Wizards trade Jamison, then beat the T'Wolves

After the Wizards dealt Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to the Mavericks in what was essentially a salary dump, most Wizards fans were hoping that Antawn Jamison would be the next Wizard to leave town -- not on a sour note or because he isn't a talented player anymore, but because this team needs a new direction. Relying on the "Big Three" of Gilbert Arenas, Jamison, and Butler simply wasn't working, and it was time to try something else.

Well, today the Wizards and general manager Ernie Grunfeld decided to do just that by trading Jamison to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the three-team deal that's being reported right now, the Wizards, in exchange for Jamison and Drew Gooden, will receive Zydrunas Ilgauskas and his $11.5 million expiring contract, a first-round pick from Cleveland, and forward Al Thornton from the Clippers. The Cavs get Jamison and Sebastian Telfair from the Clippers, while the Clippers receive Gooden, who the Wizards briefly acquired in the Mavericks deal.

With the trade, the Wizards gain lots of salary cap room. By dealing Jamison, the Wizards get rid of the remaining two years and over $28 million left on his contract after this season. And after the deals of Josh Howard ($10.9 million), Mike Miller ($9.8 million), Mike James ($6.5 million), Fabricio Oberto ($2.1 million), Javaris Crittenton ($1.5 million), Earl Boykins ($1.2 million), possibly Randy Foye ($3.6 million with a qualifying offer of $4.8 million), and now Ilgauskas all expire, the Wizards will be able to sign a few decent free agents if they desire.

There's no question that Grunfeld has a lot of work to do to fix this team, especially with the years and huge amount of money that is still due to Arenas. But the Wizards do have the rest of the season to see how good some of their young pieces are. Is Andray Blatche ready to step up and take over a leading role on this team? Can JaVale McGee improve his post defense and stop fouling so much? Can Nick Young prove to Flip Saunders that he's more than just a one-dimensional player? Will Foye prove that he can run the point and show that he can be a complementary piece to a winning team? How will Thornton fit in? That's a lot to find out, but those questions will probably need to be answered at some point -- along with figuring out who the next owner of the Wizards is going to be.

With some salary cap flexibility and a likely lottery pick in the upcoming draft, the Wizards have some things going for them. The next few weeks and months may get ugly, and Saunders will surely look frustrated more than a few times, but at least at this very moment there's a bit of hope that something good may be on the horizon for this team.

-----

Oh yeah, and the Wizards actually played the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight, and won, 108-99. With a starting lineup of Foye, Young, Miller, Blatche, and McGee, the Wizards started slow but eventually started to right the ship in the second and third quarters. Blatche had a huge game and led the team with 33 points on 14-22 shooting and also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. Miller played a game-high 44 minutes and scored 17 points on just eight shots (and he was a perfect 5-5 from three-point range). McGee, who struggled to guard Al Jefferson in the first quarter, persevered and finished with 14 points (7-10 from the field), 11 rebounds, and five blocks.

As a team, the Wizards shot 47.7 percent from the field and outrebounded the T'Wolves 47-44. The Wizards also shared the ball for once, dishing out 10 more assists than Minnesota (24-14) and turning the ball over four fewer times (15-19).

The Wizards didn't play particularly great defense, and against good teams, such an effort would more than likely result in a loss. But the young guys got to play a bit, especially Blatche and McGee, and the Wizards hustled and moved the ball around. If they're going to play the rest of the season without Arenas, Butler, and Jamison, let them play this way, please.

Contract information via HoopsHype

Butler, Haywood fail to impress in first game with Mavs

In their first game with the Dallas Mavericks last night, Brendan Haywood and particularly Caron Butler didn't put up strong performances in a 99-86 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Haywood, who posted decent numbers -- seven points and six rebounds -- in 15 minutes off the bench, also posted a +/- of -16. Butler, however, played worse despite being placed in the starting lineup and getting 31 minutes. Butler scored 13 points on 4-16 shooting and turned the ball over four times while grabbing six rebounds and recording one assist, one steal, and one block.

Not to be left out, DeShawn Stevenson posted similarly awful numbers to his time with the Wizards this season (2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, 28.2 field goal percentage). In five minutes, Stevenson missed his only field goal attempt and also had a turnover. Not that it necessarily contributed much to the loss, but does it really make any sense for a solid team like the Mavericks to give Stevenson any minutes at all?

It's just one game, of course, and the Mavericks must adjust to how both Butler and Haywood play and interact with Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, and Shawn Marion, etc. Also, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle must become familiar with the fact that Stevenson just isn't very good and shouldn't see the court unless five or six Mavericks happen to foul out of the game.

So the Wizards dealt Butler and Haywood -- now what?

On Saturday, the Wizards and Mavericks completed the first major trade of the 2009-2010 season. In the deal, the Wizards sent Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, DeShawn Stevenson, and cash considerations to the Mavericks in exchange for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross, and James Singleton.

The addition of Butler and Haywood makes the Mavericks significantly better, while the Wizards were more concerned with dumping salary and... that's it, I guess. Howard has a team option of $11.8 million for next season, but there's no way the Wizards exercise that. Gooden's $4.5 million contract also expires after this season, as does Singleton's $1 million deal. The only player that Washington received who could still be in a Wizards uniform after this season is Ross, who will more than likely exercise his $1.1 million player option for next season.

So the Wizards saved a little money this year and about $13.5 million in 2010-2011 (around $15 million if Ross decides, for some reason, not to exercise his player option). Yet, as Mike Prada of Bullets Forever pointed out, the Wizards didn't save any money beyond next season with the deal. So, barring another cost-cutting move, like trading Antawn Jamison to Cleveland, etc., this trade doesn't make a whole lot of sense and seems a bit rushed. Still, if Ernie Grunfeld can find a way to ship Jamison out, it'll be a little easier to defend the trade.

Hopefully that move takes place, but we'll see what happens. Anyway, let's see what the Wizards got in return from the Mavericks.

Career Numbers	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	MPG
Josh Howard (29)	15.4	6.0	1.7	45.4	31.4
Drew Gooden (28)	11.8	7.8	1.1	47.1	27.3
Quinton Ross (28)	4.5	2.3	1.1	42.2	19.4
James Singleton (28)	3.3	3.1	0.4	47.9	11.1

2009-2010 Numbers	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	MPG
Howard	12.5	3.6	1.4	40.1	26.4
Gooden	8.9	6.9	0.6	46.7	22.2
Ross	2.0	1.0	0.3	41.1	11.1
Singleton	2.4	2.2	0.4	37.5	8.3

Looking at the above numbers, you can see that 1) the Wizards aren't exactly getting a ton of talent here, and 2) they're all within a year or two of turning 30. Also, all four players have had their minutes reduced this season, they're all shooting below their career averages, and because of both of those factors, they're all scoring fewer points. So did giving away any of these guys really hurt the Mavericks? Not really.

