Bullets Forever - Wizards vs. Jazz: House of Guards dominate in sloppy win"Ain't No Luck"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48097/BulletsForever-fv.png2014-12-15T13:12:34-05:00http://www.bulletsforever.com/rss/stream/71557342014-12-15T13:12:34-05:002014-12-15T13:12:34-05:00Wiz show maturity in handling pesky Jazz squad
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<p>Sunday night, the Wizards provided another example of how they've matured as a team in how they avoided playing down to a pesky Utah Jazz squad.</p> <p>Rewind to last year and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> fans everywhere were lamenting about the team's inescapable mediocrity.</p>
<p>The Wizards were reeling after a four game losing streak and a 9-13 record, with losses to Milwaukee, Cleveland, Toronto (pre-<span>Rudy Gay</span> trade) and Philadelphia - all below .500 teams. The team's tendencies represented one stuck between being at the bottom of the barrel: not good enough to be described as contender, let alone a sleeper team. They blew leads and inexplicably lost to inferior teams, all while letting their effort continue to waver.</p>
<p><i>Were</i> is the key word here.</p>
<p>Sunday night, the Wizards started slow. The focus was not there, turning the ball over seven times in the first half, forcing shots, and allowing offensive possessions to stifle the offense - they scored only 37 points in the game's first 24 minutes on one of the worst defenses in the league. They looked like last year's Wizards, coming off a big win against a great team and laying an egg against a lesser team the next contest. <span>Paul Pierce</span> elaborated on their struggles post-game: "We turned the ball over a lot early. Then we did not rebound it. We looked at it at the half when they had about 15 or 20 fast break points and then another 10 points in offensive rebounds and we said that's the game. We have to concentrate our effort, come out the second half and take care of the ball."</p>
<p>The second half was a different story.</p>
<p>The Wizards turned it around offensively in the 2nd half, and had continued to show a resilience that we had not seen last year. When inferior teams used to jump on them, we'd see that it was difficult for them to recover and it would often lead to a disappointing ending. Even with the lack of focus in the 1st half on the offensive end that the Wizards showed so often against inferior teams in the past, they did not let that deter them from turning it around eventually. <i>This</i> was the 2014-2015 Wizards. A resilient, smart team that did not get phased by the fact that a younger, hungry team was going after them.</p>
<p>The Wizards' defensive play rising above the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.slcdunk.com/">Jazz</a>' also helped them seal their fourth win in a row, as it helped the Wizards stay close enough for the offense to eventually find itself and make a run. The Wizards did not play down to their competition in the 2nd half, and <span>Bradley Beal</span> recognized the importance of not losing focus against inferior teams: "We should never have a mental lapse like that, or lack of energy so to speak, so I am not going to use that as an excuse. We have to be ready each and every game, because we are one of the top teams in the East and people are going to come after us, so we have to have that chip on our shoulder to feel as though we still have not accomplished anything. We still have a lot to prove, and at the same time, knowing that we have a huge target on our backs."</p>
<p>Now that the Wizards are a top team in the East, the younger, scrappy teams are going to make sure they give the Wizards all sorts of trouble. But they've been on the other side before, giving them an advantage as the season carries on.</p>
<p>"Well those young teams like them - Atlanta, Orlando, Milwaukee, Boston - those types of teams, they play hard no matter if they are down 20 or up 20. They're going to keep competing and playing hard. Most young teams don't do that but they do that so we knew when we had the lead we couldn't get comfortable. They are kind of in the same position we were in a couple of years ago. When we would play against a good team we would want to beat them and get that recognition, so we understand what teams are going to come after us with," Wall said Sunday.</p>
<p>Judging by their season so far, it's clear that the Wizards have understood that teams would come after them. But the Wizards also now know they are the superior team in many of these games. Even when the Jazz made a late run Sunday to cut the lead to six, there was a sense that the Wizards had this game in their hands, and weren't going to let the lead slip away. This kind of play has been there all season, as the Wizards are now 13-2 against teams below .500. After years of painful rebuilding and frustrating mediocrity, it's a breath of fresh air seeing the team win games like this. One of the signs of a truly elite team is beating teams their supposed to beat, and after years of struggling with this, the Wizards are turning the corner, and may be on the path to a... dare I say it? Contender.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/12/15/7394239/washington-wizards-dont-play-down-inferior-bad-teams-anymoreAkbar Naqvi2014-12-15T10:20:12-05:002014-12-15T10:20:12-05:00Wizards 3rd quarter surge propels them to win
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<p>After struggling through the first half, the Wizards returned to form in the third quarter to notch their 12th home victory of the season.</p> <p><span>Marcin Gortat</span> quickly found <span>John Wall</span> after rebounding an <span>Alec Burks</span> miss, and the <a href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Wizards</a> point guard moved swiftly in the open court to attack the <a href="https://www.slcdunk.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Jazz</a> defense before it became set. Attacking Trey Burke in the paint, Wall wrapped the ball around his back and found a wide open <span>Bradley Beal</span> that gave the Wizards a 52-51 lead. It was a lead that the Washington Wizards would not relinquish again, as they defeated the Utah Jazz 93-84 to move to 11 games above .500 for the first time since 2005.</p>
