Bullets Forever

Links: Heat Vs. Wizards Recaps And Quotes

2012-02-11T18:44:34Z

Combining links and quotes today since I had to run immediately after last night's game.

Miami Heat stars give John Wall some advice on how to deal with the losing. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were spotted talking to him after the game last night. [CSN Washington]
Recaps of last night: [Us | SB Nation D.C. | CSN Washington (Jackson) | Washington Post (blog, gamer) | Washington Times | Washington Examiner | Palm Beach Post | Miami Herald | Peninsula Is Mightier | AP | Sun-Sentinel | SB Nation Tampa Bay]
Watch some highlights on the Heat dunking all over the Wizards, light yourself on fire [Palm Beach Post | SB Nation]
Photos of the Heat partying the night before the game surfaced last night.
Missed this yesterday, but here's the TNT crew clowning on JaVale McGee for running back on defense when his team had the ball on Monday. [NBA.com]
Jan Vesely blog posts are the best blog posts. [Truth About It]
The Lakers apparently have Kobe Bryant's blessing to sign Gilbert Arenas. [Ken Berger]
Non-basketball: me on SB Nation about Maryland securing five-star wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

Quotes below the jump:

RANDY WITTMAN

On the team's defensive effort: "We'll take mistakes that are aggressive, and we had some of those. We got tired I thought, little winded, which caused some of our mistakes too. I got to do a better job getting those guys in and out. I've got to recognize JaVale sometimes gets winded quicker at different periods of the game, and I've got to do a better job [with that], because that's where he'll miss a rebound or one goes off his hands out of bounds."

On the second unit: "I tinkered with it a little tonight. I'm playing with that a little bit. I hadn't liked the last couple games, end of first, start of second quarters were slow. I have to look over the tape and see exactly where it didn't work, but we changed it up tonight. We'll see where we go for it. I shortened it up a little bit to see if that helped."

NICK YOUNG

On lessons the Wizards can take from the Heat: "We can learn a lot from them, how they played, how they talked out there. Just how LeBron and D-Wade are always talking, making sure the team is in the right positions. It's something we can learn. Also, how they try to take over at the end of the game."

On what happened in the fourth quarter: "They were trapping, getting the ball out of people's hands. They were playing aggressive traps and stuff."

JOHN WALL

On what happened in the fourth quarter: "We ran pick and roll, and they trapped to get the ball out of our guards hands. We got to make plays, and today, we didn't make the plays. We had careless turnovers and didn't shoot well as a team."

On what LeBron James and Dwyane Wade said to him: "That's someone I look up to. LeBron, I met him back in high school. That's very nice to hear. Those two guys probably have been through the same type of situation I was when I was a child growing up, not really being known [right away], except for LeBron, when we were young. Those are two superstars in the league. One guy has won a championship (Wade) and the other (James) is trying to get there. That's somewhere I want to be down the road."

Heat Vs. Wizards Recap: Miami Turns Up Screws In Fourth Quarter For 106-89 Win

2012-02-11T02:24:46Z

The Miami Heat probably thought they could come into Verizon Center and play hard for just one quarter to get a win, and that's exactly what ended up happening. The Heat turned up the screws defensively in the fourth quarter, turning a slim six-point lead after three quarters into a 17-point victory.

This loss wasn't a matter of a lack of effort or even execution. The Wizards simply are too young and have too little talent to compete when the Heat dial up the pressure like they did. There were plenty of Wizards players who had good games in the first three quarters, the kind of performances that the coaching staff could build on going forward. They can choose to accept that and look at this game as a positive despite the score, and I don't think I'd argue too much. Still, the fourth quarter was troubling, as was Miami's ability to coast and turn it on.

I can accept a lot of fan's conclusions of this one. On the one hand, we know this Wizards team isn't as talented as the Heat. On the other hand, this game got out of hand really quickly and exposed the limitations of all of the players on the Wizards' roster, John Wall included. It'll be interesting to see how the organization portrays this loss.