Howard has been described as a bad team guy, but you'd think he'd be on his best behavior in Washington now since he'll be looking for a new deal after this season. If he plays well, he may make himself a little bit of money in the offseason. Gooden isn't really great in any one area, but I'm sure Flip Saunders will give him at least a significant share of Haywood's minutes. Ross is one of the better perimeter defenders in the league, but he isn't much of an offensive player. And Singleton is extremely athletic but has never played more than 15 minutes per game in any of his four seasons in the NBA.

Still, this is the deal the Wizards made. So even though I hate to use a phrase like this, it is what it is. The Wizards wanted to shed some salary, and they gave up the two best players (Butler and Haywood) in the deal to do so. Maybe the Wizards could've gotten more from another team, but this is the trade Grunfeld made.

This is my wish for what the starting lineup looks like:

PG Randy Foye
SG Mike Miller
SF Josh Howard
PF Antawn Jamison
C Andray Blatche

The majority of the bench minutes could go to Nick Young, Earl Boykins (someone has to be the back-up point guard), JaVale McGee, Dominic McGuire, or any of the other three guys brought in via trade. However, I have a feeling that Saunders may not want to start Blatche and will opt for a similar lineup, with maybe Gooden or Fabricio Oberto at center. But I hope not. I'd also be shocked if Ross didn't see a lot of the court because he can actually play some defense.

Wizards fall short against Mavericks

With about six seconds left and the Wizards trailing by one, Flip Saunders decided to get Caron Butler the ball to give him a chance to win the game. That plan didn't work out, though, as Shawn Marion read Butler's move and blocked his shot to give the Mavericks a tough road win.

I have to say, though, that I was proud of the Wizards for not throwing in the towel last night. With about seven minutes left in the third quarter, the Mavericks were up 11 (62-51), but the Wizards fought back and eventually took the lead early in the fourth quarter -- and that's despite Antawn Jamison having one of his worst games this season (seven points on 2-10 shooting and only three rebounds).

The Wizards were led by Brendan Haywood (13 points, 18 rebounds, two blocks), Butler (20 points, 10 rebounds), and Randy Foye (26 points, three assists). Mike Miller played a solid 31 minutes off the bench (eight points, three rebounds, four assists) and, of course, only took five shots. He also made both of his three-point attempts. Earl Boykins (11 points, three assists) and Andray Blatche (eight points, four rebounds, two blocks) also played pretty well coming off the bench. Blatche played pretty good defense on Dirk Nowitzki on a few possessions, which is noteworthy since the Wizards don't usually play much defense.

Two other notes:

-- I still don't understand why DeShawn Stevenson is playing anything more than a few minutes a game. He didn't score a point last night, missing all three of his shots in 17 minutes. His only other contribution was a single rebound (and two turnovers!). The only reasonable excuse for playing Stevenson would be if he was an elite defensive player, which he is not. At this point in his career, I'm not sure that he's even a much better defensive player than someone like Nick Young, who is apparently in the doghouse again and has played just three minutes combined in the last two games. Do you realize that Stevenson isn't even shooting 30 percent from the field? Right now, he's shooting 28.8 percent; the only other shooting guards shooting worse than that are Daequan Cook (28.6 percent) and Lindsey Hunter (16.7 percent). It's time to stop the madness, Flip.

-- It remains to be seen whether or not Foye can be a point guard, but still, he's averaging 16.5 points and 5.1 assists in January and is shooting much better from the field this month too (48.2 percent). With the team's only other point guard option being Earl Boykins (unless you count Mike James, who never plays), then it's worth it for the Wizards to keep Foye at the one to see what he can do. For two interesting articles on Foye, check out Truth About It and Empty the Bench.

The Wizards, now 14-27 on the season, host Miami on Friday.

Wiz drop another, fall to 12-25 on the season

Playing some uninspired basketball at least until the third quarter, the Wizards fell to the Atlanta Hawks, 94-82. And you'll never believe this: the Wizards cut into the Hawks' lead and were down only four heading into the fourth quarter -- and then they were outplayed yet again in the game's final frame.

Here's what you need to know about the game from Washington's perspective: 1) The Wizards shot 35.8 percent from the field; 2) despite their cold shooting, they were still six of 12 from three-point range; 3) they scored 33 first-half points; 4) DeShawn Stevenson played the most minutes off the bench, with 20, and he actually made a three!; and 5) Antawn Jamison played (and is playing) like an All Star.

More on Jamison: At this point, I feel a little sorry for him. I'm the first person to admit that, while he's an outstanding offensive player, he's not exactly a defensive force and that hurts the Wizards since no one else other than Brendan Haywood actually plays much defense. But still: Jamison always plays hard. Last night, Jamison scored 25 points and had 19 rebounds. In January, he's averaging 27.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting over 50 percent from the field. Either Jamison's been feeling it lately, or he's desperately trying to play his best so the Wizards can send him to a contender. And if that's the case, it's hard to blame him.

On the other hand, Caron Butler is not playing like an All Star. With Gilbert Arenas out, Butler should be getting all the touches on offense that he wants, yet he's not doing much with them. Last night his 15 points came on 18 shots, though he deserves a little credit for grabbing 11 rebounds. Right now, he's averaging 16.5 points on the season, his lowest since his 2004-2005 season with the Lakers (15.5 points). I don't know if he wants to get out of Washington, or if he really misses Mountain Dew, but Butler doesn't look like the same player of the last few seasons.

Other than that, Haywood had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds -- and he made all seven of his free throws -- and Randy Foye chipped in 18 points, eight assists, and four rebounds. Remember earlier in the season when Foye couldn't get on the court because of Earl Boykins? That sure seems like a long time ago.

Cavs blow out Arenas-less Wizards

The shorthanded Wizards (11-22), playing without the suspended Gilbert Arenas (who is going to be gone for a while) and Mike Miller (who may return Friday from a calf injury), couldn't slow down the now 28-9 Cavaliers, who took care of business at home in a comfortable 121-98 win. The performance was predictable considering this was the second game of a back-to-back on the road for the Wizards -- not to mention that they were without their best player. But unfortunately, they're going to have to adjust to playing without Arenas once again.

Offensively, the Wizards were decent, shooting 44 percent from the field and hitting eight of 16 three-pointers. But strong perimeter shooting was the only thing keeping the Wizards in the game, because they had no answer for the Cavs on defense. Cleveland shot over 57 percent from the field, made 11 of 22 threes, got to the free throw line 10 more times (making 24 of 30), outrebounded the Wizards by 16 (a 44-28 advantage), and dished out 13 more assists. Also, no Wizard posted a positive +/- number -- not even Dominic McGuire in his six garbage minutes at the end of the game.

