Wizards win despite horrendous FT shooting

[RedskinsVision]

14/30! the worst FT shooting display since the Georgetown Hoyas days of old.. only thing is this is a pro team! it was contagious tonight.. that and Van Exel and Stoudamire's 3's almost lost the game for us after being up by 13 starting the 4th. but great plays/steals by Arenas and Hughes down the stretch was the deciding factor. Jamison probably had his worst game of the year (4-17 FG's). E. Thomas came back and showed some inside prowess but also some rust. Overall a good night considering in years past, we would've blown this game. 20-13 record... wow.. who would've thunk it? 25 wins all last year.. we should enjoy this while it lasts.

[IMALILTEAPOT]

it should of beena blow out. god, im gonna have a heart attack watching these games. we crush them in the 3rd, then in the 4th we give up points. jamison really had a bad game, he missed some layups in the beginning, and from there he struggled. but arenas and hughes, damn, these guys go to work. hughes had 6 steals, and he had one whe did a sean taylor and baited the guy to pass and just intercepted it, and dunked the ball. and arenas makes big plays at the end of games. 20-13 is our best record in 20 years

[split3clemente]

wata win man, that game had my blood pumpin the whole night. van exel was clutch but it just wasnt enough as gilbert and hughes took over in the last minute and a half.

[straightupbeast]

should have been a blowout but a win is a win and i will take the 20th win in january rather than march...good work by haywood tonight...nice to have etan back need to shake off that rust and he'll work into the system well...dixon great off the bench again...jamison didnt have his shot working tonight but that one that he did make in the final minute was spectacular...arenas and hughes great as usual

redskinsvision you say we should enjoy this while it last...do you mean this as their 5 game winning streak or the whole season...because on either i think it will continue...we are a good team and i think people are a little reluctant to accept that...of course im not saying we'll win every game but we'll continue our above 500 play...

[RedskinsDave]

Geez, are we spoiled already? We have a winning team for 2 months and you're complaining after wins? All I have to say is remember Les Boulez. ;)

[RedskinsVision]

redskinsvision you say we should enjoy this while it last...do you mean this as their 5 game winning streak or the whole season...because on either i think it will continue...we are a good team and i think people are a little reluctant to accept that...of course im not saying we'll win every game but we'll continue our above 500 play...

both.. but i definitely agree that this will continue. it's just been so long since we've enjoyed a season like this. in the past 15+ years, only when Webber and Howard was here did we have this much excitement . and that team wasn't nearly as good as this. Jordan's 2 years seems like a dream now.. too bad he didn't have Arenas, Jamison, Hayes, Jeffries, a more mature and better Hughes, Haywood, Thomas, Brown. i just want to enjoy this in case injuries happen like last year and this team returns to being average. but i love what the future holds for this team and that's something we couldn't say in years past.. we do need to resign Hughes though.

[Jimreaper007]

Yeah baby!!!


Washington is making a return as a major sports town....Football, Basketball, Hockey-someday and now Baseball!

:D

[J12LIFTS]

first of all, great victory for the wizards tonite, but it shouldn't have had to happen that way. The wizards this year are team that doesnt turn the ball over many times, yet that summed up the real reason Portland was able to make a run in the third quarter. Also the wizards are capable of droppoin huge blow out games, but if they dont take care of the basketball it will end up like the game against detroit and philly. Welcome back Etan (good move inside)

[Jimreaper007]

Dave is right.....

The wiz are winning....let's just bask in that before we get all particular...

The fact that they are not 13 - 20 is simply delightful

[straightupbeast]

How Sweet was that run at the end of the 3rd?


How sweet was that dunk by Ruffin?

[J12LIFTS]

yeah that was pretty tight but even better, that ally to Gil

[riskus]

the wizards deserved to lose this game the way they shot free throws.

that being said, this is what good teams do. overcome obstacles.

[Jimreaper007]

I did not see the game...

Sounds like a big victory tonight. Did we have an inside game this evening?

[J12LIFTS]

well etan returns but not with too much gusto and ruffin had a solid but not up to snuff game but hey, A "w" is a "w"

[Jimreaper007]

I take it Kwame did not play?

[J12LIFTS]

nope

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

To quote Al Davis "Just Win Baby"

[J12LIFTS]

how could i forget haywood man he had some dunks and follows too

[riskus]

nah man he wasnt on 12 man roster

[RedskinsVision]

Kwame was placed on IR today, making room for Etan. Kwame is out a 1-3 weeks with right ankle tendinitis.

[tommahawk]

Needing a bucket coming out of a timeout, the Wizards gave the ball to Arenas, who zipped toward the basket and released a high-arching jumper -- that Ratliff barely tipped -- off the backboard and into the hoop as the Wizards took a 99-98 lead with 24 seconds left.

