Wizards are champions again!

[Phil89]

14/1/15

Atlanta Hawks [19-15] vs Washington Wizards [31-5]

Wall puts up huge numbers again against Hawks



ATL - 31 24 26 20 101
WAS - 29 25 31 23 108

Player of the Game: John Wall
(22pts, 4reb, 19ast, 1stl, 1blk)
(10-14 FG, 0-0 3PT, 2-4 FT)


Top Scorers
Louis Williams - 26
Andrew Wiggins - 25
John Wall - 22
Bradley Beal - 20
Nerlens Noel - 19
Trey Burke - 18
Kevin Seraphin - 12
DeMarcus Cousins - 12
DeJuan Blair - 11

Rebounds
DeJuan Blair - 14
Nerlens Noel - 10
DeMarcus Cousins - 7
Bradley Beal - 7
Andrew Wiggins - 6
Al Horford - 5

Assists
John Wall - 19
Trey Burke - 8
Bradley Beal - 7

Steals
Louis Williams - 3
Danny Green - 2

Blocks
Nerlens Noel - 3

[Phil89]

16/1/15

Washington Wizards [32-5] vs Detroit Pistons [30-10]

Wall stars as Wizards win battle of conference leaders



WAS - 28 22 22 26 98
DET - 20 19 30 25 94

Player of the Game: John Wall
(25pts, 1reb, 11ast, 1stl)
(11-15 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-5 FT)


Top Scorers
John Wall - 25
Brandon Jennings - 24
Greg Monroe - 18
Andrew Wiggins - 14
Bradley Beal - 13
DeMar DeRozan - 13
Andre Iguodala - 11
Perry Jones - 11
Andre Drummond - 10

Rebounds
Andre Drummond - 11
Andre Iguodala - 10
DeMarcus Cousins - 8
Perry Jones - 6
Nerlens Noel - 6
Greg Monroe - 5

Assists
John Wall - 11
Brandon Jennings - 10
Bradley Beal - 6
Andre Iguodala - 5

Steals
Brandon Jennings - 4
Bradley Beal - 3
Kyle Singler - 2
Andre Iguodala - 2

[Phil89]

18/1/15

Washington Wizards [33-5] vs Charlotte Bobcats [18-20]

Wall leads Wizards to epic comeback victory over Bobcats



WAS - 23 19 27 34 103
CHA - 24 26 31 14 95

Player of the Game: John Wall
(22pts, 5reb, 18ast, 3stl)
(9-14 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-4 FT)


Top Scorers
Bradley Beal - 28
Andrew Wiggins - 22
John Wall - 22
Victor Oladipo - 22
Carmelo Anthony - 18
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 15
DeMarcus Cousins - 12
Andray Blatche - 10
Kemba Walker - 10

Rebounds
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 9
Al Jefferson - 7
Andrew Wiggins - 7
Nerlens Noel - 6
Carmelo Anthony - 6
John Wall - 5

Assists
John Wall - 18
Kemba Walker - 6
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 5

Steals
John Wall - 3
Carmelo Anthony - 3
Kemba Walker - 3
Victor Oladipo - 2

Blocks
Andrew Wiggins - 2

[Phil89]

20/1/15

Washington Wizards [34-5] vs Memphis Grizzlies [14-27]

Grizzlies stun Wizards despite Wall's big night



WAS - 22 27 24 25 98
MEM - 28 35 22 18 103

Player of the Game: MarShon Brooks
(30pts, 6reb, 1ast)
(13-25 FG, 2-2 3PT, 2-2 FT)


Top Scorers
MarShon Brooks - 30
Andrew Wiggins - 30
Bradley Beal - 27
John Wall - 18
Michael Carter-Williams - 16
Darrell Arthur - 12
Pau Gasol - 10

Rebounds
DeMarcus Cousins - 9
Darrell Arthur - 8
Pau Gasol - 8
MarShon Brooks - 6
Andrew Wiggins - 6
Nerlens Noel - 5
Michael Conley - 5

