The AP reports: Dwight Howard had a season-high 31 points and 16 rebounds and also blocked three shots and had three assists to help the Orlando Magic win their fourth straight game, 106-81 over the winless Washington Wizards on Saturday night… Howard, who leads the NBA in blocked shots, hit 11 of 13 shots and nine of 14 free throws. Mickael Pietrus added 18 points for the Magic (4-2), and Keith Bogans had 13, including three 3-pointers… Nick Young had 20 points for the Wizards (0-5), the only team in the Eastern Conference without a victory this season. DeShawn Stevenson added 14 points.
Category: Washington Wizards Blog
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Nov 7: Knicks 114, Wizards 108
The AP reports: Jamal Crawford led new coach Mike D’Antoni’s never-take-a-breath attack with 23 points, and the Knicks spread the wealth with five players in double figures and 51 percent shooting Friday night in a 114-108 victory over the Wizards. “It’s fun,” said Chris Duhon, who had 12 assists and no turnovers… Zach Randolph added 22 points and 13 rebounds, Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson each scored 17 points, and David Lee had 13 points for the Knicks, who also had 3-pointers from seven players—by halftime… Caron Butler scored 30 points, and Antawn Jamison had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, whose 0-4 record prompts eerie flashbacks to last season’s 0-5 start.
Nov 5: Bucks 112, Wizards 104 OT
The AP reports: Richard Jefferson scored 32 points and rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added 17, making up for a missed chance in regulation and rallying the Milwaukee Bucks to a 112-104 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night… Luke Ridnour finished with 20 points and 11 assists… Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Ramon Sessions added 22 points for Milwaukee. Caron Butler scored 27 points for winless Washington, which also got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Jamison, 14 points from Nick Young and 10 points from Juan Dixon.
Nov 1: Pistons 117, Wizards 109
The AP reports: Walter Herrmann, always a fan favorite with his Fabio-like long, blond hair, had the Palace crowd chanting “Wal-ter Herr-mann!” as he scored 16 points off the bench to help the Pistons improve to 2-0 with a 117-109 victory over the Washington Wizards… Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, both former Wizards, were the only Detroit starters to play well—combining for 41 points and 18 rebounds—but Herrmann and his fellow reserves helped out with 55 points… Antawn Jamison led Washington (0-2) with 24 points and Nick Young added 23… Kwame Brown, picked No. 1 overall by Washington in 2001, had eight points in eight minutes for the Pistons.
Oct 29: Nets 95, Wizards 85
The AP reports: After his New Jersey Nets opened the season by beating the Washington Wizards 95-85 behind Vince Carter’s 21 points, coach Lawrence Frank praised all of his players and talked about how guys who didn’t even get in helped by being “supportive.” … Newcomer Yi Jianlian scored 17 points, and former Wizards player Jarvis Hayes added 14. They went a combined 13-for-20. Three draft picks made NBA debuts: Brook Lopez (eight points, eight rebounds), Ryan Anderson (five points, three rebounds, two assists) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (two assists)… Six Wizards scored in double-figures, but Jordan wasn’t pleased by what he called a lack of energy from his players. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler shot 9-for-29 and totaled 27 points.
NBA opening night rosters
The NBA’s opening day rosters are official, and now posted on InsideHoops.com.
This evening was the deadline for NBA teams to trim their rosters down to 15 players or less.
The 2008-09 regular season starts Tuesday, October 28. InsideHoops is your online basketball home. We’re pumping out more content this season than ever.
Enjoy the season!
Wizards exercise options on O.Pecherov and N.Young
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has exercised the third-year option on both center/forward Oleksiy Pecherov and guard Nick Young. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.
“Nick and ‘Pech’ both showed a great deal of potential as rookies and we’re counting on them to continue to progress and contribute,” said Grunfeld. “We like the fact that we have a group of promising young players behind our established veterans, and we’re excited to retain Nick and ‘Pech’ for their third seasons.”
Under the terms of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, the first two years of a first round draft pick’s contract are guaranteed while the third and fourth year of the contract are the team’s option. Pecherov was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, while Young was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Pecherov averaged 3.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 35 games as a rookie with the Wizards last season. He was selected by the Wizards in the 2006 Draft (the franchise’s first-ever international first round pick), but played the 2006-07 season overseas before joining the team for the 2007-08 season.
