Tag: Washington Wizards

Boston’s Svi Mykhailiuk on his career-high night vs. the Washington Wizards

To know Mykhailiuk is able to put up such scoring when his number is called is exactly the sort of data you want in a run at a title.

In a 132-122 win over the Washington Wizards in the Boston Celtics’ last game of the NBA’s 2023-24 season, reserve forward Svi Mykhailiuk had the game of his life at the NBA level, putting up a career-high 26 points, 5 rebounds, as many assists, and a block in 37 minutes of floor time.

The 26-year-old swingman opened up about his big game after the final buzzer sounded, speaking to Celtics team reporter Taylor Snow. “I just took what the game gave me,” explained Mykhailiuk. “I took some more shots, open shots, made some shots early. I feel like that gave me a little more confidence.”

“We knew we were going to have the opportunity to play a lot of minutes,” he added.

“Everybody came prepared, everybody was excited to get on the court and (have some more) playing time, and everybody wanted to win and finish the regular season on the right note and start preparing for the playoffs.”

And while it seems unlikely that the Cherkasy native will see the floor as much as he did vs. the Wiz, to know that Mykhailiuk is capable of putting up such scoring when his number is called is exactly the sort of data you want to have heading into a run at a title.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: April 1-7

Here’s how Notre Dame’s two players fared this past week.

Even though the Milwaukee Bucks are on a four-game losing streak, [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had a great start to the past week. His 15 points April 2 against the Washington Wizards were one off his season high, and his eight rebounds tied his season high. He followed that with six points and eight assists the next night against Memphis Grizzlies. For the week, he averaged 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game.

Despite shooting 1 of 8 from the field over his first two games of the week, [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] had four and five assists respectively. He collected six points and four rebounds in the San Antonio Spurs’ double-overtime loss April 7 to the Philadelphia 76ers. That brought his averages for the week to 3.0 points and 3.0 assists a game.

Photographers on hand to cover Connaughton and Wesley’s teams during the past week got plenty of shots of Notre Dame’s two current NBA players. Here are some of the best ones:

Wizards’ Bilal Coulibaly hopes to represent France in 2024 Summer Olympics

Wizards rookie Bilal Coulibaly this week expressed his desire to represent his home country in the 2024 Olympic Games.

Washington Wizards rookie Bilal Coulibaly this week expressed his desire to represent his home country in the 2024 Olympic Games, which tip off July 27 in France.

Coulibaly, who was born just outside of Paris, projects to be among the players in contention to earn a place on France’s 12-man roster for the tournament. He has not yet debuted with the senior national team, though, appearing only in the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship.

The 19-year-old averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and one assist in seven games. He was joined by Melvin Ajinca, Sidy Cissoko and Rayan Rupert as the team finished fifth in the tournament.

He hopes he will have the opportunity to be called up for the Olympics.

“I will, for sure, try to be on the team,” Coulibaly said, via Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “But, yeah, we’ll see. I mean, coaches make their choices, and I totally respect it. So, yeah, we’ll see.”

France qualified for the Olympic Games by being the host country. The team had a rather disappointing showing in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, finishing 18th with Nic Batum, Nando de Colo, Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert on the roster.

That quartet is again expected to suit up, and Victor Wembanyama is expected to join them. He was held out of participating in the FIBA Basketball World Cup after an extended run between Metropolitans 92 and San Antonio in the NBA Summer League.

France was selected to compete in Group B, along with Germany, Japan and a team still to earn a berth. The team will face the still-to-be-decided country to open the tournament (July 27) and play Japan (July 30) and Germany (Aug. 2) to wrap up the group phase.

With so many players available, coach Vincent Collet will likely face plenty of challenges configuring the 12-man roster. After a productive rookie campaign with the Wizards, though, Coulibaly hopes he showed enough to earn a place.

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Nets’ Nic Claxton discusses playing through nasal injury; Cam Thomas

After Wednesday’s 122-119 overtime win at the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton spoke on his nasal injury and Cam Thomas.

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton has been one of the steadying forces for the team this season as he has been the anchor of the defense and has been available for the most part. That availability almost came into question for Wednesday’s 122-119 overtime win at the Washington Wizards due to an injury.

Prior to Wednesday’s game at the Wizards, Meghan Triplett of YES Network reported that Claxton was going to go through warmups with a mask on due to a nasal injury that he suffered in Saturday’s 105-93 loss at the New York Knicks. Claxton played most of the game without the mask on, but he did not suffer another facial injury and still put up 17 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks in the contest.

