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Wizards Wrap: Nene, an autotuned Kanye, and a ball to the #WittmanFace

So much to get to in this week's Wizards Wrap.

By Jeff Newman
Maddie Meyer

Neither Nene nor Bradley Beal practiced Friday, and it sounds like both are going to remain on minutes limits, which is a good thing. No need to run these guys into the ground. Better to have them for 25 minutes every game then lose them for extended stretches.

  • Also, allow me to second Mike's suggestion that bringing Nene off the bench might be a good long-term idea. It balances the lineups, helps keep Nene fresh for the end of games, and he'd probably prefer coming off the bench if it meant a little more rest each game. Heck, opening up the starting power forward spot even dangles a little fruit to the flotsam. I like it. [BF | CSN Washington (minutes limits, Nene off the bench?)]
  • Of course, in close games it could be tough for Randy Wittman to abide by Nene's minutes limit, given the big man's on-court impact. Mike has more on the eternal Nene conundrum.
  • More on how Nene's presence transforms the Wizards. [BF | Washington Post | CSN Washington]
  • Lots of good nuggets in this Nene interview with Zach Lowe. [Grantland]
  • Kanye West dropped his latest hit Wednesday while on tour in Chicago, "We Should Have Never Let Michael Jordan Play for the Wizards." Not sure if that's the tune's official name, or just the hook, but it's been annoyingly stuck in my head for two days now. Damn you autotune! [SB Nation | Ball Don't Lie | DC Sports Bog | Fansided]
  • For most Wizards fans, this week's highlight was back-to-back wins in the Big Apple, but as far as the internet was concerned, it was the perfectly-captured collision of a basketball with Randy Wittman'sface. Sorry coach. [NBA.com | USA Today | Bleacher Report | Newsday | NESN | Larry Brown Sports | That NBA Lottery Pick | Total Pro Sports | Bush League Chronicles | Next Impulse Sports | Holdout Sports]
  • The Wizards rode their dominance on the glass to a win over the Nets. [Wizards Insider]
  • Seven Wizards scored in double figures against the Nets. John Wall likes it that way. [CSN Washington]
  • Can the Wizards make it three in a row today against Jordan Crawford and the Celtics? [BF | CSN Washington | Truth About It | Wiz of Awes | Wizards.com | Monumental Network | CelticsBlog | ESPN Boston]
  • How awesome would a win today be? It'd complete a sweep of Washington's three-game road trip ahead of a six-day layoff before its next game. [CSN Washington]
  • Speaking of Crawford, he's been kind of awesome in Boston. [Washington Post | CSN Washington]
  • Wall talked about the evolution of his game and the Wizards in this cool interview with Sekou Smith. [NBA.com]
  • Wall has had quite a few turnovers as of late, a problem he's aware of and intent on fixing. [Wizards Insider]
  • Beal returned from injury this week, and immediately reminded everyone how smart a basketball player he is by diagnosing the Knicks' defense and driving baseline for a game-winning layup.
  • Beal was glad Randy Wittman let him play a bit beyond his ideal minutes limit against the Knicks. So are Wizards fans. [Wizards Insider]
  • In case you want to watch Beal's game winner again. Wait, what am I saying? Of course you do.
  • The final possessions of Wiz-Knicks kind of threw the basketball world for a loop. [Posting and Toasting| SB Nation]
  • Beal might have played hero against the Knicks, but for once the Wizards' bench could actually claim a large share of the credit in a victory. [Wizards Insider | Wiz of Awes]
  • Glen Rice Jr. is going to miss three-to-six weeks after having surgery to repair his fractured right wrist,. [BF | Wizards Insider | CSN Washington | Wiz of Awes]
  • Al Harrington seems optimistic in the wake of his own minor knee surgery. [CSN Washington]
  • Kevin Seraphin is the latest member of the flotsam to provide a brief spurt of decent play. Let's see if he can keep it up. [Wizards Insider | Wizards.com]
  • Marcin Gortat certainly implied he wasn't happy with how he was being used in the Wizards' offense following last Saturday's loss to the Clippers. [BF | Wizards Insider | CSN Washington | Hoop District]
  • But he seemed to take exception to being accurately quoted. [BF]
  • Either way, Randy Wittman doesn't have time for your drama. [BF | CSN Washington]
  • And chance the Wizards make a trade, or has that ship sailed? [BF]
  • Our friends over at Sonics Rising have a couple trade ideas aimed at improving the Wizards bench.
  • Thing is, Gortat isn't the only one maybe upset with how he's being used on offense, or how the offense is run period. The Wizards take a lot of long two-point jumpers, the most inefficient shot in basketball. This is a problem. [The Hook]
  • Sounds like Wittman is no longer on the hot seat, but Vegas still has him with the third-highest odds to be the first NBA coach whacked this season. [ESPN | CSN Washington]
  • Photobombing was made for Martell Webster. [CSN Washington]
  • Ted plans on building the Wizards their own practice facility the same way he built Kettler Iceplex for the Capitals. [BF | Washington Post]
  • D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray would like said practice facility to actually be located inside the city. [Wizards Insider | CSN Washington]
  • Did the Wizards make a mistake waiving Kendall Marshall without a second thought? [CSN Washington]

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