As for individual numbers, only two Wizards were particularly noteworthy. First, Antawn Jamison led the team with 26 points and did his best to try to rally the troops in the third quarter. But because of Cleveland's much bigger frontcourt, he only grabbed two rebounds. And second, Randy Foye scored 18 points in 29 minutes off the bench. Foye mainly hit jumpers but was still a very solid 8-12 from the field. That was about it. Oh, and Earl Boykins had 10 points and six assists, so that's something worth mentioning.

Also, for the second straight night, Caron Butler didn't do a whole lot. Sure, he was matched up against LeBron James, but you'd think that with Arenas out, he'd try to assert himself more on the offensive end. Instead, Butler took only nine shots, making three of them, and scored just eight points. He also had four rebounds, three assists, and a steal, but that was it. Memo to Butler: With Arenas out, you're going to have to pick things up. Where's Tough Juice when you need him?

Again, this game's result wasn't surprising. How many teams could deal with the Arenas controversy and still be able to hang with the Cavs, one of the NBA's best, on the road? The Wizards played hard; they were just overmatched from the beginning.

Wizards hold on to defeat Bucks

Playing in the second game of a back-to-back, the Wizards survived some solid performances from unlikely players on the Bucks and held on late for a 104-102 win at home.

Despite holding Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut to 25 points and a combined (and inefficient) 11-35 from the field, the Wizards allowed starter Charlie Bell and bench players Hakim Warrick and Luke Ridnour to almost score at will. Bell finished with 15 points on 6-11 shooting, while Warrick and Ridnour each had 20 points -- Warrick's on 6-9 shooting (and an 8-8 mark from the free throw line) and Ridnour's on 9-16 shooting. If that wasn't enough, the Wizards also turned the ball over 17 times; the Bucks only had nine turnovers.

Three things saved Washington in this game: strong rebounding, good shooting, and an ability to get to the free throw line more than Milwaukee.

Rebounding: The Wizards outrebounded the Bucks 42-36, and Brendan Haywood led the team with 14 boards. Haywood also managed to keep Bogut off the glass -- he only had seven rebounds in 39 minutes.

Shooting: The Bucks made nine three-pointers, six more than the Wizards, but Washington shot better from the field -- 54.3 percent to 44.2 percent. Gilbert Arenas had a team-high 22 points, but he only made 10 of 24 shots. Nick Young was right behind him with 21 (on 7-12 shooting). Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler each chipped in 15 points.

Free throws: While the Bucks shot just 12 free throws, the Wizards shot 34, though they only made 25 of them. Butler and Earl Boykins each got to the line 10 times.

Some leftover thoughts/concerns on this game:

- I'm impressed with Young. He turned the ball over five times last night, which is too much, but he shot well from the field and seems to play well with the other starters. I wasn't sure if he'd be able to bounce back from not playing much to start the season, but he worked hard and is certainly contributing right now. I'm not sure if Randy Foye is completely healthy or not, but Young's recent play and the presence of Earl Boykins have really cut into Foye's minutes. Last night, Foye played only five minutes and didn't score a point.

- Speaking of Boykins, why exactly is he the one making plays in crunch time? Don't get me wrong, that late-game pass to Haywood for a dunk and his pump fake to get fouled with only a second or so left to win the game were both great plays, but where is Arenas in those situations? Even though things worked out this time, it's frustrating to see Arenas in the game without the ball in his hands. I never thought I'd see a crucial play late in a game where a healthy Arenas isn't the one with the ball. Arenas seems to have no problem deferring to Boykins -- but in the long run, is that a good thing?

- What was Flip Saunders's (or the rest of the coaching staff's) reasoning behind not making Boykins miss that final free throw? With that made free throw, the Bucks were able to move the ball all the way up the court and at least have a chance to win the game. Obviously the Bucks missed the shot, so it's not a big deal, but the Wizards haven't exactly been awesome when it comes to stopping plays like that. Just an odd move.

Anyway, the Wizards get a win and move to 7-10 on the season. Next up: Toronto at home on Friday.

Tuesday morning links

A lot has been going on lately, especially with some apparent chemistry issues with the Wizards. Let's get to it:

• According to Michael Lee, Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler talked on the phone and have "resolved their differences." Butler also had this to say:
  

  
  "It's crazy, losing and everything. Man, it's tough," he said, "but in the midst of all of this, we've got to remain positive. That's all you can do. That's what I'm going to do. You got to find the silver lining in every situation. Collectively, we got to find a way to win games and work hard in practice. We'll see what happens."
  

  
  I really hope there aren't any serious problems between Arenas and Butler, but it's certainly possible. Teammates don't always get along with each other, but they do need to be able to play together and share the ball. And if it isn't obvious by now, the Wizards really, really need a win against the Sixers tonight. [Wizards Insider]


• Not surprisingly, the Wizards are again battling some injuries. Mike Miller is out three to six weeks with a strained calf, and Butler will be a game-time decision tonight with a sore right ankle. [Bullets Forever]


• Losing Miller really hurt the Wizards' offense. [Bullets Forever]


• What exactly is going on with Nick Young? With Miller out, this may be Young's time to shine (or at least get on the court some more). [Truth About It]


• These next two links are about a week old, but they're still worth linking to. Erik Manning of FanGraphs, using statistics from Baseball Prospectus, notes the best and worst baserunning teams. The Orioles finished last with a mark of -15 runs (which cost them maybe a win). [FanGraphs]


• In terms of individual baserunning, Melvin Mora finished tied with Jorge Posada for last place (-8 runs). It's not surprising at all to see Mora listed last; he really is a bad baserunner. Again, it's not really a huge deal, but it's certainly worth mentioning. [FanGraphs]


• Brad Bergesen is feeling much better and is able to run now. [School of Roch]


• Curious about the O's top prospects? Here's a top 13 list. [Camden Crazies]


• After tearing his ACL and MCL in the early stages of Sunday's loss to the Cowboys, Ladell Betts will miss the rest of this season and has some difficult rehab work awaiting him. But Betts is ready for the challenge: "My mindset is that I'm on the road to recovery. It's part of the game and it's part of the business. It's why we get paid the money we do, because we put our bodies in harm's way and at risk, so it comes with the territory. It's just one of the unfortunate parts of being a football player." [Redskins Insider]


• With Betts out and Clinton Portis still dealing with post-concussion issues, Rock Cartwright took advantage of the opportunity and had a great game in Dallas. He'll get the chance to be the main ball-carrier this week as well. [Mike Wise]


• With Betts, Chad Rinehart, and Eddie Williams all being placed on injured reserve, the Redskins have signed two players: running back (and familiar face) Marcus Mason and offensive guard Paul Fanaika. The third spot should be filled at some point later in the week. [Redskins Blog]

Wizards fall to Thunder, 127-108

First off, one quick thought: "Thunder" is a horrible team name. That's not anything particularly enlightening, but it just doesn't sound right. Then again, maybe Wizards doesn't either.

