WizBlog RSS FeedWIZARDS FALL BEHIND EARLY, LOSE IN TORONTO
The Wizards fell behind by double figures in the first quarter and lost in Toronto 119-109. The loss ended the Wizards three game winning streak and dropped their overall record to 27-18.
MORE: Boxscore
Gilbert Arenas (27 points) and Caron Butler (21 points) paced the Wizards, who were without the services of Antawn Jamison (sprained left knee), who remained in Washington and is scheduled to undergo an MRI Thursday.
“It was the same situation that happened the last time that we played Toronto, same type of game, same type of situation,” said Butler. “They are a different team to play against, they have five guys that can really shoot the ball, that kind of reminds you of Phoenix.”
Antonio Daniels (14 points) and Jarvis Hayes (13 points) led the Washington reserves in scoring. Calvin Booth started in place of Jamison at forward.
“We are searching - Searching for that person to step in that position,” said Head Coach Eddie Jordan. “I thought Calvin did a good job but you know Calvin’s (Booth) limited. Andray (Blatche) did okay defensively, didn’t make too many plays offensively and Jarvis made some shots but Jarvis and Caron were very small, so we’re searching.”
Note: The loss kept Head Coach Eddie Jordan from making travel arrangements to Las Vegas, at least for the night. Chicago’s loss in LAC dropped Scott Skiles out of the running. Eyes are now on the Cavaliers, who, in combination with a Wizards loss Saturday, must win all three of their next games to send Cleveland Head Coach Mike Brown to Vegas.
January 31st, 2007 at 9:45 PM
Wow Bosh “the beast” is amazing! 60% fg% for the raptors. Nice god run. Agent 0 and The beast are gonna reak havoc at the all-star game!
Hopefully we can return the fvor in DC! Total lack of energy in the first half from the wiz. Nice bench play tho. We will be ok if we put enough energy into our gameplay.
January 31st, 2007 at 9:54 PM
Andrew you silly zards fan.
Well the Raps didn’t win by 20 (10 is close enough) … but c bosh did eat-up the zards as i predicted.
and if you were wondering … the kool-aid tastes great in TO!
(please see comments from Shaun Fletcher’s blog this afternoon for my prediction and Andrew’s foot in his mouth)
The Red Dragon
January 31st, 2007 at 10:25 PM
I am so glad I missed the first half. Was doing my community service work. Saw on the third and fourth quarters. Even from what I saw, seemed like we should have lost by more than 10.
Bosh is good.
I don’t know. I don’t the answer. I’ll wait for Eddie to find it for us. Perhaps Jarvis Hayes should have been put in game earlier?
February 1st, 2007 at 12:04 AM
Dont know if it was AJ that we missed or the fact that the raps did not miss lol that was one hard game but no one can say that AJ was not missed you could see it when Areans was passin out to the guy that took over AJs spot booth who is not that 3 ball guy that AJ is and he was taking open shots thats just not his place on the floor if AJ would have been in the game i would have to say we would have won!
February 1st, 2007 at 1:16 AM
At least Chicago lost….
Can’t believe I’m saying Go Miami!
But with a win tomorrow against Cleveland, Eddie’s in!
February 1st, 2007 at 7:59 AM
That was a great game. I was in attendance
Too bad Wizards loss, but they just could not stop Bosh. WOW…I love this guy. Calderone was pretty great too. The energy in the arena was great, especially when Bosh schooled peoples with the turnearound and the dunks! Rematch on Washington court should be interesting.
I cant wait till this Sat game against Kobe!
February 1st, 2007 at 9:14 AM
Tough lost! I thought the Wizards would have come out with more energy then they did. To Bosh the rim must have looked like a hula hoop. I hope they figure out something before Saturday. I think Kobe is going to come out with a vengeance. Gil better bring his A+ game!
Millie Mill
February 1st, 2007 at 9:16 AM
What time are they going to release the names for the all-star game?
