Instant Analysis: Heat-Wizards

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

By Brian Jackson

CSNwashington.com

The Hangover From Cleveland Never Went Away:

The Wizards shot 33 percent in the second half of Tuesday nights loss in Cleveland and the familiarity of the Verizon Center didn’t heal their shooting woes.  Flip Saunders squad got off to an uncharacteristically sloppy start and it ended up costing them down the stretch.  

“I know that everyone remembers the last minute of the game because its fresh in everyone’s mind but I remember the first few minutes when we fell behind by 19,” said Saunders.

The Wizards missed 11 of their first 14 attempts (21 %) while Miami made 10 of their initial attempts 

(71 %).  Despite the rough start Washington was left with a chance to win the game in its final moments.  

Wizards Need To Work On Their 2-Minute Drill:

In each of the first four games of the season the final outcome was decided by 10 points or more.   With two minutes left against Miami the score was tied at 87 and the Wizards performed like a team that’s never been in that situation.  Their final 5 possessions consisted of a missed layup, two missed free throws (that would have given them the lead), missed shot (contact on the play no foul called), a turnover and finally another missed layup. 

There Was No Stopping Dwayne Wade:

Down the stretch Wade was ice-cold.  He knocked down an contested jumper to put Miami ahead 91-89 with 24 seconds left and then knocked down a free throw to put the game out of reach for good.  Given how Wade started the game its no wonder he was the one to hit the Wizards with a knockout punch.  He scored 21 in the first half in route to a season high 40 points.  

“I was trying everything, hand in face, but he was still hitting on that.  He is just a special player,” said DeShawn Stevenson who did his best to force Wade into taking and making tough shots.  

Paging Pass First Gilbert: 

It’s no secret that Flip Saunders runs his offense through the point guard.  During the preseason Gilbert Arenas focused on getting his teammates more involved but he’s gotten away from that lately.  The key number for the Wizards needs to be the number six.  In the Wizards’ two wins Arenas has at least six assist and they’ve lost all 3 games in which he hasn’t reached that number.   Last season Caron Butler averaged a career high 20.8 points per game but so far this season he’s checking in six points lower at 14.3.  Arenas has proven that he can get his numbers (26.5 ppg-- 7^th in NBA) but the Wizards need him to share the wealth.   

Déjà vu –All Over Again:

Perhaps this team really is cursed by the injury bug.  Mike Miller first hurt his shoulder in a third quarter collision with Miami’s Mario Chalmers.  Miller clutched his shoulder and was taken to the locker room but would return.  Then later in the 4^th quarter he re-aggravated the injury in a nasty collision with Joel Anthony.  Miller actually completed the 3-point play and stayed in the game for another minute-- even grabbing a rebound and dishing an assist with basically one arm--before leaving for the locker room.  He is expected to miss the next 7-10 days.  

Tags: wizards, basketball, arenas, nba, wade