WIZARDS PREPARE FOR GAME FOUR
The Wizards went through practice Sunday in preparation for Monday’s Game Four to be held at Verizon Center (7:00 PM, Tickets Available).
Guards Antonio Daniels (left ankle) and DeShawn Stevenson (bruised left hip) both participated in practice.
“It is fine, a little sore. I will be ready to go tomorrow,” said Daniels. “We have to lay it on the line regardless. It is playoff time and there is not any other approach you can have. You have to go out there, lay it on the line and see what happens. You play with all your heart. You play with all your soul. You play together. You stay positive and you leave it out there on the floor.”
Antawn Jamison, who just plain went nuts to open the second half of yesterday’s game, likes his team’s chances, saying: “Our confidence level is still up. We are still holding our heads up. We are out there competing and having fun. We are playing hard. It has been like this for the last couple of weeks. We have been so close, but we have not been able to get over the hump. We always feel we can win.”
On the other end of the court, the Cavaliers understand the Wizards position. Veteran guard Eric Snow told the Plain-Dealer that “[The Wizards are] going to fight for their playoff lives and we have to match their intensity, come out and play hard and finish the job.”
Tip-off is hours away. Stay tuned…
Posted: April 29th, 2007 under Wizards.
Comments
Comment from LilGil
Time April 29, 2007 at 3:05 PM
Getting Navarro seems impossible and there’s no way we let DeShawn go right now! He has not played well these last three games, and I don’t know why, but he feels great in this team, and is having a career high season!
There’s no way the southeast division’s last fighters get sweep tomorrow, I believe in this team right now, I know we can make it tomorrow, we got to make a better use of the bench and of course to get DeShawn’s way of playin back quickly!
Comment from eccentric beethoven
Time April 29, 2007 at 3:12 PM
yea i hear you lil gil but erine is a smart man and the money deshawn is looking for he might not get from the wizards he kinda devalued his stock and some other nba teams will probadly pay more for him and we will get out bid and if we let go of hayes and haywood it free up money for navarro.
Comment from Wizards_Fusion
Time April 29, 2007 at 4:00 PM
Although the Wizards play solid basketball during the last 3 games but couldn’t get the win, at least the team has shown tremendous heart. When the Wizards made the magical run to erase the 17 point halftime deficit, the passions of Jamison and Hayes were one of the best moments of this season (the energy from the crowd was electric). Cleveland is not feeling bad that Arenas and Butler are out and the Wizards aren’t either. The fight of the this current team is great, and no fan of NBA basketball can question the lack of competitive fire in these Wizards.
With that said, I couldn’t believe the lack of heart the Miami Heat showed today as they got swept by Chicago. Miami has a relatively healthy team again and they haven’t shown any heart the Wizards have. I have respected Wade and Shaq’s dynamic duo as they have given the Wizards the short end during the last 3 seasons. But today’s game was the complete opposite of what I knew of them.
No matter what happens on Monday night, the Wizards have gained an added dimension of respect from me. I hope Jamison’s response in this series will forever silence all the trade talk about him. He really is a good leader for the Wizards. Also, I object to what blogger Tom M. said about Stevenson losing money with his next contract because of his poor play in this series. You can’t measure Stevenson in 3 games - you have to take into account what he has done the entire season. In my opinion, Stevenson deserves a little more than what Orlando offered him.
LeBron and Zydrunas have been sensational in this series. So has Jamison and Daniels. Butler and Arenas are solely missed but as Mark Twain once wrote
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Comment from eccentric beethoven
Time April 29, 2007 at 5:16 PM
i love the wizards heart and nobody is questioning deshawn talent but we as wizards fans need to be honest now as long as this team stay put with what they have it will always be a 2nd round team and if deshawn didn’t except more money from the magic last summer and went to the wizards for less do anyone really think with all the changes and available free agents out there that grunfeld is going to break the bank for d-shawn i think no if you can make your team better.
Comment from LilGil
Time April 29, 2007 at 5:28 PM
Well I gotta be honest, and I don’t think neither that Ernie will break the bank to keep DeShawn. He’s a great element in this team and I want to keep him. Honestly if he can wake up in the next gameS well at this time the thoughts on him will certainly change and if he gets his swag back it will mean a lot for us in the near futur. I really want to see DeShawn with us next year, cuz he’s an important part of the equation (the one which lead to the finals) for me, and I think it’s worth it to break the bank, but I ain’t no team manager, and it’s maybe for the best. He provides some good D and we know that it is what we need to get (especially when my boy Gil and Caron ain’t suited) so loosing him would not solve anything.
