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."

Earl Barron Leads Wizards Comeback, But Wiz Fall Short

Steve Buckhantz Call Of The Game

Earl Barron and Martell Webster led a valiant Wizards comeback but the Cavaliers pulled away in the final few minutes to defeat the Wiz 94-84 to start off the NBA season.

11, 10, 9, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 4, 4

That was the box score for the Washington Wizards.  Only 2 players barely in double figures.  Jordan Crawford and Emeka Okafor who made a combined 8 field goals in the game.  The Wizards clearly have nobody who is the clear cut leader of the team, and until someone steps up or returns from injury, the Wiz are going to have to rely on a total team effort.

Most of the game the Cavs were in control.  However the Wiz managed to keep the score within around 11 points for most of the game.  In the 4th quarter, the Wizards made a huge run thanks a lot to Earl Barron who kept possessions alive and scored key baskets for the surging Wiz.  Barron finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds in 16 minutes on the floor. (DNP in first half)

Classic Wizards offense.  Terrible spacing. Two guys next to each
other calling for the ball.

The Cavaliers dominated the Wizards for most of the game, and Kyrie Irving couldn't be stopped.  He ended with a semi-quiet 29 points while John Wall watched from the sidelines.

The Wizards and their "tipping the ball" instead of "boxing out" strategy helped lead to a 23 rebound game by Anderson Varejo (21 in the first 3 quarters) which included 12 offensive boards!

The matchup that both teams were looking at closely was that between the 3rd pick in the draft, Bradley Beal, and the 4th pick Dion Waiters.  After 2 early three pointers, Beal turned into Harry Houdini and vanished from the game.  He finished with 8 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists, a very non-impressive NBA debut.

Meanwhile Dion Waiters played big.  He looked great playing 1-2 with Kyrie Irving and he hit some bit shots including a killer 3 pointer to take the lead in the 4th quarter.  Waiters finished with 17 points.

The Wizards have several days off before facing the Celtics on Saturday for the home opener...

Other Notes:  AJ Price was far from a good point guard.  He only had 1 turnover but he slowed down the offense and dribbled too much.  The Wizards were so poor throughout spurts of the game that Jan Vesely was looking like the best player on the squad.  (View all the Vesely GIFs here).