Okay, before the game I said it seemed like Golden State’s season hasn’t been as bad as Washington’s. Upon reconsideration, that may apply only off the court because the Warriors barely have enough players to actually field at team on the court.
How bad are things? C.J. Watson, who has a rib injury, had to dress tonight for the Warriors to give them the minimum of eight players.
“I wish I could’ve rested our guys more but you gotta have five guys on the court at all times,” said Warriors head coach Don Nelson. “If I could’ve got away with three, I would’ve done it.”
Well then, not much chance for record-setting 1,333rd victory then, eh? No, not at all.
Instead, it was statistic-padding night for the Wizards, who had four guys with 20+ points for the first time since Dec. 26, 2007.
Nick Young – season-high 29 points. JaVale McGee – career-high 25 points, career-high 15 rebounds off the bench (first Wizard/Bullet with at least than since Dan Roundfield on Apr. 4, 1986). Shaun Livingston – career high-matching 21 points (he said he’s scored 23 but I can’t find it), season high-matching 8 assists, 0 turnovers. Andray Blatche – 21 points.
And all smiles in the locker room afterward.
“I asked Dray, can you please just get me one more shot, and you know what he did, the same thing that happened to him,” said Young, referring to Blatche’s ridiculous attempt to finish with a triple-double two nights ago. “He tried to say it’s karma because I was laughing at him when he took the rebound from Cartier [Martin]. He said, ‘I got you back for laughing at me.’”
Wizards head coach Flip Saunders credited Livingston for getting the team going: Livingston called the Warriors a “6-8 and under team.”
“Probably the only reason right now he’s not an all-star in this league is because of the injury,” said Saunders. “So when we brought him in, we knew that he had the mental capacity to play that position. We knew that one time he had the physical skills and even though he might not be as physically explosive as he used to be, he seems to be getting better and better with that, and he’s got unbelievable size so you can do a lot with him, put a lot of pressure on the guys that are guarding him. He’s progressed, and he’s getting more confidence. He knows that we have a lot of confidence in him so it’s nice to see him continue to produce.”
Did Flip have the same kind of praise for McGee? Heck no!
“He’s going to learn how eventually, when he takes a 15-foot shot and misses, he’s coming out,” said Flip, “and when he dribbles the ball from one end to the other, he’s coming out of the game. He’s going to figure that out eventually. I don’t know how soon, but eventually he’ll get it figured out. At least I know when that’s going to happen so I hope he does.”
Not sure what that last part means. It got a laugh, though.
So, here we are again, posed on the brink of another three-game win streak – the first since exactly two years ago (Apr. 4, 5 and 9, 2008). Could the Magic be ripe for the upset? They clinched the No. 2 seed in the East tonight, and the Wizards believe the tough schedule they played in March is actually helping them.
“That’s what I was thinking about, we’ve played so many tough teams, and all those teams we were right there with them so we’ve taken it and we’re using it on the court, and that’s what’s helping us a lot,” said Blatche. “It’s showing. I just want to keep the same intensity and work ethic so we can finish out the season stronger.”
Perhaps. Perhaps.
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