Washington Wizards 95, Boston Celtics 94
You have to see this loss in context, and maybe than it won't be so disturbing. First and foremost, the Wizards are a bad team, so that's a knock on tonight's performance. But then, Doc sat Rondo, Pierce, Allen and Garnett, so really it was a bad team vs a bad team tonight. There was probably a little more unintentional comedy tonight than you'd like, but I have t be honest, I liked what I saw from a few of the key bench guys, and since Miami won tonight anyways, there really wasn't anything to gain from a win in real tangible terms. Throw in an amusing but frustrating overtime, and I'd call it a wash...except the Delonte West injury. That was unfortunate.
West allegedly has a sprained ankle, and is not expected back until the playoffs at the least. That's the bad news. That, and Miami will officially have home court advantage if the Celtics see them in the second round. That and the Lakers probably got the upper hand in a potential playoff matchup.
But, there are some positives. Jeff Green looked pretty great tonight. He was looked to as the primary scorer (unless someone mistakenly passed to Glen Davis, who wasn't that bad tonight either), and Green managed to score 20 points and reel in 15 rebounds. Glen Davis was a bit more efficient, and even had a pretty awesome block on JaVale McGee when it mattered.
None of those signs were as encouraging as one particular statistic however: Jermaine O'Neal played 36 minutes tonight, and for the most part they were pretty decent minutes.15 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks, Jermaine O'Neal showed he has the capability to put in the minutes to make a difference, and that is more encouraging than any meaningless win tonight.