February 22, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards small forward Trevor Ariza (1) dunks the ball as Denver Nuggets shooting guard Andre Iguodala (9) looks on in the second quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 119-113. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Mehic

After the Washington Wizards acquired Trevor Ariza from the New Orleans Hornets Pelicans in the trade which sent Rashard Lewis to The Big Easy, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. As it turns out, Trevor Ariza is a pretty good basketball player.

He struggled a bit, especially from an offensive standpoint with John Wall out, but he quickly asserted himself in the rotation once he returned from injury. With John Wall leading the team and playing the majority of minutes at point guard, the job became a lot easier for Ariza.

Ariza was asked to become a shot creator, something he definitely isn’t, on an injury plagued Wizards team. He thrived after the NBA All-Star break, especially on the offensive side of the floor. While defenses collapsed on Wall’s penetration, Ariza took advantage from beyond the arc, shooting about 42% from three, after the All-Star break.

As expected, Trevor Ariza continued to build on his defensive reputation which he built in Los Angeles, playing some of the best perimeter defense the Wizards have seen in years. Ariza did have a tendency to gamble on steals on occasion, but for the most part, he was a big part of the reason Washington was ranked 7th in defensive efficiency this past season.

He’s not perfect, but he did improve throughout the course of the season. Despite losing his starting spot to fan favorite, Martell Webster, Trevor Ariza still managed to become a solid contributor on an inconsistent team.

Grade: C+

Mar 22, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Wizards center Nene (42), point guard John Wall (2) and small forward Trevor Ariza (1) celebrate their win over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. Wizards won 103-100. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Nene, who has been dealing with nagging injuries all season long, has officially “declared himself out for the last two games of the season.” The Washington Wizards have struggled to pick up wins as of late, and Nene doesn’t see the purpose of playing in meaningless games to close out the season. According to J.Michael of CSN Washington, Nene addressed the situation by stating

Let the young guys play. … That’s not necessary, to play the last two games. For what?

With Nene out of the lineup, Washington’s other forwards will receive additional playing time. Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton and Kevin Seraphin will all be asked to fill in for Nene’s absence. In the past few games, Chris Singleton and Jan Vesely have gotten more playing time, while Booker slid back to the bench.

Martell Webster and Trevor Ariza will also be shut down for the remainder of the season. Webster has been dealing with an abdominal strain for quite some time, and his return to the lineup was questionable for the past week or so. Trevor Ariza has also been dealing with a sore left knee. Cartier Martin will take their place in the starting lineup.

I’ll be interested to see if Washington decides to shut down any additional players. Their lineups have been rather thin lately, but preserving health of key players will be detrimental.

Mar 22, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (12) and Washington Wizards center Nene (42) battle for position under the basket during the first half of the game at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

What a game.

The Washington Wizards have had their share of great wins this season, with victories coming against the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers. But tonight was probably their best win. With just 6 road victories coming into L.A, Washington was destined to lose. Not to mention, Emeka Okafor and Bradley Beal were both out tonight. The Lakers were clearly more talented than Washington, but consistently failed to live up to expectations. With John Wall and Trevor Ariza leading the way, the Wizards would eventually chip away an 18 point lead en route to their best victory of the season.

John Wall was absolutely spectacular tonight. Scoring 24 points to go along side a career high 16 assists, Wall took over and at times looked like the best player at Staples Center. Unable to get to the basket with Dwight Howard altering shots in the paint, John Wall did a great job creating opportunities for himself to score. Wall hit the majority of his attempted jump shots tonight and even dropped Steve Nash with a nifty cross over before hitting a step back jumper. Most importantly, with Bradley Beal out, Wall had to increase his effort in finding more open teammates. His penetration put pressure on the Lakers, allowing guys like Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster to get wide open looks at the three. Wall even knocked down 4 consecutive clutch free throws, which put the Lakers away for good. It’s hard to put Wall’s performance into words, so I’ll definitely make sure to post his individual highlights once someone uploads them. His ability to create for his teammates is what helped Washington win.

How awesome was Trevor Ariza off the bench tonight? With Beal out and Nene struggling to get good shots against Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza was forced to take some of the scoring load off of Wall. Ariza scored 25 points and set a new career high from beyond the arc, hitting 7 of his 12 three point attempts. Ariza has a tendency to look disengaged at times, but tonight he showed up to play against his former team. John Wall found Trevor Ariza on every open look he got tonight. Martell Webster didn’t play a great game tonight, but Ariza definitely filled the void.

Washington will meet the Golden State Warriors tomorrow night for their second game in as many nights.

I apologize if this game recap isn’t the greatest, but it’s difficult to recollect what occurred in games like tonight.