game 6 important highlights - the story behind the story. Ruffin and Jefferies

[hands11]

This may be a long read, but please read it. This is why there is no big 3. We went 0-2 before Ruffin and Jefferies stepped it up.

Again. I know this is a lot but I dont think you have ever scene a play by play like this. I would like to read some comments.

Game 1 Ruffin DNP - I think he may have still been hurt.
JJ 5pts
http://www.nba.com/games/20050424/WASCHI/boxscore.html
LOSS - 1 on 1 ball Gil 3-19 1-6 3's, Hughes hot

Game 2 Ruffin 3 mins JJ 3 pts
http://www.nba.com/games/20050427/WASCHI/boxscore.html
LOSS - 1 on 1 ball Hughes 6-16 0- 3's, Gil hot but 4-12, 3s

Game 3 Ruffin 21 Min 9pts JJ 4 pts
http://www.nba.com/games/20050430/CHIWAS/boxscore.html
WIN - Gil play PG Hughes is a hyst but hes hot. Etan is the star

Game 4 Ruffin 20 Min 6 boards JJ 16min 8 boards 8 pts
http://www.nba.com/games/20050502/CHIWAS/boxscore.html
WIN - Gil play PG Hughes is a hyst but hes cold. Dixon is the star

Game 5 Ruffin 11min 3-3 6pts 4 boards JJ 34min 6-9 12pts 8 boards http://www.nba.com/games/20050504/WASCHI/boxscore.html
WIN - Gil is a hyst but hes cold. Hughes has monster game. Hayood steps up. 8-10 17 pts

Game 6 Ruffin 25 min 3pts 8 boards JJ 23min 4-5 2-3 from 3, 12pts 4 boards
WIN - Gil and Hughes are hysts but cold. AJ, JJ and Ruffin save thier butts with heart and hustle/.

http://www.nba.com/games/20050506/CHIWAS/boxscore.html

Jefferies and Ruffin came on strong in games 3,4,5 and 6.

All games we won.

Ruffin is the new heart of this team. Etan used to be it. Jefferies is still quit but does a lot to help us win. AJ is the ambasator. Haywood is playing solid. Dixon can be a star sometimes.

Gil and Hughes are the guns, who when they can be reeled in, are amazing, but they can shot you and ball hog you out of a game.

We are a team and play better as one.

[hands11]

Now I'm going to show you the story behind the story in Game 6. Some of this does not get noticed, but this stuff is amazing.

3rd Quarter. It's was all about Jeffries hustle and him stepping it up.

11:18 pass to Jeffries, open 3, makes it
10:58 JJ forces turn over on Nosi, fast break, AJ post pass to Haywood, 2 pts

10:00 printon offense, Gil takes pass and drives around the top of the horn, kind of a force but makes FG from left side, same spot as game winner

9:30 JJ nice pass to Hughes under hoop. Hughes looses out of bounds.

7:50 JJ tips ball away, ala Ruffin

7:08 team ball, passing around, AJ open 3, makes it

6:35 Gil hustle, tips ball around, JJ playing tough D

5:30 Gil drives and dishes to AJ 2 pts. playing team ball

4:54 Hughes 1 on 1, no passing, long shot, miss
4:31 Gil 1 on 1 drive, missed
4:19 fast break, Hughes, 1 on 1 no pass, fouled hard by Nosi
2-0 FTs Time out Chi

So we are playing off JJ energy from the start of the 3rd then Gil and Hughes start there 1 on 1 stuff. Words don't describe the effort JJ was giving. Ok here comes Ruffin.

4:08 RUFFIN CHECKS IN
first play, he takes a charge

3:58 Hughes 1 on 1 forced tough shot but makes it 2 pts
3:33 Ruffin blocks Chandler from behind, but Chicago keeps ball, Ruffin boxes out Chandler and get REBOUND.

3:11 Gil forces shot, Ruffin monster REBOUND, hands to Hughes in the corner, quick shot missed. We had a fresh 24.

