Pistons 84, Wizards 70
By Ivan Carter
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 12, 2007
LAS VEGAS, July 11 -- Leading up to the Las Vegas summer league, it took Washington Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan only a few days of workouts to conclude that Dominic McGuire did not look anything like a typical second-round pick.
McGuire, who was selected with the 47th overall choice in the June 28 draft from Fresno State, continued to back Jordan's optimism with his strong overall play in the Wizards' 84-70 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday afternoon at UNLV's Cox Pavilion.
Only a few minutes into the game, McGuire chased down a streaking Arron Afflalo and slapped his layup attempt off the backboard.
Moments later, McGuire caught the ball on the wing, drove hard to his left and made a layup in traffic. And toward the end of the first quarter, McGuire squared up while running the floor on a fast break, received a pass and made a three-pointer.
McGuire followed an impressive performance in Tuesday's summer league opener by finishing with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, with six rebounds and three assists in just less than 31 minutes.
First-round pick Nick Young bounced back from a rough shooting performance in Tuesday's opener to score a team-high 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, and former George Washington forward Mike Hall came off the bench to score 12 points in 16 minutes, giving him consecutive games with more than 10 points.
The effort of Hall and the Wizards' two draft picks was not enough prevent the team from falling apart in the fourth quarter for the second straight game. Led by third-year forward Jason Maxiell (21 points and eight rebounds), the Pistons outscored the Wizards 35-13 in the fourth quarter. The Wizards were outscored 23-8 in the fourth quarter of their 75-64 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
Still, McGuire's second straight solid performance and Young's strong game stood out for a Wizards team that is looking for more athleticism and playmaking coming off the bench next season.
One of the knocks on McGuire heading into the draft was his inconsistent outside shot, but he made both of his three-point attempts Wednesday and looked comfortable doing it.
"I feel that my game is perfect for the NBA," he said. "It's about getting up and down and just playing your game, so I'm having a lot of fun, but we do need to start winning. We have a lot of young guys on this team and this whole thing is a learning experience, but we need to find a way to put an entire game together instead of just playing three quarters."
The Wizards will practice Thursday and resume league play Friday night against the Houston Rockets.
Young provided two of Wednesday's highlight plays with a pair of spectacular dunks. The first came when he cut backdoor, received a bounce pass from point guard Aaron Miles and dunked over a pair of defenders. The second came at the end of a fast break when Young filled the lane and soared to the basket for a dunk that drew loud applause.
"I just tried to be more aggressive and not worry as much about missing a shot or making a mistake," said Young, who scored 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting in Tuesday's opener. "The other day, I knew the eyes were going to be on me and I put a little too much pressure on myself. Tonight, I just went out and played my game."
For the second straight game, Young, McGuire and Miles started along with power forward Oleksiy Pecherov and center Kyle Visser. Pecherov finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, with seven rebounds and four turnovers in almost 29 minutes.
Wizards Notes: According to a league source, Jordan has discussed the team's open assistant coaching position with former Minnesota Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey. However, Casey may be a candidate for the position that opened on the Cleveland Cavaliers' staff after Kenny Natt accepted an assistant coaching job with Sacramento. . . .
Wednesday produced little new information on negotiations between the Wizards and shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, an unrestricted free agent who has not accepted the team's latest offer of a four-year, $15 million contract.
The market for free agent shooting guards includes Stevenson; Morris Peterson, who played for the Toronto Raptors last season; and Devin Brown, who played for the New Orleans Hornets. Brown was in Las Vegas on Tuesday and may draw interest from the Wizards if talks with Stevenson don't progress.
Another free agent shooting guard is Roger Mason Jr., who appeared in 62 games for the Wizards last season. Mason and center Calvin Booth, another Wizards free agent, were in attendance at Wednesday's summer league games. Mason said he's talked with several teams, including the Wizards, about a contract for next season.
"The key thing for me isn't the money, it's finding a good fit where I can play," said Mason, who averaged 2.7 points on 33 percent shooting in 7.9 minutes last season. "I'm at a spot where I'm looking for an opportunity to show what I can do." . . .
Former Maryland player LaRon Profit, who spent three seasons with the Wizards, is attempting to bounce back from an Achilles' tendon injury he suffered during the 2005-06 season while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Profit scored six points on 2-of-3 shooting in seven minutes for the Pistons against the Wizards.
Box score, E7
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