Now, here are some game thoughts:

• Even though the Wizards were outscored in every quarter and never held the lead, this really was a game of runs. Almost every time the Wizards tied the score or cut into the lead, the Thunder answered on the offensive end. A lot of that is bad defense by the Wizards, but Oklahoma City deserves some credit for staying poised.


• For the most part, the "Big Four" got theirs: Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, and Brendan Haywood scored a combined 83 points. Arenas had 23 points and eight assists, Jamison had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Butler scored 24 points (with four rebounds and four assists), and Haywood scored 14 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.


• Mike Miller, the fifth starter, somehow played 35 minutes despite being in obvious pain with a shoulder injury. He had a decent all-around game, but he still scored just five points and accumulated just two rebounds and two assists -- plus he took only four shots. I respect Miller's toughness, no question, but if he's not healthy, he shouldn't be on the floor.


• Unfortunately, the bench didn't play particularly well in this game. The starters played big minutes -- all were on the floor for at least 35 minutes -- so there weren't a whole lot of minutes to go around. Still, Earl Boykins got a bench-high 17 minutes (more on Boykins below), Andray Blatche played 15, and DeShawn Stevenson and Randy Foye each had 12. Blatche was relatively ineffective, scoring only six points and taking a few ill-advised jump shots instead of knocking down open ones like in previous games. Blatche shot fine (3-7 from the field), but he only grabbed one rebound and had a lazy turnover in the second half that looked like the old Blatche (dribbling behind his back in traffic for no apparent reason). Foye only took two shots and scored one point; is his ankle still bothering him?


• What exactly is Boykins's role? Is he the backup point guard? I guess he is, and for the most part, I don't have a problem with that. Boykins played the entire fourth quarter and took all seven of his shots then (making five), scoring 11 points. But when Boykins is in the game, he has the ball a ton and dribbles a lot, which means Arenas doesn't have the ball. At least for right now, I'm not a huge fan of the Boykins-Arenas backcourt.


• To be blunt, the defense was terrible. Before this game, the Wizards allowed their opponents to shoot 44 percent from the field -- ninth-best in the league. Last night, Oklahoma City shot 53 percent from the field and 52.4 percent (11-21) from the three-point line. Kevin Durant was unstoppable, scoring 35 points by repeatedly slashing into the lane. Rookie James Harden was almost just as good, scoring 25 points (with four three-pointers) in 26 minutes.


• Turnovers were a problem again last night. In the win over the Cavs, the Wiz turned the ball over only 12 times, yet last night they returned to form, giving the ball away 20 times. Through 11 games, the Wizards are tied for ninth in turnovers per game (15.2). Also, Arenas is averaging a league-high 4.1 turnovers per game.

Obviously this wasn't a particularly well-played game for the Wizards, but they were still in the game until Oklahoma City's big run in the fourth quarter. There's still a lot to work on, but hopefully the awful defense in this game doesn't become routine.

Next up for the Wiz: At San Antonio

Wizards lose to Heat; Miller injured

After starting out Wednesday night's game against the Miami Heat the exact opposite way they began the previous night against the Cavs -- getting behind early and playing horribly instead of jumping out to a huge lead -- the Wizards looked like they'd pull out a win this time even though they had trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half. But with the game tied at 89 and less than one minute to go, DeShawn Stevenson stepped to the free throw line with the chance to put the Wizards ahead -- and bricked two free throws. Stevenson was then punished for his misses when Dwyane Wade hit a 21-foot jumper right in his face that put the Heat up for good. Gilbert Arenas had a couple of chances to tie or get another bucket (described in more detail here by Michael Lee) but couldn't, and the Wizards fell 93-89.

For the second straight night, Arenas shot poorly from the field (7-18 on Tuesday, 9-27 last night) but did lead the Wizards with 32 points. In 37 minutes, he got to the free-throw line often -- a game-high 15 times -- and made 12 of them, but he hit only two of eight three-pointers, grabbed only one rebound, and had as many assists as turnovers (three). The next highest scorer for Washington was Brendan Haywood with 16 points, followed by Caron Butler with 13, Andray Blatche with 10, and Mike Miller with eight. Randy Foye chipped in six points.

Things haven't gone the Wizards' way the last two nights, and now they will lose Mike Miller for at least a week after he sprained his left shoulder in the third quarter. Even though Miller hasn't looked for his offense much, he's been a welcome addition and a good all-around player, grabbing rebounds and moving the ball well on offense.

But Miller should eventually return and be just fine. However, there does appear to be another issue: the chemistry (or lack thereof) between Arenas and Butler. Michael Lee explains:

Until Miller and Jamison return, the Wizards face a more daunting task because Arenas and Butler don't appear to be on the same page offensively. Butler had 13 points and 10 rebounds but it was really a subpar performance that frustrated him and Arenas.

After the game, Butler said, "I know my role, it's just obviously you just adapting to the new situation and having guys back and just got to stay aggressive and always be aware, stay aggressive, don't get caught watching the show."

Arenas . . . said, "I mean, he has to shoot the open shot. You know, Caron's a rhythm player, so in the old system he had enough time to get into his 'mojo' and shoot those shots. In this system, you have to get a lot of catch and shoots, so the first initial shot he has he doesn't usually take it and then everything just closes up from there. He's just got to get used to catching and shooting."

Butler should adapt and, hopefully, start playing like the old Caron. But, whether it's the fact that he's only played in four games and appears uncomfortable in a new offense, is adjusting to the styles of some new teammates, or is still dealing with knee issues (or a combination of all three), Butler is averaging the fewest points per game (14.0) that he's scored while he's been with the Wizards. He's also taking fewer shots per game (13.3) and is shooting a lower percentage (39.6). It's also not helping that he has more turnovers (10) than assists (three).

The Wizards need Butler to step up his game, even more so now that Miller is out. It's worth noting that, right now, Blatche is second on the team in scoring with 16 points per game, followed by Butler, Haywood (12.0), Foye (11.6), and Miller (8.4).

The Wizards' next game is on Friday in Indiana against the Pacers (1-3).

