# Game Thread: Wizards vs. Knicks @ MCI



## local_sportsfan (Jul 24, 2002)

I'm going to the game tonight, so I'll be sure to give a recap to those who couldn't see the game. Here are some things I will be looking out for:

- the power forward battle: Kwame vs. Sweetney/Thomas/Lampe/Van Horn/Spoon. Kwame is going up against a myriad of different style pf's, so I'll be interested in seeing how he performs.

- How will JJ play in his first action in months?

- Juan and Hayes battling for backup sg minutes... 

- How the offense runs, and whether our guys can execute it well without excessive turnovers.

- Can we rebound?

Post your thoughts here.


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

I haven't decided whether I am going or not. I will have to look at my schedule as tipoff approaches. 

I am not expecting much at all. I am not sure how much can be done in the few, short days they have had so far.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

I'd like to go, but alas I am hours away at school  I don't put much stock in what goes on during preseason, but it's still fun to see how people do.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Me and my pops will be front and center as always we got them, season tix. I will ocassionally not be attending games so I'll have a pair of tickets for some games. I'll make a post about the games ahead of time. The 1st person who PM's me can have the tix to those games free of charge. I'll leave them at the MCI center in the persons name. I just prefer to watch some games on TV and being out of town with my job prevents me from attending some games. 

Anyway about the game I think 15 practices is enuff to get sort of a feel. I expect sloppiness for the most part with the ballhandling. 

I expect to's to be our problem all year long. Arenas, Stack Hughes, Kwame ,and Haywood are just errant with the ball too often. 

I am too looking forward to kwame banging with Sweetney . They play against each other during the summers so they have sort of a rivalry sparked by Sweet telling folks he busted Kwame a couple summers ago. Kwame shut him down in summer league though.

I'm excited to get this 1st peek at the good guys as Buck says.


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## local_sportsfan (Jul 24, 2002)

Actually, this preseason is going to be an important one, IMO. It will tell us alot about how the team handles the new offense.

In other news, JJ might not play tonight.


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## CP26 (May 8, 2003)

This is gonna be great. Me and my friends are going to the game tonight. You can see me wearing the Caron Butler jersey :laugh: j/k. The match up I want to see is Stack and Keith


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

Chris Whitney vs Charlie Ward.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>jazzy1</b>!
> Me and my pops will be front and center as always we got them, season tix. I will ocassionally not be attending games so I'll have a pair of tickets for some games. I'll make a post about the games ahead of time. The 1st person who PM's me can have the tix to those games free of charge. I'll leave them at the MCI center in the persons name. I just prefer to watch some games on TV and being out of town with my job prevents me from attending some games.


Very nice! Odds are I wouldn't be the one to get them, since I wouldn't be in the area enough to make it to a majority of the game, but I thank you in advance for everyone 

I'm getting excited for tonight's game. I know I said that I put little stock into preseason games in my above post, but that doesn't mean they aren't great to discuss. I really hope JJ can play tonight, as he's grown on me over the course of the summer (albeit for no particular reason). Coupled with the notes from Jazzy about how the coaches have really high hopes for him, he is probably the player I am most excited about seeing play. Then again, there is Kwame ... and Arenas ... and Hayes ... and even Blake. The season is just a few short weeks away :grinning:


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## digital jello (Jan 10, 2003)

Will it be on MSG?


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>digital jello</b>!
> Will it be on MSG?


It's at MCI Center, if you're asking where it's at.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

Wiz 15 Knicks 8

All of our starters have scored, nothing else really of note so far.

Our starting lineup was Arenas/Hughes/Stackhouse/Kwame/Haywood.

http://www.nba.com/games/20031007/NYKWAS/livestats.html


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

Wiz 27 Knicks 22 at the end of 1.

Stackhouse has 7, and everyone else that's played has 4 or less.

Hayes only got in a minute or two, and has 1 point at the line.

Etan has 4 board in 4 minutes of action, while Arenas and Stackhouse each have 3 assists.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

Wiz 60 Knicks 46 at halftime.

Very balanced scoring amongst the starters on our team. Hughes with 10 (3-6 FG, 4-4 FT), Arenas with 9 (3-5 FG, 1-2 3P), Stackhouse with 9 (3-5 FG, 1-2 3P), and Kwame with 8 (3-5 FG, 2-4 FT).

Etan is still on top in boards with 6, though both Kwame and Hughes have 5.

Assists are pretty even as well, with all starters except Haywood having at least 2, with Stackhouse leading the way with 5.