After the win, Claxton said that he took the mask off because he “wasn’t comfortable” and that he hopes to get a new mask that will make him feel more comfortable. Brooklyn’s next game is at home on Friday against the Chicago Bulls so there may be enough time for Claxton to get a new mask.

Also, Claxton gave his thoughts on how Cam Thomas, someone that Claxton has played with for the past three seasons, has developed from just a scorer to being a player who can affect the game with his playmaking ability as well. Thomas had one of his best games of the season as he put up 38 points and seven assists to lead the Nets to a much-needed overtime victory.

When asked about Thomas’ growth over the years, Claxton had this to say:

“It’s been beautiful watching him grow and everybody is reaping the benefits of that. He’s finding us as you see, seven assists, 38 points. That’s tough. So, he’s got to keep going and we’re gonna follow him.”

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Nets’ Cam Thomas reacts to huge performance at Wizards

After Wednesday’s 122-119 overtime win at the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas reacted to his 12th 30-point game.

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas has been one of the best players on the team since the beginning of the season when he entered the starting lineup. Since then, Thomas has had plenty of performances that have shown Brooklyn’s fanbase, and the NBA world, what he can do when the opportunity is there.

The Nets beat the Washington Wizards in overtime on Wednesday 122-119 and a big reason for Brooklyn emerging victorious was because of the play of Thomas. Thomas put up 38 points and seven assists in an outing that showed how Thomas can be more than a scorer when on the floor.

Thomas essentially went shot-for-shot with Wizards guard Jordan Poole, who also dropped 38 points, and the best part was that he did it in an efficient manner. Thomas shot 14-of-27 from the field, 2-of-6 from three-point land, and 8-for-8 from free-throw line while turning the basketball over just twice in over 45 minutes of floor time.

There were also some moments when Thomas was either the lone ball-handler or was the lead guard on the floor and he had to handle the ball against some tough perimeter defense. He notched his 12th 30-point game of the season and afterwards, Thomas reacted to how he played:

“Just reading the game. Just taking what the defense give me. It’s been an emphasis for me this year since teams are keying in on me more so I got to learn how to attack the NBA defense differently. Just reading the game and just getting my guys shots. Make-or-miss, you got to live with it.”

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DeMar DeRozan says Bulls ‘need to be more desperate’

After the Chicago Bulls’ recent loss to the Washington Wizards, DeMar DeRozan said his team needs to play more desperate.

For the past few seasons, the Chicago Bulls have been stuck in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference. And at the beginning of this year, things were looking worse, as they jumped out to a 5-14 start to the season. However, they turned things around and earned themselves a spot in the Play-In Tournament. But if they want to go any further, they need to turn up the heat.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, their latest loss was the exact opposite of that. They took on the Washington Wizards, one of the worst teams in the league, and lost. Washington won their third game in a row for the first time this season, and the Bulls lost their third game in a row in a very winnable game.

After the loss, DeMar DeRozan said the Bulls need to play more desperate. (H/t Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times)

‘‘It sucks because all these games matter,’’ DeRozan said. ‘‘You want to be playing good basketball toward this part of the season. In the circumstance we are under, everything matters so much more. We’ve got to be more desperate. Not just the beginning of the game, but every single game from here on out. There’s time, but we need to be playing the right way. Competing from beginning to end, that’s all that matters.’’

If the Bulls want to make any noise past the Play-In Tournament, they need to take things up a notch.

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It’s time to rant about the Chicago Bulls after their loss to the Washington Wizards

Can it get any lower than that for the Bulls?

There have been some serious silver linings for the Chicago Bulls in an injury-addled 2023-24 campaign. Whether we are talking about the unexpected leaps of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, the found money that is Onuralp Bitim, or becoming one of the best clutch clubs in the sport, it’s not been all bad.

But there are occasionally still some serious gut punches to be had for the Bulls as they try to wrap up the NBA’s 2023-24 season. One such smack in the face (metaphorically speaking, of course) was Chicago’s recent loss to the lowly Washington Wizards. Can it get any lower than that for the Bulls?

the folks behind the “Bulls Central” YouTube channel recently put together a clip breaking down what went wrong in the Wizards loss, and why we ought to be irked by it.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to get their take on a rough loss in a rougher season.

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Nets full injury report for Wednesday’s matchup at Wizards

Here is the Brooklyn Nets’ full injury report heading into their matchup on Wednesday at the Washington Wizards.

