Happy Sunday to everyone. Here are some main topics around the Washington Wizards
Wizards lose to the Spurs, 101-92 on Saturday
Despite the fact that they were leading by as many as 7 points in the second half, the Washington Wizards lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 101-92 despite the absences of Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard. The Wizards haven't beaten the Spurs on the road since 1999, and haven't beaten them at Verizon Center since 2005. That means:
- Most elementary schoolers weren't born when the Wizards last beat the Spurs at home.
- Most 10th graders weren't even born the last time the Wizards beat the Spurs on the road.
Washington plays San Antonio at home next Tuesday, so maybe they'll change something considering that they were REALLY CLOSE. Either way, I hope I won't be saying that every American who isn't old enough to vote wasn't born when the Wizards last beat the Spurs at some date in the future.
Postgame reactions
Randy Wittman's video is embedded above or click here. But here are some other videos of Wizards players from Monumental Network:
Also, Pounding the Rock's Michael Erler had a chance to speak with Gregg Popovich after the Spurs' win - Coach Pop talked about the backup point guard Cory Joseph's performance despite being sick earlier in the week. In fact he mentioned that "[Joseph] was still pretty sick. He couldn't practice yesterday and he has been taking medicine, staying in bed and all that sort of thing. He put out a hell of an effort tonight. He is a tough young man. He was fantastic."
Key Stats
The aforementioned Joseph scored 19 points to lead all Spurs scorers. He shot 7-of-7 from the field in the first half. But in the second half, Boris Diaw scored 12 of his 14 points, on 6-of-7 shooting.
As a team, San Antonio shot 52.9% during the second half while Washington just shot 35.9%. Yikes!
The Wizards are trying to trade Glen Rice Jr. before his contract's guaranteed
According to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post, the Wizards are trying to shop the second year swingman and 2014 Summer League MVP for trade offers before January 10 when his contract will become guaranteed. Rice is currently playing for the Fort Wayne Red Ants on a D-League assignment.
Considering that the Wizards already have a lot of young and veteran players at the shooting guard and small forward positions, it's unlikely that he figures to be in their long term plans. My guess is that the Wizards will waive Rice if they can't trade him by January 10. This way, they could use that additional salary toward adding another player toward the trade deadline if the opportunity presents itself.