Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal rented a big yellow bus, packed 12 bag lunches, stopped off at every Washington player's home to pick each of them up right by the curb, and once they were all safely boarded, seated, and well-behaved, he took the Wizards to school. The Big Aristotle taught them to look at a 106-83loss philosophically. If the most dominant player in the league drops 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks on your team but you don't learn from it, do you still lose?
Washington had some solid efforts on their part -- mainly Antawn Jamison's 12 point, 10 rebound, 5 assist night -- but the students learned quickly not to strut into the teacher's lounge. The Heat held a 56-32 advantage in points in paint, and starting Washington center Brendan Haywood fouled out in just 20 minutes. Hope he took notes because there'll be a quiz on Wednesday.
Kwame Brown was not much better, handing out five personal fouls in his 22 minutes on the floor. Every Wizard except Juan Dixon (7 minutes) and Laron Profit (2 minutes) committed at least one foul. SHaq shot a game-high 16 free throws, making 10.
One would think that holding Dwyane Wade to zero points before he left with a mild ankle sprain in the second quarter, never to return to the game, would be a good thing, and would bode well for Washington's success. Perhaps they rested a little too soon.
Wednesday is the rematch and there will be no substitute teacher. It's time to see if the Wizards have learned their lesson. Professor Shaq is coming back to town and he's looking to subtract points from misbehaving Wizards. There's no Harry Potter on this team and not enough invisibility cloaks to go around. These Wizards are hoping for a little magic to be sprinkled their way.
NEXT GAME
The Wizards (12-7, tied for second in the Southeast) hope the MCI Center brings a much-needed change of scenery and luck as they host the Big Schoolteacher on Wednesday, December 15th. The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on CSN and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
The Washington Wizards are hosting a Cheer and Dance Challenge. For $35 as a participant or $15 as a spectator or coach/adviser, you can try to be the top scoring cheer team at 10am on February 5, 2005 at the MCI Center and not only watch the Wizards-Bucks game that evening at 7pm, but, if you win, to perform at halftime!
Jamison Top Sharpshooter: Sharp Electronics has partnered with the Wizards this season to recognize the Sharpshooter of the Month, Antawn Jamison, who averaged a team-high 23.6 points and 9.4 rebounds in November.
INJURY UPDATE
Peter John Ramos(knee),Steve Blake(foot), andEtan Thomas (abdominal) are all on the injured list.
Tom D'Angelo ofThe Palm Beach Postwrites: The Heat center scored 40 points, his Miami high, in a 106-83 victory against the Washington Wizards, a game in which O'Neal persuaded Dwyane Wade to sit out the second half after Wade suffered a mild left ankle sprain. Wade then told Shaq to take over the game and the big man obliged."He wanted to come back out but he was limping real bad,'' O'Neal said. "I told him to take it easy. He said, 'If I take it easy, you have to score 40 or 50.' I told him I had his back.''
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Last night at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami: 15 Field goals made by the Wizards' big three of Antawn Jamison, Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes. They combined to take 57 shots.
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: "You couldn't do nothing with him," said a resigned Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards' leading scorer with 18 points. "We tried everything, doubling him and fronting. We tried everything you can try. He just dominated tonight."... The loss puts into perspective, at least for now, where the Wizards rank in the league. While their season must be characterized as a success so far, they have gone 1-6 against teams with winning records.