Published: December 23, 2009
It’s not unusual to see Flip Saunders call for a substitution off the bench, have that player waiting for a dead ball to check in the game, only to change his mind and send that player back to bench.
In fact, it happened with Andray Blatche at one point during the first quarter of last night’s game against the Sixers.
So when Flip Saunders called for Blatche, Nick Young, Earl Boykins, Fabricio Oberto, and Dominic McGuire to check into the game, with 7:58 in the third quarter, and then the referees did not initially allow them in the game until the next dead ball, I assumed this may be one of those instances.
It wasn’t.
After watching starters Gilbert Arenas, Randy Foye, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood sloppy play turn a three point halftime lead into four point deficit against the Philadelphia 76ers, Coach Saunders pulled them out of the game in favor of his reserves for much of the third quarter.
“We had guys that were mad. I told them you could be mad but you’re not half as mad as I am with the effort that we gave, ” Saunders said during his quickest post game press conference as the Wizards head coach. “You have to have enough confidence when things aren’t going right that you can put guys in and give you energy, get it turned around and get things going. That’s what a team is.”
When asked whether he knew at halftime that he would make such a drastic moved, Coach Saunders said he did not.
“In my head I had a short leash,” was all he would admit to.
Prior to the mass substitution, the Wizards were not playing well to start the third quarter. They gave up and missed easy baskets, there were costly turnovers, and the offense lacked the fluidity that it had shown in flashes during the first half. Despite a full and a twenty second timeout, Flip was unable to get a satisfactory effort out of his team. Even Gilbert Arenas (31 points), who seemed to be the only Wizard playing well up to that point, agreed that something had to be done.
“We fell flat in the third quarter and needed that spark,” Arenas candidly observed after the game. “We didn’t have the energy coming out of halftime. The third quarter is the most important part of the game. The second unit had to come in and get the job done.”
His teammate, Caron Butler (14 points), had a much more straight forward response when asked how he felt about Coach Saunders’ drastic move.
“It’s not personal,” a subdued Butler said in front of his locker. “Everybody’s trying to get the same goal, they’re trying to win games. If a coach does that, it’s discipline, you accept it, take a smack on the wrist, and you get prepared to get back out there and show what you’re capable of doing.”
Dominic McGuire was one of the players Coach Saunders substituted into the game to rescue the Wizards in the third quarter. Up until that point, McGuire had not even gotten into the game, and he doubted whether he would even get the opportunity to have an impact.
“I actually didn’t think I was going to play this game,” McGuire admitted. “Usually when I don’t play the first half, I usually sit[the whole game].”
McGuire was then asked what his mindset was once his name was called.
“I just tried to bring some energy and get the crowd back into the game. We knew they[the starters] were going to come back in the game in the fourth quarter, but we just tried to give them a lift for a little bit.
When the Wizards second team entered the game, they trailed the Sixers by five points, and at the end of the third quarter, they were still behind by seven. But the energy they displayed on both ends of the floor was infectious, and it was just enough to inspire the first team when they re-entered the game.
Four minutes into the fourth quarter, the Wizards had tied the game, and two minutes later they took the lead for good, en route to the 105-98 victory.
Wizards guard Randy Foye (8 points), who got his first start since November 8th, was the only starter who did not re-enter the game once the fourth quarter started.
Still, after the game, instead of sulking about Saunders’ move or complaining about his lack of playing time, he too conceded that this was a necessary move to make.
“Usually when you come off a road trip, it takes awhile to get the team going, and tonight that wasn’t the case early, but we let up a little in the second and third quarter,” Foye said in front of his locker while icing his knees. “We needed to get a new group in the game that could bring energy, and it worked. It was much needed and it showed during the fourth[quarter].
The only player who seemed to outwardly disagree with the coach’s move was Antawn Jamison. Upon being removed from the game, he walked towards the scrolling ad machine by the bench, and kicked it. During the two timeouts that were called while Jamison was still on the bench, he chose not to get inside the huddle with the rest of his teammates.
Still, Jamison was the only starter to be re-inserted in the game towards the end of the third quarter. He finished with only seven points and five rebounds.
When asked about the mass substitutions and his anger afterwords, his answer was simple: “No comment.”
The true litmus test as to whether Saunders’ move was effective beyond this victory over the Sixers, will come during the Wizards next three games against Milwaukee, Minnesota and Memphis–all on the road.
As Nick Young said after the game, as he left the locker room:
“These next three games are very important for us and we need to keep building each other up.”
