Wow.

The final minute of this game featured an extremely improbable comeback, a questionable clear path foul, a three that looked perfect from the television, and an unbelievably confused announcing team that couldn’t figure out what happened. After drilling two technical free throws from a clear path foul, Trevor Ariza then went on to hit nothing but net on a game-winning three. Unfortunately, the net it hit was before the iron, not inside of it. In defense of Steve Buckhantz’ and Phil Chenier’s confusion, they didn’t even get to sit on the floor for tonight’s game. Their view was just as bad as mine on my couch.

But what an odd game it was. Jose Calderon torched everyone. Ariza led the team in scoring. AJ Price outshined John Wall for what seems like the millionth time in a row. Kevin Seraphin played and played well. Martell Webster only played 23 minutes. Bradley Beal didn’t hit a three but still shot well from the field. Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe combined for 58. And Bukchantz yelled “DAGGER!” but had to retract it as Ariza sullenly walked off the court. The boy who cried dagger will never be trusted again.

The hectic final minute of this game should allow John Wall to breathe a sigh of relief. Instead of media focusing on his unprecedented (for him) awful streak, they will focus on the fantasy that almost came to fruition. But that shouldn’t be the story. The Wizards have been competitive since Wall’s return, but is it in spite of him? I won’t go too far into it here, but he was yet again disappointing, posting more turnovers than assists and shooting the ball poorly on questionable shot selection.

Tonight was probably the year’s most memorable game and will likely be dubbed in the coming days as something like the “Optical Illusion Game”,  “Mirage Game”, or “Dagger Retraction Game.” While I’ll gleefully talk about the ending of this game at the water cooler tomorrow (I don’t actually hang out at a water cooler at work), kicking around funny ideas and rehashing the announcing confusion, Wall will be busy forgetting it. And he should. Clear your mind young fella.

Feb 13, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons point guard Will Bynum (12) drives past Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) during the fourth quarter at The Palace. Detroit won 96-85. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

After winning three straight games, the Washington Wizards will return to the Verizon Center, where they will try to avoid a season sweep to the Detroit Pistons.

Key Match Up

Despite having John Wall back in the lineup, Washington still struggles to defend the opposing point guard. Detroit acquired Jose Calderon from the Toronto Raptors in the deal which sent Rudy Gay to Toronto. The last time the Wizards met the Pistons, Calderon scored 24 points, shooting over 50 percent from the field. I can’t place the blame largely on Wall, but the Wizards need to do a better job in containing point guards as a whole. Detroit is ranked 10th in the league in three point percentage, so the Wizards obviously need to do a better job in getting to the shooters. Calderon shoots nearly 48 percent from beyond the arc, but he’s also very capable of getting his teammates involved. If Washington wants to pick up their fourth straight victory tonight, they’ll need to find a way to stop one of the most underrated guards in the league.

John Wall will be a big factor in tonight’s game. Not only will he get the John Wall get the defensive assignment on Calderon, but he needs to contribute more on the offensive floor if Washington wants to continue their win streak. Wall has done a great job in getting his teammates involved and has even cut his turnovers down significantly during the past couple outings. In my opinion, Wall is becoming a bit too passive. I realize that Wall doesn’t get as many foul calls as he would like, which certainly affects his confidence in getting to the basket, but he has passed up numerous layup opportunities in the past couple games. Wall needs to play with the same kind of aggressiveness we witnessed when he made his return to the Wizards lineup. Again, I like the fact that he’s doing a good job getting his teammates involved, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t look to shoot in transition. After all, Wall is regarded as one of the best transition players in the NBA.

Other Notes/Links

• Expect a battle of the boards tonight. Both Detroit and Washington are in the top ten in rebounds per game.Detroit big man, Greg Monroe, added 18 rebounds in their last match up.
• Bradley Beal has been great this year, to say the least. He’s averaged nearly 19 points during the past five outings. Look for Beal to make a legitimate splash in the Rookie of the Year run.
• When asked about what Detroit has been doing to consistently beat the Wizards this season, Randy Wittman simply told stated “I don’t know.”
• I asked Wizards fans on Twitter, who they’d like the Wizards to draft, assuming they don’t trade their pick. Virtually every Wizards fan wants them to draft Georgetown’s, Otto Porter. I’ll be interested to see if this catches steam, since the Bradley Beal decision seemed imminent by this time of year.
• Great piece on SBNation on how Bradley Beal broke out. Hop on the bandwagon, folks. This kid’s a star.

