Saturday produced a night of delight for John Wall. The point guard took off for his second 360-degree layup in as many games. His emphatic towel-waving in the fourth quarter made him appear a bench rah-rah player as opposed to an All-Star. The Wizards moved to 21-8 after dismantling the Boston Celtics. Wall had reason to be happy.
That joy will be challenged starting this week, then into January. Monday, the Washington Wizards start a five-game, eight-day road trip against the steel of the mighty Western Conference. A team that Paul Pierce assuredly said was “elite” on Saturday will be tested in a way it has not been this season.
“We get a chance to play against some of the upper echelon Western Conference teams,” Pierce said. “It will be a great measuring stick about where we are. We know we are an upper echelon team in the East. But we know if we want to be champions, this is an opportunity with the East being wide open for us to get to the Finals, for us to gauge where we are as an elite team in this league.”
The Wizards start Monday in Houston against the Rockets, who were 21-7 coming into Sunday. Southpaw James Harden is on every too-soon-to-predict list of MVP candidates. He leads the league in scoring (27.2) and force of beard. Harden is teamed with petulant, enormous and talented Dwight Howard to form one of the powers in the West. Houston allows just 96.8 points per game.
Tuesday, Washington travels to Dallas. The Mavericks are on a short list of games the Wizards think they should have won, but did not, this season. Dallas won, 105-102, in D.C. on Nov. 19. Shooting guard Monta Ellis owned the first half by scoring 24 points. The Wizards opened the third quarter with multiple turnovers, which led to a timeout by coach Randy Wittman. Postgame, he explained the team had to grow up from an emotional standpoint, not hanging its head after a rough patch. Dallas took advantage of the Wizards’ ill-timed slump to bloat their lead to 10 points. The Wizards found a way back into the game before a Dirk Nowitzki 3-pointer with 1:20 to play ostensibly sealed the game.
Washington is in Oklahoma City on Friday. Kevin Durant (ankle) is back practicing with the Thunder and has missed five consecutive games. Power point guard Russell Westbrook versus Wall will be one of the highlights of the week. In fact, Wall will face a week filled with capable foes. In Houston, he will deal with the tormenting Patrick Beverley. Dallas recently acquired Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics to oppose the litany of talented point guards in the league. Then, he faces the league’s most physical point guard, Westbrook, Friday. Saturday, Wall may be opposed by darting San Antonio point Tony Parker. He has a left hamstring strain and may not play.
Finally, the trip ends Jan. 5 in New Orleans against Anthony Davis, also an MVP candidate. As of Monday, none of the five teams on the road trip had a record below .500. Combined, the teams are 75-45.
“We are playing good and we want to keep it going,” forward Kris Humphries said. “These teams on the West Coast are on another level. We got to have our focus, get some rest and approach the games the right way.”
Other heavies will be presented during January. The Wizards will play the rival Chicago Bulls twice. The Atlanta Hawks, tussling with Washington for the Southeast Division lead, will host the Wizards. The Spurs come to D.C., as does Oklahoma City — let the Durant recruitment begin. The Wizards will also play the Portland Trail Blazers (24-7). They travel to play the Phoenix Suns, who have defeated Washington last week. The month will close with a visit from the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors, who also blew out the Wizards, 103-84, in a Nov. 7 game in Toronto.
Plenty went right in December. Now, the hard part starts.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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