Wiz Lose in the Return of the Mack

Written By Jeremy Batka @eastcoastassn

Tristan Thompson's three point play with 24 seconds left lifted Cleveland to an 87-84 victory Wednesday night moving the Wizards to 3-23 on the season.

Second year point guard Kyrie Irving proved to be too much for the Wizards dropping 26 points and 8 assists. Irving scored in a variety of ways and proved that he is one of the best up and coming point guards in the NBA if he isn't already.

Wizards fans knew coming into Wednesday night that this was a winnable game. Washington had played close against Cleveland in their first match up before losing by ten down the stretch so Wizard fans can't be blamed for being hopeful before this one.

For most of the game, Wizard fans were right. Washington held a slim lead over the Cavaliers for the majority of the game but as the clock dwindled late in the fourth, you just got that feeling that the Wizards were having trouble hanging on.

Washington debuted a new lineup tonight cutting Earl Barron and Shaun Livingston and adding Garrett Temple and Shelvin Mack. Both were spending time in the D-league just last week.

Mack made his return and got the start at point guard after being cut in the pre-season. Mack had six points and seven assists in 29 minutes of play and while he was by no means dominating in his first game back, he certainly didn't look any worse than A.J. Price or Shaun Livingston.

Nene was also in the starting lineup scoring 16 points with seven rebounds in 26 minutes. This could be a good sign for the Wizards as it seems Nene is now healthy enough to not only start but receive more playing time. 

Emeka Okafor and Jordan Crawford both led Washington in scoring with 17. Okafor added 10 rebounds on a night were he actually hitting his mid-range jumper, something that he needs to do to be a productive member of this basketball team.

Crawford had a good look at a long three that would have sent the game to overtime but it was too strong. As Randy Wittman put it after the game, the Wizards just aren't making plays in "winning time."

Wizards Lose Control of Magic

It's two losses in two nights for the Wiz kids after falling in Orlando tonight 90-83.

Before the game it was announced that Bradley Beal would have the night off after taking a nasty spill in last night's loss to Atlanta. Not only did this limit Randy Wittman's options to ten players, it also made for an interesting starting lineup.

Shaun Livingston started at the point moving Jordan Crawford to shooting guard. Earl Barron earned the start down low after snagging 14 rebounds in what was really his first significant playing time of the year the night before. Emeka Okafor and Martell Webster completed the starting five.

In the first half it looked like Wittman had struck gold with this new lineup. The Wizards picked up were they left off last night and outplayed the Magic for most of the first half. But being the Wizards, you knew a let down was coming.

Here is a classic Steve Buckhantz line you have to hear

That let down came in the third quarter when the Wizards were outscored 24-13. It was a combination of poor defense and selfish offense that let Orlando pull away. J.J. Reddick had 17 off the bench and E'Twaun Moore added 15, Washington had no answer on defense for either of them in the third quarter.

The Wizards made this game close down the stretch as they tend to do, but as a fan, you never really felt like they were going to get over the hump and win.  They just lacked the offensive discipline to make a real push at the lead.

A night after going for a triple double Jordan Crawford dropped 19 points but struggled from the field down the stretch and had poor body language to go with it.

Nene lead the team with 20 points in 25 minutes of play. Wittman said before the game he would keep Nene around 20 minutes which means we can get used to seeing Okafor constantly bricking open jumpers as a member of the starting lineup.

The Wizards played nine of their ten available players, guess who was the odd man out. It rhymes with .....with.....well it doesn't rhyme with much but it was last year's number six overall pick, the Czech heartthrob himself Jan Vesely (who had a cold according to the coach)

Good Effort, Bad Results

Written By Jeremy Batka @EastCoastAssn

It was a game that at times was very slow paced and ugly, just the type of game the Wizards can win. But unfortunately for Washington Atlanta held on in overtime handing the Wizards a 100-95 loss.

Despite their second overtime loss to the Hawks this season the Wizards overall played well and had many bright spots on the night. The biggest being the play of Jordan Crawford.

Crawford had a triple double on the night leading the team in points with 27 to go with his 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Crawford seems to get more confidence with each game and while at times he still forces questionable shots it's clear that for this Wizards team to win, Crawford has to be heavily involved in the offense.

The Wizards did a good job of moving the ball on offense and finding the open man, something they've had trouble with for most of the season. As a team the Wizards had 28 assists and it seemed like the improved ball movement would be enough to get the win.

Bradley Beal was one of the players to benefit from the improved team offense, he had 17 points on the night. He also had a scary moment in the third when landed on his back and head after trying to dunk over Josh Smith, no foul was called. Beal spent the rest of the third in the locker room before returning to the bench and eventually the game.

The Wizards seemed to outplay the Hawks for most of the game but as the game wore on it was clear Atlanta had more weapons than Washington. The game was essentially sealed in overtime when former Wizard DeShawn Stevenson drained a three with just two minutes to play.

Earl Barron hasn't seen many minutes for the Wizards this year but saw substantial playing time tonight including starting the second half and overtime. Barron had 14 rebounds and four blocks on the night to go with four points including his first basket of the game which came with 23 seconds left in regulation tying the game at 90.

Randy Wittman claimed after the game that he made the move to Barron for "activity." Said he wasn't happy with the activity he was getting from that position. Possibly a dig at Kevin Seraphin who had just four points and five rebounds.