More notes below the jump:

Great play to begin the game getting JaVale McGee a post-up on the move on Joel Anthony. I missed who set the cross-screen, but that kind of stuff develops when the ball moves quickly on the perimeter at the same time the cross-screen is being set. Too often, the ball movement is too slow for those kinds of plays to happen.
The Wizards were making some nice cuts to the rim early slipping screens. Miami trailed them all the way, but did so aggressively. They also pressure pick and rolls, so it was a nice adjustment by Trevor Booker to slip the screens early.
Against a team like Miami, every possession matters. That's why it was so disheartening to see Nick Young fail to re-post Chris Singleton with Mario Chalmers on him. Young instead dribbled to the corner, took a contested 18-footer and screwed up Washington's transition defense, allowing LeBron James an easy layup.
Speaking of wasted possessions, there's JaVale McGee making a mad dash into three defenders without even looking to pass the ball. He missed it and it led to another layup. To have good transition defense, you need to be shooting from the right spots on the floor so your guards can retreat properly. When you step out of line, you better make the shot. Otherwise, you mess everything up.
Wall missing four shots right at the rim really hurt. But if I were the coach, I wouldn't dwell on them. He did the right things, just missed the shots. No need to berate him for that or tell him to change his game.
Lots of people wonder what Jan Vesely brings to the table. That screen he set to free Wall for his first converted layup of the game late in the first quarter is a good example. The timing of the screen is very tough, because he snuck onto the right side to pick off Chalmers. If he does that an instant too early or late, he gets called for the offensive foul. He did it at the perfect time and it gave Wall a layup.
Of course, his lack of scoring ability also was on display early in that second quarter. But he may already be the team's best pick and roll defender.
There's really no need for McGee to turn and face on Chris Bosh. Back him in and score over the top. Don't try otherwise. He adjusted nicely later in the quarter and got a couple shots deeper in the paint. As long as teams are going to try to cover him with a smaller guy, McGee needs to punish them.
The Wizards' lack of depth was really exposed against Miami's bench. It seems weird to think that a team with LeBron, Wade and Bosh could beat someone with their bench, but this is an underrated Miami group. Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier are always in the right spots, and Norris Cole is productive.
You have to appreciate Wall's devotion to pushing the ball. It caused a lot of easy baskets for the Wizards, and it convinced others to run with him. This is the most obvious advantage Wall has over anyone else on the floor, and while he still sometimes can struggle with his decision-making, it's an advantage the Wizards must use and hope he grows through it. This second quarter showed the true potential of Wall's speed.
Four missed layups for Wall, one missed dunk by Booker. That's the game right there, at least as of the second quarter. It's unfortunate, too, because both Wade and LeBron were hitting some incredibly tough shots. Those are 10 points on the scoreboard the Wizards desperately need.
Hard to really identify what went wrong early in the third quarter. The defensive rebounding wasn't great, but that's only a small part of it. Ultimately, I think some guys were trying a little too hard to make something happen, and that cost the Wizards offensively.
Credit McGee for putting up big numbers -- he was clearly hustling. Still, when McGee hustles, he often gets tired, and when he gets tired, he makes mental mistakes like forgetting to come over and cut off Bosh's drive to the basket.
Good to see Wall changing speeds well and hitting a couple floaters.
You get the sense that James coasted in that third quarter. The stepback three-pointer that resulted in an air-ball? Singleton was hounding him and James could have easily driven by him. Something to keep in mind for later, because you know James is hoping to get out of here with a W while playing at 85-percent speed.
Wall's command of the half-court offense has improved dramatically. I especially loved the play where he rushed it down off a missed shot, pulled it back, directed traffic to the right, then found Young on the mismatch with Chalmers and lobbed a perfect pass for the layup. Much like a quarterback reading the defense, Wall let his eyes divert attention and fooled Miami.
The Wizards showed a zone defense against the Heat, and it worked for stretches. Many teams do this to Miami, and many succeed. It helped the Wizards get back into the game. Still, it's a change-of-pace for a reason. The Heat started to figure it out eventually.
The sooner Booker starts consistently taking the open 17-foot jump shot with confidence, the better.
The Heat's athletes make it so hard to drive and kick, but as long as Crawford is going to take it into the teeth of their defense, he could make a bit more of an effort to draw a foul.
Once again, Miami's bench killed the Wizards' bench early in the fourth quarter. The Wizards could never contain Norris Cole, and that hurt them. Wittman was forced to bring Wall back in way earlier than he probably would have liked.
Young's defense left a lot to be desired in this one. The Heat ran him off lots of screens and he was way behind trying to trail them. He also was his typically late self rotating the ball. While he did score a lot, these are the kinds of games people point to when they say he doesn't do much else but score.
The Wizards tried going zone again late to get back into the game, but Miami was prepared this time with timely weakside cuts and crashing the offensive glass. Still think the answer is better man-to-man defense instead of a gimmick there. Zone served its purpose, but it's easy to overdo it.
Also worth noting that Miami turned up the screws defensively, especially on the high pick and roll. That's why they're such a great team. They coasted early on, but that defense showed up when it needed to show up. The Wizards' half-court limitations were exposed in the fourth quarter, but credit Miami's defense for stepping up.
Jordan Crawford had a pretty terrible, no-good, very bad game, to say the least.

