Yeah! I guess that 4 day layoff helped the Bullets coming into this game. Although, when I briefly listened to the game in the third quarter, the Bullets were down by double digits (as much as 19 points in the third quarter), didn't seem to be playing any defense, and I figured the Bullets would lose another road game (Atlanta already had 90+ points in the third quarter when I turned it off). But the Bullets came from nowhere in the fourth, and scored the final 12 points of the game. Legler came up big, with the 7 straight points that tied the game at 110. All starters scored in double figures, as the Bullets shot 60.6% from the field (43 of 71).
Okay, who are these guys in the Bullets uniforms? The Spurs didn't show up, it seems, shooting 37.0% from the field and just bricking their way to this loss (they had multiple open shots that did not go down). The Bullets didn't shoot exceptionally well from the field (41.4%), but were 90.0% from the free throw line. Cheaney also had 23 points, and Brent Price seems rejuvenated after the mini-break, with 40 points and 22 assists in the past two games. So, the Bullets are now 2.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Are you a believer?
So, what do the Bullets playoff chances look like? (Despite the fact that I wrote them off just one week ago?) Well, better than you think.
Wow, the Bullets really smoked the Heat. The Heat had an early 7 point lead, but the Bullets shut down the Heat the rest of the first half plus some, on the way to to a 19 point halftime lead that got as high as 28 points in the 3rd quarter. The Heat made a late run with entire bench players, lead by Chris Gatling and Voshon Lenard, that got as close as 8 points, but the Bullets held on the rest of the way. While Howard is seemingly taking this team on his back, he got lots of help today, with Brent Price providing 21 points and 6 assists, Eackles providing 20 points (including 5 of 6 threes), and Cheaney with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
The block of the year in the NBA was dished out on Alonzo Mourning by Jim McIlvaine, as well, and this keyed yet another late run in the first half that took Mourning out of his game. Mourning had gotten an offensive rebound (following his own missed shot) in close and was about to tomahawk it down when Jimmy Mac decided to challenge the shot. Mac blocked it so clean, and he stuffed the ball (while still in Mouring's hand) and then spiked the ball of the court. It was incredible, and the replays even more fun (as they showed it over and over again).
Unfortunately for the Bullets, the Hornets beat the Bulls tonight (at Chicago!) and remain 2.5 games ahead of the Bullets. The Bullets are now within 1 game of the Heat in the playoff race. It certainly is tightening up.
An impressive win for the Bullets who shot 62.0% (44 of 71) from the field and 71.4% (10 of 14) from three-point range. Howard set a career high in assists for a game, and Jimmy Mac set a career high in blocks (7) and minutes (34). (More on McIlvaine and Muresan in a moment.) Cheaney chipped in 25 points on 11 of 12 shooting, and the backcourt foursome (B. Price, Eackles, Legler, Whitney) provided 58 points and 9 3-pointers.
Unfortunately, Gheorghe Muresan may be gone for the season. The only player to play in every game to date, his right knee was kicked accidently by the Celtics' David Wesley about 4 minutes into the game after Wesley was fouled and rolled on the floor. Muresan collapsed in pain, tried to stay in the game, but couldn't. Preliminary reports suggest sprained knee ligaments; an MRI will be done tomorrow. Muresan is likely out for the season, and McIlvaine will have to step in. The Bullets are down to 4 front court players (Howard, McIlvaine, McCann, Bob Thornton--the 10-day contract man), so hopefully this won't be a problem.
Good news for the Bullets--the Heat beat the Hornets tonight, so the Bullets are now 1.5 games behind the Hornets, and still a game behind the Heat, in the race for the final playoff spot. Keep winning, guys.
With Gheorghe out, the Bullets have a very impressive starting 5 players on IR, one that would do some serious damage on opponents: Muresan, Wallace, Webber, Pack, and M. Price. However, Pack and Muresan aren't officially on IR, because the league only allows 3 players on IR. Therefore, the Bullets will only have 10 active players on their roster, including only 4 front court players (and arguably only one of them is a true top-notch NBA talent). Let's hope they don't get in foul difficulty, or it could make for some long games.
The playoff race is as follows: the Heat won last night over the Bucks and are now tied with the Hornets for 8th in the Eastern Conference; the Bullets are 1.5 games behind both teams. The Bullets have 6 games remaining, the Heat and Hornets have 5 games remaining. The Heat have the tie-breaker advantage over both the Hornets and Bullets, the Hornets have the tie-breaker advantage over the Bullets. So, it's not looking too good for the Bullets. But stranger things have happened, and the Bullets still have a very good shot at making .500 this season, even if they don't make the playoffs.
Wow, the Bullets just keep pouring it on, even as more players keep going down. No new injuries in this game, but McIlvaine stepped in admirably for Muresan--career high 35 minutes, 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting, 8 rebounds, 5 blocked shots. The Bullets pushed the lead as high as 20 points in the fourth quarter before coasing the rest of the game. Brent Price also chipped in 22 points as all Bullets starters scored in double figures. The Bullets remain one game behind the Heat for the final playoff spot, however.
