Story By: Richard Thomas
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
There are a lot of things to be said about preseason games in the NBA, well sometimes there are. Tonight, well for the Wizards 129 points is something to talk about, but their opponent in the Sixers, well that’s the problem.
As the Sixers continue to rebuild their program, their performance on the court certainly shows rebuild like old rail car with some new paint, it will roll, but not as fast as you need it to.
Rookie center Jahlil Okafor scored 12 points in his NBA debut for Philadelphia. Isaiah Canaan and Nerlens Noel each had 13.
For the Wizards, they are getting some good looks from Otto Porter Jr. who seemed to be eager to start the season when we saw him in camp last week, tonight he showed that he could add some punch for the team this season scoring 22 points to compliment 19 from Bradley Beal.
Some other positive notes for the Wizards were that seven of their players scored in double figures, including Gary Neal with 13 points. Nene added 12 points in 21 minutes off the bench. DeJuan Blair scored 12 points in only six minutes.
Call it a fluke or just good luck for the upcoming season that Forward Kris Humphries started and sank two 3-pointers. Since being drafted in 2004, Humphries, has not made a 3-pointer during a regular-season game since his rookie season. The Wizards also racked up 36 assists on 48 field goals.
“We played all around tonight,” said Wizards Head Coach Randy Wittman. Each one of the guys knows their role for this season, whether it is coming off the bench or stepping into a starting role before the opening game of the season, we will ready for Orlando on the 28th.
At one point during the game, call it awkward or maybe a sign of good things to come, referee Danny Crawford asked Coach Randy Wittman a little about his team this season. “Are y’all going to play like this the whole season?” the referee asked, as told to the media by Garrett Temple, “Because I’m not ready for this.”
Wittman sort of shook off the question with a little bit of a laughter after the game and seemed more likely ready to prepare for the next preseason game on Friday night against the Knicks.