Wizards fall to Hawks; Butler bruises knee

After a strong team effort in the season-opening win against the Mavericks, the Wizards jumped out to a 15-5 lead about five minutes into the first quarter against the Hawks. Caron Butler hit a three, Brendan Haywood dunked, Gilbert Arenas made a jumper, Fabricio Oberto hit a short jumper, Arenas knocked down a three, Mike Miller made a free throw, and Haywood dunked again. Arenas and Miller each had two assists, the Wizards were scoring at will and moving the ball around, and the Hawks were forced into taking jumpers on offense -- and they were missing. Sure, it was early, but the Wizards again looked solid.

Then, things turned south. The Hawks outscored the Wizards 24-9 to finish out the first quarter and led 29-24, and Atlanta never really looked back. Washington tried to close the gap, cutting the Hawks' lead to seven with about eight minutes left and again after a Gilbert Arenas three-pointer with 2:35 left in the game, but the Hawks were able to answer and prevent a comeback.

Overall, the Wizards didn't play horribly. They shot a higher percentage from the field (44.3% to 41.0%) and out-assisted the Hawks 19-18. But Atlanta outrebounded Washington 47-40, committed fewer turnovers (14-12), and shot more free throws (34-22). The Hawks also hit 31 of those 34 free throws (91.2%), which is outstanding. (For the record, Atlanta shot 73.7% from the free-throw line as a team last season, third-worst in the NBA. Funny how that works sometimes.)

More or less, the Wizards couldn't stop fouling on defense and were unable to get any kind of consistent offensive rhythm going, especially since they were already playing without Antawn Jamison -- and then Caron Butler after he suffered a bruised knee and didn't return after halftime. After an inspiring first game showcasing his all-around play, Arenas scored a game-high 23 points but failed to show those same play-making skills, turning the ball over seven times while dishing out just four assists. After Arenas, Haywood had 19 points, Andray Blatche scored 13, Randy Foye had nine, and Miller and JaVale McGee each had seven.

So was this just one of those tough games where the Wizards couldn't get things together, or is this a sign of things to come? Probably the former more so than the latter -- but we'll get the chance to find out a little more when the Wizards face the Nets tonight in their home opener.

Other game notes:

- After Miller got in early foul trouble, DeShawn Stevenson entered the game and couldn't stay out of foul trouble either. He took one shot -- and made it -- but he only played 11 minutes and still doesn't look quite right. (And if you're curious, yes, he did the I-can't-feel-my-face thing after making that shot. At this point, it's not even annoying to me -- it's just hilarious.)

- After three quick fouls sent Stevenson to the bench, Nick Young got on the floor after not playing at all against Dallas. Unfortunately, Young played horribly, missing all eight of his shots (six jumpers and two layups) and failing to get to the free-throw line. In 13 minutes, Young failed to record an assist and grabbed just one rebound. It's definitely too early to write him off or suggest that he won't get a ton of playing time, especially with the injury to Butler, but it's hard to figure out exactly what Young's role on this team is going to be.

- Why doesn't Mike Miller shoot the ball more? In 33 minutes, he took only five shots, hitting three of them. He had a strong all-around game -- 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals -- but how does Young take three more shots in 20 fewer minutes played? Shoot the ball, Mike. You're good at it.

- Blatche had a decent game (13 points, 6 rebounds, one assist, one block) following his superb performance in Dallas. He shot efficiently (5-7) and got to the free-throw line five times. Oddly enough, he had a team-worst +/- of -17 in 34 minutes. Still, I like the new-and-improved Blatche who hustles and seems to have his head on straight. Hopefully he keeps it up.

- Foye regressed a bit, shooting just 3-12 from the field. Still, he hit a three-pointer, dished out a team-high six assists, and had two rebounds.

- McGee gave the Wizards a little spark in his 10 minutes in the second half. He threw down a couple of dunks and blocked two shots.

Arenas, Wizards look impressive in season opener

Opening up the season in Dallas against a pretty good Mavericks team, the Wizards received help from both some old faces and some new ones. Gilbert Arenas scored a team-high 29 points and dished out nine assists, and Randy Foye and Andray Blatche combined for an efficient 39 points off the bench in a 102-91 win.

Even better than the win, though, is the fact that Arenas looked great. He wasn't tentative with the ball and attacked throughout the game, getting to the free-throw line nine times and slashing to set up others with good shots around the rim. He also shot an effective 10-21 from the field. If this is the Arenas that is going to come to play every night, the Wizards may indeed be ahead for a fantastic season.

Besides Arenas, Caron Butler chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds. He may have forced a few shots and didn't shoot the best percentage (6-17), but Butler seemed intent on attacking the rim, even with a talented defender like Shawn Marion hounding him for much of the game. Brendan Haywood didn't have the best offensive game (seven points on 3-10 shooting), but he played strong defense in the middle and also grabbed 10 boards. (He needs to work on that wild hook shot, though.)

With Antawn Jamison out for a few weeks, the Wizards were/are going to need other players to step up to help out the current big three of Arenas, Butler, and Haywood. Last night, Foye and Blatche did just that. Both shot a more-than-efficient 8-14 from the field and hit open jump shots throughout game, with Blatche scoring 20 points and Foye right behind him with 19. With the Mavericks trying to key on Arenas to force him to give up the ball early, it was important for others to hit open shots and move without the ball. Blatche and Foye were also the only two bench players for the Wizards to finish the game with positive +/- numbers.

With the Wizards' lead cut to 77-76 early in the fourth quarter, Blatche immediately answered with a 16-foot jumper to extend the lead to three, and Washington never looked back. Foye led the Wizards with eight points in the final frame, while Arenas scored six.

Other game notes:

- Washington outrebounded Dallas 46-42.

- The Wizards finished with 19 assists and nine turnovers.

- Fabricio Oberto and Mike Miller, who both received starting nods, combined for 11 points and only six shots from the field. Miller also grabbed eight boards.

- DeShawn Stevenson didn't score in 18 minutes but did grab five rebounds and collect three assists.

- The foursome of Dominic McGuire, JaVale McGee, Nick Young, and Mike James contributed zero points in three combined minutes, with James and Young receiving the dreaded "DNP Coach's Decision" line.

Weekly Rundown: Peña, Marko Mitchell, O's baserunning

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

• Zachariah Blott gives the current Wizards logo an F -- the only team to receive a failing grade:
  

  
  I suspect a club executive doodled this on a pad at some meeting in 1997 when the Bullets decided to change their name. There is no way this is the work of an actual artist who knows anything about aesthetically pleasing designs. Someone decided to go with curvy, so all of their logos—primary and alternative—are now made out of scythe blades. There’s no excuse for this amateur trash. Maybe it’s just tradition. The Wizards started as the Chicago Packers back in 1961, and their logo was downright pathetic.
  

