The Magic of the Wizards

The Wizards haven't seen .500 ball in a couple of months. Almost there...and then a loss or two, usually to teams you wouldn't figure they'd lose to. Frustrating for the team, frustrating for the fans.

It finally happened. Made it. The Wiz are now at a point in which they've won as many games as they've lost--and the next few games are gimmes. It'll be nice to have a cushion going into the harder March schedule.

Both Washington and Orlando won their previous games. That's nothing new for DC, but for Orlando that's always a suprise and might tend to give them some confidence. The Wiz would have to shut them down immediately to make sure they'd not begin to believe they might win this one too.

I can't say it often enough: Antawn Jamison is a Beast! He can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat anytime, it seems. The first time I remembered how Beastly he is came on a lovely jumper with 4:45 left in the first quarter. Just square up and let fly.

Somebody else going crazy in the first: Caron Butler. (Bet the Lakers wish they'd never gotten rid of this guy!) 5/6 from the field for ten points in eight minutes on the floor. A couple of blocks and great all-around defense.

Brendan Haywood, Blocking Machine.Three in the first quarter.

Somebody not going crazy: Gilbert Arenas, 0/3 to start. Good assists, though. A steal by Awvee Storey (getting his first start) led to Gilbert's first layup. Pretty play, that. That helped get Arenas going some; he got a couple of steals, including one in which Steve Francis fouled him. (If he can't score, Arenas can steal and assist, which makes it worth it to have him on the floor.) Of course, that the Orlando Magic are utterly hopeless helps their opponents get easy baskets, and it sure isn't tough to defend against them either.

Score after the first quarter: 27-15, Wizards, on 52% shooting. 33% for the Magic. Easy to see how this one would go.

Second period, Gilbert was still off his shot. 1/7--but with five assists. He picked up his first two fouls inside a minute and left, replaced by rookie Donell Taylor. Great decision by Coach Jordan there; this kid can play!

Nice block by Etan Thomas. Good to see both centers doing it up right. Unfortunately, the entire team cooled down. Orlando put its reserves in, and they caught up a bit--not a tough proposition when Washington's backups couldn't shoot to save their lives. After seeing them flail helplessly, Jordan put hisstarters back in, except for Arenas, whom he left on the bench until 6:50 left in the half.

Good shooting by Antonio Daniels--and even some decent defense too!

Gilbert made a three at the shot clock--nice desperation shot. Pat Garrity got it right back. You can just never leave that guy open beyond the arc. (Garrity, at 46%, is eighth in the League in three-pointers.)

Steve Francis took his third personal foul and went out. Still not recovered from the loss of Cuttino Mobley, Francis has been worthless for a while now, but seldom does he reach down to the level of futility he managed in this game.

Former Jazzman DeShawn Stevenson finally got himself going for the Magic in the third quarter. Their first eight points belonged to him; he outscored the Wizards all by himself in the first two minutes. Brendan Haywood put a stop to that silliness with a well-placed elbow. He got an offensive foul, but Stevenson stopped scoring. A second offensive foul on Brendan (against Tony Battie) slowed him down a bit, though.

Washington's lead was down to five, then up to eight. Antawn's pretty steal, passed to Gilbert and back to Antawn for three, was a thing of beauty. Arenas hit a three of his own from way behind the arc--not the shot you want him to take, but when it goes who cares? 12-2 run by the Wizards. What was really nice is watching the Wiz play the kind of ball they should always play: Good defense driving the offense. Forcing turnovers, steals, blocks, rebounds, and defending so closely the Magic couldn't get a decent shot led to good scoring by Washington. Taking care of the ball--almost no turnovers--helped as well, and making points off Orlando's several turnovers was icing.

Steve Francis earned a technical for being mouthy. He knew how this game was going. Then one on Caron Butler, which made no sense. If any Wizard was going to get one, it should've been Gilbert, who had a few choice things to say to the officials after a close call.

Slowly the Magic crawled back. Suddenly Washington's lead was down to four. Not the time to blow free throws, but Antawn did. One more Wiz basket to end the quarter.

Score after three: 68-62, Wizards. That's too close a margin when the opposing team has Steve Francis, who can get hot and bury you.

He never did get hot, though. Francis was worthless all night. (Eventually he's going to have to get over Cat Mobley being in Los Angeles and buckle down and do his job. Fortunately for Washington, that "eventually" wasn't this game.)

Another trey from Antawn, good defense by Ruffin (as always)...and steals. Lots of steals....tons of Washington steals, and most of them leading to baskets. The fourth quarter was no challenge at all, though Coach Hill of the Magic brought in all his shooters to try to catch up.

Funniest technical foul of the night: DeShawn Stevenson took a technical when he complained bitterly about one of Jamison's steals. Stevenson's hand gestures were classic--nobody over the age of ten wouldn't understand them--but he looked stunned when the referee called the T. Well, duh, DeShawn.

Final score: 94-82. .500 ball again!

Sidelines: Next game is Wednesday at home versus the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are so inconsistent there's no way to know whether they'll show up tough or not. Either way, if the Wizards play the way they did during the third quarter against the Magic, they can win this one.

Antawn Jamison explains his non-selection for the All Star first team as fan reaction to his "horrible" play in December. I don't know about that; the guy averages a double-double this season. I think people are just stupid. Speaking of which, this is his 24th double-double of the year.

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