Caron has a hot hand, but Washington's bigs can't handle Howard

I think the Dwight Howard comparisons might end
now (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The Washington Wizards fell into early foul trouble against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in last night's Thanksgiving Day special, and despite a 19-point half for Caron Butler, Washington would go on to lose the game 105-90.

Washington gave up a 38-point first quarter, and were down by as much as 16 at one point, but rebounded in the second to cut the Magic's lead to as little as four.  However, by the half Andray Blatche had four fouls, JaVale McGee had three fouls, and Etan Thomas had at least two fouls. 

With just over 5:40 to go in the second, when Blatche picked up his third foul, interim coach, Ed Tapscott, went ahead and substituted a hot Caron Butler out for JaVale McGee, which would prove to be a pivotal mistake.  Blatche would pick up his fourth foul seconds later, be subbed out, then McGee would pick up one at the 5:03 mark, resulting in a Etan Thomas substitution.

Instead of pushing on their 9-0 run that got them to 38-34, the Wizards gave up a 14-6 Orlando run and fell down by 11 for a 55-44 halftime Orlando lead.  Caron Butler led all scores with 19, while Howard led the Magic with 17 points and 13 rebounds, 9 of which came in the first quarter.  In fact, with 2:32 left in the first quarter, Howard had 14 points and 9 rebounds, matching the total points and rebounds of the entire Wizards team at that point.

Without the bigs to guard Howard inside, Washington couldn't find a way to keep a run in the second half.  Andray Blatche, after a break-out game against Golden State, fouled out in about twelve and a half minutes, or nearly one foul every two minutes of play.  Howard would finish with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks, and is now averaging 21.2, 13.5, and 3.9. 

The scary thing for other teams out there is that Howard is not alone.  Match-up issues arised from Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, two guys over 6'10" that can take it to the basket as well as sink it from downtown.  The Wizards caught a break from their downtown performance, but Hedo broke out with a 20 points, 10 rebounds, double-double, and Lewis picked up 17 points on the night.

Butler finished with 25 points and 6 assists after cooling off a bit in the second, and Antawn Jamison picked up another double-double, which I believe is his sixth straight: 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Antonio Daniels played today after missing action on and off again due to injury, but was no where near 100%, while Oleksiy Pecherov remained on the DNP list.

The Wizards will challenge the Atlanta Hawks tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. ET in hopes of another win, but at this point, are on a 6:1, game to wins ratio.  If that trend continues, Washington is looking to end up with only 13-14 wins on the year.