Finally some Hoya basketball after an 8 day break. Hoyas come back ranked 20th in the nation. Grudge match against St. John's who beat the Hoyas 61-58 earlier this month. Steve Lavin coached a great game for the Johnnies exploiting physical matchup problems & the Hoyas never adjusted.
St. John's comes into this game struggling though. Having loss 4 out of their last 5 games & in those 4 losses they loss by an average margin of 14.
Hoyas started off a dismal 1-4 in the big east but coming off 2 much needed victories over Rutgers & Seton Hall.
5 Keys to the game
1. Austin Freeman. Got to get a nice shooting night out of Austin...Hoyas are 8-1 when Austin scores over 20.
2. On Ball Defense...Dwight Hardy lit Jason Clark up at the end of the game last time with his penetration. Not to mention a scrub like Jordan Theodore for Seton Hall getting by our guards at will. This has been a constant problem this year.
3. Accountability...If someone on the bench is giving the team more than one of our starters tonight, then JTIII has to coach "by feel" & give that guy on the bench more time.
4. Hollis Thompson...Get him more shots...you gotta find him, Hollis is money when left alone.
5. Chris Wright & Jason Clark...we need Chris to make better decisions & we need Jason to find his shot.
Lets go Hoyas!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
At least we're at home...Wizards-Nuggets
If you're a Wizards I guess its always nice to know you're playing at Verizon Center. Since they can't win on the road.
Last night in the 4th quarter showed exactly why its not surprising this team is now 0-21 on the road. Whether it was Nick Young thinking we were the Sacramento Kings led by White Chocolate throwing no look behind the back passes to no one in particular. Al Thornton thinking he's at run n shoot. Andray Blatche being...well being Andray Blatche. You would like to think you would see progression at this time in the season.
5 Keys to the game
1. It's a home game. On top of that the Nuggets are almost as bad as the Wizards on the road, with just a 5-13 record.
2. Mustafa doing his thing. Such a smoothe player...always in control.
3. Flip Saunders. If certain players continue to play like crap & guys on the bench are playing better, please do everyone a favor & bench the deadweight. Your status should be earned every night.
4. Defense. I almost felt like we had to score 130 to beat the Knicks last night. Denver can score with the best of em, so you have to play a little defense.
5. No ball stoppers. I'd like to see better ball movement...but between Blatche & Thornton that's hard to do.
Matchups
PG Billups vs Wall Adv. Wall
SG Afflalo vs Young Adv. Young
SF Anthony vs Lewis Adv. Anthony
PF Martin vs Blatche Adv. Toss-UP (I wouldn't want either guy on my team but I'm stuck with Blatche)
C Nene vs McGee Adv. Nene
Try to notch another home victory.
Last night in the 4th quarter showed exactly why its not surprising this team is now 0-21 on the road. Whether it was Nick Young thinking we were the Sacramento Kings led by White Chocolate throwing no look behind the back passes to no one in particular. Al Thornton thinking he's at run n shoot. Andray Blatche being...well being Andray Blatche. You would like to think you would see progression at this time in the season.
5 Keys to the game
1. It's a home game. On top of that the Nuggets are almost as bad as the Wizards on the road, with just a 5-13 record.
2. Mustafa doing his thing. Such a smoothe player...always in control.
3. Flip Saunders. If certain players continue to play like crap & guys on the bench are playing better, please do everyone a favor & bench the deadweight. Your status should be earned every night.
4. Defense. I almost felt like we had to score 130 to beat the Knicks last night. Denver can score with the best of em, so you have to play a little defense.
5. No ball stoppers. I'd like to see better ball movement...but between Blatche & Thornton that's hard to do.
Matchups
PG Billups vs Wall Adv. Wall
SG Afflalo vs Young Adv. Young
SF Anthony vs Lewis Adv. Anthony
PF Martin vs Blatche Adv. Toss-UP (I wouldn't want either guy on my team but I'm stuck with Blatche)
C Nene vs McGee Adv. Nene
Try to notch another home victory.
Monday, January 24, 2011
No recap needed...just Blatche
I'm just about fed up with the finesse power forward Andray Blatche. I don't even need to recap this game. I'll just post an excerpt from a message about from an opposing fan on Blatche's game...& its frightenly spot on.