Comment from eccentric beethoven
Time April 29, 2007 at 5:42 PM
deshawn does prodive the good defense and i hope we keep him but knowing that he took a pay cut to play for the wiz he and his agent is going to try to break the bank. i hope i am wrong but i don’t think so and if he gone we need to free some cap room for players like mike bibby, andres nocioni, desmond mason, jamaal magloire
Comment from neal
Time April 29, 2007 at 5:42 PM
Well, I question the competitive fire in the first half of last night’s game. Too many times the Wizards either made mental rotation mistakes or didn’t hustle enough to be in position. I sure hope Grunfeld figures out something before next year. I’d hate to be in his shoes, though. His number one job is to get a first-rate center who can cement the defense. Who’s available? And number two is unloading Haywood and his $5 million salary.
Can Pecherov be converted from an offensive-minded PF to a defensive-minded center? I’m dreaming, I know.
Navarro is a point guard and looks to shoot first, much like Arenas. Daniels is 32 now. Since Navarro will be free of his contract in two more years it seems like a good time for him to replace Daniels.
It seems to me like Stevenson is a good fit and should be worth more to us than anyone else.
I feel the same way about Hayes. Though Hayes isn’t worth the $3.5 million option that we have on him for next year, we also have the right to match any offer he gets.
But Stevenson is average and Hayes is still a prospect. Maybe Grunfeld will draft a shooting guard to compete with Stevenson, Hayes and Mason.
Comment from tommandel
Time April 29, 2007 at 5:53 PM
Fusion — Deshawn is no less of a player for having had three bad games, I agree. But, those games will still cost him money in the free agent market.
I could be wrong, but I do not think we’ll see him in a Wizards uniform next year. He won’t and shouldn’t pick up his option — too little $. And, I think someone will step up and offer him more than the Wizards will want to match.
Just my 2 cents — and not a comment on DS as a player or a person. He had a pretty good season.
Comment from eccentric beethoven
Time April 29, 2007 at 6:09 PM
i agree tom mandel with you say about deshawn i was saying the same thing along.
Comment from Takisha219
Time April 29, 2007 at 6:37 PM
You can’t judge Deshawn on a bad series, he deserves to be paid and to come back. He is the perfect compliment to the Big Three. If Gilbert has anything to do with it, he’ll be in a Wizards uniform. He and Gilbert are close, and I think he may have a little pull.
Comment from Wizards4Life
Time April 29, 2007 at 6:38 PM
i am with you but if we need that spot filled then it would be a good idea to keep him? or go for Bibby or so on….? because either way you look at it we are going to pay some money to get a guy on the floor in the 2 spot unless we use mason “witch i doubt” or AD who is a very good player but all that time on his body might kill us in the end
Comment from Wizards4Life
Time April 29, 2007 at 8:27 PM
any one got a link to upcoming free agents ?
Comment from neal
Time April 29, 2007 at 8:39 PM
Is Bibby a SG or a PG?
Who are we going to get for what we would have to pay Stevenson? DeShawn is making $930,000, has an option for $1 million next year. If he commands $3 million next year where are we going to get equal value for that? Plus, I think there’s value in not turning over the team any more than necessary. Build a sense of family - what the Redskins have lost.
Are you guys as impressed as I am with Daniels? Does it make you think of having AD at point and Arenas at SG? But how would that sit with Arenas?
Comment from tommandel
Time April 29, 2007 at 9:16 PM
I think we should play the next game, win it, and go back to Cleveland and see if we can win another one. If that doesn’t work out, then we can get into what the team should do in the off season.
I know I started the conversation about DS coming back or not, but now I think I should not have done that — it’s too early. We’re still alive in the playoffs!
Comment from tommandel
Time April 29, 2007 at 9:17 PM
Neal — I agree, it is a pleasure to watch Antonio Daniels play basketball. He is sooooo smart and solid!
Comment from mbezi23
Time April 29, 2007 at 9:46 PM
Two things: First, we’re all overvaluing Deshawn, he came here for a year to build up stats to get a longer deal somewhere else. He was, at times, the only one playing defense, but we could do better to get a tougher, grind it out defensive specialist, or get someone who can stay on the wing and hit 3s, one of the biggest liabilities of the team this year. Sadly, he isn’t good enough at either. Second, THANK YOU Verizon center for bringing some real emotion in Game 3. I won’t be able to make it to Game 4 (stupid finals..anyone want my tickets?), but I’m really HOPING we bring that level of intensity Monday night..
Comment from neal
Time April 30, 2007 at 8:16 AM
You’re right Tom. Let’s win tonight. It will be my first game of the season in person, though I’ve seen virtually all of them on the tube. I expect the place will be jumping.
Comment from Brickjp
Time April 30, 2007 at 8:38 AM
The place was insane on Saturday, and I’m sure it will be the same tonight. These guys deserve a victory today. After all the heartbreak. I know they will lay it all out there.
