Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Wizards ended their five-game, nine-day Western Conference road trip with a terrible post-Christmas day loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wizards fell109-74mainly because they couldn't box out on Boxing Day. Kevin Garnett had twice as many rebounds as any of the four Wizards who tied for team-high with six. The Wizards trailed by as many as 35 points at one point and gave up 24 fast break points while scoring just 7 themselves.
It was not any single player's fault. "There are no excuses tonight," Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan said. "They played hard and played very good defense, but I was unhappy with our effort. We threw the ball away too many times and there were times we didn't get back on defense. I'm not blaming an individual. It was a team effort, or lack thereof."
On the other hand, it's no shame losing to one of the best teams in the league. The Wizards are not quite contenders to the throne quite yet, but the Timberwolves are. They have the league's MVP and a cast and crew of expiring contracts surrounding him that's just yelling "This is our year!"
In the good-news department, recently activated point guard Steve Blake played 12 minutes in the contest and got four points, two rebounds, one assist, and two fouls in his time on the floor.
NEXT GAME
The Wizards (14-11, third in the Southeast) host their division rivals the expansion Charlotte Bobcats (7-16, fourth in the Southeast). The Wizards beat the Bobcats on Charlotte's home turf the first time these two teams met back in November, back when it was just the second game of the regular season for the new-look Wizards. Now that Washington has their team gelling, the Bobcats could be in for a blowout. The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on NC8 and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Thomas, Ramos Contribute to Carribean Relief Fund: Wizards duo join eight other NBA players who have donated more than $100,000 to UNICEF for hurricane relief efforts.
Gilbert Arenas held his second annual Gilbert’s Christmas Dream for Kids Thursday afternoon in Washington. Arenas treated nearly 300 children to a special movie screening of The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie at Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14 Theaters. Arenas followed up the movie by giving gifts to all the children in attendance.
INJURY UPDATE
Laron Profit(foot),Peter John Ramos(knee), andEtan Thomas (abdominal) are all on the injured list.
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Washington, the toast of the Eastern Conference simply because it has spent much of the early portion of the season not resembling the Wizards of the past, last night bore a striking resemblance to the also-rans of recent seasons.In absorbing their worst beating of the season, 109-74 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in front of 15,398 at Target Center, the Wizards (14-11) return home tonight looking to get back on track against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Michael Lee ofThe Washington Postwrites: Coach Eddie Jordan expressed disappointment that his team "lost some discipline."Point guard Gilbert Arenas spoke of a team stuck in neutral. Forward Antawn Jamison, who usually talks of brushing aside losses once he leaves the locker room, said the mistakes of this game probably need to be examined further.
George Solomon ofThe Washington Postwrites: Speaking of holiday gifts, what a delightful surprise Abe Pollin's Washington Wizards have been with their best start in more than 20 years.Ernie Grunfeld's personnel choices have been smart, particularly acquiring legit all-stars Antawn Jamison this season and Gilbert Arenas last season; Eddie Jordan is coaching 'em up, as the "ol' ballcoach" used to say; and the fans are responding.