"Hey guys. I'm not here to push any buttons although I'm sure most of you will agree with me anyway. Just wanted to say how much I dislike Blatche. This guy is lazy, selfish and honestly not very smart. Just not a good basketball player. He has some skills but I think people see a guy who has size, can shoot it (although incredibly streaky), and can handle the ball a bit too...and because of that, it's easy to say he's oozing with talent. The fact of the matter is though, he is not a winning player or anything even close to it. For every good play this dude makes, he hurts the team way more with horrendous turnovers, scary shot selection and nauseating defense. He reminds me of a guy Isiah would have filled our old Knicks teams with....except worse. Like a cross between Al Harrington and Zach Randolph with less than half the talent and not even a fraction of the work ethic. My God. For someone who aspires to be such a big time offensive player, you'd think he'd at least attempt to be in shape."
Nuff said...good night
"Hey guys. I'm not here to push any buttons although I'm sure most of you will agree with me anyway. Just wanted to say how much I dislike Blatche. This guy is lazy, selfish and honestly not very smart. Just not a good basketball player. He has some skills but I think people see a guy who has size, can shoot it (although incredibly streaky), and can handle the ball a bit too...and because of that, it's easy to say he's oozing with talent. The fact of the matter is though, he is not a winning player or anything even close to it. For every good play this dude makes, he hurts the team way more with horrendous turnovers, scary shot selection and nauseating defense. He reminds me of a guy Isiah would have filled our old Knicks teams with....except worse. Like a cross between Al Harrington and Zach Randolph with less than half the talent and not even a fraction of the work ethic. My God. For someone who aspires to be such a big time offensive player, you'd think he'd at least attempt to be in shape."
Nuff said...good night
Monkey's off our back: Wizards vs Knicks
Got to ride the momentum wave coming off the big win against the Celtics. Very entertaining game to attend with the plethora of Celtics fans there. Good to send their asses home with the bitter beer face.
On to the Knicks...A lot of monkeys to get off our backs this game. 0-2 against the Knicks this year & haven't won at MSG since 2006, on top of the 0-20 road losing record this year. Perfect time to jump on the Knicks as they've struggled these past few weeks.
5 Keys to the game
1. Get Wall going. He has struggled against the Knicks this season shooting 8-25 with 10 turnovers in 2 games. Wall shook off one of his more poor assist performances against the Celtics to lead the victory.
2. Blatche's intensity. I'd have to say Blatche played his best half of bball in that second half of the Celtics game that I've seen from him. Didn't back down from KG & played a smart game. Good for him, keep it up against Amare.
3. MUSTAFA. What a pleasant surprise he was in the Celtics game off the bench. 5 pts. 5assists 2 blocks & 0 turnovers in 10 minutes of play. He looked better than Hinrich & if he keeps it up it really makes Hinrich expendable this year. Just get him a real jersey this game.
4. Nick shake off that bad game. Nick shot 1-13 in the Celtics...shake it off Nick & don't let it turn into a slump.
5. McGee! Keep guarding that paint. Teams are starting to take notice of him as I saw Ray Allen & Rondo think twice about driving the lane against him. We need that tonight especially against a PG like Felton that likes to drive.
Remember 0-2, 2006, 0-20...lets erase those three things tonight.
LOL @ Nick Young getting Cornrows
On to the Knicks...A lot of monkeys to get off our backs this game. 0-2 against the Knicks this year & haven't won at MSG since 2006, on top of the 0-20 road losing record this year. Perfect time to jump on the Knicks as they've struggled these past few weeks.
5 Keys to the game
1. Get Wall going. He has struggled against the Knicks this season shooting 8-25 with 10 turnovers in 2 games. Wall shook off one of his more poor assist performances against the Celtics to lead the victory.
2. Blatche's intensity. I'd have to say Blatche played his best half of bball in that second half of the Celtics game that I've seen from him. Didn't back down from KG & played a smart game. Good for him, keep it up against Amare.
3. MUSTAFA. What a pleasant surprise he was in the Celtics game off the bench. 5 pts. 5assists 2 blocks & 0 turnovers in 10 minutes of play. He looked better than Hinrich & if he keeps it up it really makes Hinrich expendable this year. Just get him a real jersey this game.
4. Nick shake off that bad game. Nick shot 1-13 in the Celtics...shake it off Nick & don't let it turn into a slump.
5. McGee! Keep guarding that paint. Teams are starting to take notice of him as I saw Ray Allen & Rondo think twice about driving the lane against him. We need that tonight especially against a PG like Felton that likes to drive.
Remember 0-2, 2006, 0-20...lets erase those three things tonight.
LOL @ Nick Young getting Cornrows
Saturday, January 22, 2011
4 Quarters please? Wizards vs Celtics
If you aren't going to play 4 quarters of basketball can we at least get the Wizards play the last 3 quarters well? First back to back home game since 2005.
The good news? Its a home game so there always a chance to get a victory.
The bad news? We're playing the Celtics coming in with a 5 game winning streak.
