Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Well Pippen Peoples, this is a nice little ditch the Chicago Bulls are in. Not a hole but a ditch. The Bulls are now down 1-0 in their first round matchup with the Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Wizards came out with a little okey-doke establishing Nene early and often then going with Andre Miller in the fourth quarter to overcome subpar games by John Wall and Bradley Beal. Before the series started, I took the Pippen Peoples down to Ben Mehic, the Editor and FanSided’s go to guy for Washington Wizards information on the website The Wiz of Awes. He’s been spot on leading into Game one. Now that Game one went totally different from what most media outlets were predicting, saying the Bulls would dominate the frontline matchup. We go back to the Wiz of Awes to get the real take on what is going on in this series on the other side of the locker room and why.
Pippen Ain’t Easy:
1) What’s the deal here? I thought the Washington Wizards was all about the backcourt? Game one was a coming out party for the frontcourt. What gives?
Ben Mehic- The Wiz of Awes:
I think that’s the misconception a lot of people had before the series began. Although Washington’s backcourt has been good throughout the regular season, their frontcourt has been just as solid. Marcin Gortat filled the void left by Emeka Okafor and Nene meshed well with the Polish Hammer since they’re both capable of playing both sides of the floor. When Nene is healthy and engaged on the court, Gortat’s job becomes a lot easier and the Wizards become a tough team to beat. I think we saw that in Game one.
Pippen Ain’t Easy:
2) Nene destroyed the Bulls frontline going for 24 points and eight rebounds. Talk about his accomplishments.
Ben Mehic- The Wiz of Awes:
When healthy, Nene is certainly one of the most underrated big men in the league. Health has always been an issue with Nene, but when he’s able to contribute, Washington become a legitimate threat. His ability to bang inside, hit the 15 foot jump shot as well as facilitate from the post gives the Wizards another reliable option besides Wall and Gortat offensively. He’s a lot better defensively than most people expect.
Pippen Ain’t Easy:
3) Andre Miller gave the Bulls, especially DJ Augustin the business in the fourth quarter. First talk about Miller’s performance, then Randy Wittman’s decision to stick with him in crunch time.
Ben Mehic- The Wiz of Awes:
Washington’s backup point guard, or lack thereof, was well documented before the acquired Andre Miller from the Denver Nuggets. Since Miller has come to Washington, Miller has been one of the best backup point guards in the league and I honestly didn’t expect that from a 39-year-old point guard. Miller scored in spurts in Game 1, taking advantage of his size against the smaller DJ Augustin, ultimately helping the Wizards come back from a double-digit deficit. His off the ball movement makes him a threat since Nene does a terrific job of finding his cutters. I applaud Randy Wittman for sticking with Miller when he could have yanked him for John Wall, which probably would have the popular decision.
Pippen Ain’t Easy:
4) That’s a perfect Segway into my next question. John Wall had a subpar Game one. What does he need to do to have a better Game two?
Ben Mehic:- The Wiz of Awes:
He just needs to remain aggressive. I credit the Bulls for playing great defense against Wall, but he has to do a better job at picking his spots. The Bulls are going to force him into some outside shots, but Wall needs to attack the basket when the opportunity presents itself, especially in transition. Both Wall and Bradley Beal looked jittery against Chicago and I honestly sort of expected that. Let’s remember that they are both in their early 20’s and though Washington will go as far as they’ll take them, there are still other players on the roster that know how to get it done.
I want to say thanks to Ben Mehic, the Editor of The Wiz of Awes for talking to Pippen Ain’t Easy and sharing your wealth of knowledge of what is going on from the Washington Wizards perspective. Uh Ben, you know the Bulls are going to win this game right? For real this time!