Results tagged “nba”

Heat 93, Wizards 89: It was the Dwayne Wade show at the Phone Booth last night. When Wade was on the court, he poured in 40 to lead all scorers; unfortunately for the Wizards, they couldn't transplant their very good play for the short periods of time when D-Wade was on the bench to when he was playing. Gilbert Arenas had 32 to lead Washington, and Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler both chipped in double-doubles -- although the three were an ugly combined -34 in plus/minus. Statistics aside, it just wasn't enough to overcome Wade, who was hitting key baskets all night. With back-to-back games against two of the league's five best players, the Wizards will probably be relieved to see mega-star-deprived Indiana next on the slate. Oh, and Mike Miller picked up an injury to his arm -- but as Dan Steinberg notes: what's new?

Wizards 102, Mavericks 91: Something tells me that the Wizards are going to be a real interesting team this season: new coach, a whole host of new players, and old players returning with the grudge of last season's epic failure hanging over their heads as motivation. But for whatever reason, the Wizards' hopes seem to always rest on the back of Gilbert Arenas. And man, the old Gilbert was back last night: dishing dimes, driving to the hoop with strength and finesse, and reminding us of that guy whom you could have made an argument for as the best fourth quarter player in the league three years ago. Gil had 29 points and nine assists in the Wizards season-opening 102-91 win on the road in Dallas. Of course, it wasn't all Agent Zero -- new boss Flip Saunders has stressed defense during the offseason, and Washington held the Mavs to only 39% from the field. Andray Blatche, Randy Foye, and Caron Butler also chipped in double digits. Dirk Nowitzki (and his long hair) paced Dallas with 34.

• Flyers 6, Capitals 5: As someone who spent some formative years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there's plenty of things about the current NHL which really don't resonate with me. No teams in Quebec and Winnipeg. A two-week break in the middle of the season for the Olympics. Only three players in the last two seasons reaching 100 points. But while the first two are more complex issues, at least the Capitals are bringing that heyday of NHL offensive play, the one that I fondly remember, back. Coming into the game, the Caps boasted the top four scorers in the league. And sure, they may have lost in overtime to Philadelphia on Tuesday night in a matchup of the two teams which, along with the Penguins, have to be considered the favorites in the Eastern Conference. But this is the kind of game that was straight out of 1991 -- 11 goals (including seven in the second period), 12 power plays (four of which ended in goals), 78 combined shots, and offensive superstars all over the place. Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin -- harkening back to speedy goal scorers like fellow Russians Pavel Bure and Alex Mogilny -- both had two goals, but were outshined by Philadelphia's Mike Richards, who netted his second career hat trick. It was the kind of game that brought this observer back to the days when 6-5 games in the league were the rule, rather than the exception, and hockey was dynamically entertaining. Maybe it was Peter Berg's excellent Gretzky-to-L.A. documentary which got the juices flowing (a must see, by the way), but it sure feels good to come back to a league where scoring lots of goals is, once again, chic.
• Wizards 101, Grizzlies 92: Who says the NBA preseason can't be exciting? The Wizards had two buzzer beaters, and Caron Butler had a big time flush (or so I'm told), as Washington won it's first exhibition game of the year against Memphis in Richmond. The first quarter was a positive sign, as Agent Zero had seven of his ten assists and both Antawn Jamison and Butler were in double figures in the first fifteen minutes.

You know, with all the recent, well-publicized difficulties that professional athletes seem to be having with laws involving driving and guns, perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised that one would eventually combine reckless behavior with both in one fell swoop. Enter Delonte West, a member of the Cleveland LeBrons Cavaliers and a former area high school standout. According to the Post, when West was pulled over on his motorcycle for cutting off a Prince George's County police officer on I-95 Thursday night, he was packing "a Beretta 9mm in his waistband, a Ruger .357 strapped to his leg and a shotgun in a guitar case slung over his back" -- a ridiculous amount of iron to be hauling around. Police also noted that it was "unclear" where West was going, and why exactly he felt the need to engage his inner El Mariachi. West, who was named the Post's All-Met High School Basketball Player of the Year in the 2000-01 season, is from nearby Greenbelt and was released under his own recognizance, possibly (but hopefully not) to go figure out ways to strap more weaponry to his body.

A lot of teams use the annual NBA Draft how it's supposed to be used: a way to spruce up rosters by selecting talented young players from various universities and overseas. As a result, teams usually end up with a younger lineup than they had before.

The Chicago Bulls visited President Obama at the White House yesterday, and now word is that Obama might show up at the Verizon Center tonight for their game against the Wizards. The rumors are no doubt the greatest thing that will happen to Wizards tickets sales this season; the last place team has had trouble even filling the arena to half-full for the last couple months. Click here to purchase tickets to tonight's game, which starts at 7 p.m. This would be the first Wizards game Obama will have attended since taking office.

