| Wiz Fold in Fourth, Bulls Take Game One Authored by - April 25, 2005 - 10:24 am
April 25, 2005
By Jason Rosenthal
In their first postseason game since 1997, the Wizards put on a deplorable (® Bill Walton) fourth quarter performance, permitting the Bulls to outscore them 26-12 in the period to take game one of the best-of-seven first round playoff series, 103-94.
Up 82-77 entering the fourth, untimely turnovers and abysmal shot selection spelled the end for the Wizards. Two Bulls rookies, Andres Nocioni and Ben Gordon, combined for 55 points, en route to Chicago’s first playoff game and win since the Jordan dynasty.
The Bulls beat the Wizards at their own game, crashing the offensive glass and forcing key turnovers – a staple of the Wizards winning formula all season. The Wizards committed five fourth-quarter turnovers, most of them coming on strips far from the basket and leading to easy Bulls’ baskets. The Wizards were also outplayed on the offensive glass, giving up 16 offensive boards to the team’s nine.
The Bulls strategy against Gilbert Arenas worked well. They trapped him at several opportunities, forcing him to give up the ball up or take low percentage shots. Dookie-grad Chris Duhon, yet another Bulls’ rookie, did an excellent job of bothering Arenas. Arenas had eight assists, but was frustrated throughout the game. He shot 3-19, and did not score in the fourth. Hughes was terrific in the first half, scoring 24 points on 10-12 shooting. With Arenas and Antawn Jamison struggling, Kwame Brown awoke from his season long doldrums and scored 13 first half points.
The Wizards trailed by one at the half, but controlled the third. They led by as much as seven, and entered the fourth with a five-point advantage. It was downhill from there, however, as the Wizards Big Three took bad shots, turned the ball over, and played like manure through the game’s last stanza. The Wizards went away from strong inside play by their big men, letting several Bulls’ players off the foul trouble hook.
Nocioni, sporting a new Americanized hairdo, played out of his mind, going for career highs in points and rebounds (18), while playing every second. The 6’7 Argentinean gold-medallist from the Athens Olympics was the Bulls’ MVP, with harassing defense, Unseldian rebounding, and efficient scoring.
WizFans Heroes
Larry Hughes – 30 points, 11-20 shooting, 8-10 FT’s, five boards, one steal, one block
He did most of his damage in the first half, but without him, the Wizards could have gotten blown out early. With his All-Star teammates struggling mightily, Hughes went mano a mano vs. Ben Gordon in the first half, scoring 24 to Gordon’s 18. Like the rest of the team, he stunk in the fourth, but it was still a solid game for the free agent to be. His D on Gordon could have been better, but Gordon’s been torching defenders all season. The Hughes vs. Gordon matchup will probably be the most enjoyable one-on-one contest of the series. For the Wizards to win, Hughes will have to find a way to bottle up Gordon as he almost outscored the entire Wizards team in the fourth quarter alone – 10-12.
Kwame Brown – 35 minutes, 13 points, 5-11 shooting, nine rebounds, two assists, one block
The much-maligned Brown has had a forgettable season, but stepped up in a game where the Wizards really needed it. He had a Jermaine O’Neal like first half, blowing by defenders with a quick first step, dropping his 12-15 foot jumper, and on one play, soaring through the Bulls defense for an emphatic “I hope the league hasn’t forgotten about me in my free agent year” dunk.
In the second half, he didn’t get the offensive touches, but picked up his rebounding and played excellent interior defense. According to Kevin Broom's defensive statistics, the Bulls shot 2.5 - 14 (18%) on shots Kwame defended, with Kwame doing most of his defensive damage in the second half. He showed tonight that he could be effective against the Bulls frontline. And with 35 minutes played, Eddie Jordan showed he had trust in him. Will the Big Three continue to look for him?
Then, in a case of Official Kwame Brown Clockwork, he had to be helped off the court after Nocioni rolled into Brown’s knee. He’s expected to play in Game 2, but the excuses for a two point, three rebound, four turnover game already exist. Playing for millions of dollars, which Kwame Brown will show up?
WizFans Goats
Gilbert Arenas – Nine points, 3-19 shooting, 2-2 FT’s, eight assists, eight rebounds, four turnovers
He almost had a trip-dub, but outside of a nice third quarter, Gil laid an egg. Give the Bulls credit for thoroughly making life miserable for the Wizards’ leading scorer. But Gil too often settled for poor shots, and spent too much energy looking for a refs whistle. One of the big question marks coming into the playoffs was how the Wizards, one of league’s best in free throws attempted, would adapt to fewer whistles in the “let them play” offseason. The team still won the free throw attempts battle tonight, but Gil attempted just two, one of them coming off a technical. Gilly the Kid needs to adapt. Expect a huge performance from him in Game 2.
What We Learned
While the season has been a huge success for the Wizards franchise, there’ll be ample offseason time to wax nostalgic on a memorable season. The Wizards can finally put “1997” as a year that ends the phrase with “the last time since” behind them. Now it’s time to knock “1988” off the list — the last time the franchise won a playoff game. They even have a shot to erase “1982” from the list…the last time the franchise won a playoff series.
This isn’t 1997 when the then Bullets were just happy to be playing against the Bulls. They have a realistic chance to win the series. But to do that, they can’t get away from what’s carried them all season. Negate the Bulls strong defense and ability to hold down FG% by limiting turnovers, create more possessions from the offensive glass, and get to the line.
The defense, a huge problem all season was OK tonight, meaning it wasn’t atrocious. It’s the offense that failed the Wizards on this evening.
If there was something to complain about this past season, it was the team’s inability to play well for an entire game. They often took a quarter off — losing focus and allowing the opposition back into the game. Throughout the season, rarely did the Wizards choose the fourth quarter to go into one of their funks, often saving their best for last. The mental lapses must disappear in a hurry if the Wizards don’t want to find themselves in a 2-0 hole coming back home.
Up Next
Game 2 at the United Center on Wednesday night. Game 3 will be at MCI Center on Saturday at 3:00 PM, followed by Game 4 on Monday night.
From a personal standpoint, it’s great to have the team back in the playoffs after such a long drought. The Washington Post is actually forced to cover the team and on Sunday, had a record four Wizard-related articles. If Gibbs sneezes, it usually gets about 1,500 words in the Post.
If people try talking to me about the Redskins, I immediately put an end to it. Because it’s the Wizards who have secured the city’s first major professional playoff birth this century (the Caps don’t count). The local media won’t let you believe it, but the ‘Skins may soon be third fiddle around here…behind both the Wizards and, gulp, the Nationals.
Jason Rosenthal is the content supervisor at WizFans.com and columnist for RealGM.com. He can be reached at jmrosenth@yahoo.com.
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