Kirk Hinrich won't be playing tonight due to injury. Wizards have signed Mustafa Shakur to a 10 day contract.
Shaq will be out as well for the Celtics, starting in his place will be Semih Erden. He seems likely to be the next "guy you never heard of" to have a great game against the Wiz.
5 Keys to the game:
1. Consistency! Can't have mental lapses & droughts against a team like the Celtics...it will get ugly & fast.
2. Feed Nick Young, he's averaging 26 in his last 6 games..find him J. Wall
3. McGee. If he can learn from his mistakes he'd be a top 10 center in the NBA...but he doesn't...yet. If could play smart he could play attack bball against Erden.
4. I would say defense especially against Paul Pierce but that would be wishful thinking. So lets hope Pierce or Allen have an off game.
5. Wall vs Rondo. I've been waiting for this matchup with the 2 Kentucky guards. Rondo is one of the best floor generals in the game, & Wall is working his way to that point. I feel like eventually even as good as Rondo is he will be a middle class man's John Wall in the future.
Matchups
PG Rondo vs Wall adv. Rondo(for now) but Wall's passing the past 3 games have been on a Rondo level
SG R. Allen vs Young adv. Young (at this point in the season)
SF P. Pierce vs Lewis adv Pierce
PF Garnett vs Blatche adv Garnett(by a mile)
C Erden vs McGee adv McGee
See you at the VC!
The good news? Its a home game so there always a chance to get a victory.
The bad news? We're playing the Celtics coming in with a 5 game winning streak.
Kirk Hinrich won't be playing tonight due to injury. Wizards have signed Mustafa Shakur to a 10 day contract.
Shaq will be out as well for the Celtics, starting in his place will be Semih Erden. He seems likely to be the next "guy you never heard of" to have a great game against the Wiz.
5 Keys to the game:
1. Consistency! Can't have mental lapses & droughts against a team like the Celtics...it will get ugly & fast.
2. Feed Nick Young, he's averaging 26 in his last 6 games..find him J. Wall
3. McGee. If he can learn from his mistakes he'd be a top 10 center in the NBA...but he doesn't...yet. If could play smart he could play attack bball against Erden.
4. I would say defense especially against Paul Pierce but that would be wishful thinking. So lets hope Pierce or Allen have an off game.
5. Wall vs Rondo. I've been waiting for this matchup with the 2 Kentucky guards. Rondo is one of the best floor generals in the game, & Wall is working his way to that point. I feel like eventually even as good as Rondo is he will be a middle class man's John Wall in the future.
Matchups
PG Rondo vs Wall adv. Rondo(for now) but Wall's passing the past 3 games have been on a Rondo level
SG R. Allen vs Young adv. Young (at this point in the season)
SF P. Pierce vs Lewis adv Pierce
PF Garnett vs Blatche adv Garnett(by a mile)
C Erden vs McGee adv McGee
See you at the VC!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wizards-Suns Recap
CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY!!! But that's what you tend to get with young teams such as the Wiz. Looked Great for the first 2 quarters then it was alllll down hill from there as they fell to the Suns 109-91 at the Verizon Center.
J. Wall as Flip noted should have had 20 assists if guys knocked down shots that should have been made.
Rashard Lewis had a nice game on the boards with 12 but his outside shot has failed us the last 2 games. 0-10 shooting from 3 in the last 2. Maybe that injury is affecting his shot.
Nick Young as I noted in the preview needed to get going early. He did putting up 20 in the first half...however only 5 in the second. We need Nick to get it going for a whole game.
Rookie Kevin Seraphin got 15 minutes & he is really improving. Had a nice line with 5 Boards & 2 blocks but he really needs to improve those Carlos Rogers/ Yi hands.
Blatche had a rookie type of game. Basically an up & down game, kind of the story of his season...so in other words not good. I admired him getting on the floor to keep a possession alive but still too many senseless & unnecessary turnovers from him.
McGee disappeared, he's always on a short leash with Flip. McGee throws up some of the weirdest shots you will ever see from an NBA player. Its like once he gets the ball, he feels that no matter what he has to throw a shot up at all cost.
At this point I think I'd rather see Cartier Martin get Al Thornton's minutes. Can't have guys out there chucking & looking ugly doing it.
Hinrich went down with an arm injury, doubtful for tomorrow's game...ehhh....
Welp on to the next!
See ya tomorrow at the VC Wizards vs Celtics
J. Wall as Flip noted should have had 20 assists if guys knocked down shots that should have been made.
Rashard Lewis had a nice game on the boards with 12 but his outside shot has failed us the last 2 games. 0-10 shooting from 3 in the last 2. Maybe that injury is affecting his shot.