<p>After a sluggish first half that saw the Wizards score just 37 points against a weak Jazz defense, it was fair to wonder if the Wizards had overlooked this young, but talented Utah squad.</p>
<p>"One of the guys here in the locker room said, let's treat the first half like it was a shootaround and treat the second half like it's a basketball game," Gortat said about the locker room during halftime. In the third quarter they did just that, outscoring the Jazz 30-16 and looking like the team with one of the best records in the East.</p>
<p>The thing about a shootaround though, is that it is just that: players getting a chance to shoot. Too often in the first half, the Wizards didn't even manage that on offense. By committing 12 turnovers on often careless plays, the Wizards let the Jazz players off the hook for their sometimes questionable shot selection. For Wizards coach <span>Randy Wittman</span>, this problem was one he told his players to work on avoiding in the second half: "I said we got to take care of the ball and get shots every time. I don't care if the shots go in, I care about getting a shot because we turn it over that gets them in the open court and you can't get your defense set."</p>
<p>In the third quarter, the Wizards flipped the script, frequently pushing the ball after Jazz misses and forcing seven turnovers. This gave the Jazz the unenviable dilemma of trying to stop a streaking Wall to the basket or preventing him from finding open shooters in transition.</p>
<p>For Wall, it was correcting these first half missteps that led to the big third quarter that provided the difference in this game: "I think we just started getting stops. We didn't let them get a lot of offensive rebounds, we. didn't turn the ball over... That's what this team is. We pride ourselves on not turning the ball over, and just trying to get a shot every time down and move the ball as much as possible."</p>
<p>The numbers represent Wall's analysis of the difference between the first and second half. The Wizards, who gave up six offensive rebounds in the first half and committed 12 turnovers, held the Jazz to one offensive rebound and only gave the ball away twice. They also forced seven Jazz turnovers in the 3rd and managed 10 assists in the third after just six in the entire first half.</p>
<p>On a night when the Wizards' starting bigs didn't contribute much in scoring, the Wizards ability to get out in transition in the second half made the difference on the night. Nene and <span>Andre Miller</span> gave the Wizards a scoring punch off the bench that the Jazz just couldn't match, as the Wizards bench outscored the Jazz bench 33-17.</p>
<p>With the Wizards now 5-1 against the West, and 12-2 in the friendly confines of the Verizon Center, they are starting to find themselves in a new position: not as the hunter but as the hunted. As John Wall said postgame, teams like the Jazz "are kind of in the same position we were in a couple of years ago. When we would play against a good team we would want to beat them and get that recognition, so we understand what teams are going to come after us with."</p>
<p>It's something the Wizards will have to get used to. And with a young and hungry <a href="https://www.canishoopus.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Timberwolves</a> team led by former Wizards coach Flip Saunders coming in on Tuesday, it is something that they will continue to keep in mind. <span>Paul Pierce</span> noted the target that is now on the Wizards' back from teams lower in the NBA pecking order: "We have to expect that, especially from the lower seeded teams, and we have to be up for the teams at the top. We have to be ready for these teams that are not at the top and are not as good as we are."</p>
<p>It's a new feeling for this franchise and this fan base, being the better team who other teams are gunning to take down. On a night like this, it's a good feeling to have.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/12/15/7392449/wizards-3rd-quarter-sparks-victory-over-jazzNick Bilka2014-12-14T20:43:55-05:002014-12-14T20:43:55-05:00Beal leads with 22; Wizards top Jazz
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<p>Andre Miller chipped in too as all three guards contributed big in the Wizards fourth straight win.</p> <p>On Sunday night at the Verizon Center, the <a href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Washington Wizards</a> trailed the <a href="https://www.slcdunk.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Utah Jazz</a> by five points at halftime.</p>
<p>The Wizards needed to step it up in the second half and they did; scoring 30 points in the third quarter before getting their fourth straight victory with a 93-84 win over the Jazz. <span>Bradley Beal</span> led the way for the Wizards with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists, but five Wizards' players finished in double-digit scoring.</p>
<p>The win is the fourth straight for the Wizards and they have now improved to an eastern conference best (with the <a href="https://www.raptorshq.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Raptors</a>-<a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Knicks</a> game pending) 17-6 record.</p>
<p>Here's what we learned:</p>
<h3>Professor Miller has extended his office hours into the winter</h3>
<p>Lesson number one: offensive rebounding</p>
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<p>Professor Miller making his case to the tenure committee.</p>