LeBron James has an arsenal of moves in his repertoire, and with the game on the line on Sunday against the hapless Wizards, he chose "the crab dribble," which can also be called "taking three steps while going to the hole." Result? A surprising traveling call and a win for the Wizards. Witness!

Ho-hum, the Wizards beat the Pistons last night. But that's not hard to do since Detroit acquired Allen Iverson last month. The Pistons are only 8-9 since the trade and sitting in the middle of the pack in a competitive Eastern Conference. The Wiz, meanwhile, are 4-15 and going nowhere fast. Or are they?

Looks like that loss to a seven-man New York Knicks squad over the weekend was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, as news is breaking that the Washington Wizards fired head coach Eddie Jordan this morning. Jordan, one of the longest tenured coaches in the league, had been in charge of the team since 2003 and enjoyed four straight playoff appearances, but got off to a very rough 1-10 start this year.

Via Deadspin, looks like Madame Tussauds Wax Museum unveiled a Gilbert Arenas statue yesterday. Agent Zero paid lip service to the tourist attraction that immortalized him in wax:

"It is an honor to join the ranks of sports icons such as Muhammad Ali and Tiger Woods by being immortalized in wax at Madame Tussauds Washington D.C.," Arenas said. "Like the Wizards, Madame Tussauds has become a fixture in the nation's capital and one that I'm proud to be a part of."

Even with all of their injury troubles, it's safe to say the Wizards didn't expect to start out 0-5 this season and be stuck with the dreaded "last winless team in the league" tag. But it's hard to say they don't deserve it. They currently rank last in the league in points allowed, opponents field goal percentage and three point shooting. Etan Thomas has already missed one game and Antonio Daniels is day-to-day with a knee injury. Settling for Utah castoff Dee Brown as the third string PG seems like a horrendous move in retrospect. Still, there have been some bright spots, like the play of youngsters Nick Young and JaVale McGee (Dwight Howard is a fan , apparently). The schedule this week offers little relief, with games against Utah and at Miami. Oh, and Gilbert got an Obama tattoo. On his left hand. Of course he did!

The Boston Celtics raised championship banner number 17 to the rafters last night and Greg Oden apparently can't play more than three minutes without getting injured. NBA basketball is back! The Washington Wizards start their season tonight at home against the New Jersey Nets at 7 p.m. Here are five hot issues that the Wizards will need to solve this season if they want to make it to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season:

Ruh-roh. Not long after news leaked out that Wizards starting center Brendan Haywood might be lost for 4-6 months, team captain Antawn Jamison went down with a knee injury in Dallas midway through the first quarter of last night's preseason opener. The team is officially calling it a "sprained knee" but on TV it looked much worse than that. The CSN broadcast cut to a nattily dressed Agent Zero on the Wizards bench and he looked like he was about to lose his lunch. Not good. Jamison is scheduled to undergo an MRI today, but he thinks he will be OK. "It was a scary moment, and it hurt really bad at first," Jamison told the Post. "But once I got back [to the locker room] and got some ice on it, I actually don't feel any pain right now, so that's a good sign. We'll have to wait and see what the MRI says, but I think I'm going to be fine."

Dan Steinberg posted this funny Jeopardy clip over on the Bog, where none of the contestants were aware of any of Wizards star Gilbert Arenas's nicknames. Maybe the often injured guard has been out of the national limelight a little too much over the past two seasons? Of course we love Agent Hibachi no matter what, and if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to read about the adorable way in which Arenas recently proposed to his girlfriend.

It's all speculation and rumors at this point, but this is one potential reality TV show we're happy to hype. Mr. Irrelevant caught Wizard's star and highly trained professional blogger Gilbert Arenas calling in to 106.7 WJFK’s Big O and Dukes show, where at some point, he mentioned that he's been approached to do a reality show.

True to his word, yesterday Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas opted out of the final year of his contract, leaving $12.8 million on the table in the hopes of signing a longer and more lucrative deal. Whether that will be with the Wizards remains to be seen. Arenas played only 13 games this year, his season cut short by a nagging knee injury, leaving open the question of whether any team will pay top dollar for a player who has not yet demonstrated that he is fully healthy.

Due to the unreasonable 6 p.m. start time, I missed most of Game Five last night, but I did get home in time to see Caron Butler play the hero, connecting on a tough drive with 3.9 seconds left to give the Wizards the win and bring their first round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers back to D.C. down 3-2. LeBron James attempted a contested lay-up at the buzzer that would have given the Cavs the series, but for the first time in what seems like forever, the Cavs missed a potential game-winner and the series that never ends rolls on. It will continue without Gilbert Arenas, however. Agent Zero shut it down for the remainder of the playoffs before the game, citing a pinched nerve in his knee.