Arenas followed with the steal and dunk, letting out a howl as the 15,836 fans got out of their seats. Arenas was told that the Wizards are giving Coach Eddie Jordan heart failure with the close games. "By now, he should know," Arenas said, jokingly. "He should know it's going to go down the wire. If he has a heart attack, that's his fault."

These close games are hard to watch but as long as we come out on top it's worth it.

Jordan lived to see another day. And the Wizards came out ahead as Arenas and Hughes picked up the slack when forward Antawn Jamison had just 11 points on 4-of-17 shooting. Jamison was off in every way. Showing his frustration near the end of the first half, Jamison missed a shot in the lane and tossed his mouthpiece about 20 feet into the seats behind the basket. "I was trying to hit the" basket support, Jamison said. "Good thing I'm not a pitcher, cause that thing went a little too far outside."

Hughes filled the stat sheet with nine assists, five rebounds and six steals. Hughes, who leads the NBA in steals, said he had extra motivation to get steals last night. "I talked to Allen Iverson last night. He said he was going to get it, he was going to catch me. With him, it's always a chance," said Hughes, who played with Iverson in Philadelphia. Iverson is third in the league in steals

The Wizards made it harder than it perhaps should've been because they shot just 14 of 30 (46.7 percent) from the foul line, missing nine free throws in the fourth quarter. An example of the bizarre night from the foul line: Arenas, an 83-percent foul shooter, was an uncharacteristic 0 for 3, while reserve forward Michael Ruffin was a perfect 2 for 2. "It's a little odd that I'm the one that's hitting all the free throws and everyone else was missing," said Ruffin, a 45-percent foul shooter.

The Wizards also welcomed back reserve forward Etan Thomas, who missed the first 32 games because of an abdominal strain. He entered the game to a standing ovation with 1:19 left in the first quarter and immediately inspired cheers when he grabbed a rebound.

Thomas scored four points with four rebounds in 13 minutes. Although he wasn't completely in sync with his teammates, Thomas was his usual energetic self, contesting shots on defense and quite nimble on one play in the second quarter when he caught a pass from forward Jarvis Hayes, spun into the lane and was fouled as he hit a layup. "It was a great feeling just to be able to get on the court and contribute," Thomas said. "It just got old cheering on the sidelines."



I couldn't believe all the missed FTs. Just one of those days I guess.
The Wiz can't afford too many off days coming up.

The Wizards beat Atlanta, New Jersey, Seattle, Minnesota and Portland at home, but they have a tough road ahead with an away game against Milwaukee, followed by Phoenix at home and San Antonio and Dallas on the road. "We've got to do the Texas two-step," Jordan said. "We have to be like squirrels. We have to harvest our nuts right now, build up some wins for when things get thin later."

source (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4770-2005Jan12.html)

I'm glad the Wiz have more nuts this year.

[Jimreaper007]

Kwame has got to go....for all the expectations...he hasn't delivered jack squat.

[GolfFreak]

I think last night shows that we are a much better team overall - we should have lost that one. I think this team is extremely talented and well coached and last nights game proves it. To overcome the FT troubles is amazing. Wow!!!

[Jimreaper007]

I am very happy that they are playing hard and seeing results. Winning is like an addiction in that once you start winning you do not want the euphoria and the high to end. Hopefully these guys are starting to become used to it.

The more you love winning...the more you hate to lose

[dj_stouty]

I'd rather see them shoot poorly from the FT line and win than to see them shoot poorly from the FT line and lose.

Thankfully they got their "misses" out of the way in a game they won. Hopefully they reverse this trend for some games in the near future that will be much harder to win.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

The Bullets are a pretty good FT shooting team so I'll
just assume it was one of those nights.

[GibbsRules!]

the wizards deserved to lose this game the way they shot free throws.

that being said, this is what good teams do. overcome obstacles.

Not only that, but they overcame a dismal shooting performance by Jamison 4-17. Arenas and Hughes picked up the slack and Dixon contributed off the bench against Portland's smaller backcourt. Randolph got hurt early and that helped, too.

Nice win against another Western Conference team. We need those....

[IndianBaller27]

Yes... Another win... We're rollin'! I hate that the best we can be is fourth even though we have the third best record.

[IMALILTEAPOT]

the wizards deserved to lose this game the way they shot free throws.

that being said, this is what good teams do. overcome obstacles.
the blazers deserved to lose that game because we had so many missed free throws and they still lost

[IndianBaller27]

The Bucks are next, right?

[IMALILTEAPOT]

The Bucks are next, right?
yea tomorrow nite at 8:30. im goin to j's house to see it, hopefully

[IndianBaller27]

yea tomorrow nite at 8:30. im goin to j's house to see it, hopefully
Come to my house on Saturday with him.

[straightupbeast]

kwame was put on the il once they activated etan