2:56 Pargo drives, Ruffin takes the charge

2:40 Gil long 3, misses - 17 sec left of shot clock 74-68

Ruffin boxing out - Wiz get the rebound. Ruffin sets pick for Hughes who drive wide open for a dunk but he is blocked.

Inbound. Dixon takes hand of from a Ruffin while he is setting a pick, Dixon misses. And guess what.

Ruffin does a tip rebound to Gil.

:34 Gil goes 1 on 1 , no passing long 3 top of the key AIR BALL

:06 Ruffin boxing out of rebound.

That whole quarter was about Jeffries pulling the wagon with hustle to start it, then Ruffin doing it all to end it. While Hughes and Gil played some team ball in between them being superman with all their 1 on 1 stuff.

[SkinsForLife260]

Nice facts!

You have seen the desktop of the "shot" right?

[hands11]

I have the 4th quarter but Ill have to enter it later.

It gets real interesting. Haywood and Ruffin are beasts.

[Leonard Washington]

hyst? what does that mean?

[Skins11]

Originally posted by Leonard Washington
hyst? what does that mean?

You make some good points hands. But man, please try to make your stuff readable and use the right words.

[hands11]

Originally posted by Leonard Washington
hyst? what does that mean?

Hyst

as in. Someone who shots the ball to much at the wrong time. Someone who is forcing things. I can't believe you've never heard that word used to describe a basketball player shooting the ball to much.

As in, he is a total hyst.

[hands11]

Originally posted by Skins11


You make some good points hands. But man, please try to make your stuff readable and use the right words.

tough crowd. Man, do you have any idea what it takes to take all those notes, then be able to read my own scribble, and then type it.

How about a little slack.

[Skins11]

Originally posted by hands11


tough crowd. Man, do you have any idea what it takes to take all those notes, then be able to read my own scribble, and then type it.

How about a little slack.

Sorry man. I was in a bad mood. Thanks for the info.

And you're right. 3-0 without Kwame, 4-0 with Ruffin. We know who is important. Great idea to dump the spoiled brat who is a terrible locker room presence.

I wonder if the team really banded together after his suspension.

Go WIZ!

[hands11]

ok, here is the 4th quarter.

I pick it up at 11:40. Chicago has just gone 4:40 seconds without scoring.

11:40 Haywood gets a rebound of the floor after Gil just totally forced a shot. Haywood is fouled by Chandler. Wiz get the ball on inbound.

11:04 Gil forces another shot.

10:35 we are down. The fans do there part and come to life to try to get the Wiz excited. 78-69

10:29 Gil forces another shot but he is fouled. 0-2 from FT line.


10:13 Ruffin tips ball to AJ for a rebound
9:53 AJ drives across lane, forces a shot, misses
9:40 Ruffin tips ball to Hughes for a rebound
9:30 Hughes passes to Haywood who finds AJ wide open for a 3, makes it 78-73 Chicago Time out.

9:08 Ruffin gets a monster rebound

Ruffin is involved in almost every play with a tip to a player for a rebound or a rebound. He is just willing us to win.
When we play like a team. We look good.

8:58 Hughes forces thing, no passing, ball goes out of bounds but Wizard ball. Inbound to Gil who forces a quick shot, misses then Haywood has to foul to stop the fast break.

8:24 Gil drives. Makes a nice pass to Haywood for the monster DUNK. crowd goes crazy

8:00 Haywood tips to Ruffin for a rebound on a B Gordan miss.
7:54 Gil hogging the ball, no passing, forces a shot, misses, Haywood HUGE rebound and gets fouled.
7:44 Inbound, Gil doesn't pass, shots a 3, makes it.
7:26 Ruffin get a monster rebound. Just takes it from Griffin. 100% effort by Ruffin. He is insane. Jump ball. Ruffin gets the tip.

7:14 Hughes pump fake, pass to AJ, pump fake, he gets fouled.

Man. This is all Ruffin and Haywood hustle.

6:24 81-80 Gil playing in control this time. Sets up Hinrich, drives, fouled. 2-0 FTs

5:45 Gil not in control drive. 1 on 1 forcing a shot. Misses.