February 1st, 2007 at 9:18 AM
Don’t know about All-Stars, I think this evening. I’ll keep you posted.
February 1st, 2007 at 9:40 AM
In terms of Eddie’s fate, it’s going to be a game time decision whether the Cavaliers deploy Lebron James against Wade in Miami tonight. Without James, Cavaliers still have some juice.
Cavaliers play the Pistons, but at home, on Sunday. That’s the other game they could lose.
Well, we can control this: we can win Saturday! Win for Eddie!!
February 1st, 2007 at 9:51 AM
Theyll probably announce the All-Stars on TNT at 7 just like last week before their doubleheader? Tonight, my preseason pick, Caron Butler, will be a first-time all star! Very exciting.
Yeah, ive never been so excited for a Cavs/Heat game.
Tough loss for the Wiz, Bosh was insane. Oh well. We gotta focus on these next games comin up.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:05 AM
Hey anonoymous…
STANDINGS!!!!!!!
February 1st, 2007 at 10:06 AM
Disregard last post.
Hey Red Dragon…STANDINGS!!!!!
February 1st, 2007 at 10:11 AM
Every team gets lucky at times. Shooting 60% is luck, not skill. Wizards caught the Raptors on a night when the bounces went their way. True, the Wiz did not challenge all shots well, but teams in the NBA do not shoot 60% by pure skill.
Mark my words, the Wiz will fleece the Raptors in their two meetings at Verizon in March.
To all Raptors fans…enjoy battling for first in your HIGHLY SUB-PAR division.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:30 AM
AJ’s injury exposed two glaring shortcomings of this roster:
1) No PF. Even though AJ is not a prototype PF, he is the closest to a PF they got. When he is down, no one else can play PF. Booth tried, he is OK against an old Weber with two bum knees, but not against people who are more mobile than Weber. He was clearly not comfortable playing defense away from the basket against Toronto.
2) Short bench. Wizards basically play an 8-men rotation with Etan, AD, and Hayes coming off bench. Other players may or may not get to play in a game, and have averaged less than double digit minutes per game. So it is difficult to replace someone who averaged 40 minutes a game. Among the current bench, Blatche should be the closet thing to a PF. But he is clearly not ready, he went for every fake and was often out of position to play good defense. Blatche has the tool, but it is tough to thrust him into significant minutes like that. He needs gradual consistent minutes to learn.
Songaila won’t be back at least until all-star break, and he hasn’t played with his teammates yet. So we cannot expect he can step up and play seamless right away. Another injured player, Michael Ruffin, well, he can play PF in defense, but no offense to speak off. So it is impossible to expect him playing significant minutes. Not much choice there is it?
Let’s just hope Antawn speedy recovery.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:58 AM
Hey all, I heard an interesting tidbit of information on the radio. Apparently Darius Songaila told reporters that he plans to make his season debut BEFORE the All Star break.
That is huge!
February 1st, 2007 at 11:11 AM
I’m a Toronto Raptors fan who lives in Toronto. I was at the game and this was the second Wizards games I’ve seen live this month and both times, the Wizards could not bring the same type of energy like my Raps. Agent Zero as he is referred to was very quiet, and it seemed he was getting frustrated. The atmosphere was nuts last night and when Bosh hit that buzzer beater, we went insane. Calvin Booth should not be a starter and i think Jarvis Hayes should have played more minutes as he seems to like to shoot in the ACC. Just one comment about the guy who said if A.Jamison was playing you would have won…no chance…the way my Raps shot the ball tonight, there is no 1 single player that would have made a difference and the fact we won by 10 was only because they toned it down in the 4th quarter and Mitchell is not a guy to rub salts in the wounds. Your Wizards will do well though…Good Luck.
The Mothman from T.0.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:13 AM
Andrew - I wouldn’t call them lucky, those guys are better than most might think (and don’t forget, like Arenas, Bosh is a LEGIT All-Star starter). Toronto is also a tough matchup for us, and with the travel and back to back, it wasn’t going to be an easy night. But they were accurate and hitting shots - have to tip the hat off to them.
