Washington Wizards smack lifeless Orlando Magic 96-80
By Zach Palmer
The Washington Wizards led from start to finish as they stonewalled the Magic 96-80
142. Final. 80. 38. 96
The Orlando Magic could not shake off the stench of defeat after a crushing defeat Sunday night to the Chicago Bulls losing to the Washignton Wizards 96-80 at Verizon Center on Monday.
The Magic offense was about as bad as it has been this year as the Magic slowed the pace to a crawl and did not do anything off the ball. Heck, even Orlando’s normal pick and roll game was absent tonight which tells you just how little creativity the Magic showed on that end tonight.
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Defensively the Magic showed a little improvement however.
A big part of that can be attributed to the fact that Orlando was without Tobias Harris (one of their worst perimeter defenders) and lack of playing time of power forward Channing Frye — he only played 20 minutes tonight.
For the Wizards this game was won on the glass. The Wizards managed to win the rebounding differential 53-33 including 13 offensive rebounds. Marcin Gortat led the Wizards with 14, but it was group effort as every Wizard that played tonight managed to secure at least one rebound.
It certainly helped Orlando made only 39.8 percent of its shots, giving Washington tons of rebounding opportunities and chances to dominate the game in transition — 17 fast break points for the home team.
Game Notes:
- Channing Frye was absolutely atrocious tonight. You could say that it is too early in Frye’s contract to call the signing a failure, but his level of play has been extremely disappointing. Frye was one for six on the evening and had some good looks that just would not fall. His offense is not making up for his defensive issues still.
- Dewayne Dedmon got some more playing time tonight and he did exactly what you would expect. He provided a nice defensive presence and was a force on the boards.
- Victor Oladipo is struggling badly right now. His shot looks flat and almost every drive to the basket fells like it can be ripped out of his hands.
- Elfrid Payton has got to regain his aggressiveness. Since the Magic slowed down the tempo his confidence is not lasting the entire game as it was before. It only appears in spurts.
- Maurice Harkless got a little bit of run in the fourth quarter tonight. He made a few nice steals but he made more mistakes on that end than anything else. It was a pretty good indication of why he has not been playing much.
- Evan Fournier looked confident again tonight. The Magic have been putting the ball in his hands more with the second unit and it’s paying dividends.