Ouch. That hurt.
Was it intimidation? Youth? Inexperience? A lack of discipline? Nerves? A regression? Whatever it was, the Wizards got pummeled by Orlando the two teams’ season opener. It doesn’t even matter that the score finished 112-83. This game was over well before the first quarter finished and served notice that this team, despite the offseason turnover, hasn’t quite turned the page. In fact, apart from John Wall, it felt like last season extended. And yes, this team desperately needs Gilbert Arenas.
Wall Watch
Did Wall really have a bad rookie debut? He certainly wasn’t Blake Griffin-like, but 14 points, 9 assists and 3 steals isn’t terrible on the face of it for a rookie point guard in his first NBA game against an Eastern Conference playoff favorite and perhaps NBA championship contender. Now, neither his 6-for-19 shooting night nor the 3 turnovers were pretty, but that’s part of the learning curve, and it was produced by a combination of a lack of support offensively from his teammates and the fact that’s going to press when things aren’t going right for the Wizards as a whole. His jump shot has a long way to go, and smart defensive teams like Orlando are going to leave him free all year long to shoot it. He’s got to get better, but more importantly, the Wizards must improve around him so he’s not left on an island.
Ballers
Cartier Martin
On Monday, the day Martin clinched his spot on the Wizards’ regular-season roster, he said to a couple reporters as he exited practice, “I am happy to you see you today.’’ From the fringes of even being a part of the team this season, Martin came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points along with 2 steals and one ridiculous block on Dwight Howard.
His minutes, however, also expose how desperately the Wizards need Josh Howard to return, and raise questions about how well Nick Young is performing at all. The limitations of Al Thornton are also well known.
Busts
Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee
Bad shots, weak defense, and no sign of change or dramatic improvement from last season. Blatche (6 points) was 2 for 9 and looked totally overwhelmed by the occasion, with little to no rhythm offensively and little to no sharpness on the defensive end. McGee (7 points, 2 rebounds) was given the opportunity to start and showed Wizards head coach Flip Saunders exactly why he was unable to hold onto the spot when given the chance last year, picking up a pair of quick fouls, executing poorly when defending the pick and roll and failing to pull down a single defensive rebound.
Portrait play
Take your pick from any of the ridiculously easy layups the Magic used to set the tone for the contest. As intimidated as the Wizards looked, the Magic are a fantastic team and have a playoff look to them even though it’s still October. This was always going to be a very difficult game for the Wizards to play as the first one of year, and Saunders knew it. The players might have, too, but they weren’t able to handle it.
Trend of the night
3 offensive rebounds on 49 missed shots. Frightening.