Comment from sagaliba
Time April 30, 2007 at 10:27 AM
Two shocking results and thoughts: Miami is swept in 4 and Dallas is trailing 1-3.
Miami probably would have hoped that Wizards did not end the season with 2-8 record. Had Wizards maintained its lead in the SE division, Miami would have matched up with the very beatable Toronto, instead of the Bulls which has always give Miami trouble.
Similar story on the West, the regular season champ Dallas is matched up with the one team that gives its fit during the regular season. Golden State has played well against Dallas, not much unlike Wizards (when healthy) has always played well against the East top team Detroit. In fact, I feel that Baron Davis is very similar to Arenas. Davis, when healthy, has the combination of quickness and strength that is very difficult to stop, much like Arenas is. In fact, you can even call him the Arenas before Arenas since Davis was a very productive all-star before Arenas is.
As a team, Golden State plays very similar to the Wizards, more so than the comparison of Wizards and Phoenix. Phoenix is a high assist team that passes exceptionally well, Wizards, OTOH, seldom passes. Phoenix scores a lot of points, but plays good enough defense to have the 2nd highest point differential in NBA. Both Golden State and Wizards are low assist team that scores a lot of points but also gives up just as many. Statically, Phoenix has point differential of +7.3 and assist differential of +7.0. In comparison Golden State has –0.34 point differential and –0.89 assist differential, while Wizards is –0.51 and –3.43 respectively.
Since Wizards are playing without a full deck of cards in this playoff, and is unlikely to advance; it will be very interesting to see how far Golden State can go, as a gauge to see how far a healthy Wizards may possibly accomplish.
Comment from wizardsdotcom
Time April 30, 2007 at 10:39 AM
sagaliba - I don’t know if you can really compare GSW with Washington in terms of playoff situations. Yes, the two teams definitely play a similar style of ball, but the opponents they play (in terms of Conferences) are entirely different. What GSW could do is of HISTORICAL proportions, especially since they haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years. Washington on the other hand, with a full deck, would be considered up there with CLE, CHI and DET as veteran playoff teams. The Playoffs are all about matchups, and in my opinion, GSW was the worst opponent for DAL to deal with.
Comment from Takisha219
Time April 30, 2007 at 2:42 PM
mbezi23 I just read an artilce from around the net, that pretty much said the fans had no emotion for game 3. I thought it was pretty wild, especially the start of the 3rd quarter. I hope the fans come out in full force again!!!!!
Comment from Agent047
Time April 30, 2007 at 3:29 PM
Would love to be at the game tonight. Instead I will be watching from out of State. I think the Wiz will come out slinging tonight. Be nice to get a W in this series. Gotta give 110% with no gil. Can Butler suit up yet? High 5’s to all the loyal Wizard fans.
Comment from aznzero
Time April 30, 2007 at 3:39 PM
we are not gonna lose this one. ill be at the game cheerin our squad on!!!
Comment from suzie-qwiz
Time April 30, 2007 at 4:11 PM
Iam not ready to mail in the season, we can win this game. The team and I mean the team has to play hard(not just AJ) EJ needs to free the bench tonight lets see AB get some minutes tonight, see if he can’t give us some help on the boards, put Booth in the game, lets sellout tonight and not let the CAV’s celebrate on our floor another year.
Comment from sagaliba
Time April 30, 2007 at 4:11 PM
wizardsdotcom,
Agreed with the match up things (that’s why I brought up Heats-Bulls and Wizards-Pistons). I also agree that playing in the Eastern conference, a healthy Wizards team would have easier path than the Golden State. (Except if Wizards were the 3rd seed and Heats 6th seed; you know, uh, the match up thing. :)) But it is still interesting and encouraging to watch Warriors’ chance of advancing in this playoff.
Comment from tommandel
Time May 1, 2007 at 8:15 AM
About DeShawn: he had an excellent regular season. He shot a high percentage (.461), and he was extremely effective from outside the 3-pt. line (.404 — that is *really good*!). There were a few negatives too, as with any player. He doesn’t rebound much (even for a guard), and he doesn’t cause turnovers.
But, he plays the position in the league that is easiest to fill, and in my book he is about average. That means he won’t command a lot of money. I think he’ll get a deal just about like the one he turned down last year. If it’s with a good team, he probably won’t be a starter.
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Comment from eccentric beethoven
Time April 29, 2007 at 2:58 PM
well i hope for the best but i think that it for the wiz kids or maybe be they can take it back to cleveland for pride of not getting swept. miami is going to get swept so it might look good for us next year in the southeast division because shaq is old like that old boxer who don’t know when to hang it up. it time to call juan carlos navarro from europe and d-shawn services can go to some other nba team and find a low post player that avg 10 rebounds and get at it on defense. do anyone remember the eastern conference to have so many sweeps.