Nick Young as I noted in the preview needed to get going early. He did putting up 20 in the first half...however only 5 in the second. We need Nick to get it going for a whole game.
Rookie Kevin Seraphin got 15 minutes & he is really improving. Had a nice line with 5 Boards & 2 blocks but he really needs to improve those Carlos Rogers/ Yi hands.
Blatche had a rookie type of game. Basically an up & down game, kind of the story of his season...so in other words not good. I admired him getting on the floor to keep a possession alive but still too many senseless & unnecessary turnovers from him.
McGee disappeared, he's always on a short leash with Flip. McGee throws up some of the weirdest shots you will ever see from an NBA player. Its like once he gets the ball, he feels that no matter what he has to throw a shot up at all cost.
At this point I think I'd rather see Cartier Martin get Al Thornton's minutes. Can't have guys out there chucking & looking ugly doing it.
Hinrich went down with an arm injury, doubtful for tomorrow's game...ehhh....
Welp on to the next!
See ya tomorrow at the VC Wizards vs Celtics
Wizards vs. Suns preview
Ahhh the game that was to be on ESPN but got flexed for the Knicks-Spurs game when the Knicks became a hot commodity again. This will be the grudge match from the December 5th game when Steve Nash went all NBA 2k11 (Rookie diffuculty) on the Wiz. Steve was 8-8 shooting with 20 pts & 17 assists. Hopefully John Wall paid attention to that Point Guard lesson for this go round.
5 Keys to the game:
1. Keep the home momentum going. We might not can win a game on the road but quietly the Wizards have reeled off 4 straight home wins.
2. Nick Young to get in a groove early. If his first half production can match what he's been doing in the second half of games lately he can have another career night.
3. STOP GRANT HILL! I can't believe I'm saying that but the guy is all of a sudden looking like the old Detroit Grant Hill these last three games averaging 24.3 ppg & 8.3 rbs.
4. Andray Blatche to play within himself. Andray looks like he's starting to play some ball these last 2 games but he still has a tendency to shoot too many fadeaways. Please drive strong to the basket Mr. Finesse Power Forward.
5. John Wall vs Steve Nash. We need John to come out with the same intensity against Steve Nash as he did against Deron Williams. Oh & please miss a shot this game Steve thanx.
Matchups
PG Nash vs Wall Edge -> Suns(for now)
SG V. Carter vs Young Edge -> Wizards
SF G. Hill vs Lewis Edge -> Even
PF C. Frye vs Blatche Edge -> Depends on which Blatche shows up
C R. Lopez vs McGee Edge -> Wizards
Pregame Hype Vid:
5 Keys to the game:
1. Keep the home momentum going. We might not can win a game on the road but quietly the Wizards have reeled off 4 straight home wins.
2. Nick Young to get in a groove early. If his first half production can match what he's been doing in the second half of games lately he can have another career night.
3. STOP GRANT HILL! I can't believe I'm saying that but the guy is all of a sudden looking like the old Detroit Grant Hill these last three games averaging 24.3 ppg & 8.3 rbs.
4. Andray Blatche to play within himself. Andray looks like he's starting to play some ball these last 2 games but he still has a tendency to shoot too many fadeaways. Please drive strong to the basket Mr. Finesse Power Forward.
5. John Wall vs Steve Nash. We need John to come out with the same intensity against Steve Nash as he did against Deron Williams. Oh & please miss a shot this game Steve thanx.
Matchups
PG Nash vs Wall Edge -> Suns(for now)
SG V. Carter vs Young Edge -> Wizards
SF G. Hill vs Lewis Edge -> Even
PF C. Frye vs Blatche Edge -> Depends on which Blatche shows up
C R. Lopez vs McGee Edge -> Wizards
Pregame Hype Vid:
Do your thing Nick, just don't slip in ice before the game.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
DC Sports Talk
Welcome,
Discussing all DC sports. When will the Wizards get a road win? Which direction do the Shanahan's go in the draft? Can the Hoyas shake off their struggles & shed the "Princeton offense is predictable" label? Will the Nats be more competitive this year than in recent years? Can the Caps bring home the Stanley Cup? Everyday I should be bringing game previews/recaps & opinionated discussions about the area's teams from a fan perspective. Stay tuned!
Discussing all DC sports. When will the Wizards get a road win? Which direction do the Shanahan's go in the draft? Can the Hoyas shake off their struggles & shed the "Princeton offense is predictable" label? Will the Nats be more competitive this year than in recent years? Can the Caps bring home the Stanley Cup? Everyday I should be bringing game previews/recaps & opinionated discussions about the area's teams from a fan perspective. Stay tuned!
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