5:15 83-82 AJ passes to Gil for a wide open 3 but he misses. Haywood gets the TIP IN. 2 pts.

4:58 Haywood makes a statement with a hard foul on Nosioni. Haywood is growing up. Stop the easy 2 from under the hoop and makes him earn it at the line. He does 2-0

Again. Haywood. Ruffin. Haywood. Ruffin. They are showing a ton of effort and heart. They are why we are in the game still. They are covering up others mistakes. Now it gets even more interesting

4:10 we are running our offense. Gil open 2. Makes it.

4:15 we are getting set into our offense and AJ is fouled by Griffin. Time Out. Close game and AJ goes 0-2 just like last game. It seemed like the same things was happening. It didn't feel right.

While he is shooting his FTs, EJ has Gil and Hughes over on the side line and he's talking to them. I would love to know what he's saying but I'll beat it's. TRUST YOUR TEAMATES IM GUESSING.

3:48 Hughes going 1 on 1. I'm about to pull my hair out. He lifts up to shot but while he is up in the air, covered like a blanket, he hangs in the air and PASSES instead of forcing another shot. He find RUFFIN under the hoop. RUFFIN DUNKS IT and is FOULED. Nicioni gets his 5th foul and Ruffin of all people is headed to the line. But RUFFIN has ice in his blood. The crowd is cheering him on. Ruffin sinks the FT for a 3 pt play..
THE CROWD GOES WILD.

3:30 RUFFIN sets up for charge. I think he is set but he gets called for the foul. AJ is checking in.

It's like the whole 2nd half. Jeffries. Ruffin. Haywood. It was their effort on almost ever series. A tip. A block. A Rebound. A Dunk. They carried us.

3:18 Hughes goes 1 on 1, again, no passing. Takes a long shot. MISSES.

[hands11]

-- OK. HERE COMES... THE SERIES....

2:52 In bound to Hughes bringing it up court. Hinrich steals it. He's driving for a lay-up.

GIL BLOCKS IT. AMAZING EFFORT. Hughes takes it to the hoop 1 on 1 and shots it ( LEFT HANDED ) like a baby hook
LEFT HANDED. What an amazing forced shot but it freakn goes in. Looks like Haywood tipped it in but he didn't.

2:13 Hinrich with the ball up top. They are running their offense. AJ sneaks off his man and steals the ball. Tips it to Hughes who takes it up and find AJ in the corner for a open 3. He nails it. The crowd goes crazy. Team ball baby. Hustle. EFFORT.

Chicago has the ball now and someone takes it to the hoop but while under the hoop, Haywood steals it. WOOOOD. He gathers the ball and get FOULED. To bad he misses both FT 0-2. Wood is playing great though. On the second shot he misses everything but it's not called a violation. We get lucky. Chicago knocks it out and we get the inbound.

OK. Time for some Superman stuff. After all the effort Ruffin, Wood, Jeffries and AJ have given.

1:42 Inbound to Hughes. No passing. Forced shot - missed. Are we learning our lesson yet ?


91-91 1:40

1:22 Hinrich takes an open 3, misses. MONSTER REBOUND BY ( GIL ) Thats right GIL
1:15 Hughes forces another 1 on 1 and misses. OH MY GOD
1:00 Pargo takes the same kind of jumper he did from last game only this time. NOOO BABY. Pargo misses the 3 and it's, JEFFERIES this time with the MOSNTER REBOUND. Are you seeing a trend ? I can feel fate is on our side this time after the Pargo miss.

:45 Gil has the ball. This is the same set up as his game winning shot last game. Gil to the left hand. Goes left. Lifts up, shots but it's off the front of the rim. Still after all the effort of thier teamates. Gil and Hughes are going 1 on 1. Amazing.

TIME OUT.

:36 THE SERIES.

INBOUND. JEFFRIES STEAL THE BALL. FAST BREAK . DUNNNNNK.

BACK BREAKER.

