Washington Wizards Get Destroyed in Boston, Face Elimination Game 6

Washington Wizards players and coaches noted the importance of Game 5 in Boston. When a playoff series is tied 2-2 in a best of seven the winner of Game 5 goes on to win 83% of the time. Washington couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, losing by 22, and faces two must win games going forward.

Man that one was ugly. Similar to Game 3, the road team had no chance from early on. After Washington took a 4-0 lead, Boston went on to score the next 16 points. The points came in all varieties.

They had 10 fastbreak points in the first quarter, and routinely turned turnovers and missed layups into transition buckets. On the road you can’t afford to not get back on defense, yet the Wizards made that a habit.

Some of the early transition points were on Celtics leak outs, but as a team, you have to be faster to react. Against a team as good as Boston, before you blink it can be over.

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The Wizards looked shocked with Boston’s intensity from the start, although the players and coaches mentioned that they were expecting it. Bradley Beal seemed to be the only player in a rhythm early, while Boston had all 5 starters in sync.

After John Wall hit the first shot of the game, none of his points came easy. He continued to stay aggressive and drive to the basket, but for the most part was unable to get around his defender.

The Celtics put a variety of players on him including Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier and Avery Bradley. Rozier had one specific defensive possession where he stuck with Wall around the perimeter, defended the drive, and forced Wall to retreat again.

They say role players play better at home. The Celtics’ role players did.

Back to Avery Bradley though. Bradley scored 25 points in the first half. 25! That was his playoff career high. In the first half!

Considering the Wizards held Isaiah Thomas to 5 points at the half, that was extremely disappointing. For the most part, Bradley took what he was given. The Wizards left him open in transition and from three. He responded by going 10-13 from the field and 4-5 from three.

Second Half

Facing a 16 point halftime deficit, how the Wizards would respond out of the break would be key. In the previous game, Washington trailed by 5 before going on a 26-0 run (the largest recorded run in NBA playoff history.)

The team couldn’t expect that kind of onslaught on the road, but a concerted effort to get back into the game was anticipated.

They forced turnovers on the first two possessions, but still couldn’t find a rhythm on offense. They got it down to 13, before letting Boston score the next four points going into a timeout.

The Wizards would never get the lead under 10 points in the second half.

Besides the performance by Bradley, Al Horford also was lights out. Horford, who of course spurned the Wizards this offseason, shot 8-9 for 19 points, with 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks. Watching Marcin Gortat, Ian Mahinmi, and Markieff Morris try to guard him was scary.

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Isaiah Thomas was only 5-13, with 18 points, but it didn’t matter for Boston. After Games 3 and 4, Celtics players reiterated that they needed to provide more offensive support for Thomas.

They certainly did that Wednesday night. His streak of consecutive playoff games under 20 points reached three (previous high was 1), but all he’s looking for is the W.

Bradley Beal wasn’t able to continue his masterful play in Game 4. While he was the Wizards’ best offensive option in the first half, he finished the game 7-19 for 16 points, and was -20 during his 35 minutes on the court.

Wall finished 7-17 shooting with 21 points and 4 assists, his second lowest assist total of the regular season and playoffs. His only game with less assists was on November 11th against Cleveland (3 assists).

For Washington, they’ll surely bring more effort into the elimination game on Friday. The Wizards are 5-0 at home this postseason, and 1-5 on the road.

If the Wizards protect homecourt they’ll have another opportunity at redemption in Game 7 on Monday. The formula to the Celtics win in this on was pretty simple.

Boston shot 53%, Washington shot 39%. Boston hit 16 three pointers and Washington made 7. This was the Wizards lowest point total since Game 4 against Atlanta.

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The last two postseasons the Wizards have lost Game 6 at home to close out their season. Let’s hope that streak doesn’t continue on Friday.

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Washington Wizards Get Destroyed in Boston, Face Elimination in Game 6 on Friday

By Ryan Eugene | May 10, 2017

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Second Half

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