The Wizards got off to a rough start this season, but have improved since the return of John Wall.
They won consecutive games on their West Coast trip (Wednesday at Phoenix, Friday at Los Angeles Lakers) before a Saturday night loss at Golden State. This team is 18-17 at home, and has guys who can give Memphis problems.
Wall, when healthy, is one of the fastest guards in the league. He's as quick at Conley, and three inches taller. He can get his shot whenever he wants, but as the PG he has to get others involved. With Nene and Emeka Okafor, the Wizards have two active big men who do work on both ends of the floor. Neither is polished offensively, but they pound the boards and love to get physical in the post. They score on offensive boards and when set plays break down.
Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster are wings who also can score and make honest effort on the defensive end. This season's first round pick Bradley Beal is out with injury. Tough break for Washington, since he'd been showing gradual improvement before he got hurt.
For Memphis, Gasol is out with that abdominal tear. Arthur or Davis would start in his place (I guess Arthur). Arthur scored 18 against Boston Saturday night. Arthur and Randolph against Nene and Okafor will be like one of those pro wrestling tag team matches, where guys take turns beating on each other.
Prince will probably match up against Ariza, and they are similar in skill. The Conley-Wall matchup will be one where Conley will have to use his experience to make up for the physical disadvantage.
I'm rooting for Memphis, as always. My guess: Memphis 99, Washington 96. Washington will want to force a higher pace, Memphis will want to make a half-court match. I have an uneasy feeling about this game, though. Like Memphis' loss at New Orleans on Friday, if the Grizzlies don't come out with energy (especially on the boards), the Wizards can get enough run-outs to win this game.
After the Game: Washington 107, Memphis 94. John Wall scored a career-high 47. He added 7 rebs, 8 assists and only 2 turnovers. He went 19/24 FT/A (more attempts than the Memphis team - more on that later). This, like the recent loss at New Orleans, shows a disturbing trend around Memphis. If you consider yourself a playoff contender and lose to teams like the Wizards and Hornets (who clearly are playing for next season), you can't reasonably expect a deep run in the playoffs. The true contenders get up for every team, not just the Oklahoma Citys of the world.
For Memphis, 34 field goals, 17 assists and 16 turnovers. Conley scored 23, with 7 assists and 6 turnovers. Bayless and Pondexter added 14 each (Bayless had 7 assists and only 1 turnover). Conley (14 FGA) and Bayless (17 FGA) took 31 of the 77 shots from the floor. To me, that shows a lot of stagnant offense, with other guys standing around while the two guards jacked up a lot of shots. Bayless' 5/17 FG/A helped sink the team on Monday.
Washington had 36 field goals (50% shooting), 17 assists and 12 turnovers. The Wizards were 30/44 FT/A, while Memphis was 20/22 FT/A. The Grizzlies had a great percentage, but Washington got to the rim so much more against a porous Memphis defense.
Okafor scored 21 with 9 rebs. Ariza (flu), Nene (sore right knee) and Webster (ab strain) all DNP'd. That makes the loss that much tougher to take as a Memphis fan. A depleted Wizards team, and you didn't stop them? Yikes.
At its' best, Memphis does two things well: 1) defend in the half-court, and 2) share the basketball on offense. They don't have a transcendent player that helps them overcome off-nights by the rest of the roster. When they don't share the basketball, in particular, things get ugly quickly.
Enough of this. Turn the page. The next two games are Wednesday night at the "Mecca of basketball" against the Knicks and a home Friday match against the runnin' Rockets. The Memphis team that stumbled at Washington will lose these next two games. Hopefully, they straighten up these issues.
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