May 24, 2013

Washington Wizards Cleanout Day Audio

April 18, 2013 by

With the end of the NBA regular season, Thursday was “Cleanout Day” at Verizon Center for the Washington Wizards. Below are links to the final media availablity of the season for coach Randy Wittman, John Wall and the rest of the squad.

04-18-13 Randy Wittman Presser RAW 1

04-18-13 Randy Wittman Presser RAW 2

04-18-13 Randy Wittman Presser RAW 3

04-18-13 John Wall Presser RAW

04-18-13 Nene Presser RAW

04-18-13 Kevin Seraphin Presser RAW

04-18-13 Chris Singleton wMartell Webster at end Presser RAW

04-18-13 Cartier Martin Presser RAW

 

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Washington Wizards Game 66 Wrap: Road woes continue as Wiz fall 119-114 to Bobcats

March 19, 2013 by

The Washington Wizards (23-43) started off their four-game road trip on rocky footing after the sub-.225 Charlotte Bobcats (15-52) came from behind to win Monday night’s matchup at Time Warner Cable Arena, 119-114.

Recently named Eastern Conference Player of the Week John Wall added 25 points to Washington’s efforts, but the team failed to gain momentum against the Bobcats, who have emerged the victor in three of their four games against Washington this season. [Read more...]

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Washington Wizards Game 62 Wrap: Wall posts season-high 27 points as Wiz fall 95-90 to Cavaliers

March 12, 2013 by

John Wall posted a season-high 27 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-42) Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena, but the Washington Wizards (20-42) could not hold it together in their 95-90 loss.

As has been the case since Wall’s return to the team on Jan. 12, his highest point totals appear at times to coincide with a lack of offense elsewhere – or, more importantly, a lack of Bradley Beal in the lineup.

The issue did not stem from the starting five – in fact, each starter tallied double-digit points and Emeka Okafor and Nene added 11 and 10 rebounds respectively. Wall also notched 14 assists and seven rebounds to add to the Wizards’ efforts. [Read more...]

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Washington Wizards Game Wrap 50: Beal Shows No Sign of Lingering Injury Leading Wizards to Fourth Straight Win

February 11, 2013 by

The Washington Wizards certainly are a different team when both John Wall and Bradley Beal are on the court together, as the two teamed up to lead the Wizards to yet another road win, this time over the Milwaukee Bucks 102-90, to improve to 15-35 on the year.

Perhaps the most unlikely story in sports right now, the Washington Wizards, who looked like they could challenge the New Jersey Nets’ record for futility to start a season, have suddenly gone 11-11 since the start of the new year. A big part of the turnaround is the overall health of the team, which is now above average, but also because of the way the supporting cast has surrounded the team’s best players. Early albatrosses like Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza and Kevin Seraphin are now playing key minutes and making big plays throughout the course of the game.  [Read more...]

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Washington Wizards Game 49 Wrap: Wizards bear down on Brooklyn in Beal’s return

February 9, 2013 by

The Washington Wizards (14-35) shut down the Brooklyn Nets (29-21) Friday night at the Verizon Center in an 89-74 win that showcased what the team has believed in – and many have doubted – since the beginning of the season.

They may be far from playoff contention, but the Wizards demonstrated for all what good health and great speed can produce against a team that has more than doubled Washington’s win column this season. [Read more...]

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Washington Wizards Game Wrap 45: Wizards fall in Tayshaun Prince’s debut with Grizzlies

February 2, 2013 by

Tayshaun Prince celebrated his first victory with the Memphis Grizzlies (30-16) as the Washington Wizards (11-34) fell 85-76 and slipped to 3-20 on the road.

The Wizards were neck-and-neck with the Grizzlies for the greater part of the first half, but it was in no way a testament to good defense or stellar shooting from either side. Both teams relied heavily on fast breaks throughout the first 24 minutes of play. Even still, the Wizards and Grizzlies struggled to find the net.

