Jan 23, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Washington Wizards center Nene (42) looks for a shot while defended by Utah Jazz power forward Paul Millsap (24) during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

After trailing the Jazz by as much as 22, the Washington Wizards cut into the lead, and eventually went on to lose 92-88. Here are the Bullet Points:

• Nene looked to assert himself early, but ended up forcing the issue. He was clearly frustrated with the officiating, and continued to force up shots, looking for contact. Millsap did a good job pestering Nene in the post, as he continuously looked to poke the ball away from Nene. That ultimately lead to the 5 turnovers created by Nene. Nene shot just 3 for 14 from the field. Not good.
• A.J. Price was solid tonight, scoring 10 points on 4 for 9 shooting. Two of his four field goals came from the three point arc. He penetrated on a number of occasions, and even had a nifty reverse layup which could’ve been a foul.
• After hitting a technical free throw, Bradley Beal looked for his shot early, but clearly struggled to get involved in the offense. He got blocked on a jump shot, which threw off his rhythm for the rest of the game. He did shoot 5 for 11, but missed four of his six free throws.
• Emeka Okafor continued to impress in the rebounding category. He grabbed 17 rebounds tonight, but shot just 30 percent from the field. I would be nice if Okafor stops shooting that horrid 15 foot jump shot, which he has fell in love with. I feel as if Okafor didn’t take that shot very often, prior to his arrival in Washington.
• Jamaal Tinsley, of all people, had a very solid game tonight. There was a sequence in which he put the ball between Trevor Booker’s legs, which lead to a slam dunk. He finished with 11 points and 6 assists.
• Al Jefferson, who has a reputation of torching the Wizards, shot just 5 for 17 tonight. Okafor did a good job closing in on Jefferson, leaving no space for him to hit his patent mid range jump shot. Jefferson did hit a few crucial buckets down the stretch.
• Enes Kanter scored 10 points in 11 minutes. I’m a fan of Kanter, but that’s unacceptable.
• John Wall came into the game late in the first quarter, and hit two back to back jump shots. He was also frustrated with the officiating, as a number of calls didn’t go his way. After finding themselves down 22, John Wall was Washington’s only hope. He came out aggressive, and got a handful of John Wall-ish layups to fall. Not to mention, he connected with Martell Webster on a number of occasions. He scored 14 points and had 8 assists in just 27 minutes of playing time. After struggling to control the ball on Monday night, Wall only turned the ball over once in this match up.
• Randy Wittman chose to play Wall with the rest of the backups, which consisted of Crawford, Ariza, Booker, and Seraphin. Although I would’ve liked to see a bit more of John Wall and Bradley Beal sharing the back court, Wall will find himself playing with the backups as long as he’s still coming off the bench. Some of Wittman’s rotations were strange tonight.
• Martell Webster committed  a really boneheaded clear path foul, which killed Washington’s momentum. I’d like to think of Webster as a pretty smart basketball player, but he clearly had a brain fart on that play.
• Gordon Hayward was impressive tonight. He scored 15 points tonight off the bench. I love the way he runs the floor. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a Wizards jersey.
• Man, has Kevin Seraphin caught the Andray Blatche disease or what? He scored 4 points on 2 of 7 shooting from the field. He’s so frustrating to watch. There was a sequence in which Seraphin caught the ball 5 feet away from the basket, and he opted to try a bank shot. Needless to say, the bank wasn’t open.
• Here is tonight’s box score.

Well, you can’t win them all. These type of games are bound to happen on a West Coast road trip, especially for a team like Washington. I’d still call this road trip a success, as Washington wasn’t expected to win a single game.

It would’ve been nice to finish out the road trip with a victory, but the accumulation of bad shooting, and bad rotations, led to another loss. At this point in the season, there’s no such thing as moral victories. I applaud the Wizards for their valiant effort down the stretch, but it simply wasn’t enough to stop the Jazz tonight.

Washington will meet the Kevin Love-less Minnesota Timberwolves at the Verizon Center this Friday night.

Nov 17, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson (25) is defended by Washington Wizards power forward Kevin Seraphin (13) during the second half at the Verizon Center. The Jazz defeated the Wizards 83 – 76. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Just days removed from a miraculous victory against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Washington Wizards will have a chance to close out their West Coast road trip with a winning record. They’ll meet the Utah Jazz tonight in Salt Lake City.

Key Match Up

Nene is coming off what was arguably his best game of the season, scoring 17 of his 24 points in the first quarter on Monday night. He looked to assert himself early, scoring on Lamarcus Aldridge at will. It was great to see him demand the ball, as he’s deferred a bit since John Wall’s return. Emeka Okafor also contributed to the win, scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. In a recent interview, Randy Wittman went on to say that Okafor has been playing his most consistent ball of the season as of late. Nene and Okafor both feed off each other, as they’re both capable passers in the post.