Miami Heat Vs. Washington Wizards: Regular Season Game 27 Open Thread

2012-02-10T23:38:53Z

2011/12 NBA Regular Season
	@
19-7		5-21
February 10, 2012
Verizon Center
7 PM
CSN
Starters:
Mario Chalmers	PG	John Wall
Dwyane Wade	SG	Nick Young
LeBron James	SF	Chris Singleton
Chris Bosh	PF	Trevor Booker
Joel Anthony	C	JaVale McGee
PREGAME READING: Meet the Heat \| Peninsula is Mightier \| SB Nation D.C. \| SB Nation Tampa Bay

Pregame notes (refreshing):

Rashard Lewis is not playing again tonight, but Randy Wittman said he's on the way to recovery. "It's getting better," Wittman said. "Hopefully tomorrow, he'll come back in here feeling better. He's close to being able to play.
The visiting announcers understandably were looking for some John Wall information and asked Wittman about his progression this year. Wittman talked a lot about the coaching change and how Wall has been better recently. Here's the money quote: "It's been a struggle, but as of late, he's played with enthusiasm and great energy that he didn't have all the time. I think he understands that he's got to come out and be energized defensively and able to pick it up."
They also asked him about Chris Singleton, and Wittman said that he's played well, but he wants Singleton to be more of a slasher going to the basket.
I asked Wittman about Wall's jump shot, since according to HoopData, Wall has hit 10 of his last 16 shots from 16-23 feet. "He's got to improve on it and he is," he said. "But I think you're starting to see a little bit of that. Now, it's got to be the same thing over and over with him."
Lots of boos for the Heat as they entered the arena. For what it's worth.

Heat Vs. Wizards Preview: Meet LeBron James And The Evil Empire

2012-02-10T21:16:20Z

This should be fun.

Are they good in general?: Sadly, yes.

Are they good against the Wizards? They haven't played the Wizards this season, but last year, there was this game with this moment that was pretty awesome.

Are they fast or slow? The Heat made a big stink during the offseason about wanting to push the pace, with coach Erik Spoelstra visiting Oregon football coach Chip Kelly to learn more about his spread offense. How a basketball coach feels like he can find inspiration in a football coach is beyond me, but for what it's worth, the Heat are playing at a much higher pace (95.1 possessions per game this year as opposed to 92.9 last year).

Are they especially good at anything? The Heat have the league's best offense, the highest effective field goal percentage, one of the league highest free-throw rates and they run like crazy. As much as we all hate LeBron James, he's having arguably his best season as a pro. Want me to go on?

Are they especially bad at anything? They haven't been great defending the three-point line, as Sebastian Pruiti spelled out here. Unfortunately, the Wizards have very few three-point shooters.

Are there any people involved with the organization that Mike really likes? Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem are two really solid veterans that any good team needs to have.

Are there any people involved with the organization that Mike really doesn't like? Well...

After all these years I still love DC! Always show me so much Love back
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 10, 2012

Are there any players poised for a breakout? Norris Cole played really well early but has tailed off recently. I guess he qualifies.

Are there any players the Wizards especially need to worry about? The Wizards need to do what teams always do to them: build a wall in transition, coordinate perfectly to prevent the Heat from getting to the rim and make them win with their half-court offense.

Is their mascot cool? What is this?

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Any other random quirks: Going to be great when the crowd is full of bandwagon Heat fans, if by "great," I mean "awful."

Game thread at 6:30, recap right after.

What Road Will Ernie Grunfeld Take At The Trade Deadline?

2012-02-10T12:00:57Z

It's easy to imagine a cynical owner regarding his team's fans with a casual contempt. "They don't know what they want. Last year it's 'we play the veterans too much', then it's 'we play the wrong rookies too much', now it's 'the rookies suck so sign free agents.' And if I do you'll start screaming 'we signed the wrong ones, our cap space is gone forever' and the whole thing starts again." That's the kind of thinking that evolves when an owner stops questioning whether or not they're making the right decisions. It often results in a surety with a tendency to ignore reality while blindly doubling down on a 'sure thing'. I believe this is a trap Ted has mostly avoided. But regarding Ernie's future the question has become: who is seeing clearly?