Hayes had a pretty miserable looking first half, finishing with 3 point on 1-6 shooting with 3 fouls. That beats out Blake though, who didn't get into the game.

Jeffries got no first half minutes, which I would assume that he isn't playing in the game (as Local keyed us on to earlier).


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

One thing people disrespected the Wiz about is that they do have guys who can put the ball in the hole. 

In Hughes, Arenas, Stackhouse and Dixon they have one of the best scoring backcourts in the NBA. Those guys can put the ball in the hoop. 

With Eddie Jordan playing that fast paced offense look for them to put up a whole lot of points. Glad to see that is coming back to the NBA.


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## Shanghai Kid (Mar 7, 2003)

The route is on....



Larry Hughes is looking like a beast at SG. In the 3rd quarter he has 17, 5, 4 on 60% shooting and 100% from the freethrow line.


The ball movement is looking really good, everyone is getting assists, and everyone is scoring. If players like Stack and Arenas share the ball like this every night, we might be pretty damn good.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

Wiz 87 Knicks 63 at the end of three.

All four of our key starters are playing very well, especially Hughes.

Steve Blake got a few minutes -- I thought he was going to get a DNPCD. He had 2 points and 1 assist in four minutes.


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## NorthEast Wiz (Jul 16, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Shanghai Kid</b>!
> The route is on....
> 
> 
> ...


Couldn't make it to the game but the box score looks pretty good. I like this starting line especially since Stack is so positive about it.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

http://www.nba.com/games/20031007/NYKWAS/boxscore.html

There's the box score for those curious.


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## grizzoistight (Jul 16, 2002)

Jarvis was a little off this game
oh well only preseason no biggie


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

Everyone can't play great I suppose -- Hayes and Dixon look like they had pretty poor games. As a whole everyone else played pretty well it looks though, so I'm still happy with the results.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Jordan did a good job of balanced PT


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

Looking at the play by play, it seems Lampe and Sweetney didn't really do much against Kwame, who last left the game with 1 minute remaining in the 3rd period. At the time Brown came out, which was for the last time, Lampe had 6pts 0reb 2blks and Sweetney had 2pts 0reb. 

I have no idea how much they were actually matched up, but any stats Lampe and Sweetney had came with Kwame pretty much off the court, though Lampe's blocks were on Kwame less than 2 minutes apart in the 3rd period.


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## DetBNyce (Jul 23, 2002)

Good to see Stack back to doing his thing. How did Kwame look, did he show signs that he's ready to take the next step in developing?


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## CP26 (May 8, 2003)

Kwame had some pretty nice rebounds that the crowd loved


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## CP26 (May 8, 2003)

Haywoods jersey # is now 33


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Just got home from the game some thoughts. 

1st off I like the offense. It requires the movement of bodies and looked a helluva lot smoother than I thought they'd be. Kwame's really involved in the high post handiling the ball. Defensively they looked active jumping, and switching effectively. 

player notes

Arenas- Is the real deal. He is a real pg. He is a very good passer not just good but the real deal. Plays under control at all times. Defensivly better than I thought applies good pressure on the ball and gambles for stls too often leaving shooters often. 

Hughes- Not real impressed by the small guard line-up. Hughes scored points but all 3 guards play too high on the floor stalling the ball at times. His defense was solid ,he gambled alot also. 

Stack-was Stack , he was very unselfish maybe it was just the preseason or he's turned over a new leaf. Got abused by Van Horn at times at the 3 spot. 

Kwame- Played real confident, he's bigger and better this season. Had mental lapses at times where he was not active. Got stuck on a couple of moves with rushed shots. Also droped a couple of nice post moves one on Lamp one on Thomas. Defensively he was okay. 

Haywood - physically bigger, still real mechanical and let too many guys offensive rebound early. Not real impressed by his progress. 

Dixon- is pressing big time. Played too fast early picking up fouls and missed everything he threw up. Looked stuck handiling the ball. Expect pine time from Mr. Dixon. 

Hayes- Looked out of sorts like it was his 1st game. Never looked comfortable. Had trouble catching up to the tempo of the pro game. Waay Too early to tell with him. Rushed his shots ,fumbled the ball, took a bad shot . 

Blake- looked alittle Jittery at 1st but settled down too make some good passes. Broke Willaims down off the dribble once getting in the lane for a lay-up. Hit a long corner 2, Threw a really nice pass to Jahidi and to Etan. 

Etan- Is bigger and badder. He's gonna force someone to the bench For my money I'd start he and Kwame over Kwame/Haywood. Etan played strong, hit the boards, finished inside, blocked shots just played aggessive. 

