The Washington Wizards reached a new level of futility tonight. They faced a Cleveland Cavalier team that had only 6 regular players in uniform. In fact the Cavs had to sign two D-League players in order to reach the NBA mandate of 8 players in uniform. Yet the Wizards still found a way to lose the game. They were beaten on the boards 43-31. The team defense was lousy as evidenced by the fact that Damon Jones scored 27 points. Damon Jones can do two things well...shoot 3-pointers and run his mouth.
The Wizards allowed Jones to do both while never exploiting his weaknesses...he's a poor on the ball defender and ballhandler. He didn't need to dribble however, because he was getting wide open 3-point shots all night. Jones scored 10 field goals, 7 of them triples, none of them contested. I think it's fair to say that the Cavs would not have won this game without Jones' scoring. LeBron James scored 33 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Only one other Cleveland player scored in double figures. Five Washington players scored in double figures which only goes to prove that it's not the quantity of the scoring but the quality of it that counts.
They never really exploited the Cavs small line-up.
They jacked up early shot clock jump shots instead of exploiting the size advantage they had along the front line.
They failed to close out on shooters.
Sure...the Wizards are missing players too, but the players on their roster have been with the team the entire season. I doubt that a team comprised of Gilbert Arenas, Roger Mason, Oleksiy Pecherov, Dominic McGuire and Darius Songaila could have defeated an NBA team missing two of its starters. All this game did was enhance LeBron's profile as an MVP candidate and push the Wizards a step closer to missing the playoffs. They are 1-10 in their last 11 games with an overall record of 25-29, good for 6th place in the Eastern Conference. Washington has very little margin for error right now. This team needs its veterans to play at a high level physically and mentally. It also wouldn't hurt to get Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas back in the line-up. But more than anything, this team needs to string together some wins. That will take a more cavalier approach to the game than we've seen lately.
Friday, February 22, 2008
No Cavalier Performance by the Wizards
Monday, February 18, 2008
Terps have a Devil of a Time in Durham
Maryland coach Brenda Frese gave birth to twin boys Sunday. The inside/outside combination of Crystal Langhorne and Kristi Toliver gave birth to a Terps victory. Maryland is the more talented team and expected to win this game. The Terps however, needed to win this game to prove to the nation and themselves that they are legitimate title contenders. One would think that with a record of 27-2 there would be no doubt about this team. Yet there is. Maryland has played many close games this year against teams with inferior talent. This is because they still struggle with teams that employ an aggressive pressing defense.
From the start of Sunday's game it was apparent that the Terps were intent on getting the ball inside to Langhorne and Laura Harper. This strategy was very successful for the first 10 minutes of the game. They built a 14 point lead on the strength of strong interior play from Langhorne and Harper. The ball movement on offense was excellent. Then Duke started to press --a 2-1-2 zone trap. And Kristi Toliver started to dribble around in circles like she is a Harlem Globetrotter. And the turnovers began to stack up like rush hour traffic on the Woodrow Wilson bridge. The formula for beating Maryland is well-known. Play physical defense, especially on Kristi Toliver, pound the boards and attack the Terp's frontline with your post players.
The Duke press was very effective and largely responsible for producing 24 turnovers by Maryland. The Blue Devils cut the 14 point deficit to 5 late in the 2nd half. They had Toliver frustrated - 12 turnovers. Then something odd happened. They stopped pressing. They committed silly turnovers. They took wild shots. Duke allowed Maryland to escape with a well-earned 76-69 victory...and hopefully gave birth to a more confident, determined Terps team that will go deep into the 2008 NCAA tournament.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Lady Terps Look a Little Hokie
The Terps usually break their huddles by yelling "champions". It would be nice if they played like champions. Last night in Blacksburg they looked like anything but champs while falling behind by 20 points in the first 6 minutes of the game with Virginia Tech. They had more turnovers than points 6-2. The game resembled a layup line for the Hokies. Had the Terps taken the Hokies too lightly? Was it a case of the 4th ranked Terps getting the best shot of every team they play? Maybe it was a little of both. Or maybe this team just isn't made of championship material. I see too many mistakes made by experienced players for the Terps to go far in this year's NCAA tournament.
The guards have difficulty handling pressure defenses and tend to make bad decisions with the ball even when not being pressured. Surprisingly, the leaders of the turnover parade are the juniors and seniors. The offense stagnates and the team is ofeten reduced to watching Kristi Toliver dribble around the perimeter and jack up jump shots. That's the bad news.
The good news is that the Terps have a 24-2 record after having rallied to defeat Virginia Tech 74-71 in OT. The same players that tried to hand the game to Tech in the first half (Toliver, Langhorne, Harper & Coleman) played up to their potential in the second half. Coach Park's use of a 2-3 zone was very effective in stopping the dribble penetration of Andrea Barbour and containing the outside shooting of Brittaney Cook. Even though junior Kristi Toliver still makes many questionable decisons in her role as the Terps' primary ball handler, there is no one I'd rather see shoot the ball with the game on the line. I would like to see the coaches develop some of the young talent on the team. The Terps will need depth in order to realize their goal of a national championship. Otherwise this season will have a hokie ending just like the last.
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