10. Never settle--never rest--keep on improving. Around the edges to the plan, have monthly, quarterly and annual check ups. Refresh the plan when needed but for the right reasons-- "how are we doing against our metrics of success and where are we on our path to a championship." Never listen to bloggers, media, so called experts--to thine own self be true. Enjoy the ride.

Ted's Take via Hogs Haven

Transparency is a tent pole of the ten point plan but the plain truth is that we don't really know what Ted is seeing. This is pretty much all we have to calibrate with for now, before Flip's firing:

I was up close and watched a very dispirited effort by our team yesterday afternoon...I have found the best thing to do in times of stress and turmoil is to do research; be analytical; NOT emotional; and try to find ways to improve...no one is happy with the progress we are making as a team; it is important that we be measured and smart in how we move forward.

via Ted's Take

There's no doubt how the team chose to proceed, and I think we can all agree Flip needed to go. Randy Wittman is doing a better job maximizing the talents of the team Ted thought he was going to see, but there's no doubt this is not what Ted was expecting.

Odd as it sounds, I would like to hear a vote of confidence in Ernie as a GM. That would suggest to me that there is an active dialogue between the two and that Ernie has a plan Ted believes in. Right now, the silence out of the Verizon Center only suggests Ernie has until the trade deadline to prove himself. That means activity crucial to the rebuild and just what path will Ernie choose? There are plenty of paths available and his history long past and recent suggests he could go just about any which way and perhaps that's the way he wants it. Hell, that might be the only leverage the Wizards have at the deadline.

And now, a Shakespearean monologue with Wizards mad libs. And who knows existential suffering like a Wizards fan in Shakespeare's plays? What if Hamlet was a Wizards fan?

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

the .GIFs and blowouts of outrageous fortune,

Or to take [cap] space against a sea of troubles

And by veterans, end them. To lose-to slump,

No more; and by a slump to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

Our teams are heir to: 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To lose-to slump;

To slump, perchance to rise-ay, there's the rub:

For in that slump of loss[es] what drafts may come,

When we have shuffled off this dunce's coil,

Must give us pause-there's the respect

That makes calamity of [team] building thus.

For who would bear the wicked pixels of spite,

Th'GM's wrongs, the coach's contumely,

The pangs of dispriz'd love, the draft's delay,

The insolence of Heat fans, and the spurns

That patient fandom of th'unworthy takes,

When [s?/]he himself might [her?] his young roster make

With a smart signing? Who would suff'ring bear,

To root and wait under a weary hope,

But that the dread of something after loss,

The playoff pressure-cooker, from whose grip

No salary cap returns, puzzles the will,

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of ten point plans

Are sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,

And enterprises of great pitch and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry

And lose the name of action.

via Enotes and myself

Apologies to the Bard, of course.

Links: Jeremy Lin, Linning, Linsanity, Lincredible, Lin-ktastic

2012-02-09T17:24:00Z

Today's links:

OK, let's just get all the Jeremy Lin links out of the way. First, general stuff. [Newsday | ESPN New York | New York Times | Bergen Record | New York Daily News | Ball Don't Lie | Hang Time Blog | New York Post | The Post Game |
Lin crossed up John Wall, which I'm sure you haven't seen yet. [Eye on Basketball | Pro Basketball Talk | SB Nation]
Best Lin sign ever. [SB Nation]
Home team recaps. [Us (recap, quotes) | SB Nation D.C. | CSN Washington (Johnson, Hanrahan, Jackson, Miller) | Washington Post (gamer, blog) | Washington Times | Washington Examiner | Truth About It (recap, quotes) | Wiz of Awes | District Sports Page | WUSA9 | DC Sports Box]
Other non-Lin focused road team recaps. [Knickerblogger | New York Daily News | Posting and Toasting| SB Nation New York]
Randy Wittman's own son trolled his dad. [SB Nation D.C. |
Wittman talks to 106.7 The Fan and tries to downplay JaVale McGee's mental gaffe on Monday. [106.7 The Fan]
Maurice Evans is playing decent minutes again. [Washington Examiner]
Wall wants the NBA to return to the old rookie/sophomore format. [Wizards Insider]
For the draftnicks, a quick look at Syracuse's Dion Walters. [CSN Washington]
The Wizards make two appearances on Jon Bois' Animated GIFs of January list. [SB Nation]
Finally, I couldn't help but get in with #Linsanity. Here's my scouting report of what makes him so successful. [SB Nation]
Heads-up: Keys to the Palace will be up later this afternoon.

