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1. Wizards can't hold on against Heat, lose 107-95
OK, I'm not a happy camper when the Wizards lose, but a competitive game against the Heat under all the current circumstances won't bring me to tears. In fact, I think this loss was slightly on the fluke-ish side. Chris Bosh couldn't miss, Norris Cole scored a career high and Dwyane Wade turned back the clock, while the Wizards didn't have a fully-healthy Kris Humphries, Nene, DeJuan Blair, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster or Glen Rice, Jr.
I know, I know. I shouldn't use that as an excuse because Beal will miss the next month at least and Webster will be out for potentially many months. Using their absence as an excuse to help explain why the team lost will get really old really quickly. But still, a lot went the Heat's way. Here are my thoughts on the game:
- Bosh was hot all night. I'm not saying he won't hit all those shots on a daily basis, but he hit a lot of tough shots last night. He forced Marcin Gortat out of his defensive comfort zone near the hoop and stretched him all the way out to the three-point line. His ability to force bigs that far out is what makes him so unique. That hurt Gortat defensively and the Wizards as a whole.
- Deflections, loose balls, broken plays, offensive rebounds. It felt like when any of those things happened last night, they went Miami's way. Part of this was the Wizards not reacting quickly enough, but to me, it felt like more of a, "the ball just didn't bounce our way," kind of night.
- John Wall and Paul Pierce showed pretty good chemistry together. Pierce was often the recipient of Wall's patented jump-pass, though instead of going straight up for a three-point attempt, like Trevor Ariza used to do, Pierce typically ended up taking his man off the dribble and using his fancy footwork to get himself a closer look at the basket.
- Otto Porter should soon start in place of Garrett Temple at the shooting guard spot. Temple is serviceable in a backup role, but Otto is the better overall player now that he is finally injury-free and confident for the first time in his young career. He's shooting the ball well, moving off the ball beautifully at times, has a good understanding of where he needs to be and causes problems with his length defensively. The only question will be whether he can keep up on the defensive end with smaller, quicker guards.
- Kevin Seraphin was no good last night. And to make matters worse for him, Drew Gooden III, starting in place of Nene, had a terrific game. Seraphin played eight scoreless minutes and picked up two fouls, while Gooden III had 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and five rebounds, in 34 minutes.
2. Wale is the creative liaison
I love having a DC-based rapper who loves the same team I love, especially one as big as Wale. With that being said, I have no idea what a creative liaison is or what responsibilities he will hold. His role with the organization and what it means is explained here.
3. Rice is only available Wizard not to play last night
With the depleted backcourt that the Wizards have, it can only be assumed that his absence was due to his not-yet-fully-healed ankle that he sprained during the preseason.
Randy Wittman said Kris Humphries and Glen Rice Jr. are game-time decisions. They’ll be evaluated after warm-ups. #Wizards
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) October 29, 2014
I guess Rice didn't look as healthy as Wittman would like.
4. What the coach and players had to say following the loss
5. Wizards play the Magic tonight
One game down, 81 left. The fun continues tonight in the Wizards' first back-to-back of the season, as they hang around in Florida to take on the Magic in Orlando. The game can be seen on CSN and heard on 99.1 WNEW. Tip off is at 7 p.m.