Wizards pull away late to take Game One
In an energetic start to the series the Washington Wizards take Game one from the Bulls in Chicago. The game was closely contested throughout the night with the Chicago Bulls taking a six point lead into the half and opening up a 13 point lead early in the 3rd quarter before the Wizards mounted a comeback resulting in the victory 102-93. The teams seemed fairly evenly matched throughout the game but a quick review of the box scores leads me to believe the Wizards hold the edge in this series.
John Wall and Bradley Beal combined to go 7-25 from the field for 29 points. If you knew that was going to be their line going into the game, there’s little chance you would have predicted a Wizards victory. However, Nene really stepped up when the Wizards offense grew stagnant and poured in a game high 24 points. Andre Miller also contributed greatly off the bench adding in 10 points to go with his calming influence.
The Wizards got in trouble a few times during the game due to over aggression. The Chicago fans would erupt over every dunk the Bulls managed to get and it seemed the youth of the Wizards wanted to quickly respond. Unfortunately, this often resulted in a turnover and a fast break going the other way. The Wizards did do a good job getting back on defense but again over aggression would see them jumping the passing lanes ineffectively and the Bulls were able to build on their lead.
Head coach Randy Wittman did an excellent job in these situations of either calling a timeout to calm the team down or subbing in Andre Miller to help bring focus back to the team. Wittman’s smart management of the game kept the Bulls from ever being able to pull away.
Nene’s ability to control the offense when John Wall was struggling showed just how well this team has come together. It is unlikely that both John Wall and Bradley Beal will struggle so much from the field in the coming games but the way the rest of the team stepped up showed this Wizards team is for real. Every player seemed to be capable and willing to execute their role leading to this victory.
Also of note, All of Washington’s starters with a positive plus/minus rating. None of Chicago’s did. After Game 1, I would say the Wizards appear to be the better team. As long as Washington continues to play together and with a controlled aggression they should emerge from this series victorious.