Assists
John Wall - 14
Michael Conley - 8
Marc Gasol - 5
DeMarcus Cousins - 5

Steals
John Wall - 3
Michael Carter-Williams - 3
Pau Gasol - 2
Michael Conley - 2

Blocks
Michael Carter-Williams - 2


Wall highlights


Wiggins highlights

[Phil89]

21/1/15

Wizards land their sixth man, as Clippers switch focus to next season



Only a couple of weeks after their eastern conference rivals Orlando and Detroit made big trades, Washington general manager Steve Kerr has responded with a high profile move of his own. The Wizards have been looking for someone to fill the sixth man role on their team this season to help them in their quest for a title. Now they have one. Kerr has acquired veteran swingman Manu Ginobili from the Los Angeles Clippers. Veteran Lamar Odom also joins the Wizards. In return the Clippers receive rookie Noah Vonleh, expiring veterans Mike Miller and Thabo Sefolosha and also a 2016 first round pick.

-----
Despite having the best record in the NBA (34-6), Kerr obviously felt that his team could improve and this deal could really propel them to their first championship since 1978. Even though he is thirty-seven and potentially in his final NBA season, Ginobili has won three rings in his career and still looks as tricky as ever. Washington's main strength this season has been their young core of talented starters. The likes of John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Andrew Wiggins and Bradley Beal get the job done for them on most nights. But there have been games where one or two of them haven't shown up and the Wizards ended up losing. Most experts have pointed to their lack of bench scoring as the reason for this and Kerr has been working hard this season to improve this.

Earlier in the season he traded for Emeka Okafor and Mario Chalmers to give his second unit some veteran experience. The pair have done fairly well, but the team still lacked a genuine scorer off the bench. That is where Ginobili comes in. He thrived in the sixth man role during his final years in San Antonio, winning the sixth man of the year award in their championship-winning 2007-08 season. Despite his age, he should do well in Washington considering that he won't be expected to carry the scoring load. All he has to do is maintain his stat averages this season (11ppg, 5rpg, 4apg) and this trade will look very good for the Wizards.

Some fans will be disappointed that Kerr gave up on young big man Noah Vonleh so quickly, but the team is focussed on winning titles and already has enough young talent to develop. Vonleh didn't have the best of times in Washington. Firstly, he got injured days after being selected with pick fifteen in the 2014 draft. But even once he got back into the team he never really showed more than a few glimpses of his potential. If the Wizards go on to win the championship this season it will have been worth losing a highly touted prospect for a possible one year rental of Ginobili.

-----
Not a lot has gone right for the Clippers since Chris Paul left fifteen months ago. They made it to the second round of the playoffs last season, but have really struggled with form and injuries so far this season. They landed championship calibre veterans Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in the sign-and-trade deal that sent Paul to the Spurs and at last season's trade deadline they traded DeAndre Jordan to the Warriors for veteran big man Andrew Bogut in the belief that they would push on and challenge for a title. But they fell short and injuries have ruined their season this year. With them sitting second last in the western conference with a 13-27 record, they have decided to retool their roster and acquire young assets.

It wouldn't be surprising to see them completely blow up their roster and rebuild around Blake Griffin and whichever young players their can pick up and draft next year. There is no chance to make the playoffs and they are actually currently battling with Miami and Minnesota for the top pick in next years draft. There had been rumours of their veteran players being unhappy with their position after moving to LA with the intention of competing for titles. Ginobili had allegedly told close friends that he wanted a trade to a contender so that he could have one last shot at a fourth ring before retiring.

This deal makes sense for the Clippers in that Ginobili is thirty seven years old, on an expiring contract and may actually retire at the end of the season. At least they got a young prospect and a future first round pick for him, instead of losing him for nothing. The upcoming draft is being hyped as the best one since 2003 with as many as ten so-called "franchise players" coming through. In fact, it would not be surprising to see the likes of Tony Parker and Andrew Bogut moved on for draft picks and cap space before the trade deadline. It may now be a tank race between the Clippers, Heat, Timberwolves and Celtics to see who can land the top talent next year.

