(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
With 16 assists in the first half, the Washington Wizards got off to a great start against the Miami Heat, playing strong team ball and getting all of the players on the court involved.
The Wizards 6’11’’ center Marcin Gortat made his presence felt with 13 points and eight rebounds in the first two quarters. Equally impressive was the play of another big man, forward Nene, who saw his first time back in the starting lineup after a long series of missed games due to injury.
For a team that has had to switch and adapt to a “small ball” lineup because of the long-standing injuries of Nene and Kris Humphries, Washington adjusted very well last night, switching styles to a “big lineup.”
Washington’s’ aggressive play in the first half led to a season-worst 16-turnover start for Miami. Those turnovers directly resulted in the Wizards scoring 18 points in fast break transitions. Not only were the Wizards playing proactive anticipation defense, they were also winning the position battles in the paint and getting a lot of great shots.
Miami center Hassan Whiteside, who leads the team in shot-blocking, went down hard with a non-contact injury with 6:18 remaining in the second quarter. The strain of his left oblique led to his departure from the court. He did not return to play.
Wizards went into halftime with a 51–37 lead.
Washington continued to play strong through out the second half, which helped a great deal when Miami did start to pick up some momentum.
Ultimately, the Wizards ended with six players scoring double figures. Guards John Wall and Bradley Beal both had 18 points, followed by Nene with 16 points, Gortat with 15, guard Garrett Temple with 11, and forward Jared Dudley with 10 points.
The Heat was led by center Chris Bosh, who had 18 points and forward Luol Deng, who scored 16 points.
Wizards head coach Randy Wittman’s adjustment of the starting five to include Nene playing power forward was a great move because with Nene’s height, energy and aggressiveness; he was able to do a solid job defensively, slowing down Miami’s Chris Bosh.
Washington put together a powerful performance with 11 steals, 34 rebounds and three blocks.
The players were excited to have so many of their team back from injury.
“It’s awesome,” Beal said about finally having Gortat and Nene out on the court at the same time. “It’s great to see those guys out there working and battling together. It’s given us a different look.”
“They play real well together,” Temple said, echoing his teammate. “We’ve always said you can try different things. If small ball doesn’t work you can go big.”
With many teams seeing players get injured as they move deeper into the season, the Wizards may benefit from the opposite effect as a lot of the team is rebounding and coming off injury to return to play.