Washington Wizards Fall to Celtics in Game 7, 115-105

Washington Wizards starters gave it all in Game 7, but fell to the Celtics after being outscored by four in the final period. The Wizards were led in scoring by Bradley Beal with 38 points, who tried his best to keep it close. Washington, however, couldn’t contain the duo of Isaiah Thomas and Kelly Olynyk in the fourth quarter. Boston advances to face Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Wizards head into the offseason after their most successful season in 38 years.

The Wizards headed into Boston, fresh off an exhilarating come from behind win in Game 6, featuring a game winning John Wall three pointer. There were a lot of emotions heading into the game, and it was important to see how the players on both sides would react to a Game 7.

Game 7s are usually the most unpredictable in a series, as we as analysts can’t quantify the effect of increased adrenaline and potential nervousness. Yes these are players with world-renowned abilities, but they’ll still get “butterflies” from time to time, and have to deal with both physical and mental exhaustion.

Seeing as the game was in Boston, where the Wizards had not won since 2014, the tables were stacked even higher against them.

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The nerves and crowd seemed to show up early, as Boston started the game by taking a 10-2. Many of the early shots on both sides came up short, usually an indication of jitters or tired legs.

Washington, though, stayed poised, as the team responded with a 10-0 run to take back early control. Markieff Morris and Otto Porter were aggressive early on, and that was especially great to see. The Wizards knew they would not have a great chance to win the game with just John Wall and Bradley Beal playing well.

While there was solid offensive execution, the Wizards’ defense left much to be desired.

Washington let the Celtics get way too many backdoor cuts early on. There were cuts down the lane, and cuts coming from the corner. Wall, Beal, and Porter were all victim to falling asleep on defense, and the Celtics’ role players made them pay.

Great response for Otto Porter

Another point of interest was how Otto Porter would respond. In Game 6 he had 0 points, not expected out of a young player would may get a max deal this summer in restricted free agency.

Otto got involved early with a post up on Isaiah Thomas, crafty spin moves, and mid-range jumpers. He also put in two three pointers after the whistle, which were deflating to fans, but must have helped in his eyes.

The Wizards stayed aggressive, getting to the free throw line early and often in the game. The slight disparity in free throw attempts helped the Wizards stay close although Boston was shooting a better percentage from the floor.

Disappearing Bigs

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Simply put, the Wizards needed more from their centers. The duo of Ian Mahinmi and Marcin Gortat were 0-4 with 0 points in the first half, and that didn’t even do the poor play justice. Gortat played decent defense and had 11 rebounds for the game, but he had more turnovers (4) than made field goals (2).

Gortat just really looked out of sorts, and in the second half. it got to the point where I was screaming at my TV every time he got the ball in the post, or an offensive rebound but didn’t do his patented tap out.

Interestingly, Gortat did have the highest +/- on the team at +7, but it was more a product of him being off the floor during Boston’s late run than his positives.

Mahinmi on the other hand was even more brutal. He was mostly matched up on defense with Kelly Olynyk, who scored 12 points in the first half, tied with Thomas for most on the team.

That poor defense will be forgotten, as Olynyk lit up Morris and the Wizards for 14 fourth quarter points. That scoring output in the final period matched his previous playoff career high.

If this game confirmed any pregame feelings, it was that both Gortat and Mahinmi won’t be on the team next season.

The Wizards did outrebound the Celtics by 9 in the first half, which was a huge contributor to limiting the Celtics shots. When the Celtics are playing well, they get offensive rebounds, which lead to second chance opportunities from three.

Third Quarter

Wizards fans can tell you the history of third quarters. Even with this being the best team of my lifetime, I still came out of halftime nervous that Washington would ruin a solid first half with a poor first six minutes.

Instead, the team continued to play well. The Wizards got their biggest lead of the game at 72-67, but the Celtics quickly went on a 5-0 run to tie the game up.

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The third quarter was mostly a back and forth affair, until late in the period, when Boston went on a quick 9-0 run. The Celtics got two threes from Thomas and one from Smart during that sequence.

Brooks took out Morris with about one minute left, for Jason Smith as his replacement. Smith was immediately put in a pick and roll, and failed to hedge Thomas, leaving Thomas wide open for his second three pointer of the run.

Smith had a +/- of -13 in only 3 minutes of action. Considering Smith was playing power forward, I would have much rather seen Kelly Oubre Jr. in the game.

Maybe Brooks thought that would get the Celtics crowd motivated, like it was in Game 5. In the end Oubre, once the team’s sixth man, played 0 minutes, while Olynyk scored 26.

Final Quarter

It was pretty clear early on in the quarter that the starters were gassed. Scott Brooks returned with a lineup of Wall, Beal, Bojan, Smith and Mahinmi, and the Celtics kept the third quarter run going. Eventually Boston pushed the lead to 94-81.

Brooks called a timeout, and Beal and Wall, yelled for the team to stay together, as bench players looked into the crowd, instead of coming together in an effort to mount a comeback.

The Wizards responded with 7-0 run, including a Morris three pointer to bring the game within 6. It seemed like the team was as much alive then, as it was dead a minute before, but it was for none.

Kelly Olynyk and Isaiah Thomas owned the fourth quarter. The Wizards bench could only watch as its Kelly O counterpart destroyed them inside and out. Morris tried his best to stay in front of him, and close out three pointers, but Kelly O had different plans.

The Wizards played well enough to win for most of the game, but in the end were a victim of playing as road warriors, and physical exhaustions. We knew all season that the lack of bench depth would hurt the team. It certainly did in Game 7.

Next: What the Wizards Must Do To Get a Win in Game 7

Washington’s bench had 5 points, and the duo of Wall and Ball combined to play 90 of 96 available minutes. Three Wizards played at least 42 minutes. Only two Celtics played 40 minutes.

Just as it was a key point of last offseason, management will have to improve the bench, this time at a low cost. A productive back-up point guard should be of high importance, in an effort to keep Wall fresh, and keep the bench unit running smoothly.

Here’s to next season!

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