They’ll be matched up against one of the best big men duos in the NBA in Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. Jefferson has a reputation in torching the Wizards, every time the two teams are matched up. He averaged 21 points and 13 rebounds for his career against Washington. Millsap, who’s numbers are slightly down from last year, has had a bit of a resurgence in the past five outings, averaging close to 16 points and 8 rebounds. Both big men are skilled and able to hit the mid range jump shot, as well as play in the post with ease. I’ll be interested to see how well the Wizards duo, matches up against Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap.

Other Links/Notes

• Check out this hilarious Kevin Seraphin Decision Tree, which was made by Wiz of Awes’ own James Straton.
• Here’s Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor, with today’s ‘Fast Break‘.
• On the other hand, Dave Johnson was pretty psyched after Jordan Crawford hit that amazing buzzer beater to beat Portland.
• How exactly does John Wall make Bradley Beal better?
• Would John Wall have been an All-Star had he remained healthy? I think so.
• Here’s a video of Crawford’s game winner, just in case you haven’t gotten enough of Steez.

Prediction

The Washington Wizards are on a roll. I can’t remember the last time they’ve finished +.500 on a West Coast road trip, and tonight they have a chance to do so.

As Mike Prada of Bullets Forever mentioned, the Utah Jazz are a fairly mediocre team. They’re ranked in the middle of virtually every category, besides defense. According to HoopData, the Jazz are the 9th worst defensive team in the NBA. That can be a problem, especially since it seems like the Wizards have all the momentum on their side. Despite John Wall and Bradley Beal struggling on Monday night, the Wizards ‘depth’ and defense lead them to an upset victory in Portland.

Utah is a very deep team when it comes to their front court rotation. As mentioned, Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap are very versatile big men. Their other big men like Enes Kanter, and Derrick Favors, who scored 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds on Saturday night, can also get it done on occasion. Although they’re not a very good rebounding team, their size makes them a capable rebounding team. They also have guys like Randy Foye and Gordon Hayward, who are capable of hitting the three ball. Both players are shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Washington needs to do a good job of defending the post, while not falling asleep on their perimeter defense.

With that said, Washington has won 5 of their last 7. It seems as if they’re finally turning their season around. Utah doesn’t have a deep guard rotation, so Washington should have a significant edge there. John Wall didn’t have a great game Monday, and he did have a few good games against Utah in the past. I’d look for Wall, who’s very motivated due to the lack of exposure, to have another exceptional game tonight.

Again, if Washington can contain Al Jefferson, and Emeka Okafor should be able to, they’ll finish out their 5 game West Coast trip with 3 victories. I’ll be optimistic, and predict that they’ll leave Salt Lake City with another win.

The Jazz entered February with a surprising 12-7 record behind strong play from Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. The Wizards entered with a paltry 4-17 record, mostly due to Jordan Crawford’s and Andray Blatche’s awful shooting, but also due to John Wall’s general ineffectiveness. The Jazz were playing playoff caliber basketball while the Wizards were playing 25%-chance-at-the-first-pick caliber ball.

Since February started, the fortunes of these two teams have changed dramatically. The Wizards have looked only sort of bad and the Jazz have looked regular bad. The Wizards’ progress is generally due to John Wall, who has vastly improved his play in February, averaging 18.0 points, 8.9 assists, and 4.2 rebounds on 46.7% shooting on the month up from 15.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 5.3 rebounds on only 39.4% shooting prior.

The 2-7 record on the month for the Jazz is due to a strong strength of schedule, with seven of the games being against teams currently .500 or better. During this cold streak, the Jazz are being outscored by seven points a game, which would rank them sixth worst over the season.

The Wizards visit Utah Friday night and controlling the paint and the boards will be important.  Utah takes more shots from 3-9 feet than any team but Indiana and is strong on the offensive boards (8^th in offensive rebound rate). JaVale McGee and Trevor Booker will have their hands full, as neither of them are great defensive rebounders and the team allows the most offensive boards in the league.

Now some “Bullets Points” on the Jazz:

• The Jazz have been a mediocre team this year, with rankings in offensive and defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) of 12 and 23, respectively.
• Paul Millsap has a higher PER than Blake Griffin. Millsap and fellow big man Al Jefferson both have PERs higher than Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and Carmelo Anthony. Millsap ranks 8^th amongst forwards. Jefferson ranks 12^th.
• Utah is mecca for players having quietly decent seasons – along with Millsap’s and Jefferson’s strong 2012 campaigns, Derrick Favors has per 36 minute averages of 14.9 points and 9.8 boards on 49.7% shooting in 20 minutes a game.
• Of forwards or centers playing under 21 minutes a game, only Chase Budinger (2012 dunk contest champion?) and Corey Brewer are averaging more points a game than Derrick Favors.
• Both teams block a lot of shots.  Washington and Utah average 7.4 and 5.9 a game, good for 2^nd and 3^rd in the NBA.  Utah is third by a mile however, blocking 25% less shots a game than the Wizards.
• The Jazz are dead last in three-point shooting. The Wizards are 25^th.