A Game Away From Home

The talk of the NBA over the past couple of nights has been heavily skewed towards the officiating. LAC vs. OKC on Monday and NETS vs. HEAT last night both had extremely controversial calls at the end.

As the rules are now, replay can be used only to correct possession and point-related decisions, but not fouls.

I won't go through what happened -- there have been countless articles, slow motion videos, and depictions of each situation.

What I will say, though, is that the Wizards need to play cutthroat on both ends of the court as they did in Game 5 in Indiana. There's no reason for Washington to let the last 2 minutes of the game dictate its season.

Game 5 Takeaways:

1. Washington couldn't miss; Indiana couldn't buy a bucket. It was the polar opposite of Game 4 in DC. John Wall hit fade-away jumpers and open 3s, Gortat left handed hook shots and two handed slams. Everything went the Wizards' way.
2. The Wiz capitalized on scoring runs and put the Pacers away in the 1st and 3rd. The Wizards are 6-1 in the playoffs when leading after 1. This was the first game in this series outscoring Indy in the 3rd quarter.
3. Early turnovers didn't have lingering psychological effects on Washington the rest of the game. After 8 TOs in the first quarter (13 in Game 4 alone), Washington finished with 19 -- less than 4 per quarter thereafter. While not ideal, it exemplifies how well they responded, how high they kept their heads.

Gortat won't shoot 13/15 for 31 points and 16 rebounds (9 offensive) again. What he will do is provide the same energy in Game 6, forcing the Pacers the match it, and hopefully creating a 4th quarter advantage for a Wizards team that holds a huge athleticism advantage.

BUT...

Indy also won't have only 2 players in double digits -- not starters, PLAYERS. Paul George and maybe even David West will return to 20+; Hibbert will pick up the intensity, and Lance Stephenson will be the catalyst for Indiana's energy in every quarter, not just late in the game.

Gortat said it best in an interview, noting the Wizards' struggles at home, not just limited to the postseason, either.

John Wall must maintain his focus. Bradley Beal should continue to run point with Andre Miller and the second squad comes in to give the starters some rest. Game 7 will be forced by energy.

Energy isn't a skill, it's a desire.

Gortat, Gooden, and Nene surged the front court's energy in Game 5.

John Wall pushed the ball and kept the pace high for four quarters.

The same will happen tonight at 8:00pm at the Verizon Center.

Prediction: 103-85, Wizards

Another Blown Win

The Wizards' strengths in the Chicago series have turned into the worst of weaknesses against the Pacers. After a Game 1 win in Indiana, the Wiz have dropped 3 straight -- 2 at home -- and face a 3-1 series deficit upon their game tomorrow.

What happened?

1. Paul George
2. Roy Hibbert
3. The third quarter
4. The inability to step on the Pacers' throats

Ariza hasn't been effective in stopping Paul George, who set a playoff career high with 39 points in Game 4. That's three consecutive games where he's been more productive, efficient, and effective in leading the Pacers' backcourt.

Hibbert is awake. He heard the criticism after his 0-0, 5 foul Game 1. No more, he says. A 28-9 Game 2 effort was followed by a 14-5 Game 3, then 17-9 in Game 4. He has 2-3 blocks per game, but more importantly, is severely altering Washington's shots in the paint, which is almost as good as a turnover (especially if Andre Miller is driving).

The Wiz Kids are getting DOMINATED in the 3rd quarter; Indiana has outscored them by an increasing amount in each game's 3rd period (6, 6, 14, 17). Coming out flat, ceasing to run a transition offense, and settling for contested jumpers are all contributors to this statistic.

It's no secret that the Wiz were up by 17 at halftime and 19 after a quick bucket to start the 3rd. And then came the collapse.

In spurts.

Up 17... up 10.

Up 14... up 7.

Game-changing moment: Up 9, Bradley Beal misses an uncontested, reverse right-handed layup. Indiana hits a 3. 

Then the Pacers cut it to 2, and at that point, it was anyone's game.

If the Wizards don't learn how to "Spur" their games, making a 20 point lead into 30, effectively cutting off their opponent's oxygen supply, the next level will never be reached.

Am I still confident about the Wizards' chances, down 3-1?

Yes.

But at this point, I predict Indy in 7.

Game 5 prediction: 91-83, Wizards

All the Elements of a Sweep

If you've been following the NBA Playoffs - whether this year or in years past - it's no secret that the Heat dominate the early rounds. In each game, LeBron and Co. put the team in unquestionable positions to win.

Here's a summary of Round 1 Heat results from recent years:

2011: 4-1, 76ers
2012: 4-1, Knicks
2013: 4-0, Bucks
2014: 4-0, Hawks

On to the Wizards. The first two games were comeback victories in the 4th quarter and OT, usually traits of a veteran team. Surely, Gortat and Nene are veteran leaders of the front court. But what the Wizards excelled in - as has been the case late in the season - was stifling defense and a dynamic, explosive offense.