The Bullets didn't exactly shoot well in this game, but the Raptors shot a lot worse. The Raptors never led in this game, though they did get within 1 point during the third quarter. Howard is a star waiting to be born, absolutely carrying this team by sheer force of personality and talent. But every other player is playing their role perfectly and the team actually believes it can win. Cheaney scored 22, and Legler kicked in 20 off the bench including 10 crucial points in the fourth quarter.
But the injury curse continues for the Bullets. Jim McIlvaine had a gruesome looking dislocation of his right ring finger in the fourth quarter and had to leave the game. There was no break of the finger, and he hopes to play on Tuesday, when the Bullets play the Magic. They're going to need him, with or without the finger.
Now, with the Bullets hosting a permanent MASH squad, they asked for, and got, relief from the injured reserve cap from the league. With 5 players permanently out for the season, and only 3 slots on IR, the Bullets were allowed to pick up 6'9" forward/center Cedric Lewis for the rest of the season. McIlvaine still has a lot of pain and swelling from the dislocation, so Lewis could very well see some playing time against the Magic. If Lewis does play, he will be the 21st player to suit up and play for the Bullets this season, a dubious franchise record (at best).
Well, the winning streak ends at 7 games, the longest of the season. The Bullets kept it close for almost a half, then lost it late in the 2nd quarter all the way through the 3rd; reserves played much of the 4th. Brent Price (22 points) and Bob McCann (11 points) were the only Bullets in double figures. Juwan tied a career high with 15 rebounds. Penny Hardaway, playing on a sprained ankle, still managed 26 points against the Bullets. The Bullets "held" Shaq to only 26 points, but it wasn't enough. Cedric Lewis also got in the game, so the Bullets now have a franchise record in players playing in a game.
Ugh, this was not fun to watch. The Bullets were lethargic and did not play defense at all, or so it seemed. They briefly took a lead in the third quarter, but then let the lead go and got killed by Todd Day, who scored 23 points in the 4th quarter. Juwan Howard simply was the man, scoring a career high 40 points in the losing effort. Calbert provided 24 points, but was only 4 of 9 from the free throw line. The bench could only provide 12 points on the game.
Unfortunately, there was a reason why the bench only provided 12 points. Tim Legler went down with a sprained knee late in the first quarter; MRI to be taken tomorrow. It did not look good; I get nauseous every time I watch a replay of the knee buckling. Let's hope it's better than it looked (though I'm predicting torn ligament).
Well, for the second game in a row, Juwan Howard scored a career high, but again in a losing effort. It was an old version of the Bullets, squandering a 22 point first-half lead and then trying to play catch up in the end. (Of course, if Juwan made his free throws (only 3 of 8), we might not be arguing about this.) Juwan even calmly stepped out and drilled a 3-pointer for his (and the team's) final points on the night. Juwan even broke down and cried in the final timeout huddle, after all of the effort he put in carrying this team the past month. As Cheaney put it after the game, "You look down there and he's sobbing. He played his heart out. That shows you how much he cares, and he didn't get any help from the rest of us. He's got a fire and intensity that we all need....He's an example for all of us." At least Cheaney realizes that it's Juwan's teammates, in the end, who weren't ready to carry the load the rest of the way. And it's a shame, because this loss guarantees the team will finish below .500 again, and possibly not even get 40 wins.
Well, I guess 40 wins was just not in the cards. But considering how many man-games key players on this team has missed, well, it's a miracle that they made it this far. Credit Juwan Howard for becoming (and accepting) a superstar in this league; it's a mantle that he will wear for many years (hopefully, as a Bullet). And credit Jimmy Lynam, for despite how much we can disparage his coaching decisions, his players love playing for him and (more often than not) leave it all out there on the court when the game is done. Howard got a rousing standing ovation as he left the game in the final minute of the game, a player beloved by teammates and fans alike.
Oh yeah, about the game. There's not much to remember about it, except that Eackles got ejected late in the game for fighting with James "Buddha" Edwards. Eackles might be forced to miss his next regular season game that he plays, for whichever team he signs with.
It's only the third time that a Bullets player has been named Player of the Month. Jeff Ruland did it twice, in March 1983 and November 1983.
Other notables about Juwan: During the season, Howard was named the national Reading is Fundamental spokesperson (you may have seen the commercial on TV--very funny) and was also chosen to be one the athletes to carry the Olympic torch during the torch relay, something Howard called a great honor. Howard finished the season with 1,789 points and raised nearly $9,000 for the Juwan Howard Foundation thanks to Cellular One's pledge to donate five dollars for every point he scored.
However, the Bullets may have lost more key players than any other team this season. A quick recount of the Bullets injuries, courtesy of the Washington Post (April 21, 1996):
wtf 17 May 1996
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