The Brooklyn Nets‘ season is close to ending and at the moment, they find themselves in danger of missing the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with plenty of separation between them and the Atlanta Hawks. With that being said, Brooklyn will be moving forward with their postseason quest with some significant injuries in their rotation.

In the Nets’ injury report ahead of their matchup at the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, guard Cam Thomas is listed as questionable for the contest due to lower back tightness. Thomas was supposed to play in Monday’s 96-88 win at the Toronto Raptors, but was ruled out shortly before tip-off due to experiencing the back tightness during warmups.

After Monday’s win, Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie said that Thomas did not play due to back spasms so it’s possible that the back spasms and the back tightness are to mean the same thing. Either way, Ollie said that he wasn’t sure if Thomas would be able to play at the Wizards and that is supported by Thomas’ questionable designation.

Elsewhere on the report, forward Keita Bates-Diop (right shin stress reaction), forward Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain), and guard Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) are all out for the contest at Washington. Ollie said prior to Monday’s win that Johnson would not make the road trip so it’s not surprising that he was ruled out for Wednesday’s game as well.

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DeMar DeRozan sounds off in frustration after Bulls loss to Wizards

After the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Washington Wizards, DeMar DeRozan expressed his frustration.

Looking to bounce back from their brutal loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, the Chicago Bulls welcomed the Washington Wizards to town on Monday night. The Wizards, one of the worst teams in the NBA, had won two straight games, and unfortunately for the Bulls, Washington took them down, winning three games in a row for the first time this season.

Washington took home a 107-105 win over Chicago, and while the Bulls made it a competitive game down the stretch, they were down by as many as 16 points during the game. As the Bulls fight for their spot in the 9-10 Play-In game, they need every win they can get.

After the loss, DeMar DeRozan expressed his frustration. (H/t ESPN)

“We shouldn’t drop games like this right now,” DeRozan said. “We’re resilient, but we can’t live on the edge every single game. We can lose to any single team any night. That’s the NBA. We’ve got to be aware of that. We’ve got to leave it out there these last 10 games. Can’t have no more excuses.”

DeRozan finished the game with 27 points, two rebounds, six assists, and five steals while shooting 9-of-22 from the field and 1-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc.

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Wizards’ Tristan Vukcevic credits teammates for helping with transition to NBA

Tristan Vukcevic joined the Wizards this month and the 21-year-old is getting a crash course in playing in the NBA.

Tristan Vukcevic joined the Washington Wizards this month after starting the season in Serbia, and the 21-year-old is getting a crash course in playing in the NBA.

Vukcevic was selected with the 42nd pick in the 2023 NBA draft by the Wizards after emerging as one of the top international prospects. The team signed him on March 14 after agreeing to a seven-figure contract buyout with Partizan and Real Madrid, his first professional club.

The 7-footer debuted with the Wizards on Saturday, logging three minutes in a win over Toronto. He registered his first career points on Monday in a 107-105 win against Chicago, knocking down two 3-pointers and hauling in three rebounds in nine minutes.

“He hit a couple of 3s (and) had good protection at the rim,” Wizards interim coach Brian Keefe said. “(We are) thrilled to have him in our program. He has a high basketball IQ, and we’re excited he is here with us.”

Vukcevic averaged 7.7 points and 3.2 rebounds on 43.2% shooting from 3-point range in 30 games this season with Partizan. He has spent the past two-plus seasons with the team and helped it claim the ABA League championship last year.

He played with the Wizards in the NBA Summer League before returning to Partizan. He averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and one steal in four appearances in Las Vegas. He scored in double figures twice, including a summer league-high 15 points on July 15.

Vukcevic will  begin the transition by joining the team for the last month of the season. The game in the United States is much different than in Europe and will take some time to learn.

“It is a different game,” Vukcevic said on Saturday. “It is more fast-paced, less plays. I think in Europe, it is more textbook basketball and it is just something I have to learn. It is a learning process: Speed, pace and everything.”

Vukcevic is viewed as a highly skilled big man and is touted for his ability as a scorer and shooter, with his smooth stroke and ability to work in the post. He impressed at the combine last year and drew interest from several teams drafting in the second round.

With 10 games left to play and the Wizards out of postseason contention, Vukcevic projects to have the opportunity to log extended minutes. He will be leaning on his teammates for help.

“They’re just helping me transition to the NBA and teaching me what to do and what not to do, like my positioning because it is very different,” Vukcevic said. “(Anthony) Gill is doing a good job of telling me where to be at and what to do because he was in Europe and knew how the transition is. I’m very glad that he is helping me.”

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