  
  Ouch. [Empty the Bench]


• In case you didn't know (I didn't), Carlos Peña currently has hit more home runs (37) than singles (36). [FanGraphs]


• Kelly Dwyer lists the top 10 lottery busts of the decade. Surprisingly, Kwame Brown isn't No. 1. [Ball Don't Lie]


• Caron Butler is looking forward to an exciting season. [Washington Wizards Blog]


• Brandon Marshall at practice on Wednesday:
  
  
  
  Now that guy is a team player. The best way to get a new contract is definitely to act like a jerk in practice by punting the ball away from the ball boy. Nice going. [Larry Brown Sports]


• Defensive coordinator Greg Blache thinks Chris Wilson has "done a good job" switching from defensive end to linebacker. [Redskins Insider]


• Peter Schmuck thinks that the Orioles need to make "a legitimate run at a high-quality veteran starter either by trade or in the free agent market." [The Schmuck Stops Here]


• Marko Mitchell's new name is apparently Lanky Livingston. Confused? Don't be. Fred Smoot is involved. [D.C. Sports Bog]


• In something that needed to happen months ago, Dave Trembley and third-base coach Juan Samuel ripped the Orioles for their awful baserunning this season. The best quote(s) came from Samuel:
  

  
  "For some reason, they're not processing it," said Samuel, who has served as the Orioles' base running coach the past three seasons. "It's just a lack of concentration because they know. They are major league players or at least we think some of them are. To me, some of them are not. Some of them to me have to be thankful that expansion came because some of them wouldn't be here. Some of the stuff that you see them do is not OK. You're going to tell me that they are in the big leagues and don't know how to run the bases?"
  
  . . . "It has never bothered me to take criticism," said Samuel, who stole 396 bases and was a three-time All-Star during his 16-year career in the big leagues. "I'm man enough to do it. If they don't want to make the players accountable, then I'm going to be accountable. But to me, players need to be accountable. If you make a mistake, you need to take responsibility for your mistake. You have to do it. That's why you see teams that are up here [in the standings] and teams that are down here, because they don't want to be accountable. It's always somebody else's [fault], and that's a problem."
  

  
  For the most part, I agree with him. Poor baserunning can definitely be attributed to a lack of concentration, or just not caring enough about it. Several O's make some terrible mistakes on the bases, though I wouldn't say that they don't deserve to be in the majors because of it. On the basepaths, most O's runners don't get great primary and secondary leads, don't take the extra base, and take chances when they shouldn't and give up outs. Apparently the O's worked hard on baserunning in spring training, but they need to do it again. [Baltimore Sun]


• SI's Chris Mannix ranks the Wizards eighth. [Sports Illustrated]


• According to DeAngelo Hall, he dominated J.J. Redick in high school. [D.C. Sports Bog]

Butler to Pech: 'I'm just a phone call or a text away'

I'm sure you're aware that Oleksiy Pecherov was part of the Wiz-T'Wolves trade that allowed the Wizards to acquire Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

What you might not have known is that Caron Butler is pretty close to "Stewie" and considers him to be a friend:

"Obviously he's one of my young boys," Butler said. "Having him come over here at a young age, having to teach him to be a pro, teaching him about this league on and off the court, coaching him and learning him and then losing him, it's tough. That's the nature of the business. But that doesn't stop our friendship. You see us out here together. If he ever needs anything, I'm just a phone call or a text away."

Well that sure was a nice thing for Butler to say; there's nothing "Tuff Juice" about that.

As for Pecherov's take, when he was asked about the trade, he seemed excited to take on his new challenge: "Hopefully I'm gonna stay healthy and I'm gonna get opportunity and chance to prove everyone I can really play in this league."

Good luck, Stewie. Get those buckets, son!

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Quick hitters: Orioles, Wizards win; Devin Thomas is strange

-- Melvin Mora knocked in three runs, and Mark Hendrickson allowed one run on six hits in five and one-third innings in his Orioles' debut as the O's beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4. The bullpen struggled a bit again, with Jim Johnson allowing two runs and George Sherrill giving up a solo home run to Dioner Navarro in the ninth, but Sherrill was still able to record three outs for his second save. Evan Longoria hit two homers and had three runs batted in.

-- In a rather meaningless game against the Toronto Raptors, the Wizards and Caron Butler managed to make the contest a little more exciting than it probably should have been. With time ticking away and the scored tied at 98 apiece, Butler went to work:



What a great play; Butler completely lost Shawn Marion with that move. But I feel like I've seen that before somewhere. Oh yeah, right here. The Wizards are now 19-61 and have two more games left to get to 20 wins (if they want to).

-- The Washington Redskins' rookie receiving trio of Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, and Fred Davis didn't exactly have a great first season in 2008-2009. In fact, all three receivers combined caught 21 passes for 165 yards and no touchdowns. Thomas did manage to rush three times for 53 yards and a touchdown -- hooray!

According to Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog, Devin "Showtime" Thomas now has his own blog. His first blog entry, entitled "Party Mix On My Shoulder," included this gem:

I’ve always had people doubting me. Do I play with a chip on my shoulder?

I’ve got a party mix of chips on my shoulder.

I wear number 11 on my jersey because I was 11 years old when I first knew that football was my thing, but also because 11th was where I thought I was going to go in the draft to Buffalo. There were very strong indications through the Bills and the media that I would go No. 11 to Buffalo and I had a real good feeling that was where I was going to go.

It didn’t happen and I stayed around into the 2nd round. Now I do what I’ve got to do to prove that I could have and should have been a 1st rounder.

Mr. Irrelevant wrote about Thomas's odd take on the phrase "chip on my shoulder" yesterday. I'm glad that Thomas is so confident -- "But I don’t need to look at my number for motivation. When it says Thomas on my jersey, that means it’s Showtime, time to do what I have to do." -- but hopefully he finds enough motivation to play much better next season. I'm not going to write him off just yet, but it would be nice to see some of that "Showtime" on the field.

-- Tim Kurkjian wrote a glowing article on the rapid progress made by Orioles' center fielder Adam Jones. My favorite part has to be this passage:

A lot of young players today aren't interested in doing that. Many of them are so spectacularly talented they don't feel the need to learn. Not Jones.

"[Former Mariners outfielder] Jay Buhner came up to me my first spring and said, 'Shut up and listen,' then he walked out of the room," Jones said. "John [Shelby] had nine years in the big leagues. Crow [hitting coach Terry Crowley] has been in baseball for like 50 years. They had finished good careers before I was even born. Why not listen? I'm a sponge for these coaches."

That Jay Buhner -- always one to dish out wisdom to young baseball players.

