Wizards 101 Hawks 90

Boxscore

Gameflow

This is the first of what I hope to be very few game recaps wherein I fail to provide an eyewitness account. It's more difficult finding a replacement humidifier filter than one might think and if you've gotten a late start to the day because you celebrated your football team's first 10-0 start in over a hundred years a bit too much the night before, one's responsibilities around the house can pre-empt plans to take in a matinee basketball game.

So there's that.

Studying the gameflow, it appears as if the Wizards took control of the game in the last five-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter and put the game away in the first six minutes of the third quarter.

The Hawks aren't going to win a lot of games where Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Al Horford, Acie Law IV, and Tyronn Lue combine to score a total of 0 points (0-8 shooting) in 32:05 combined minutes in a second quarter.

Thoughts from those who witnessed the events...

Mike Woodson quoted in Charles Odum's AP game recap:

"I just think Washington was the most aggressive team. They drove the ball and got to the free-throw line when they had to. ... I thought we were very lethargic early in the game. We still really weren't in the game, based on how we defended and rebounded the ball."

From Stan Awtrey's story in the AJC, Woodson again:

"You've got a team that was hungry for a win and they came in here and played like they wanted to win and we didn't. I thought we were just too lethargic. It seemed like we were a step behind everything."

and Josh Smith:

"We got outplayed. They match up well with us, but we had no energy and when the energy was there we couldn't limit them to one shot."

Ivan Carter of The Washington Post concurs:

"From the opening tip-off, the Wizards were the more energetic team. They moved the ball with a crispness that was missing in Friday's blowout home loss to the Denver Nuggets, chased down loose balls and thwarted a late comeback attempt by the Hawks with sound defense and rebounding."

The schedule eases up for the next five weeks: 12 of the next 19 games are at home with three of the road games @Milwaukee, @Minnesota, and @Philadelphia. 2-4 feels disappointing in the wake of the first four games, but, taken as a whole, the Hawks look, after six games, like the team most expected. They can win 38 to 42 games and challenge for a play-off spot. If Zaza Pachulia returns healthy and the rookies adjust quickly to playing at NBA speed, maybe they can achieve a bit more than that.