LA Clippers receive
Noah Vonleh - 20 - PF - $2.90m - 2 years (75)
Mike Miller - 34 - SF - $6.60m - 1 year (66)
Thabo Sefolosha - 30 - SG - $720k - 1 year (65)
Wizards 2016 first round pick

Projected line-up:
Andrew Bogut - Blake Griffin - Caron Butler - Jamal Crawford - Tony Parker
Bench:
Eric Bledsoe, TyShaun Taylor, Noah Vonleh, Kyle Anderson, Mike Miller, Thabo Sefolosha, Greg Smith

-----

Washington receive
Manu Ginobili - 37 - SG - $7.00m - 1 year (82)
Lamar Odom - 35 - PF - $553k - 1 year (66)

Projected line-up:
DeMarcus Cousins - Nerlens Noel - Andrew Wiggins - Bradley Beal - John Wall
Bench:
Manu Ginobili, Mario Chalmers, Emeka Okafor, Perry Jones, Lamar Odom, Marvin Williams, Kirk Hinrich

[Axel The Great]

Even though it does look like you gave up too much on paper, I think this could be the deal that lands you the championship. As you stated in the article, Ginobili won't have much responsibility coming off the bench so it's not much of a gamble and a good trade. Lamar Odom could be waived if he's useless to you.

On a side note, John Wall could become the next John Stockton if he continues to rack up that many assists.

[Phil89]

If Ginobili can help me win a championship and I continue my form next season that draft pick won't be worth much and I may even end up winning the trade.

Wall is so quick that he creates so many opportunities for my other guys. He is leading the league in assist per game again this year as well.

[Phil89]

22/1/15

Indiana Pacers [18-22] vs Washington Wizards [34-6]

Wall stars & Ginobili debuts as Wizards blow out Pacers



IND - 20 22 23 19 84
WAS - 27 24 30 19 100

Player of the Game: John Wall
(16pts, 9reb, 11ast, 4stl)
(6-12 FG, 0-0 3PT, 4-5 FT)


Top Scorers
Rodrigue Beaubois - 22
Manu Ginobili - 18
Andrew Wiggins - 18
Bradley Beal - 17
John Wall - 16
Paul George - 13
Brandon Roy - 13
Gordon Hayward - 10
Nerlens Noel - 10

Rebounds
Ersan Ilyasova - 12
John Wall - 9
Nerlens Noel - 5
Roy Hibbert - 5

Assists
John Wall - 11
DeMarcus Cousins - 5
Brandon Roy - 5
Rodrigue Beaubois - 5

Steals
John Wall - 4
Paul George - 3
Roy Hibbert - 2
Ersan Ilyasova - 2
Manu Ginobili - 2
Bradley Beal - 2

Ginobili highlights


Wall highlights

[Martti.]

I think you won that trade, Vonleh seems like a prospect so trading him with 2 exprirings and a first round pick (which will #30 overall most likely) for a proven winner in Ginobili is a good win-now move.

[Phil89]

24/1/15

Washington Wizards [35-6] vs Toronto Raptors [17-25]

Gay and Wiggins duel in exciting encounter



WAS - 19 32 23 30 104
TOR - 20 26 27 24 97

Player of the Game: Andrew Wiggins
(44pts, 7reb, 6ast, 3blk)
(16-22 FG, 6-10 3PT, 6-6 FT)


Top Scorers
Andrew Wiggins - 44
Rudy Gay - 42
Kyle Lowry - 14
Manu Ginobili - 14
Bradley Beal - 13
Terrence Ross - 12
Ed Davis - 10

