Grading the Bullets (Wizards) on Game 2

Well, you know this is going to be ugly [116-86, after all], so let’s just get to it.

Caron Butler: Shot 4 for 13, played little defense, and scored only 12 points. However, he did grab 7 rebounds, dish 5 assists and commit zero turnovers. Those are improvements over game 1. Grade: C 

Antawn Jamison: Also shot 4 of 13 and rebounds dropped from 19 to 9. Nine points and a -30 on/off ratio just ain’t gettin’ it done. Grade: D-

Brendan Haywood: Has gotten himself into foul trouble in both games so far and got himself thrown out of game 2 in the 3rd quarter. Doesn’t seem to understand that he can’t help the team from the bench [or locker room]. Haywood is miscast in the enforcer role. He needs to just play defense, rebound and score. Those are things he does well against the Cavs when he’s not in foul trouble. Grade: C

Deshawn Stevenson: 12 points on 7 shots is definitely an improvement, but he’s still confusing fouling with actual defense. It’s strange because that’s not the way Deshawn played in the regular season. He’s got to get over his issues with Lebron James and just play his game. Grade: C+

Antonio Daniels: Has been completely AWOL in the first 2 games. Now has 2 dimes in 2 games and isn’t shooting either. I’m not sure why Daniels is on the floor at this point. Maybe time to move Gil, with all his problems into the starting lineup. Grade: F

Gilbert Arenas: Moving Gil into the starting lineup says a lot about how bad Daniels has been and nothing about how good Arenas has been. Although he played well in game 1, Gil was awful in game 2, missing 8 of 10 shots, committing 3 turnovers and 4 fouls. He looked slow and confused out there. Gil needs to get back to attacking the bucket, even if he doesn’t have as much speed as he did pre-injury. Do it anyway. Grade: F

Andray Blatche: Bulletproof had a terrible on/off ratio in game 2, but that had more to do with his teammates than anything he was doing wrong. Finished with 9 points on 8 shots, 7 boards and 2 swats. Still has trouble with Big Z, but I like him against anyone else in Cleveland’s front court. Grade: B

Roger Mason: Still isn’t shooting well, but got to the line for 6 free throws to finish with 10 points. Is working hard on defense, but not doing much on that end of the floor. Mason needs to rediscover his outside shot. Where’s it gone? Grade: C-

Darius Songaila: Played less than 16 minutes and scored 12 points on 3 shots. Pretty darn efficient. Should take care of the ball better, but obviously Darius played better than anyone else on the roster Monday night. Talk about damning with faint praise… Grade: B+

Nick Young: Looked completely lost, missing all 4 shots he took in less than 7 minutes. Grade: F

Dominic McGuire: Didn’t really do much of anything good or bad in 7 minutes. Grabbed one rebound, but didn’t take a shot or contribute much in any way. Grade: C-

Summary: Gotta do better than this, fellas. You let game 1 slip away and then allowed a Cavs team that rarely blows out anyone to embarrass you on Monday night. That was one of the ugliest games in the NBA this season. Either the Bullets are going to prove they belong on the court with the Cavaliers or they’re going to be embarrassed. There is still time to turn this series around, but it must begin Thursday night with a win. Any kind of win would do, though decisive would be nice. At this point, though, beggars can’t be choosers and Bullets fans are beggars, I’m afraid.

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