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Heck of a game last night, eh?
Yes, the Heat sat LeBron James and Chris Bosh. And yes, with a Bobcats win, the Wizards' haven't clinched at least sixth yet.
But it is always fun to watch this team fire on all cylinders, get the crowd behind it, and send the opposing team packing.
Also, you know what's fun? This:
I cannot watch that enough. That pass by Andre Miller was insane, and the fact that Bradley Beal caught it is equally insane. Beal joked about that long pass after the game:
It was a post route. The safety bit on the ball fake, so I was able to beat the cornerback out free for the touchdown. ... It really did [take me back to his football roots]. Hopefully the Redskins will pick me up.
After being reminded that the Skins recently signed DeSean Jackson: "Oh, they don't need me anymore. Nevermind."
Beal and Miller have developed a completely different but seriously effective chemistry with the AARP unit. Beal's enjoyed learning things from Miller and playing alongside him since the February trade:
That's definitely one of his biggest attributes: being able to find guys in transition without even dribbling. When [Miller] threw me that pass, I didn't even know it was coming.
HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT WAS COMING AND STILL CAUGHT IT, MADE THE BASKET, AND GOT THE FOUL.
Some more fun quotes from last night:
John Wall, on how he plans to not be nervous for his upcoming first playoff game:
The first time you touch the ball, I think, whenever you are playing basketball, you are nervous for every game, but when the ball touches your hand you cool out and know you'll be alright. I'm not nervous as much. You got your jitters when you step on that court to be honest. It's going to be a lot of excitement. It will be pretty big for us.
Randy Wittman, on how the young guys will feel about their first time in the playoffs:
It's going to be special. No matter what the outcome is guys that haven't been in the playoffs will remember that first game forever because it is so distinct and different.
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The Wizards have one more game between now and the playoffs, and that's on Wednesday in Boston. After the Bobcats won last night, the Wizards were unable to definitively clinch the 6th seed. The Nets play the Knicks tonight, and it's assumed that the Nets will rest a lot of guys before the playoffs.
If the Wizards, Nets, and Bobcats all win out their last games, the Nets will be 5th seed, the Wizards 6th, and the Bobcats 7th. If the Wizards lose, they will be 7th with the Bobcats 6th. If the Nets lose their final two games of the season, and the Wizards win their final game, the Wizards will be bumped up to the 5th seed. Basically, there's a shot that the Wizards get the 5th seed. The Raptors and Bulls are also in flux for locking down the 3rd and 4th seeds. Basically, I'm dizzy. Michael Lee tries to map it all out here
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"When it comes to corner 3s, Trevor Ariza is Art Garfunkel; John Wall is Paul Simon. They make beautiful music together, but Ariza is just kind of standing there while Wall is busting his ass."
The Rainmakers: Players Who Create the Most Corner 3s | Kirk Goldsberry, Grantland
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After the game last night, I asked Trevor Booker a few questions by his locker. While we were chatting, Kevin Seraphin interrupted our conversation and made us take a selfie with him. Afterwards, I posted this tweet:
Welp Seraphin just took a pic of me, him, and Booker. Keep an eye out for that selfie.
— Amin Vafa (@AminNBA) April 15, 2014
As of yet, there's nothing on his Instagram page. I'll be sure to let you know if there is. Maybe it's just for his scrapbook?
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Oh hey! Check it out! Reddit's doing an NBA Playoffs AMA with SB Nation playoff team sites. I'll be repping Bullets Forever. I'll try to do y'all proud!