— William Stokes (@William_Stokes) <a href="https://twitter.com/William_Stokes/status/544293526922887168">December 15, 2014</a>
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<p>Reminder: HE'S THE OLDEST PLAYER IN THE NBA. RT "<a href="https://twitter.com/nbilka">@nbilka</a>: <span>Andre Miller</span>, who came into the game shooting 62% on the season, is 5-5 tonight"</p>
— Ben M (@BenMehicNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenMehicNBA/status/544295586292568064">December 15, 2014</a>
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<p>Miller actually finished the game shooting five-of-six from the floor, but we'll allow a mulligan on that miss for The Professor. He finished with 10 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists and continues to be a valuable asset to this Wizards team as a third guard.</p>
<h3>Beal is becoming the go-to closer</h3>
<p>When the Wizards' 15-point fourth quarter lead began to dwindle away against the Jazz, Bradley Beal stepped up and closed out the win, scoring the last four points for the Wiz to give them a 10-point lead. Last week, Beal hit the game winner against Orlando, and against the <a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a> he scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. When the Wizards signed <span>Paul Pierce</span> in the off-season, many fans were hoping he would be a guy the Wizards could lean on late, but it looks like some of The Truth's magical fourth quarter powers are rubbing off on the Wizards' young shooting guard.</p>
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<span>John Wall</span>; stat-machine</h3>
<p>The Wizards point guard was all over the floor tonight and made his presence felt in multiple ways. In addition to his scoring (16 points), his passing (eight assists) and his defense (five steals), Wall got big and hit the boards and blocked some shots, grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots. With games like this where Wall is able to show off his dominance and versatility it is becoming harder and harder for folks to ignore how great of a player he is becoming. Since Gary Payton, no guard has ever won the defensive player of the year award, and it's early, but Wall is playing out of his mind right now and is as good of a candidate as any for the award this season</p>
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<p>That's three blocks for John Wall. Give him the damn defensive player of the year award already</p>
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) <a href="https://twitter.com/BulletsForever/status/544298070608183297">December 15, 2014</a>
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<p>He also did stuff like this on the offensive end:</p>
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https://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/12/14/7391965/beal-and-wall-shine-as-wizards-top-jazz-93-84Mitchell Northam2014-12-14T16:56:20-05:002014-12-14T16:56:20-05:00Preview: Jazz in town as Wizards eye first place
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<p>The 6-17 Utah Jazz visit Washington tonight as the Wizards look for their fourth win in a row.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Wizards</a> are rolling.</p>
<p>They have won seven of their last eight games and look to make it nine tonight when the <a href="https://www.slcdunk.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Utah Jazz</a> come to town.</p>
<p>Here's what you need to know:</p>
<p><b>When and Where? </b>The Phone Booth in Washington, D.C.; tip-off at 6:00 p.m.</p>
<p><b>How can you watch? </b>With the local guys on Comcast SportsNet</p>
<p><b>Injury report:</b> <span>Derrick Favors</span> was listed as questionable but entered the arena i<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Tjonessltrib/status/544242326164754432">n a walking boot</a> and...</p>
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<p>Injury Update // Derrick Favors (sprained right ankle) is OUT of tonight's game at Washington. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UTAatWAS?src=hash">#UTAatWAS</a></p>
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) <a href="https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/544169594831659008">December 14, 2014</a>
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<p>For the Wizards, <span>Martell Webster</span> is still out nursing that back injury (I can't wait to stop typing that sentence in these previews. GET WELL SOON MART3LL.)</p>
<p><b>Are the Jazz good?</b> Nope. The Jazz have lost eight of their last nine games and their team leader in rebounds is out tonight. They rank in the bottom third of the league in points-per-game and the bottom half of the league in field goal percentage and turnovers. With Favors out, there is a good chance that former Wizard Trevor Booker will log heavy minutes against his old team.</p>
<p><b>How is Booker?</b> He's doing okay in Utah. The team isn't really winning much, but in 20 minutes per game Booker is averaging seven points, four rebounds and an assist while shooting 50% from the floor. In his last outing against the <a href="https://www.hothothoops.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Miami Heat</a>, he posted four points and four rebounds.</p>
<p><b>So, like, why is this game important?</b> If the Wizards win tonight and if the <a href="https://www.raptorshq.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Toronto Raptors</a> lose to the <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New York Knicks</a> the Wizards will hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference. With a win tonight the Wizards would improve to 11 games over .500 for the first time since April 1, 2005 when they were 41-30.</p>
https://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/12/14/7391249/preview-wizards-can-take-first-place-with-a-win-against-the-jazzMitchell Northam