In the second quarter, however, Washington narrowly avoided a blow far more crushing than another tally in the loss column.

With 3:30 remaining in the first half, the Wizards clung to a 34-32 lead. John Wall lined up for the jumper and missed before the Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph grabbed the rebound. Shortly after, Wall fell on the court and winced in pain as he clutched his left shoulder and walked off.

Jordan Crawford entered the game to relieve Wall, who reportedly suffered a strained shoulder. His return was deemed questionable and, in his absence, the Wizards failed to add padding to their lead. Washington entered the half on top by the score of 40-39.

Surprisingly enough, the break provided enough rest time for Wall’s return. He started things off for the Wizards with a 20-foot jumper less than a minute into the third. In fact, only Wall contributed for the Wizards through the first four minutes of the third quarter.

Washington lucked out as Memphis continued to take poor shots and by the time Nene sunk a jumper of his own, the Wizards were up by four points.

Their lead was short-lived, however, as Jerryd Bayless sunk a 19-footer and Mike Conley made a seemingly effortless driving layup.

The Wizards failed to catch the Grizzlies the rest of the night as it appeared even Wall could not keep up with the pace of the game as he appeared to force breaks and struggled to sink his jumpers.

Wall sat the first nine minutes of the final quarter and, by the time he re-entered, the Wizards had dug a 78-72 hole.

Prince added four points to his total in Grizzlies’ uniform in the final minutes, while Conley and Tony Allen contributed free throws to close the book on Washington’s 85-76 loss.

By the end of the night, only Nene tallied double-digit points for the Wizards with 14, compared to a Grizzlies’ staff that featured five players with more than 10 points on the night.

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Alyssa Wolice is a Contributor to District Sports Page. An American University alum, Alyssa worked as a political blogger and financial reporter before making the switch to sports journalism. As a former production assistant, she covered the Nationals, Redskins, Capitals, Wizards, D.C. United and local collegiate teams. A New Jersey native, Alyssa currently serves as a community and sports reporter for a number of small-town newspapers in her home state and works full-time as a marketing communications specialist with a trade association based in Washington, D.C. You can follow her on Twitter @awolice.

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Washington Wizards Game Wrap 42: Okafor, Nene deliver in Wizards’ fifth straight win at home

January 26, 2013 by

The Washington Wizards (11-31) cruised to an 86-73 victory over the Chicago Bulls (26-17) at the Verizon Center Saturday night, marking the first time since January 2008 that Washington has celebrated five straight wins at home.

The game lacked the dazzling plays and late-quarter dramatics that many of the Wizards’ seven wins in the past 10 games featured. The crowd – which represented the Wizards’ third sellout this season – rose to its feet primarily for giveaways and Jumbotron opportunities until the game’s final minutes.

But, the Wizards did exactly what they needed to in order to beat the Bulls at home for the first time since Feb. 22, 2010.

They spread the ball and – more importantly – they shared the wealth. By the end of the night, three of the Wizards’ starters – Emeka Okafor, Nene and John Wall – tallied double-digit points. Okafor added 16 boards to round out his ninth double-double of the season. Even more, while Wall – along with Bradley Beal and Kevin Seraphin – struggled to sink mid-range jumpers, the Wizards scored 48 points in the paint – nearly 15 points higher than their average this season. [Read more...]

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Washington Wizards Game 42 Postgame Audio: Nene “We Going To Shut Up People Mouth”

January 26, 2013 by

WASHINGTON–The Washington Wizards won their fifth straight home game for the first time since 2008 as they defeat the Chicago Bulls 86-73.  The Wizards have won seven of their last ten, largely because for the first time this season they’re fully healthy, and forward Nene had some words for all the early critics out there.

“I remember like in the beginning everybody say we sucks…now we going to shut up people mouth, that’s what we going to do.”

And they’re doing it as they defeat another likely playoff bound team.  This time it was done by defense as they held the Bulls to only 29 second half points.