The NBA playoffs is all about adjustments. After their performance in Game Two, the Wizards needed quite a few and head coach Eddie Jordan responded in kind for Game Three. Gilbert Arenas was added to the starting lineup, the team switched a majority of its defensive matchups, and the result was a resounding 108-72 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers that likely had most fans at home on the couch switching over to Lost at 10 p.m. The 36-point victory set a club record.

Ouch.

Despite a sprained right wrist, Gilbert Arenas is expected to play tonight as the Washington Wizards look to even their first round playoff series on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers, after losing a very winnable Game One 93-86 on Saturday. Arenas, still making his way back from knee surgery, injured the wrist late in Game One as he fouled LeBron James.

With only a week to go in the regular season, games mean more to some teams than others. The Boston Celtics long ago wrapped up the Atlantic Division and the first seed in the Eastern Conference while the Washington Wizards are making a final push for the fourth seed and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. As a result, last night's 109-95 win over Boston can't exactly be taken as gospel, but was impressive nonetheless.

A banner weekend, indeed. The Washington Capitals and Wizards clinched a playoff berth within 24 hours. This week we have another full lineup of Washington area sports, highlighted by a jampacked Wednesday night featuring three local teams playing home games in front of massive crowds. Our picks for this week are below. Go on and add your own in the comments.

Last night while some of us were taking in the sultry sounds of Jens Lekmen at the Black, the one and only Gilbert Arenas made his first appearance since November. Yay! Unfortunately, his two late free throws weren't enough to lead Washington to victory, as Ramon Sessions (who?) hit a jumper from the corner at the buzzer to propel Milwaukee to a 110-109 victory. To make matters worse, DeShawn Stevenson and Antawn Jamison were both hurt in the last few plays of the game.

The Washington Capitals have won eight of their last nine games. Will they be able to maintain their run of form for the final three games of the season? The Caps sit on the edge of the playoffs, though they are on the outside looking in. Their three home games this week should give fans some of the more thrilling moments in recent seasons. What's more, there's plenty of other regional sports action on the table this week. Feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments.

Perhaps lost amid this week's Agent Zero "I want to play" - "They won't let me play, I'm outta here" - "I'm day-to-day every day" hoopla is the fact that the Wiz have won seven out of their last 10 games and are currently sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. If that seeding holds true, it would lead to another first round match-up with the Cavs, this time filled with Jay-Z v. Soulja Boy intrigue. We can't wait, especially if Agent Zero will be in the mix. He's traveling with the team during their five game road trip, which begins tonight in Portland, and may suit up, but his likely return is next Wednesday v. the Milwaukee Bucks.

While much of America is focused on the NCAA Men's Tournament, we are forced to turn elsewhere upon the elimination of our area's three teams. And come on, you know you aren't going to win that office pool your friend pressured you to join. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternative sports viewing options this week. Feel free to leave your own in the comments.

Another wild week awaits area hoops fans. The madcap, non-stop college hoops action of Thursday and Friday represents the pinnacle of sports viewing for many fans. Sneaking out of work, bracket in hand, for an extra hour of lunch is an annual ritual for many a weary office drone. At this point next week, our brackets will be hopelessly crumbled, highlighted and marked with cryptic marginalia. Right now, however, hope springs eternal. Don't forget to join the DCist Reader-Staff Pool to take part in all the madness. Our suggestions for this week's sports viewing are below. As always, feel free to add your own in the comments.

It's every NBA coach's nightmare: Under 20 seconds on the clock, LeBron James has the ball and he's staring down your defender. What do you do, hotshot? Double him and leave a teammate open for a jumper, or take your chances one-on-one with the best player in the NBA? Well, the Wizards went with option number two twice last night and came away with a 101-99 victory that had a raucous Verizon Center crowd going crazy. DeShawn Stevenson, not one to be intimidated by King James, forced James into an offensive charge and a missed jump shot on his two end game possessions, giving the Wiz a much needed win over their rivals from Ohio.

March is without a doubt the dog days of the NBA schedule. College ball takes center stage while half the teams in the NBA start jockeying for ping pong balls. So do you stay at home and watch Idol murder the Beatles or take in a game against a team 17 games under .500? Judging by the "14,755" in attendance for Washington's 105-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks last night, most people chose the former. Too bad for them, as rookie Nick Young paced the Wiz and excited those in attendance, including Redskins QB Jason Campbell, with an array of dunks, finishing with a career-high 22 points in 27 minutes. Antawn Jamison added 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds, but left the game in the last minute with a lower back strain.

Last week's slate of games elicited emotions ranging from despair to jubilation for our area teams, and this week should be equally as tumultuous; the postseason fate of numerous squads hangs in the balance. This week's picks are listed below; feel free to add your own in the comments and email me with suggestions for next week.