As for Songaila, seeing him soon wouldn’t surprise me…
February 1st, 2007 at 11:16 AM
Mothman - thanks for stopping by, and you were right about the energy - TOR brought it to the floor last night.
You guys got a great player in Bosh and a GREAT executive in Bryan Colangelo - he knows what he’s doing. Bright future up north.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:21 AM
Wizdotcom, I do not doubt that the Raptors are better than most, but last night’s game had a lot of luck that went with it. Any time blind, off-balance shot go in, I consider that luck 95% of the time…even is Gill shoots it.
Bottom line is that the Wiz did not bring it early enough and the Raptors had no lapse. They caught fire and it never went out. Props to the Raptors, but do not think you are better than the Wiz. We will see how the season series shakes out.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:25 AM
andrew - i hear you (you don’t think Bosh’s steal-turnaround from halfcourt was skill?!?
). I think your bottom line sums it up well.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:36 AM
well its not as if you did not shoot good not that bosh is not one of the best players! but the fact that he “AJ” has had 35 points a game over the last 3 game then you add in the fact that the system EJ runs is know by all the players on the floor and the team knows when and were the other player is going to be i would have to say that we would have won! by the way booth “not an outside shooter” got open shots on the wing wile 2 players were stoping Gil!
but you guys were hot no dought about that i am shure that you have a good team and will be around playoff time if your team keeps playing the way you are !
February 1st, 2007 at 11:57 AM
Andrew, why bash the Raps for? Because they beat your team? The whole city of Toronto is super excited about what the team is doing right now. Maybe .500 isn’t a big thing for Washington, but us T.O. fans, it’s huge after a few years of painfully bad basketball. You sound bitter and you shouldn’t be, the Wiz simply couldn’t keep up with our hot shooting (and let me tell you it isnt often we shoot that well). Bosh was lucky on that bomb on his side of half, but hey, it happens and i think that sealed the fate for the Wizards. Remember, we beat the Wizards earlier this month with A.Jamison and still…i remember being up by 22 in the 4th quarter until Roger Mason starting hitting 3’s like mad and it made the game close, but remember, Jamison was there. Colangelo knows what he’s doing and we have something special here, i’m super excited about this team, and remember, making the playoffs for you personally might be an achievement, but us Toronto fans want more than just making the playoffs, we want to win. So let’s hope we both meet in the playoffs and see what happens then. Otherwise to you other Wiz fans out there, your boy Agent Zero has a lot of fans in Toronto, tons of fans wearing his jersey. I’ll stick to my boy, Bargiani, what can I say about a fellow Italian.
The Mothman…
February 1st, 2007 at 12:04 PM
Big Deal!! Bosh always plays good at home. Not impressed with that team. Never will be. Their record speak for itself.
Let’s go NETS!!!
February 1st, 2007 at 12:32 PM
Any word on Antawn Jamison’s MRI?
February 1st, 2007 at 2:01 PM
At the end of the day, Raptors are tough match up for the Wiz, with or without AJ. AJ had a hard time guarding Bosh the first game. They lost that first game and it was blamed on GA’s party & the fact that it was a day time game.
IMO, if Wizards can end Phoenix’s streak at their home on a second back to back west conf road trip trip, they have no excuse for not beating the Raps. However, Bosh is a tough match up for them, especially at 60%. With AJ out, as EJ put it Booth is limited and others couldn’t defend Bosh. I agree with Butler, who said that Raptors remind him of Phoenix.
And Andrew, you sound like Kobe right now after Gill dropped 61 on him. The difference is, Bosh had a 60%…15 straight shots!!! Statistically, those odds are better explained by skill and lack of defence, not luck. BOSH WAS ON FIRE! And I feel like Calderon did a great job of fueling him.
I love Wizards, but I cant help but be proud of the home team.
