Thomas and Daniels strong in preseason loss to Detroit

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October 11, 12:04 AM

by George Panagakos, Washington Wizards Examiner

 

 

Etan Thomas and Amir Johnson battle for the
opening tip-off (George V. Panagakos)

Etan Thomas muscled in 8 points on 4-for-7 shooting tonight in a 62-73 Washington Wizards loss to the visiting Detroit Pistons.  Thomas kept the Wizards alive in the first half with statement blocks and post production, but the Wizards had no answer for Detroit's Rasheed Wallace, who finished the game with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and gave Andray Blatche perhaps his hardest match-up of the preseason.

After finding himself in early foul trouble against Memphis Wednesday night, Blatche repeated at home, with four personal fouls by the end of the first half.  He would foul out with about 2:47 left in the third quarter, having gained only 4 points with as many turnovers on 2-for-12 shooting.  Reserve center JaVale McGee also suffered early foul trouble, but managed to carve out an 8 points, 6 rebounds night through the second half.

Detroit's Rasheed Wallace was on tonight
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The Pistons started the game out strong, from the opening tip-off, all the way down to the fourth quarter.  The Detroit backcourt duo of Richard Hamilton and Chauncy Billups complimented the play of Wallace with a combination of 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting.  Watching the game live, I would have never imagined Detroit made only one three, but that one three was swooshed by none other than Wallace, who Andray Blatche left wide open with about 4:25 left in the third.  Blatche also had difficulty guarding former Wizard Kwame Brown, who received a tremendously hostile boo-fest from the audience from the moment he was introduced to every subsequent free-throw line opportunity he would have throughout the game.  Kwame scored 9 points off the bench tonight on 3-for-5 shooting and picked up 2 boards and 3 steals.  Etan Thomas is going to have to coach his fellow bigs on how to defend the ball better.  He might also want to tell JaVale McGee that he doesn't have to shoot turn-around jumpers every time he shoots the ball.

JaVale McGee guards former Wizard,
Kwame Brown (George V. Panagakos)

Tonight, Washington suffered poor passes, offensive fouls, and traveling calls.  Washington should take their 24 team turnovers on the night and keep in stride.  As Etan Thomas proved tonight, the paint needs to be the Wizards' friend.  JaVale McGee followed suit in the second half, but Andray Blatche lived and died on the jumper tonight.  Reserve forward, Dominic McGuire, broke out with a steady game that relied on pop-and-shoot jumpers, scoring 6 points on 3-for-4 shooting while picking up 4 rebounds and a block, which is a sign of life the Wizards have been desperately needing off the bench.  Caron Butler returned after resting on Wednesday and finished with 8 points on 3-for-8 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.  DeShawn Stevenson and Oleksiy Pecherov were dynamite from the three-point line in the first half, but didn't find the the line in the second. 

Does Washington, Now 1-2, Make the Grade?
How exactly to grade the team and gauge where they are in preseason is a bit difficult because preseason is a time in which the coaching staff wants to test all of their personnel, rather than win outright.  After all, there would be no point in stressing out starters just to win an exhibition-level game (especially with three would-be starters on your injured reserve list).  What I see so far from the Wizards is an inconsistent offense, which I believe is a result of everyone switching around, and trying to get in rhythm with Dee Brown and other reserves who end up playing point.  Antonio Daniels had 6 points on 1-for-1 shooting with 5 assists--in other words, all of Daniels points tonight came from driving the lane and taking contact, which in turn opened up the passing lanes.  The Wizards might not have won tonight, but I can see why Coach Jordan keeps Daniels as a starter.  Brown had a poor shooting night but picked up 4 steals and 4 rebounds to go with just a single assist.  As a point guard, Brown did not do his job tonight on offense.  His passing style is risky, and until the rest of the team can keep up with his pace, Daniels is the safe choice.

The Extra Yak
Gheorghe Muresan, best known as a Washington Bullet, was in attendance for tonight's game, as was commentator Phil Chenier, and Washington's team blogger, Dave Johnson.  At the start of the fourth quarter a mysterious paper airplane glided down from the 400s, and with precise accuracy, hit Detroit Pistons' Tayshaun Prince right in the butt.  He didn't seem to notice.  Another interesting moment occurred during a break in the action where the "Kiss Cam" popped up on the Wizards big-screen, capturing a gentleman with a New York Giants cap, who was promptly booed.  The cam ended on Detroit's reserves, which had the whole house laughing.  And yes, I need a better camera.  If anyone would like to start a Help-George-Buy-A-DSLR foundation, let me know.

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