Rebounds
Rudy Gay - 8
Jonas Valanciunas - 7
Ed Davis - 7
Nerlens Noel - 7
Andrew Wiggins - 7
Emeka Okafor - 6
DeMarcus Cousins - 5
Alex Oriakhi - 5

Assists
Kyle Lowry - 10
John Wall - 9
Andrew Wiggins - 6

Steals
Rudy Gay - 4
Kyle Lowry - 4
Terrence Ross - 2

Blocks
Andrew Wiggins - 3

[Phil89]

27/1/15

Washington Wizards [36-6] vs Indiana Pacers [18-25]

Wizards lock down Pacers in second half to win easily



WAS - 25 25 35 28 113
IND - 21 25 14 15 75

Player of the Game: Manu Ginobili
(30pts, 1reb, 3ast, 1stl, 2blk)
(12-18 FG, 3-4 3PT, 3-4 FT)


Top Scorers
Manu Ginobili - 30
Bradley Beal - 20
Mario Chalmers - 13
Andrew Wiggins - 13
Rodrigue Beaubois - 13
DeMarcus Cousins - 12
Gordon Hayward - 11
Brandon Roy - 11
Orlando Johnson - 10
John Wall - 10

Rebounds
DeMarcus Cousins - 9
Nerlens Noel - 8
Bradley Beal - 5
Ekpe Udoh - 5

Assists
John Wall - 11
Rodrigue Beaubois - 6

Steals
John Wall - 4
Ersan Ilyasova - 2
Rodrigue Beaubois - 2

Blocks
Manu Ginobili - 2

Ginobili highlights

[Phil89]

28/1/15

New York Knicks [21-23] vs Washington Wizards [37-6]

Team effort secures win in New York



NYK - 19 22 24 24 89
WAS - 26 24 27 24 101

Player of the Game: John Wall
(13pts, 2reb, 14ast, 2stl)
(5-9 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-3 FT)


Top Scorers
Iman Shumpert - 28
Wayne Ellington - 16
Nerlens Noel - 16
DeMarcus Cousins - 15
Manu Ginobili - 14
Andrew Wiggins - 14
John Wall - 13
Bradley Beal - 11
Raymond Felton - 10

Rebounds
DeMarcus Cousins - 11
Iman Shumpert - 8
Steven Adams - 6
Nerlens Noel - 6
Bradley Beal - 5
Carl Landry - 5

Assists
John Wall - 14
Raymond Felton - 7
Iman Shumpert - 5

Steals
Iman Shumpert - 4
Raymond Felton - 3
Wayne Ellington - 2
John Wall - 2

Blocks
Perry Jones - 2

Wall highlights

[Phil89]

Twitter News

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
Good news Rockets fans, LaMarcus Aldridge signs extension with Houston. Will get $47m over 3 years. Harden played big role in talks

Adrian Wojnarowski @WojYahooNBA
This leaves the futures of Jeremy Lin, Wesley Matthews and Chandler Parsons up in the air. Cap room tight, owners willing to pay them all?

-----

Marc J. Spears @SpearsNBAYahoo
Y! Sources: Bulls guard Jimmy Butler agrees to 3yr/$24m extension. Bulls now have Rose/Parker/Noah/Butler core locked in long term

[Phil89]

30/1/15

Brooklyn Nets [26-16] vs Washington Wizards [38-6]

Wizards stage another gutsy comeback to win in Brooklyn



BKN - 31 24 23 28 106
WAS - 25 20 25 41 111

Player of the Game: Andrew Wiggins
(35pts, 8reb, 2ast)
(13-22 FG, 5-9 3PT, 4-4 FT)


Top Scorers
Andrew Wiggins - 35
John Wall - 30
Joe Johnson - 23
Deron Williams - 22
Brook Lopez - 20
Manu Ginobili - 18
Zach Randolph - 14
DeMarcus Cousins - 10

Rebounds
Brook Lopez - 9
Andrew Wiggins - 8
Zach Randolph - 7
DeMarcus Cousins - 6
Nerlens Noel - 6
Bradley Beal - 6

Assists
Deron Williams - 8
DeMarcus Cousins - 6
Nerlens Noel - 6
John Wall - 6
Ramon Sessions - 6
Gerald Wallace - 5

Steals
Deron Williams - 2

Blocks
Brook Lopez - 2

Wall highlights


Wiggins highlights

[Vespasian92]

Ha, DMC crashing over Brooklyn's big 3. That's a great screenshot.