February 1st, 2007 at 2:13 PM
No, the turnaround shot was not skill. It was desperation luck. Caron’s shot that did not count was the same way. Any shot past half court cannot be considered skill. There is definitely more luck involved.
February 1st, 2007 at 2:30 PM
“Any shot past half court cannot be considered skill.”
Gilbert Arenas would definitely argue with you on this one…
February 1st, 2007 at 2:30 PM
C’mon Andrew - can’t you sense the online sarcasm going on? (hence the
).
February 1st, 2007 at 2:30 PM
Look, before you go attacking my comments, please read them all.
I gave the Raptors their due. They were on fire and the Wizards could not keep up the defensive pressure. While my “luck” statement might have been a bit harsh, it was partially true. Teams do not shoot 60% every night. I was simply saying that the Raptors got a night when nearly everything they threw at the basket was falling, challenged or not.
I am not saying that the Raptors are a bad team, they are just inconsistent. When I think about it, they are where we were about 5 years ago. They have some young up and coming stars with big talent, Bosh and Bargnini, and they have some good role players that help fill the holes. Personally, based on games I have watched of theirs against the Wiz and other, I feel that they should be in first place in their division and have a record above .500. They are good, and they are a scary playoff team.
Okay, so to sum up…the Raptors had it and Wiz did not. I cannot argue that. They deserve credit. let’s just wait and see what happens in DC. My hunch is that the season series ends up split.
February 1st, 2007 at 2:48 PM
LOL - Wiz for life u r funny
Andrew…don’t be a Kobe. Wizards have two home games with Bosh…I am sure you will be gloating then if we lose.
You want to make fun of Rap’s division, go ahead. All I have to say, next year will be different! This year they are just getting comfortable with each other. Raps with experience will definitely put Toronto on the map.
And yes, you can gloat about the Wiz and their shiny .600, but it wasn’t too long ago that the Wizards were bellow .500 and were fighting to get over that hump. So Andrew if you want to go there, enjoy battling for first in your HIGHLY SUB-PAR conference.
February 1st, 2007 at 3:04 PM
Oz - um, aren’t the Raptors in the same SUB-PAR conference? Last I checked, the entire Atlantic division was BELOW .500 entering last night.
That’s it on this one - anything else gets tossed.
February 1st, 2007 at 3:59 PM
i am not going to say this again he has been shooting 35 PG the last 3 games you were doubled down on Gil when you do that Gil kicks out “team Leader” so yeah if we had AJ we would have won yes we had AJ the last time and Gil and the whole team played bad but we almost caught your funky team in the forth we were down 20 and what did you win that game by???????? that’s what i thought so i am not trying to bash your team but IMO AJ “starter team leader 3 point shot” difference maker!
February 1st, 2007 at 4:44 PM
Sagaliba, you make good points but I don’t agree with the first one. I think Jamison is a good PF. He’s as strong as other PF’s and rebounds as well, even though he’s not as tall as most. I also like Booth at PF better than center. He tends to get pushed aside by big centers and he can hit mid-range jump shots.
I think both your points are temporary. Regarding the lack of a true PF, that will be a position of strength before long. Songaila will be back “before the all-star break”. Then we’ll be getting Ruffin back, and then we’ll be getting Jamison back. To add to those three, next year we’ll have Pecherov, and Veeremenko if he doesn’t spend another year in Europe. I’m not counting Blatche, who I think is projected as a SF.
SF is the thinnest position, seems to me, particularly if Blatche is not ready for substantial minutes next year.
And I think the lack of depth is only until we get Songaila and/or Jamison back. I think a 9 man rotation is normal, isn’t it. I do wish our reserves played more time, so that they would develop confidence and our top 3 wouldn’t get stale or worn down by the end of the year. It seems clear to me we will win the division and not have to play in the first round of the playoffs. I would rather sacrifice a couple of games now in order to let the reserves play more.
Comments?