:19 Pargo. Again up top for a 3. NOT THIS TIME BROTHER. Pargo misses. AIRBALL.
:17 INBOUND. EJ does a great job designing a play to get the ball to Dixon on the inbound by going to the back court. Not GIL. DIXON. Another role player. A teamate. Great trust statement by EJ.

Dixon fouled. Only he misses the front end of 2 shots. 1-2 We are up by 3.

:7 Nosioni shots an open 3. NOT THIS TIME BROTHER. GO HOME. He misses. Chandler rebound. Shots a 2, MISSES

GIL REBOUND.

GAME OVER BABY. GAME OVER.

OK. If you read the 3rd quarter and 4th quarter play by play I just posted, you can easily see why we won and what was getting in the way of us running away with this game. The heart of this team was Jeffries, Ruffin and Haywood mostly. AJ played great team ball also.

NOT THE BIG 3. THE BIG THREE IS DEAD. There is no such thing anymore. Not if we are going to continue to win.
AJ did a lot of good things. He played with a level head. Gil and Hughes need to check thier egos at the door and realize they had
their butts saved but the BIG 3. JEFFRIES, RUFFIN AND HAYWOOD.

Now how do you like that. You think they would like it
if these 3 referred to themselves as the BIG 3. They are BIGGER. They could called Gil, Hughes and AJ, the LITTLE 3.

So lets hope our ( previously named, BIG 3 ) can put this behind themselves and realize.

THIS IS A TEAM. IT TAKES ALL OF THEM TO WIN.

Pass the ball. Share the credit. Check the egos at the door.

I don't put AJ in this catagory. He was the one pointing this out after the game.

[hands11]

I still don't feel like I heard enough credit going to Jefferies and Ruffin mostly. Haywood should be included. They should all have gotten the game ball. They closed out the series for us. They kept us from having to go back to Chicago to win this.

Gil and Hughes almost blow it and they saved thier butts.

I want to hear them say it. I want them to grow up and realize this. If they don't, Miami will get us alive. If they do, we can give them a first class fight.

[Matt Kyriacou]

Originally posted by hands11
I still don't feel like I heard enough credit going to Jefferies and Ruffin mostly. Haywood should be included. They should all have gotten the game ball. They closed out the series for us. They kept us from having to go back to Chicago to win this.

It really doesn't matter what the fans think. The people who REALLY know have been giving props all along. Jamison was quoted early in the series as having said "Every team needs a Michael Ruffin". I am quite certain that he would have made the same statement in regards to Etan and Brendon as well.

The thing that I like the most about this team is that they are learning to be a team and seem to genuinely enjoy playing together. Hell, they even show their support for those that are not there at the moment (Positive comments about Kwame).

[TheSteve]

Originally posted by hands11


Hyst

as in. Someone who shots the ball to much at the wrong time. Someone who is forcing things. I can't believe you've never heard that word used to describe a basketball player shooting the ball to much.

As in, he is a total hyst.

Heist.

[hands11]

well. Honestly. Im a little bummed that all my hard work to detail the game play in game 6 didnt spur more comments.

I for one gained a lot more insight into what actually happened in that game. Its hard to see the patterns when the action is so fast and Im emotionally involved in the game.

I dont usually watch a game just to watch a hand full of players. When you stip away some of the details of other players and just focus on these guys, you can see that they were the heart beat that kept us going.

I think we are really close to becoming a REALIABLE CONSISTANT TEAM.

You still dont know for sure what your going to get from these guys on any given night. But after seeing how much work Jefferies, Ruffin and Haywood did in Game 6, I think they have grown up and are more confident in what they bring to the game.

I believe the more they give this effort, the more obvious thier impact will be, the calmer Gil and Hughes will ultimately become.
Gil and Hughes will do less Superman and more team play. They have to play with in themselves.

Less is more. And with less forced play from them, we are a better team.

Hopefully they have had a chance to think about this over the last couple days. We should have learned something from watching Chicago up close and personal.

Chicago is more of a team then us. We had more talent.
We are becoming a better team but we still have work to do.