Not much to say, you're still rolling through people pretty well. Any chance you get 4 representatives in the All-Star game?

[Phil89]

Wall, Beal and Wiggins are all in the top 5 for MVP voting at the moment, so maybe. The east is pretty stacked with talent these days though so maybe only two of them will get in.

[Phil89]

1/2/15

January 2015 Summary

Division Standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division


Central Division


Southeast Division



-----


Western Conference

Northwest Division


Pacific Division


Southwest Division

-----

League Leaders

Points


Rebounds


Assists


Steals


Blocks

-----

Award Races

Most Valuable Player


Defensive Player of the Year


Six Man of the Year


Rookie of the Year


Most Improved Player

-----

Monthly and Weekly Awards

Players of the Week


Players of the Month


Rookies of the Month

-----

Rookies Ranking

-----

Injuries

[Phil89]

1/2/15

Boston Celtics [11-34] vs Washington Wizards [39-6]

Wizards take advantage of injury-hit Celtics



BOS - 20 20 21 21 82
WAS - 33 28 32 22 115

Player of the Game: Bradley Beal
(20pts, 2reb, 1ast, 1stl)
(8-11 FG, 4-5 3PT, 0-0 FT)


Top Scorers
Bradley Beal - 20
Andrew Wiggins - 17
John Wall - 15
DeMarcus Cousins - 12
Nerlens Noel - 12
Kris Joseph - 12
Jeff Teague - 12
Fab Melo - 10
Emeka Okafor - 10

Rebounds
Fab Melo - 8
Emeka Okafor - 7
Nerlens Noel - 7
Lamar Odom - 6

Assists
Kirk Hinrich - 8
John Wall - 8

Steals
Andrew Wiggins - 3
Kirk Hinrich - 2
Tobias Harris - 2

Blocks
DeMarcus Cousins - 2

Beal highlights

[Phil89]

2/2/15

Milwaukee Bucks [17-28] vs Washington Wizards [40-6]

Wall has amazing night in Milwaukee



MIL - 22 19 21 30 92
WAS - 24 24 25 30 103

Player of the Game: John Wall
(29pts, 5reb, 20ast, 1stl)
(11-18 FG, 2-4 3PT, 5-6 FT)


Top Scorers
Bradley Beal - 29
John Wall - 29
Brandon Knight - 25
OJ Mayo - 23
Manu Ginobili - 12
DeMarcus Cousins - 12
Rodney Stuckey - 11
Andrew Wiggins - 10

Rebounds
Nerlens Noel - 12
Andrew Wiggins - 10
Royce White - 8
Rodney Stuckey - 5
Brandon Knight - 5
John Wall - 5

Assists
John Wall - 20
Brandon Knight - 9
Andrew Wiggins - 6
Ishmael Smith - 5

Steals
DeMarcus Cousins - 2
Nerlens Noel - 2
Andrew Wiggins - 2
Rodney Stuckey - 2
Jan Vesely - 2
OJ Mayo- 2
Brandon Knight - 2

Beal highlights


Wall highlights

[Lamrock]

I don't post here all the time, but this is still one of the best stories going on here. The league has taken an interesting turn, and I'd be surprised to see anything but a Wizards/Spurs finals. You're on pace for 70(+) wins, and I think you'll do it.

[Phil89]

Thanks. Sometimes it feels like I'm just posting here for myself, but it's nice to know people are still following it.