Young averaged 7.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 75 games as rookie with the Wizards last season. His best game came on March 30 at the L.A. Lakers when he scored 27 points in 31 minutes.
Oct 24: Cavs 107, Wizards 80
The AP reports: LeBron James had a preseason-high 26 points, Mo Williams added 15 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards 107-80 on Friday night in the exhibition finale for both teams. The Cavaliers (3-5) had their highest scoring total of the preseason and committed only nine turnovers in the game at Ohio State’s Value City Arena. The Wizards were 2-5 in exhibition play… Delonte West earned the start at shooting guard in place of Sasha Pavlovic and had two points before spraining his left ankle with 1:40 remaining in the second quarter… The fourth quarter was delayed for 11 minutes after a member of the Cavaliers’ Scream Team dance squad was injured while performing during a timeout. After being attended to by more than a half-dozen medical workers, he was taken off the court on a stretcher and had movement in all his extremities.
Oct 22: Wizards 100, Spurs 95
The AP reports: Nick Young scored 15 points in his preseason debut to help the Washington Wizards beat the San Antonio Spurs 100-95 on Wednesday night… Washington also got 15 points in 23 minutes from Caron Butler, who has scored in double figures the past two games. The Spurs were led by Tim Duncan’s 20 points in 22 minutes. Duncan, who made 8-of-9 free throws, also grabbed eight rebounds… JaVale McGee, a 7-foot rookie out of Nevada taken with the 18th pick, finished 4-for-6 and hit his three free-throw tries to finish with 11 points.
Quotes from six Wizards
HEAD COACH EDDIE JORDAN
On Nick Young: “He had three really good practices. He was awesome today. He was probably the best player in practice today. I would think that if he recovers tonight and tomorrow we think he’s fine, then he’ll play.”
On DerMarr Johnson and Linton Johnson: “We waived forwards DerMarr Johnson and Linton Johnson – both played very well for us and have been NBA players and will continue to be NBA players. We really appreciate their efforts and their professionalism.”
FORWARD CARON BUTLER
On finishing up the preseason: “(We need to be) very serious. We have to be professionals and go out to San Antonio and Cleveland and get some momentum. We need to get some momentum going into the season. The last few practices have been exceptional. The younger guys have been playing great and the veteran leadership has been awesome. It is what it is now – we made our final cuts to the roster and this is the team, so we know our personnel and what to expect going forward.”
On today’s practice: “I think today was great. Over the last couple of practices, everything is really coming full circle. We’re getting into the bulk of our offense and we’re playing against a real intense defense. Guys are really trying to earn minutes. Everybody is trying to put their best foot forward, trying to earn quality minutes and show the work that they put in all summer. We’re anxious to play and I think everybody around the league is too.”
FORWARD ANTAWN JAMISON
On preparing for the regular season: “We still have a ways to go, but I think the sense of urgency is definitely there between the coaches and the players. We know the amount of improvement that we need and what we have to do to get to that point. There’s no panic button or anything like that, but it’s just time to turn things around. It’s time to get focused and be mentally prepared for what we need to do.”
On his health heading into the season: “I feel great. I’m ready for the season start. I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing. We know that we need to go out there and start it off right.”
GUARD/FORWARD NICK YOUNG
On how he’s feeling heading into the season: “I feel good. I’ve had a lot of rest, so I was energized out there. My shot was falling, so that’s always a confidence booster. (I feel the intensity picking up) especially from the veterans like Caron, Antawn and DeShawn – they’ve been going hard.”
GUARD JUAN DIXON
On how his familiarity with the team has been beneficial to him: “Just knowing the system (has helped me). Coach (Eddie Jordan) has a lot of confidence in me – he knows that I’m going to go out and execute plays and be in the right position on the floor. My job is to do what they ask of me. Whatever my role is, that’s what I’m going to go out there and do.”
FORWARD/CENTER ANDRAY BLATCHE
On what he wants to accomplish before the season starts: “It’s time for us to get more serious. We’ve got to start trying to develop a flow together with the rotation guys. Even though it’s preseason, (we need to) try and get some wins and compete. The season is right around the corner – it starts on Wednesday. It’s time for us to get serious and focus.”