The AP reports: Caron Butler’s 33 points were supplemented by a season-high 16 from Juan Dixon and 15 from Darius Songaila as the Wizards rallied for a 107-94 victory Tuesday night over the redesigned lineup of the Detroit Pistons. Songaila, Dixon (seven assists), Dominic McGuire (3-for-3, six points), Andray Blatche (eight points, five rebounds), and Nick Young (nine points) all provided inspired play off the bench, a necessity given that the Washington starters not named Butler combined to score only 15 points… Richard Hamilton scored a season-high 29 points, Rasheed Wallace added 19, and new starting point guard Rodney Stuckey had 10 points and 11 assists for the Pistons. Hamilton and Wallace each were called for technicals for fussing at the refs.
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Dec 3: Blazers 98, Wizards 92
The AP reports: Brandon Roy took his time to get going Wednesday night, and then he took over, scoring 12 of his 22 points in the final 8 minutes to help the Portland Trail Blazers extend their winning streak to six games by coming back to beat the Washington Wizards 98-92. One of his most important baskets came on a drive to his left past defender DeShawn Stevenson to set up a lefty layup, giving Portland a four-point lead with 35 seconds to go… The well-balanced Blazers did put five players in double-figures: Roy, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez and Steve Blake. Oden, the rookie center who missed all of last season, finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double in the past 12 games.
Dec 2: Wizards 108, Nets 88
The AP reports: Caron Butler had 22 points and 10 assists, and DeShawn Stevenson added 21 to lead the Washington Wizards to an easy 108-88 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night… The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Nets (9-8), who won all three contests on the road. The Nets were led by Devin Harris, who had 18 points, but only three after halftime, and Vince Carter, who had 16 points. Keyon Dooling added 14 off the bench for the Nets.
Nov 29: Hawks 102, Wizards 98
The AP reports: The Atlanta Hawks were finally able to breathe easily. After nearly frittering away a 17-point third-quarter lead, the Hawks were able to squeeze by the Washington Wizards, thanks to Al Horford’s three-point play with 12.4 seconds remaining. Horford’s big play broke a tie in Atlanta’s 102-98 victory over Washington on Saturday night… Horford, who had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, hit the free throw for a 101-98 lead… Maurice Evans had 19 points and nine rebounds for Atlanta, Joe Johnson had 18 points and Marvin Williams 13. Antawn Jamison led Washington with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He had 17 of his points in the second half. Butler had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Songaila had 16 points.
Nov 27: Magic 105, Wizards 90
The AP reports: The Washington Wizards were helpless against Dwight Howard. The NBA’s leading rebounder, Howard had 26 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks to help the Orlando Magic beat the Wizards 105-90 on Thursday night. Orlando has won eight of its last nine games and six in a row on the road. Howard toyed with four Washington defenders—scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the first 8:45 as the Magic took a 25-11 lead… Caron Butler scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half for Washington, and Antawn Jamison had 17 points and 12 rebounds… Hedo Turkoglu added 20 points and had a season-high 10 rebounds… Rashard Lewis, who gave Orlando a victory Wednesday night in Philadelphia with a late 3-pointer, added 17 points, and Mickael Peitrus also had 17. Anthony Johnson had a season-high 12 assists.
Nov 25: Wizards 124, Warriors 100
The AP reports: The Wizards notched season highs in points, rebounds (54), matched their season high in assists (27), and forced a season-high 20 turnovers as Tapscott experimented with different lineup combinations and ran more isolation plays and less of Jordan’s Princeton-style attack. Butler scored a season-high 35 points, Jamison had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and rookie center JaVale McGee added a season-high 14 points as the Wizards improved to 2-10, avoiding the worst 12-game start in franchise history. The biggest surprise was Andray Blatche, Washington’s Mr. Inconsistency, who had season highs with 25 points and 11 rebounds and also matched career highs with five blocks and five steals… Corey Maggette scored 17 points to lead the Warriors, who have lost three straight.
Wizards fire coach Eddie Jordan
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has relieved Head Coach Eddie Jordan of his duties. Ed Tapscott will lead the team as interim head coach beginning immediately.
“This was an extremely difficult decision because I’m personally very fond of Eddie,” said Wizards Chairman Abe Pollin. “He helped bring our franchise back to the playoffs and became engrained in the Washington, D.C., community. I will forever be grateful for his dedication and hard work. However, sometimes circumstances force changes. Our team is not performing to my expectations and I felt it was time to make a change. We wish Eddie and his family all the best.”
Jordan compiled an overall record of 197-224 (.468) during his five-plus-year tenure as head coach of the Wizards (he was originally hired on June 19, 2003). The Wizards have begun the 2008-09 campaign with a 1-10 record.
“Our 1-10 record is not acceptable and, more importantly, the way we have lost those games is not acceptable,” said Grunfeld. “We felt as an organization that it was time to make a change and we’re looking forward to the team moving in a positive direction.”
Tapscott was in his second season with the Wizards as director of player development/programs. In that role, he assisted the coaching staff in game preparation and player development. He has over 25 years of experience in basketball, including front office leadership roles with the New York Knicks and Charlotte Bobcats and a nine-year stint (1982-1990) as head coach of American University. During his time at American, he guided the team to more wins than any other coach in school history.
Assistant Coaches Phil Hubbard, Randy Ayers, Wes Unseld Jr. and Dave Hopla will remain with the team, while Associate Head Coach Mike O’Koren was also relieved of his duties today.
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Nov 22: Knicks 122, Wizards 117
The AP reports: Quentin Richardson had 34 points and 12 rebounds in one of his best games since coming to New York, and the short-handed Knicks held on to beat the Washington Wizards 122-117 on Saturday night. Richardson made seven 3-pointers, two shy of the franchise record, and fell a point shy of his highest-scoring game since the Knicks acquired him from Phoenix in June 2005. He scored 35 points against the Wizards on Jan. 17, 2007. Nate Robinson had a season-high 27 points, Wilson Chandler added 23, and David Lee had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the Knicks snap a three-game losing streak. Antawn Jamison had 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, who dropped their fifth straight and fell to 1-10, their worst since the 1966 Baltimore Bullets also opened 1-10. Caron Butler finished with 23 points, 19 in the second half.
Wizards change starting lineup
The Washington Wizards are banged and long-term injuries to starters Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood mean some rotation alterations don’t really mean much in the big picture, but with that said, they’ve made some changes. The Washington Post (Ivan Carter) reports:
With one win and eight losses the Wizards have been awful this short season. Caron Butler (20.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.67 spg) and Antawn Jamison (18.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.22 spg) have been very good, but they’ve gotten almost no help. Other than Nick Young’s 14.1 ppg no one is scoring 9 points per game. But their problem is defense: Wizards opponents are scoring 101.4 ppg on 47.4% shooting. The Wizards are also bricking their three-pointers in extremely ugly fashion. They’re being out-rebounded and out-assisted. Other than that, everything is great!
Nov 19: Hawks 91, Wizards 87
The AP reports: Marvin Williams hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26 seconds left and matched his career high with 14 rebounds, and the Hawks overcame Caron Butler’s 32-point effort to beat the Washington Wizards 91-87 on Wednesday night… Williams scored 21 points to help the Hawks snap a four-game losing streak. Hawks coach Mike Woodson noted Williams also defended Washington’s Antawn Jamison, who had 18 points… Mike Bibby led the Hawks with 25 points, including 15 in the third quarter… Joe Johnson, who had 19 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, answered with a 3-pointer for Atlanta with 57 seconds left to cut the lead to a point… Zaza Pachulia, who filled in for Horford at center, scored only four points but set a career high with 18 rebounds.