Personally I'd love to face the Spurs if I make the finals. They really have no depth and I always seem to do well against them. The Thunder on the other hand would be terrifying.

70 wins is a dream and I'm doing my best to keep it alive. I'll probably fall a few games shot though. The next few weeks are really tough: @PHI, @CHI, vs OKC, vs ORL, vs CHA, @MEM, @HOU, vs CHI, @PHI, vs LAL

[Phil89]

4/2/15

Philadelphia 76ers [30-16] vs Washington Wizards [41-6]

Sluggish start costs Wizards dearly in Philadelphia



PHI - 32 20 26 27 105
WAS - 18 27 25 22 92

Player of the Game: Jrue holiday
(34pts, 8reb, 8ast, 3stl)
(13-26 FG, 0-0 3PT, 8-8 FT)


Top Scorers
Jrue Holiday - 34
Andrew Wiggins - 32
Andrew Bynum - 23
John Wall - 15
Bradley Beal - 14
David Lee - 14
Evan Turner - 11
Nerlens Noel - 11

Rebounds
Andrew Bynum - 11
Nerlens Noel - 11
Jrue Holiday - 8
DeMarcus Cousins - 7
David Lee - 6

Assists
Jrue Holiday - 8
John Wall - 8
DeMarcus Cousins - 5
Evan Turner - 5

Steals
Jrue Holiday - 3
Andrew Bynum - 2
Evan Turner - 2
Manu Ginobili - 2

Blocks
Andrew Bynum - 3
Nerlens Noel - 3
DeMarcus Cousins - 2
Bradley Beal - 2
John Wall - 2

Wiggins highlights

[Phil89]

6/2/15

Washington Wizards [41-7] vs Phoenix Suns [23-27]

Wizards cruise to win despite late Suns surge



WAS - 33 26 24 13 96
PHX - 28 14 13 31 86

Player of the Game: John Wall
(15pts, 3reb, 12ast, 1blk)
(7-9 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-2 FT)


Top Scorers
Caron Butler - 19
Goran Dragic - 19
Bradley Beal - 17
Jamal Crawford - 15
John Wall - 15
Manu Ginobili - 14
Andrew Wiggins - 14
Nerlens Noel - 10

Rebounds
Emeka Okafor - 8
DeMarcus Cousins - 7
Luis Scola - 6
Caron Butler - 6
Jamal Crawford - 5
Perry Jones - 5

Assists
John Wall - 12
Goran Dragic - 5

Steals
Goran Dragic - 3
Eric Bledsoe - 3
Kendall Marshall - 2
Markieff Morris - 2
Kirk Hinrich - 2
DeMarcus Cousins - 2

Blocks
DeMarcus Cousins - 2

[Phil89]

8/2/15

Chicago Bulls [26-23] vs Washington Wizards [42-7]

Wizards defeat Bulls despite Rose scoring career high 53



CHI - 21 24 30 26 101
WAS - 22 26 29 28 105

Player of the Game: Andrew Wiggins
(29pts, 4reb, 2ast, 1stl)
(12-20 FG, 4-10 3PT, 1-1 FT)


Top Scorers
Derrick Rose - 53
Andrew Wiggins - 29
Bradley Beal - 20
John Wall - 20
DeMarcus Cousins - 16
Jabari Parker - 14

Rebounds
DeMarcus Cousins - 9
Nerlens Noel - 8
Jabari Parker - 7
Jimmy Butler - 6
Xavier Henry - 5
Joakim Noah - 5
Taj Gibson - 5

Assists
John Wall - 15
Bradley Beal - 8

Steals
Derrick Rose - 4
John Wall - 2
Joakim Noah - 2

Blocks
DeMarcus Cousins - 2

Rose 53 points


Wall highlights


Wiggins highlights

[Phil89]

9/2/15

2015 NBA All-Star weekend rosters announced

All-Star Game

-----------

Rising Stars Challenge Game

-----------

Sprite Dunk and Three Point Contest Line-ups