Knicks Vs. Wizards Postgame Quotes: Randy Wittman's Son Rubs Salt In The Wound

2012-02-09T12:00:48Z

WASHINGTON -- Here are your postgame quotes following the Wizards' 107-93 loss to Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks:

RANDY WITTMAN

On where the game was lost: "This game was really about containment. We couldn't contain the basketball, basically, I thought, all night long, whether it was in pick and rolls or with balls kicked out where they were blowing by us to the basket."

On the many fouls the Wizards committed in the third quarter: "You got to know when you're in the bonus or not in the bonus, when you can take a chance on going for an offensive rebound over the back of somebody and when you can't. We played that third quarter when they got into the bonus like we had no clue they got in the bonus. It was a parade to the free-throw line, and that really hurt us."

On the Knicks not having Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire: "Right now, after this game, I wish they would have played."

On containing the pick and roll: "When we did cover it, then we'd get beat right off the dribble after we got back to our men. That caused us to help, and [Tyson] Chandler had a lot of putbacks at the rim. So it's a combination of both, of controlling the high pick and roll the way we needed to."

On a text his son Ryan (profiled here) sent him: "He told me [Cornell] did a much better job than we did guarding him tonight. I already had that text message."

Maurice Evans

On lessons the Wizards can take from Lin's play: "That's encouraging for us. I was talking to John about this. If we can take a page out of their playbook and use the same play, John is probably the fastest PG in this league with the ball, and he has the ability to attack the rim the same as Jeremy Lin. People will go under pick and rolls the same as they do with Jeremy Lin, and we can space the floor because we have shooters just like they do. There's some lessons to be had."

On where the Wizards' pick and roll defense broke down: "Everybody has to play with more energy, on the ball, bigs stepping up and wing players bringing more energy in chucking the big man as he comes down the lane. But again, [Lin] is coming off with so much thrust and momentum that if you got a decision to make, it's either Tyson Chandler for a dunk or Steve Novak for a three-pointer. You got to pick your poision."

John Wall

On Lin's play: "He just did a great job running pick and roll. They had three shooters around him, and he just ran pick and roll with him and Tyson Chandler. If you help off a shooter, he found him. If not, he got a layup or found Chandler at the rim."

On where the pick and roll defense broke down: "It's tough when you're guarding pick and roll and the send it out so high. You got someone that's really quick, you got somebody that set screens like Tyson Chandler and can roll, and you got people that can make shots around him."

Trevor Booker

On the pick and roll defense: "They came out more aggressive than us. That pick and roll killed us. We couldn't find a way to stop the guy that was rolling. If we did, they'd kick it out to the shooters and they'd knock it down."

On why the game spiraled out of contral: "I think we hung our heads a little. That's something we have to get over as a team. They're going to make runs. We're going to make runs. But when the other team makes runs, we just have to hold our head high and keep fighting back."

Knicks Vs. Wizards Recap: Jeremy Lin Goes Off, Washington Loses, 107-93

2012-02-09T02:34:10Z

The Washington Wizards fell victim to the Jeremy Lin show. Hard to really come away from this game with any other conclusion. Lin showed the world again why he's legitimate, and the Knicks completely picked the Wizards apart in the pick and roll in winning, 107-93. It ended up being one of the most embarrassing losses for the Wizards all season, if only because of the inevitable Lin vs. John Wall framing that tells us absolutely nothing about why this game was lost.

Wall had 29 points and one turnover in the entire game. Wall was not the reason the Wizards lost. In fact, without Wall, they probably lose by 30. The Wizards' pick and roll coverage was awful, and the big men were mostly to blame. Lin can certainly change speeds beautifully, but the Wizards' big men never were able to prevent him from getting inside the free-throw line extended. Proper pick and roll coverage involves Wall pressuring the ball, the big man stepping out and beating the guard to the spot and Wall recovering quickly, in that order. The second part of the chain kept breaking down, and that is why the Wizards lost.

Credit Lin, of course. He's definitely good. But the Wizards as a team didn't show up, outside of Wall and Trevor Booker. Let's not get caught up in the narrative framing here.