“Couldn’t be any more proud of these guys,”  Head Coach Randy Wittman said about the defense.  “These guys defensively tonight were in tune. That’s what won the game.”

Wittman said he switched something defensively at the half, but wouldn’t divulge what. [Read more...]

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Washington Wizards Game 41 Postgame Audio: Wittman, Wall, Nene & More

January 25, 2013 by

WASHINGTON–The Washington Wizards came home and kept their relatively good play going as they ran away from the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-101 and earned their tenth win of the season.

Wizards guard John Wall started his first game of the season and had 14 points and 5 assists in the win.

“I thought John Wall was ready after the road trip,”  Head Coach Randy Wittman said about Wall.  “We still have limited minutes with him, but I thought it was time. He has his legs under him a little, but he’s still not where he needs to be. I think another couple of weeks of conditioning to get his legs back, but I thought it was time to play with that unit. He hasn’t played a lot with those guys, but overall I think he did fine. He directed the offense very well and distributed a lot. It’s time for John to be back in the starting lineup; he’s the point guard of our team.”

John Wall was also happy with his effort.

“It feels good to be there, with the starters,”  Wall said.  “Just try to do the same, dictate the game…just try and lead my team and I think that’s what I did and got us to a big lead.”

Wizards center Nene summed up what this win means to them. [Read more...]

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Washington Wizards Game Wrap 32: Poor Shooting Limits Struggling Wizards Against Miami Heat

January 6, 2013 by

There was no Cinderella story for the Washington Wizards in South Beach tonight, as they surrendered 21 unanswered points to the Miami Heat in the final six minutes to fall 99-71.

It was a tough game for a Washington team who have shown they can be scrappy at times throughout the season. They certainly have their flaws, but in a December matchup against the Heat at the Verizon Center, they showed they have the ability to play with and beat almost any team in the league. Consistency though, is their biggest struggle.

There is one play in the fourth quarter which really sums up the Wizards’ luck in this game. Washington’s Kevin Seraphin grabbed an offensive rebound and looked to kick it out high to set up perhaps a three-point second chance shot. While passing to the top of the arc, Miami’s Ray Allen intercepted the pass, took off and was fouled on the other end and made the basket. Allen hit his free throw and from a second-chance opportunity and a chance forWashington  to cut into the lead, it turned into three points for Miami.

Washington was not far out of the game at that point in time and it really killed any chance for them to comeback in the contest. There were certainly highlights for the Wizards though, despite the loss. Martell Webster hit a clutch shot-clocking beating shot in the third quarter and rookie Bradley Beal continued his impressive January with a big-ups dunk towards the end of the first half. At the end of the day though, they just were not able to get the number of explosive plays a team needs to beat Miami at home.

Despite having yet another rough night shooting the ball, only connecting on 36-percent of their shots, the Wizards cut down on the turnovers. Those pesky little giveaways have been a key part to this team’s struggles for the last few weeks and for the first time in distant memory, the Wizards had fewer than ten turnovers, with only eight. More importantly, they gave the ball away fewer times than Miami, who had nine, which is a sign they played a little tighter with the ball.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing with this Washington Wizards team though, is their inability to sink free throws. Free throws are free points, they are given to you, they are the least stressful shot in basketball. Yet, Washington continues to miss them. Of their 14 trips to the line, Washington only walked away with points seven times. Sink those seven and while they would not have won the game, it certainly could have given the team more confidence in key points of the contest.

Seraphin was the high scorer for Washington with 14 points, while Cartier Martin and Webster contributed 13 and 10 respectively. A little puzzling was Nene’s performance. With only five points in 22 minutes, the normal rock of Washington’s scoring was a disappointing one for six from the floor.

The Wizards return home to Washington tomorrow to take on the Western Conference Champion Oklahoma City Thunder at the Verizon Center. If Washington hopes to shock the other NBA Finals contestant at home, much like they shocked Miami, they are going to have to shoot better. It can be done, but the Wizards need to shoot better within five feet and continue to protect the rock.

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