Through four games, Jones is doing very well. He's 6-14 with three doubles, one triple, six runs, and three runs batted in out of the second slot in the lineup.

Wizards have a few bright spots

There aren't many positive things to look at when a team is 3-13 like the Wizards are, but the team has actually shown signs of improvement over the last few weeks -- even if it's only brought wins over the Warriors and Nets. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler are both producing; Jamison (20.9 points, 9.3 rebounds) is putting up solid numbers and shooting 49.8 percent from the field, and Butler (21.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists) is scoring a point better per game through 16 games this season. But both Jamison and Butler are expected to produce, so that's really no surprise.

The biggest surprise, though, has been rookie JaVale McGee. Many figured McGee was either a poor pick by the Wizards or at least a project who would take a few years to develop. Instead, McGee supplanted Etan Thomas in the starting lineup after only a handful of games and hasn't looked back. By no means is McGee done improving, but he's given the Wizards a lot more than just about anyone expected.

Out of all rookies, McGee currently ranks 19th in minutes per game (19.4), 15th in points (8.1), 16th in field goal percentage (48.6), ninth in rebounding (5.2), and fourth in blocks (1.2) -- not bad for a guy who many thought would sit the bench for the entire season.

Besides McGee's hustle and energy, the best thing about him is that he obviously has so much room to improve. Most of his buckets right now come off of alley oops or dunks on fast breaks. Wizards' fans can only imagine what will happen when he starts to develop both his offensive and defensive games. McGee, who turns 21 in January, could be the center the Wizards need to compliment Haywood when he returns.

Four other young players on the Wizards have also shown their potential: Nick Young (23), Andray Blatche (22), Dominic McGuire (23), and Dee Brown (24).

Young, in his second season, is scoring 11.8 points per game, 4.3 more than last season, and he's shooting 46.7 percent from the field. Out of all NBA Sophomores, Young ranks eighth in points and 14th in efficiency. Even though he comes off of the bench, Young is third on the Wizards in scoring. If DeShawn Stevenson continues to shoot 32.9 percent from the field, Young's minutes should increase, especially in crunch time.

This season, which happens to be Blatche's fourth, may be the one where Blatche finally starts to realize his role in the league. His numbers so far this season aren't really better than last year's -- 8.0 points per game compared to 7.5 last season -- but he's also playing about three fewer minutes per game. McGee's emergence has taken some of those minutes away from Blatche, but so has Blatche's own failure to significantly improve his conditioning.

Just by watching Wizards' games, fans can see that Blatche has been hustling a bit more and taking better shots. He still settles for his jumper a little too often and usually commits one boneheaded turnover per game, but his +/- number of +15 is third-best on the team.

McGuire and Brown have also performed well. McGuire, who is arguably the team's best defensive player besides Haywood, averages only 10 minutes per game, but his presence is usually felt through his perimeter defense and rebounding ability. McGuire will never be a scorer in the NBA, but he can be someone used to give Butler the occasional breather and to help get key stops late in games or at the end of quarters, which the Wizards struggle doing. And Brown, who was forced into the starting point guard role because of the poor play of Juan Dixon and an injury to Antonio Daniels, has looked much more comfortable over the last few games. Averaging 2.4 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game, Brown isn't going to scare anyone offensively. But he has caused some turnovers with his defense and given the Wizards a few baskets on fast break situations.

As much as I admire Daniels (4.8 points, 3.6 assists, 1.7 rebounds, 22 minutes) and his leadership on the floor, if he's not healthy or able to keep point guards in front of him on defense, Brown may be the best option for backup point guard whenever Gilbert Arenas returns to the lineup this season.

One more thing: I'm tired of seeing the veterans get priority over the younger players in the fourth quarter. While Arenas was out last year, playing Daniels and Stevenson together in the backcourt in crunch time was fine because they both played defense and helped get a few stops. Now, neither is really playing much defense, and the team is suffering. A key example was the team's last game against Portland. Brown had a solid first half, but he barely played at all in the second half while Daniels was getting torched on key plays by Steve Blake, a pass-first point guard. For some reason, Brown, who finished the game with a +3 differential, played four fewer minutes than Daniels, who finished -14 from the game. The Wizards are -52 for the season in the first quarter and -30 in the fourth quarter, and a big reason for that is the poor play by Stevenson. It's not surprising that not only are the Wizards +23 in the second quarter when more substitutions are made, but also that the Wizards played possibly their most complete game of the season against New Jersey on Tuesday when Stevenson was actually making his open threes -- imagine that.

I guess I just can't understand how or why Stevenson gets 29 minutes per game.

Blatche shows potential in Wizards win over Warriors

Playing at home against the Golden State Warriors, the Wizards, under interim head coach Ed Tapscott, looked more like a 10-1 team instead of a 1-10 team as they defeated the Warriors 124-100.

The Wizards filled the stat sheet as they dominated from the very beginning. As a team, the Wiz shot over 50 percent from the field, hit 40 percent of their three-pointers, outrebounded the Warriors 54-40 (including 23 offensive rebounds), and tallied 27 assists, 12 steals, and 9 blocks. The defense, which seemed much more active, limited the Warriors to 6 three-pointers made (30 percent) and forced 20 turnovers.

Individual numbers were just as impressive. Caron Butler was the game's high scorer with 35 points; he also finished with 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Jamison scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Rookie JaVale McGee started the game off strong with an alley oop from DeShawn Stevenson immediately following the opening tip-off, and he finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds.

But the most shocking and welcomed performance was by Andray Blatche. In 29 minutes on the floor, a season high, Blatche looked comfortable on both offense and defense. In his most complete game as a Wizard, he finished with 25 points (11-18), 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. He only committed 1 turnover and played some strong minutes alongside McGee.

Jamison noticed a change in Blatche's production. "Maybe for him the biggest key is a new voice," he said, "a different voice in the locker room." Either way, Blatche looked like a completely different player.

Did the Wizards play with more energy because of some anger or frustration over the firing of Eddie Jordan? Probably. Did playing against the Warriors, a team that is allowing the second-most points per game this season (106.1), aid a rather stagnant offense? I'm sure it did. But the Wizards still played their best game of this still-young season, and Tapscott gave plenty of minutes to the young guys: McGee (20 minutes), Blatche (29 minutes), Young (22 minutes), and McGuire (17 minutes). McGuire's 17 minutes, a season high for him as well, came as a shock, but he didn't disappoint. He's not an offensive force by any means (2 points), but he did hustle on defense and managed to grab 5 rebounds and also finished with 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Tapscott also kept Thomas on the bench, which is where he should be unless McGee or Blatche gets in foul trouble or is injured. Thomas has played hard this season, but the Wizards just play better when he's not in the lineup. (For proof, check out his -29.9 Net48 total, the lowest on the team, on 82games here.) Tapscott also refused to play Songaila at center, another strong indication of how he will handle bench players' minutes.