Laet, Whit, and Butler played how you'd think they'd play. Same with Jahidi who had a couple of nice dunks but as usual had fumbleitis. 


Knicks

Lampe- can flat out shoot, is tougher than I thouight didn't get pushed around all that much. He's gonna be a good one. 

Sweetney- Looked smaller in height than I remember. May struggle in the NBA. Got a few garbage buckets. Needs to be more agressive in the paint. 

Overall Wizards looked much better with the execution than I anticipated. Had some tough stretches. EJ's system is gonna work wonderful for the Wizards gonna be a real exciting year.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Nice game! Nice balance! Glad to see kawame do well.


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## local_sportsfan (Jul 24, 2002)

I was at the game as well, and I pretty much agree with Jazzy's recap. Here is what I saw:

- Hughes and Gil are going to share ballhandling duties on the perimeter. Both players can and will initiate the offense.

-Hughes looked good...I think Jazz kinda underated his performance. His shot was _very_ smooth, and he really crashed the boards hard.

- Gil tried a 3-pointer from about 5 steps behind the three point line, and airballed it. The defender dared him to take it, and he did. The kid has no fear.

- In the first half, Kwame looked great. Schooled Lampe and Thomas on a few nice moves, grabbed a bunch of offensive rebounds, and played good defense on Thomas. In the third, he got overconfident and tried to take it right at Lampe a couple of times and just lost the ball going up. He also missed a dunk (over Lampe I believe). He still needs work on finishing around the hoop and foul shooting. 

- Stack looked great. He abused Van Horn IMO. He also had like 4 sweet passes for dunks.

- Haywood made a few nice shots. Made a real nice baseline fadeaway ala Ewing. But he is still a walking mass of unathletic uncoordination. I see 7 and 7 for Wood this season.

- Hayes looked really out of place. He'll need 4-5 good preseason games to get his confidence back.

- Juan didn't fare much better, missing alot of shots he usually makes. 

- Blake airballed his first shot. The guy who caught the airball tried to make an outlet pass, and Blake stole it and went in for an easy layup. He nailed a 3 from the baseline off a pass from Mitchell Butler. He also made 3 sweet dishes for dunks.

- JJ didn't play, so I was kinda disappointed.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

I'm very happy to hear the news about Etan -- I've backed off it recently because it didn't seem likely, but earlier in the summer I really believed our best starting lineup would have him and Kwame at the 4/5 (not sure who'd be where). Good news about Blake playing well too, as I've had higher hopes for him than any other second round pick we've made in awhile.


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## RoyWilliams (May 25, 2003)

So is Kwame going to be around for the full year or fool me again with a few good games at the start of the season.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>RoyWilliams</b>!
> So is Kwame going to be around for the full year or fool me again with a few good games at the start of the season.


That's a question that plagues us all :laugh: I personally am going into the season with this attitude: lowered expectations stat-wise (12/8/1.5 BPG would be a good season in my opinion), higher expectations consistency and confidence-wise. I'd rather see him get 14/10, 10/9, 13/7 then 10/4, 22/12, 6/9, so that's what I'm hoping for. I'd also like to see less "lost" moments, where he looks like doesn't have a clue what he should be doing, on both offense and defense.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

I actually expect the normal game for Kwame to be like last nights game. 13pts and 7-8 rebs. I expect some big games to be 20+ and 12-14 rebs. If he can provide those 12-13 as MJG says I think he'll have had a solid stepping stone season. 

If he can average 12-13 going into January. I think he finds another gear and confidence and possibly breaks out. He needs to sustain a level of play for about 2-3 months than I think he could break out in the latter stages of the season. 

If there's anyone who expects a 20 and 10 type break out they're fooling themselves it ain't gonna happen. You don't go from hardly playing to suddenly putting up allstar numbers, you have to climb gradually. 

I agree about the lapses. Kwame gets far too comfortable in games and tries to coast as opposed to constantly staying focused and playing disciplined basketball. 

Like last night he was making plays and being active than suddenly got to relaxed and too some bad shots and stopped going hard for the boards. 

Etan is very hungry plays with the right amount of force defensively every time out and attacks the boards very hard.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>local_sportsfan</b>!
> I was at the game as well, and I pretty much agree with Jazzy's recap. Here is what I saw:
> 
> - Hughes and Gil are going to share ballhandling duties on the perimeter. Both players can and will initiate the offense.
> ...



See Local I agree with you Hughes did play well. But what does thhat really mean. I just see no logic in placing the faith in Hughes. We did it here last season. Philly did it, as did , GSW why is this season different. Because EJ's a new coach and doesn't know Hughes as well. 