That was the difference in this series, and it doesn't take an analyst to come to this conclusion if you were watching the games.

The Bulls relied on Hinrich, Dunleavy, Augustin, and Butler for the 3-ball. None of them caught fire in the same game, posing a catastrophic problem for the squad from Game 1. Their only win came in Game 3 in DC, where Dunleavy shot out of his mind and Jimmy Butler made a couple clutch threes near the end after having a cold hand all game.

This kind of performance against a Bulls team that had high aspirations entering the playoffs shares many similarities with the Heat's recent successes. Late in the series, the Wiz got off to double digit leads and never looked back.

Game 5: John Wall struggled with his mid-range game, but he hit timely threes and drove at will, often times against two and three idle Bulls defenders on fast breaks derived from long outlet passes. Bradley Beal kept the defense spread with his silky stop-and-pop release.

And even when the mid-range jumpers weren't falling, Gortat and Nene dominated the offensive boards with tip-out after tip-out. Nene went for 20 and 7, adding 4 beautiful assists to his post-suspension debut. If you look at his performance throughout the whole series, he dominated Joakim Noah, NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

I am avidly against everything Noah does - he has an uglier game than Ben Wallace did in the Pistons' 2000s stretch of success. But it can't be argued that he's a workhorse who uses his 6'11", 232-pound frame to the best of his advantage.

Ultimately, Washington's success originated from:

A. Nene and Gortat being able to best Noah and Gibson on the boards for the majority of the series and...

B. Augustin and Hinrich being faced with tenacious, shut-down defense limiting open looks, especially beyond the arc.

When it looked as though the Bulls were coming back with 4:00 left in the 4th after a Bulls 3, John Wall casually knocked down a trey of his own. Down 3 with just under 3:00, the Bulls failed to score, giving the 'Zards the ball with 2:38 left.

Gortat got FOUR STRAIGHT OFFENSIVE BOARDS to milk the clock down to 0:58. Despite the Wizards' failure to score on the possession, this was the possession of the game.

The Bulls opted for 2-pointers but continued to miss layups as they had been doing all night. Jimmy Butler missed the last of these opportunities with just over 20 seconds left, and John Wall finally put it away with free throws at the other end.

A quick note: Andre Miller should not be on the court in the 4th quarter. He should get a maximum of 10 minutes to give Wall a breather, but that's it. I understand he's a veteran, but he just doesn't add any defensive value, and his offense is limited to dishing it out. I loved him for years with Philly, but his time in this league has run dry.

TLDR; Washington led by double-digits for the majority of the game just as it did for most of the series. Its sights are set for home court advantage contingent upon the 8th-seeded Hawks knocking off the 1st-seeded Pacers. With Hibbert's playoff implosion, though, the Pacers almost seem like the favorable matchup considering how Gortat and Nene have been playing.

Either way, last night marked the first time since defeating the Bulls in 2005's Round 1 that the Wizards have advanced in the playoffs.

There isn't a Big 3 of Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison anymore. Instead, there's a team culture -- strong veterans and gutsy young-20-something future stars -- that has developed after struggling through the first 15 games of the season, something that only Wizards fans have been aware of.

Watch out Miami.

Wizards tonight

I feel as though being a 'Zards fan through the Gilbert Arenas era created a hatred for LeBron. But in reality, it should've shone light to the league on how terribly inconsistent referees are.

In today's game, it's worse than ever.

Vine videos are everywhere should DWade, Jeremy Lin, LeBron, and any center worth talking about taking 3, 4, 5, 6 steps. This is where I have a problem, as I'm aware millions of others do as well.

Fouls are completely subjective to interpretation, generally speaking.

The number of steps someone takes is not. It's a quantitative measurement. They're counted. 1, 2, 2.5... anything more?

Travel.

So imagine my state of mind upon waking up with a 3-1 series lead playing the star-less Bulls in Chicago. Oh, and the Hawks are up 3-2 on the Pacers?!

Putting aside not having won a playoff series since Xerox was still relevant, the Wiz are historically 5-0 when leading a series 3-1. With Nene back, Taj Gibson shouldn't be too much of a factor, so it'll be up to Augustin, Dunleavy, Hinrich, and Jimmy Butler to shoot the lights out as a few of them did in Game 3.

I can't see Boozer doing much in Game 5 - he's an old headcase that can barely dunk with the slightest contest of his shot. A detriment on defense, "leadership" and his ugly jumper are all that keep him on the court for comparable durations to Gibson. Gortat and Nene will play their normal pesky, incessant defense to stifle the Bulls' paint game.

Prediction: Wizards win 103-95; close until the end.