More notes:

The Wizards' early pick and roll coverage on Jeremy Lin was very soft. I blame JaVale McGee here. When Lin comes off the screen, McGee stayed back, and Lin's just too smart finding Tyson Chandler rolling to the basket. To stop Lin, the Wizards need to get their bigs out hedging hard, and McGee instead stood in no-man's land.
If Booker can consistently knock down a 17-foot jump shot, it makes him a threat in post-up isolations. That's why that shot is so important. Jared Jeffries dared him to take it, and he set him up well to get it in rhythm.
You can see the growth of John Wall's pick and roll game with one sequence early in the first quarter. Wall drove left off a screen and slowed up like many other point guards do. However, he wasn't trying to draw the primary defender or even the big man helping out on the pick and roll. Instead, he was reading Bill Walker, who was guarding Chris Singleton in the weakside corner. Wall held the ball just long enough to cause Walker to sink into the paint, then delivered a beautiful cross-court pass to Singleton for the wide-open three.
Jordan Crawford came into the game and immediately fell back into his bad habit of dribbling without a purpose, launching a horrible shot over Jared Jeffries after killing the shot clock. Unless you're really good, in this league, you have to make your dribbles count. Crawford too often doesn't.
If Kevin Seraphin is ever going to be a post player, he has to get low on his dribbles when he backs in on players. It's way too easy for defenders to poke the ball away and force him into fadeaways that have no chance of going in.
The big thing Lin does so well in the pick and roll is stay low with his dribble. It allows him to be deceptively quick. With less ground to cover when accelerating to the rim, he's able to change speeds pretty easily. Whereas, if a player has trouble changing speeds, it's usually because he tries to get lower as he's doing it instead of staying low and just controlling that. This is something Wall often struggles with.
The Wizards go for so many pump fakes.
What is JaVale McGee doing not passing to Nick Young or anyone else when he got a steal?
Not to take away from Lin, but this game really shows the value of someone like Tyson Chandler. He nails every single screen and has such a great feel for when to roll, when to slip and when to set a bone-crushing screen in transition. He has the willingness and the game. It makes life sooooo much easier for Lin. Wall, on the other hand, has ...
Wall really took it to Lin late in the quarter, sensing that his teammates didn't have it. He was working on floaters before the game and often works on floaters before games. He showed off that body control in the air late in the quarter.
The Wizards did a much better job fighting over ball screens on Lin and recovering to three-point shooters early in the third quarter. They didn't really change anything up with their coverages. They just executed better. Credit Wall for fighting over more screens and the weakside defenders for not getting caught drifting off their men.
Young is the most indecisive post-entry passer I've ever seen.
The jumper that Booker hit early in the first quarter set up his drive to the basket for the reverse layup in the third quarter. That's why the development of Booker's 18-foot jumper is so important. Later in the third quarter, Chandler even bit on a pump fake that Booker threw at him in the post. You don't do that if you're as smart a defender as Chandler unless you think that shot is a legitimate threat.
Lin's legit, no doubt. Playing him tight man-to-man can be difficult because of how he can change speeds - witness his crossover on Wall for the dunk. Lots of people are going to wonder about Wall, but you have to remember that there is no such thing as true man-to-man defense anymore. Wall got very little support from his big men. Booker would jump out to cut off Lin, but not jump far enough out to cut off the angle. Lin would sneak away left, then cross over back to the right to force the matchup against the big man. All of these things are wonderful, of course, but they also speak to the need to have big men who can guard the pick and roll.
Did Wall look at this a bit too much like a one-on-one matchup? Perhaps. But he was also the only one who could do anything offensively, and the game was starting to get away from the Wizards. We praise great players for taking it on themselves when the rest of their teammates are struggling. That's what Wall did. Unfortunately, his teammates never caught up.
I will say I was wrong in this respect - I thought going small would be a good thing against Lin. Instead, it opened up the Knicks for offensive rebounds. I know McGee was struggling early, but maybe this was a good time to go back to him.
The Knicks were really good on the weakside in this game. Fields looked like the Fields of old, making timely basket cuts as his man turned his head. The tic-tac-toe passing between Lin, Chandler and Fields is the kind of play where you have all the elements working out. It's the footballization of basketball in action. On this team, Wall may have been a beat late on the pass, McGee would have committed an offensive foul and Young would have stayed in the right corner. All these elements are needed to make a point guard look good, and a point guard can make all these elements good.
It really came down to letting Lin get to his sweet spot too easily. In this case, his sweet spot is the right elbow. The Wizards needed to provide a hard hedge and cut him off before he gets there. Once he gets there, you're trailing him, and he can pick you apart finding the open man. Wall's job is to pressure and recover, but he needs support from his big men. If the big man can't prevent Lin from dribbling to his sweet spot, then there's literally nothing Wall can do to prevent Lin from finding Chandler or finishing. The big men have to divert Lin's path away from the hoop instead of trying to trail him.