Wristy Buisness: It's win or go home for Wall and the Wizards

By Anthony McCree II and Kelvin Cash

Tonight, The Wizards come back home for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. They do so after back to back loses for the first time in this playoff, both loses were close, but Game 5 being the biggest heart break of all for Wizards fans, considering they had a one point lead with 8.3 seconds to go and lose on an Al Horford rebound and put back because quite obviously....they failed to block him out.


The difference in them was obvious with John on the court, He just changes things for them, gets everyone in the right places, and is just a blur on the offensive end, and he had a great impact on the other end as well.

Atlanta's combo of Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder at Point Guard for did not as easily drive past the Wizards guards like they did the previous two games without Wall on the court. They actually had 11 turnovers between the two Teague (7) Schroder (4) and 23 total as a team.

Turnovers were a problem for the Wizards again in Game 5 as well, Wall (6) Beal (5) , but they actually won the turnover battle ending up with 4 less than their opponent as a team (19).

The failed box out, the high turnover number, and failure to connect from distance with them going 4-17 from 3 are all great reasons to point to for the lose, it doesn't all hinge one play or one thing, but in the NBA playoffs, if you hold the other team to 81 points and still lose, chances are.....You did something exceptionally wrong lol.

With them coming home tonight, I'll give my take on things based on last game, and Kelvin will speak on his X-factors, and what he would like to see in Game 6 as well.

Who's Hot

John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Marcin Gortat

As mentioned previously, John Wall really gave the Wizards a spark on both ends of the court, He even played exceptional defense on Schroder on the last play, that could have won it for them, if someone had put a body on Horford.

Bradley Beal, had another good performance in this playoff, he scored 23 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 3 blocks, he, like John, could stand to bring his turnover total down, but I love his effort and aggressiveness on both ends.

Marcin Gortat, was 7-10 shooting in Game 5, with 14 points, and 8 rebounds, some even suggest that if it was he instead of NeNe on the floor at the end of the game maybe, Just maybe.....they go into this game on the edge of victory instead of elimination.

Who's Not

Otto Porter and Drew Gooden

Otto Porter, has been great this playoff, He's done many different things for them on both ends of the court, and Game 5 was no different. He had 10 rebounds, 5 on defense and 5 on the offensive end, and again played very good defense.

So Why is he on this list?....Because he shot was simply off, He went 3-13 in the game and missed both his 3 point attempts, it could have been worse, I commend him for his efforts, but he's has to shoot better tonight.

Drew Gooden, like Porter, I've enjoyed his play for much of this playoff, but Game 5....I found myself wondering why he was playing, and Kris Humphries and Seraphin were not. 0-4 from the field, 0 points in 11:56 minutes.

The Truth

Paul Pierce

Paul has been great for them, He's been clutch the entire playoff, and made a game winner in Game 3, in Game 4, he got a good look from distance that would have tied and just missed it, in Game 5, he hit a 3 point shot with 8.3 left to give them a one point lead. He was also the only Wizard in the game to shoot well from the arc, going 3-6 in the game.


Rebounding

The team actually did a pretty good job rebounding in the game, they did lose the battle on the boards by 4 ( 46 to 50) but that wasn't due to lack of trying. The Wizards had 13 offensive rebounds in the game which is really good. Problem is....they were equally bad at stopping offensive rebounds on the other end as Atlanta also had 13. The last heartbreaking score by Atlanta can easily tell the tale on why they need to improve on securing defensive boards in game five.

They have only lost the rebounding battle twice in this series, Game 2 and Game 5, both loses, and both games where they allowed Atlanta to do work on the offensive glass (16 in game 2).

Along with the very good defensive effort, they'll need to secure defensive rebounds in Game 6, to get this back to Atlanta at 3-3.

 Maybe, Kris Humphries, a guy who is known to be a really good rebounder, could help assure that if he gets some clock in this game.

X-Factor

NeNe Hilario

Will the Real NeNe Hilario please stand up! The "Big Brazilian" has been lucklaster in the post season to say the least and even still that may be a reach. The Atlanta Hawks' bigs only pose on threat...ATHLETICISM. As many of you may know, that seems to be the achilles heal of the Washington Wizards front court.

That's a key reason many didn't have them beating The Toronto Raptors in the fashion that they did. NeNe, must be more involved and focused. The Big Fella or whomever may be his replacement tonight will need to bring their A game!

Key Matchup

Wall Vs Elimination 

Over the years we've seen Wall blossom into one of the leagues best point guards, He is the catalyst for the Wizards. However, he doesn't get the credit or recognition he deserves. What better way to silence the hecklers and critics than to show up facing elimination and put the team and the city on his back (less than 100% as well).

Last game he torched Jeff Teague and he will have to replicate that effort today because just like the Wizards, Atlanta goes how their guard goes. Look for Wall to have his hands on this game literally!