The Wizards have two tough games coming up against the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks, so hopefully Tapscott sticks to his guns and continues to hand out minutes to the young players, which he should do even if the Wizards don't play as well as they did yesterday.

LeBron 'absolutely' thinks Yankees will land Sabathia

I'm not really sure why this is an MLB headline on ESPN.com, but apparently LeBron James, a huge Yankees fan, is positive that CC Sabathia will eventually sign with the Yankees.

"Asked before Cleveland's game against Utah on Saturday night if he thought the Yankees would win the Sabathia sweepstakes, James smiled and said, 'We're gonna get him. Absolutely.'"

No word on whether Caron Butler thinks the Nationals have a shot at Mark Teixeira or not.

Another 0-5 start for the Wizards

For the second consecutive year, the Wizards have started the season with five losses in a row. Last year, the losses came to the Pacers, Celtics, Magic, Nets, and Nuggets; this year, the losses have been to the Nets (2-3), Pistons (4-1), Bucks (3-4), Knicks (4-2), and Magic (4-2). While it’s way too early in the season to take a lot out of opposing teams’ records, the Nets, Bucks, and Knicks, a combined 83-163 last season, all appear to be at least somewhat improved this season. But that’s a completely different angle altogether, and it doesn’t matter who you play; it matters if you win -- and the Wizards haven’t done that yet.

Except for the most recent loss to the Magic, the games have been competitive, and the Wizards could have earned a victory if they made a few more plays in crunch time. Unfortunately, they didn’t and now face the possibility of a horrific 0-6 start when the Jazz (5-1) come to Washington on Wednesday.

Believe it or not, I had the exact same idea for a Wizards write-up as Bullets Forever, a great read by the way, with "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" theme, but they beat me to it. So I’ll just go with some good and bad news; obviously the bad outweighs the good.

Good News:

Nick Young: Young (16.6) is third on the Wizards in scoring behind Butler (20.2) and Jamison (17.6) despite coming off of the bench and playing fewer minutes. Young has been one of the team’s best offensive weapons and is basically taking over Arenas’s role as one of the "Big 3" scorers. Though he doesn’t add much in terms of rebounds, assists, or defense, Young has been limiting his turnovers to 1.4 per game and seems to be better conditioned. Remember, Young is just 23 years old and this is only his second season. He appears to be developing into a very formidable scorer who can give the team a spark at any moment.

JaVale McGee: Yes, it’s extremely early, but McGee is fifth on the Wizards in scoring with 7.5 points per game. Fair or not, McGee is basically doing what every Wizards fan wants Andray Blatche to do: hustling up and down the court, blocking shots, playing hard, throwing down dunks, and showing progress with each court appearance (no pun intended). In a little over 17 minutes per game, McGee is also grabbing 5.8 rebounds and blocking 1 shot. If he keeps it up, he could easily find himself starting at center in the next few games/weeks.

Juan Dixon: To illustrate just how bad the Wizards’ point guard situation is, Dixon, a jump-shooter who isn’t really known for his ball-handling ability, started at the one against the Magic. Dixon, though, has played surprisingly well and has teamed with Young to form the best backcourt combination for the Wizards in the first several games. Dixon is averaging 5.8 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 rebounds and has a 10.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. With Antonio Daniels battling a knee injury, Dixon may earn the bulk of the point guard minutes until Daniels is healthy or Arenas returns to action.

Bad News:

Andray Blatche: I mentioned his name before, and his case is very frustrating. Blatche seems to possess all of the physical tools to excel on the court, but he just hasn’t done so. For every solid stretch of play that Blatche has, he seems to have just as many boneheaded plays and careless turnovers. He seems to forget that he’s not a 3-point shooter and often settles for jumpers instead of drawing contact and trying to get to the free-throw line. Haywood’s absence in the lineup should provide Blatche with an outstanding opportunity to play more minutes and prove to Eddie Jordan that he’s improving, but he’s actually averaging 2 minutes fewer per game so far because of his inconsistent play. Make no mistake about it: Blatche still has plenty of games to showcase his talent. It would just be nice for the Wizards if he would do so sooner rather than later. Also, giving up easy baskets to Kwame Brown, of all players, doesn’t exactly help his case.

Defense: As in, the Wizards barely play any defense. The Wizards are currently ranked last (30th) in the NBA in points allowed (108.8) and are tied for 19th in defending 3-pointers (36%). The Wizards also allow 18 assists per game to opposing offenses, the most in the league. Last year, the Wizards gave up 99.2 points per game (12th in the NBA): 9.6 fewer than this season. Haywood’s absence is certainly a big reason for a few more points being given up per game, but that is no excuse for poor defensive rotations and the knack for allowing so many wide open 3-point shooters.

Free throws: The Wizards are 26th in the NBA in free-throw shooting (70.6%). Last year, the Wizards made 78.2% of their free throws, good enough for 5th in the league. Because the Wizards play so many close games, they obvoiusly need to make their free throws; if they had made more, they may have won a game or two by now. Daniels, a career 79.2% from the free-throw line, is shooting 66.7%. Butler, who shot over 90% from the line last year and is a career 85% free-throw shooter, is hitting just 76.5% of his shots from the charity stripe. These free throws percentages need to improve if the Wizards are going to pull out some close games.

Fans’ increased grumblings of Eddie Jordan: I’m a supporter of Jordan, but I fear that if the Wizards continue to play so poorly, he will lose his job. While I don’t think that would be the worst decision in the world, I also don’t think he’s responsible for the awful start.

I do, however, blame Jordan for the loss to the Bucks; he failed to play his best lineup that night (Dixon, Young, Butler, Jamison, Blatche/McGee) down the stretch and instead went with Daniels, Stevenson, Butler, Jamison, and Songaila. Leading 89-76 with 7:16 left in the game, Jordan substituted Daniels and Stevenson into the game for Young and Dixon. While the Wizards had several opportunities to make shots and get stops, they didn’t and the game was tied at the 1:15 mark. The Wizards then went on to lose in overtime. After that game, Jordan played Dixon 28 minutes against the Knicks and 23 minutes against the Magic, and Young received 30 minutes in both games, so Jordan is showing some flexibility as he searches for some kind of answer to get the Wizards a win. Then again, with Arenas and Haywood out for a while, he doesn’t have many options to turn to. Unless, of course, you think Oleksiy Pecherov is the answer.

Next 5 games:

11/12 Utah
11/14 at Miami
11/18 Miami
11/19 at Atlanta
11/21 Houston