Washington Wizards: Takeaways from a huge Game 3 victory vs Boston

The Washington Wizards finally struck back in Game 3, in impressive fashion. Here are a few takeaways from a huge Wizards win

As the series shifted to DC, the Washington Wizards were in a must-win situation. They could not afford to go down 0-3 against the Boston Celtics.

True enough, they did respond with a whopping blowout win.

Wizards Started Very Strong for the Third Straight Game But…

Just like in Games 1 and 2, the Washington Wizards once again came out firing from all cylinders. They ended the first quarter with a 22-point lead, 39-17. This was familiar ground for the Wizards as they also did this in Boston.

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Yet, unlike in Games 1 and 2, they did not allow the Celtics to mount a comeback run in any of the succeeding quarters. Thus, the strong start allowed them to control the game throughout and win big against the Celtics in Game 3.

Isaiah Thomas Cannot Be Expected to Go 30 Plus All the Time

In Games 1 and 2, the Celtics relied heavily on the heroics of their team MVP, Isaiah Thomas, to carry the offensive load. Yet, as expected, IT4 would eventually, have a rough night.

Thomas never got his rhythm going as he only shot 3-8 from the field, 0-2 from distance, and 7-11 from the free throw line. He had a grand total of 13 points in Game 3, a far cry from his 53-point outburst in Game 2 and 33-point performance in Game 1.

Boston’s Kelly O. vs Washington’s Kelly O. Was a Knockout Hit

What is Playoff Basketball without any fights, right?

Game 3 between the Wizards and the Celtics gave the die-hard playoff fans exactly what they wanted: a fight.

Boston’s Kelly Olynyk, who once upon a time “accidentally” dislocated Kevin Love’s shoulder, was in Playoff shape already.

In the second quarter, he gave a very hard screen with a combination of what seemed like the “People’s Elbow” , which obliterated Washington’s Kelly Oubre Jr.

As expected, Oubre did not in any way appreciate the gesture of the Canadian Center, as he went charging at him just a few seconds after he got back on his feet.

Honestly, this was the main highlight of Game 3. Forget the stats and the game.

Washington’s Depth is Still a Major Concern Moving Forward

Yes, Bojan Bogdanovic had a big game with 19 points and 10 boards. Still, based on the stats of first three games of this series, he and Oubre are the only ones producing some sort of bench production for the Wizards. In fact, Kelly Oubre’s production in Game 3 was non-existent due to his early ejection.

They may have won this game. Yet, lack of support from the bench would really haunt them later on.

Horford and Gortat are the X-Factors for the their Respective Teams

In Games 1 and 2, Al Horford was a force for the Celtics. He scored efficiently. He rebounded at a high rate. And he even garnered lots of assists for the Cs. Yet, in Game 3, Horford was not the same. He may have scored 16 points but he only grabbed two boards, far below from his 10.5 rpg in Games 1 and 2.

On the other hand, Marcin Gortat had another monster game for the Wizards. He scored 13 points and grabbed 16 boards. The Polish Hammer registered his third straight double-double performance. He had 16 points and 13 boards in Game 1, and 14 points and 10 boards in Game 2.

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This is a John Wall vs Isaiah Thomas series. Yet, the bigs like Horford and Gortat play a major role on who would advance to the Conference Finals.

Game 4 will be on Sunday and will be played on the Wizards’ home floor.

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Big takeaways from Game 3 between the Celtics and the Wizards

By Onie Dator | May 5, 2017