I like Hughes's game but I like the idea of him being our sixth man. As it stands now we have no proven scoring coming off the bench. Juan, JJ, Hayes may all develop but they aren't proven. 

Laet doesn't offer high volume scoring either. Etan should be starting ahead of Etan. Basically. 

Starting Stack at the 3 shrinks our line-up defensively and rebounding wise. JJ as the starter at the 3 or if Hayes develop's gives us better size and rebounding. 

Hughe's could be our energizer and focus on scoring alone. As it stands now EJ is placing alot of responsibility on Hughes and he seems to struggle when that happens. 

Simplifying his role as just our 6th man could do wonders but we'll see.


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## Shanghai Kid (Mar 7, 2003)

No way Jeffries or Hayes are ready to start. The Arenas/Hughes/Stack line0up might not be great on the rebounding side, but it's better defensively in the backcourt, and it gives you guys 3 perimter guys who can score and pass very well.

Hughes is too much of an all around player to have off the bench. I've never seen him as just a scorer. He gets rebounds, assists, and his jumper is looking smooth right? He's flatout better than anything Hayes can offer at SF. And it's too soon for Jeffries to just come out and start.

Etan should start, he's a rebounding beast, a machine. Give the man 38 minutes a game and see if he isn't top 8 in the league in rebounds.


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## billiken_roy (Sep 30, 2003)

*hughes struggled?*

i have always had a problem with those assertations that somehow larry hughes struggles. my gosh, i admit he hasnt had hall of fame results and stats, but by the same token, they are pretty darn good as well. and to imply that he should JUST be a scorer, is ludicrous. everything we have read as of late leads me to believe he is the best guard defender on the team. if true, why would you not want him in the game as much as possible. especially at the beginning and end of games to insure they start and end the right way. 

the move to make is to trade stackhouse. and imo, he has great value to teams like indiana or denver that need relatively young guard scorers now and i would think an extremely good draft pick could be had to continue building this team.


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## NorthEast Wiz (Jul 16, 2002)

I am in favor of starting the best line-up possible which right now for me would be:

1 - Arenas
2 - Hughes
3 - Stack
4 - Kwame
5 - Etan (have always liked him over the others)

1st sub: JJ for Hughes, Stack slides to the 2
2nd sub: Haywood/White for Etan
3rd sub: L8 for Kwame
4th: Enter C. Whit for Arenas

Rotate these 9 players, playing Jahadi or Haywood, whoever is producing.

Give Blake, Hayes and 12th man spot minutes.


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## CP26 (May 8, 2003)

Etan is really better than people think. 
PS: Laettner has new hair and it looks cool.


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## Shanghai Kid (Mar 7, 2003)

Seriously, I think Etan could easily be a 8-9 rebound guy if we give him starter minutes.


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## MJG (Jun 29, 2003)

I am not a big fan of per-48 stats, but just for fun here is Etan's:

17.0 PPG on 49.2% FG
15.4 RPG (8.9 Def, 6.5 Off)
2.2 BPG
8.8 FTA

Basically, he grabs a lot of rebounds and does a good amount of banging around on the inside (though you probably knew that without the stats). Last year, he put up 4.8/4.3/0.6 BPG in only 13.5 MPG, which I think is pretty darn good production in that few minutes. As a comparison, Haywood only put up 1.4 PPG and 0.7 RPG more than Etan in 10 more MPG. Obviously Haywood has the size advantage at 7'0/270 versus Etan's 6'9/255, but that isn't too big of a factor against a lot of the teams in the league that start PFs at center.


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## grizzoistight (Jul 16, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>NorthEast Wiz</b>!
> I am in favor of starting the best line-up possible which right now for me would be:
> 
> 1 - Arenas
> ...


Hayes has one bad preseason game and now he gets 12th man minutes  Im glad he didnt go off for 40 becuz he would have been roy then i guess??


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

Why does everyone have so much faith in Hughes the guy has underachieved everywhere he's been. All around talent known for mental lapses, phantom injuries and attitude problems. 

We have no proven bench scorers not one. If we don't play Hughes off the bench we're gonna get killed when we go to the bench. Hayes isn't ready to be a starter Yet but that could change within a few weeks. JJ when he gets going could also be a starter. they both have the size to be better rebounders and defenders. 

Stack is a terrible defender especially at the 3 spot. We need a bigger player there. Not another slasher scorer. 

Our perimeter defense will be weakened if we have a small player playing there.

Same problems the Knicks had with Sprewell and Houston playing the 2 and 3 it doesn't wiork why here.


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