Prediction

As I mentioned before, the Wizards have looked very good over the past several weeks. In fact, they’ve won seven of their last nine games. With that said, they’ve had a very difficult time beating Detroit this season. Despite beating playoff team after playoff team, Washington just can’t put it together against Detroit.

Detroit isn’t the type of team which has one superstar on their roster which might will his team to victory. They’re made up of a plethora of guards which includes Jose Calderon, Rodney Stuckey, and Brandon Knight. Knight, who has missed the last three games for Detroit due to a knee injury, will be a game time decision tonight. Any of their available guards are capable of getting it done on any night, so Washington can’t focus on just one player.

At just 22 years old, Greg Monroe has already established himself as a legitimate big man in the NBA. Averaging nearly 16 points and 10 rebounds per game, Monroe is capable of knocking down the 10-15 foot jump shot, but his quickness and ability to score the ball as a Center has really separated himself from the rest of the league. Despite struggling as of late, Monroe is part of a Pistons team which has had Washington’s number all season. Nene and Emeka Okafor’s performance will be essential in the outcome of tonight’s game. Nene suffered a minor shoulder injury last game, so I’ll be interested  to see how Washington will insert him into the offense.

I think it’s time for Washington to finally end this losing streak to Detroit. The Wizards have had one of the league’s top defenses for quite some time, but for some reason, they’ve had trouble against Detroit, who have been one of the league’s worst teams.

I expect Washington to pick up their fourth straight win tonight.

Dec 21, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Detroit Pistons point guard Rodney Stuckey (3) looks to pass as Washington Wizards small forward Jan Vesely (24) defends during the second half at the Verizon Center. The Pistons defeated the Wizards 96 – 87. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

The Wizards lost for the 7^th game in a row, falling to the Detroit 96-87. I know that losing two in a row to a feckless team like the Pistons takes the heart from the even most rabid Wizards fan. It is a dark time.

Four factors: I am going to try and include this in all my recaps from now on. Via Basketball-Reference, Dean Oliver identifies in his book “Basketball on Paper” what he called “The Four Factors of Basketball Success”. Instead of calculating Oliver’s formula for each factor, I plan to use each factor as a springboard for a larger discussion:

1. Shooting: While Detroit shot a paltry 40 percent from the field, the Wizards were even worse, shooting 38 percent. It was an ugly game with both teams shooting badly. However, the difference in three-point shooting was huge. The Wizards shot only 23.5% from beyond the arc, while the pistons shot a more normal 42.1%. Advantage: Pistons
2. Turnovers: For all of the Wizards faults tonight, they were not as sloppy as the Pistons at holding onto the ball, only turning it over 10 times compared to the Pistons 16. And considering the Wizards scored 12 more fast break points then the Pistons, the Wizards needed every one of those turnovers to stay at all competitive. Advantage: Wizards
3. Rebounding: Just like last night, the Wizards got killed in rebounding. The Pistons won the battle for the boards by 15 (!) rebounds. Worse, the Wizards gave up 19 offensive rebounds. In short, not good. Advantage: Pistons.
4. Free Throws: For one of the first times this year, the Wizards were successful at getting to the line. Washington went 23 for 30 at the FT line. While Detroit shot a very good FT percentage, they still did not score more from the free throw line, going 16 for 20. Advantage: Wizards.

Overall: After the first quarter, there was not a moment in this game where I thought the Wizards were going to win. This game was not by any stretch of the imagination stolen from us. The Wizards did not take advantage of the comparative advantages they did have, turnover and free throws, and were massively dominated in all other facets of the game. It wasn’t as bad as last night, but it definitely wasn’t anything resembling a competitive NBA team.

Bullets Points:

• For me, the only silver lining of this game was Bradley Beal. Beal was not effective from downtown, going 0-4. For me, this made his performance even more impressive. Beal finished 7-16, scoring in a variety of ways other, including some driving layups, pull-up jumpers, and bank shots. It’s good to know he can contribute even when his three-point shot isn’t falling.
• We don’t know how long John Wall is going to be out, but one of the silver linings of him being out is that someone can establish themselves as a secondary creator that Wall can turn to. So far it’s been Crawford, but it looks like Beal has recently been giving him a run for his money.
• The only Wizard with at least 50% shooting was Emeka Okafor. While he had a good game, and did particularly well on the boards, it is very indicative of the Wizards efficiency problems that he is the only player that shot that well.
• Tip of my hat to Andre Drummond, who I am convinced will be in our “we could have had…” scenarios for years to come, Charlie Villanueva, who feasted on the Wizards off the bench, and the entire Pistons team, who absolutely embarrassed us these past two games. Don’t worry; we’ll get you back on our annual moral victory tour in the last 30 games of the season.