Well, that was certainly an epic collapse. But then again, with these Wizards, was it really that unexpected?
This is a team built around Andray Blatche, Al Thornton, Randy Foye, and JaVale McGee. They’re the guys getting the major minutes, so whoever they are, that’s the personality of the team. But whatever you thought that personality was over the first 41 minutes, 50 seconds in Boston tonight, that isn’t it.
Let’s peel back the onion from 6:10 left in the fourth, with the Wiz up, 79-66, by looking at those five players and finding out who they really are in a big game against a contender on the road.
Foye: 1 for 6 from the field, 0 for 2 from 3-point, 1 assist.
Blatche: 0 for 2 weak, hesitant, non-agressive jumpers, 1 turnover.
Thornton: 0 for 2, one offensive foul.
Miller: Did you know that Miller is shooting 53.9 percent from beyond the arc? ESPN announcer Dan Shulman reminded us more than once. Yeah, but Miller didn’t shoot the ball once down the stretch. Did he even touch it besides flailing for a loose ball that he fell on and lost?
McGee: I don’t think he saluted on the alley oop from Foye. I could be wrong. Zero rebounds, zero blocks.
There’s no sense in faulting the effort. The Wizards led for three full quarters and made the Celtics look like a team that is far from contending for the Eastern Conference title. But the responsibility for the defeat falls on the starters themselves, who reverted back to their worst traits over the final stretch.
And while it may be tempting to serve an extra helping of grief on Foye, who forgot how to pass, somebody needed to take the ball out of his hands. Could’ve been Flip Saunders, could’ve been Miller or Blatche. Someone, please. (Okay, probably not new 10-day man Alonzo Gee.)
Either way, these Wizards seem to repeatedly bang their heads on the team’s ceiling. But let’s put it this way, at this point, the bruises are getting bigger, and the building ain’t budging.
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