[外電] Wizards continue to be a work in progress

看板Wizards (華盛頓巫師隊)作者kundera (kundera)時間16年前 (2009/12/14 00:46)推噓4(4推 0噓 2→)

留言6則, 4人參與討論串1/1

Back on the practice court just 12 hours after losing their third straight game, the Washington Wizards were noticeably relaxed during their morning shootaround Friday, with players saying their first priority was to fix the lapses in concentration that doomed them in the second quarter Thursday against Boston. "It was a game to let you know how good we're capable of being. It also was a game to let us know how hard and how good we have to play to be a special team in this league," forward Caron Butler said of the 104-102 loss to the Celtics. "It was just a reminder in a lot of ways. We learned a lot of things last night about ourselves and how hard we have to compete on both ends of the floor, so I thought it was great." The Wizards' undoing came when the Celtics surged to a double-figure lead 4 minutes 3 seconds before halftime, and the margin grew to 61-46 with 1 minute 15 seconds left on a three-point play by Kendrick Perkins. The Wizards (7-13) did not get closer than 13 points for the rest of the half and went into the break trailing, 64-50. Washington's second-quarter lowlights included getting outscored 37-22 and not collecting a single rebound. "When you get torched like we did in the second quarter defensively, it's very rare for a team to come back and basically hold the other team [in check] in the second half," Wizards Coach Flip Saunders said. Yet that's exactly what Washington did against Eastern Conference-leading Boston (18-4), which has won nine consecutive games. During the third period, the Wizards tied the score at 70 before the Celtics again surged ahead by nine at the end of the quarter. But early in the final period, Deshawn Stevenson's three-pointer, followed by a pair of Butler free throws, made it 83-79. Washington cut the deficit to 91-90 on Gilbert Arenas's layup with 4:18 to play and tied the score at 94 less than two minutes later when Andray Blatche scored on a putback off a Butler miss. With 26 seconds to play, the Wizards had another chance to tie, but Arenas missed two free throws. "We've had situations in games where what you do is you put the ball in the hands of your best players, and you hope that they're going to make plays," Saunders said. "I mean how many times is Gil going to go up and miss two free throws down two? Not very often, so those are the things you have to fight through." The Wizards have grown accustomed to coming back this season, but it's not a role they prefer. The energy players expend to make the game competitive again after significant deficits can takes its toll through the course of 82 games, and the Wizards' season is not yet a quarter complete. Unlike other Eastern Conference "bottom feeders," as Arenas referred to the Wizards after the loss, Washington has the personnel to climb back into the top tier. That starts with the nucleus of Arenas, Butler and Antawn Jamison, which collectively has seven All-Star appearances. "I think sometimes if you have too many scorers on the floor, they all will defer to somebody else, and instead of them deferring, they all need to be aggressive in their own mind," Saunders said. "When I say aggressive, it doesn't mean they have to score every time, but make aggressive cuts, aggressive passes, everything you're doing to be in an aggressive mold." Arenas finished with a game-high 25 points on 11-of-23 shooting and had eight assists but missed 5 of 6 free throws. Jamison had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Butler scored 10 points but missed 7 of 10 shots. "It was tough losing the game like that going down the stretch," said Butler, who added eight rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot. "A couple mistakes here and there. We fell a little short, didn't execute, but we take it on the chin and prepare for the next challenge." That starts Saturday night, when the Wizards play struggling Indiana in their last home game until Dec. 22. The Pacers (6-13) have lost six straight, the third longest skid in the NBA, and are in last place in the Central. Washington offered one of its least inspiring performances the first time the teams played this season. In a 102-86 loss at Indiana on Nov. 6, the Wizards shot 39 percent from the field and 58 percent from the foul line and had 19 turnovers. "We need to get off the schneid. We've lost three very close games," Saunders said. "We need to go out [Saturday] night and play with reckless abandon. We need to play from the standpoint that we're playing to win and not play not to lose and knowing [Saturday] is just like a road game because we leave the next day, and we're on the road basically eight or nine straight. We have to understand that, and hopefully we'll come out with great concentration." http://tinyurl.com/y8l6c99 Saunders說，有時候場上太多得分手，大家反而會推讓他說，他的意思不是說要全部的人都拿到就投，而是要積極一點，積極跑動積極傳球他還說，對超賽時Arenas兩罰不中錯失追平良機，其實不要怪他他一年有幾次這樣? 沒有很多次球隊就是要有越挫越勇的精神 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 87.211.192.128