, they chipped in five points. Yep, FIVE. The Wizards' bench shot 2-for-13, and one of those makes came from Jan Vesely. Chris Singleton made the other shot, but he also missed four more. Maynor and Garrett Temple both played five minutes, and combined to contribute zero points on 0-for-5 shooting, two rebounds, one assist, two turnovers and a foul. In his second career game, Otto Porter played seven minutes and didn't take a shot. Kevin Seraphin got in the game for four and a half minutes, and airballed his lone shot attempt. Criminy.
Interestingly, in place of an injured Nene and Martell Webster, Randy Wittman decided to start Trevor Booker and Glen Rice Jr., two reserves he'd seemingly buried on his bench. With how horrid the reserves have been, that couldn't bode well, could it? Except Booker recorded a double-double, with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and while Rice struggled from the field (3-for-9 shooting), he didn't appear overwhelmed and generally showed well for a second-round rookie, taking smart shots and playing sound defense, collecting three steals along the way (including one that almost won the game).
Based on his last two games, it would seem Booker has reasserted himself as Wittman's primary big man off the bench, and Rice certainly showed he's ready to play more than the sporadic five minutes he'd previously gotten every few games or so.
KEY LINKS
Home team recaps: BF StoryStream | Washington Post | CSN Washington (recap, sidebar) | Wiz of Awes | DC Pro Sports Report | Wizards.com | Monumental Network
Road team recaps: Denver Stiffs | Denver Post | Roundball Mining Company | AP | Fansided
Postgame interviews: Randy Wittman | John Wall | Marcin Gortat | Trevor Ariza | Glen Rice Jr. | Trevor Booker
KEY STATS
This game can be summed up with two stats:
29 - Point differential between the Nuggets bench (34 points) and Wizards bench (5 points).
20.8 - Wizards three-point percentage against the Nuggets, on 5-of-24 shooting.
TWEETS OF THE NIGHT
What happens with Jan Vesely & Kenneth Faried are both jumping after the same alley-oop pass? You guess it. A personal foul #wizards
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) December 10, 2013
Pray for the/a #Wizards bench... pic.twitter.com/fe8V4PeMpC
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) December 10, 2013
Marcin Gortat in my thoughts and prayers tonight, as he grapples with the concept of #SoWizards. Like a child with back turned to a tsunami.
— Conor Dirks (@ConorDDirks) December 10, 2013
Never thought I'd say this: The Wizards could use Tomas Satoransky right now.
— Ben M (@BenAgent0) December 10, 2013
ITCHING for a Dagger! Not to be, at least not for tonight!
— Steve Buckhantz (@SteveBuckhantz) December 10, 2013
VIDEO/GIF OF THE NIGHT
GAMETHREAD COMMENT OF THE NIGHT
GAMETHREAD ROLLCALL
