Wizards Insider

It's one thing for the Wizards (5-10) to have a losing record after the first month of the season. It's another thing that the Wizards have been hammered in almost all of their losses this season. They have lost eight games by double digits this season, with the last embarrassment coming at home against Charlotte -- a team that arrived at Verizon Center with zero road wins.

But the Bobcats made themselves feel right at home on Saturday night, as they never trailed and built a 24-point lead in the second half. A loss like that -- especially after the team had played so well the night before in Miami -- should seriously hurt. And, for some players, I'm sure it did. It was just a little shocking to enter the locker room and see Nick Young playfully arguing with Gilbert Arenas over a shipment of Louis Vuitton shoes near Arenas's locker stall. After a game like that?

I know it's early in the season, but you figure some things can wait.

Flip Saunders took responsibility for the loss, claiming that he must not be doing something right if his team follows up a brilliant performance in Miami with an absolute stinker. Saunders played all 12 players on his roster, trying odd combinations, to see what would work. Nothing did. In the third quarter, Saunders had a lineup that featured Earl Boykins, Fabricio Oberto, Dominic McGuire, Caron Butler and Andray Blatche -- just the group he surely envisioned having to call on to bail out the team when it fell behind by 22 points in the third period.

"I wasn't good tonight, because when you fall behind like that, you start searching and you're trying to throw all people out there on the floor. We couldn't get anything to sustain," Saunders said. "You can't mess with the basketball gods. If you don't play hard it gets you in the end."

But Saunders really had a tough night finding anyone to give him anything. How many more nights can he expect Antawn Jamison to get zero rebounds? How many more nights can he expect Arenas to attempt zero free throws? Saunders probably won't have to worry about Jamison, but for the first time this season, he expressed some concern over Arenas, who has started to regress of late. Arenas finished with just six points and six assists and cannot figure which direction he wants to go right now -- or if he's capable of going in any direction with confidence. He's scored just 15 total points his past two games.

"What do you expect me to do? Go out there and score 30?" Arenas asked after going just 3 of 11 from the floor. "I'm not going to go out there and try to score 30 when we have a lot of offensive players here. I'll take the shots I feel are sufficient for me. Other than that, the offensive load's on everybody else."

Saunders said after the game that he hasn't held back Arenas at time this season and blamed fatigue from playing heavy minutes early in the season for Arenas's recent slump. has urged him to be aggressive, something that Arenas confirmed.

"He keeps telling me to be aggressive, but I don't know. I haven't been that guy in two years," Arenas said. "So I'm just trying to find my way that I'm comfortable again and getting the trust of the team. Right now, I don't know if these guys trust me to take 10 straight shots. I don't know if I trust myself to take 10 straight shots. So for now I just pick my spots while Nick comes along, while Caron [Butler] gets his mojo back and while waiting for Twan."

The most disconcerting part of the night, is the players couldn't agree how they lost track of everything they did well the previous two games. You could search for excuses as to why the Wizards played like their legs were stuck in cement for an entire game, but it wouldn't really explain how poorly this team looked against Charlotte.

Asked why the team lacked energy from the start, reserve forward Andray Blatche said that we needed to ask the starters. "I'm just a role player. I play my role. I do what I'm told and that's it," Blatche said. A few minutes later, DeShawn Stevenson said it was up to the bench to provide energy for the starters when coming off a tough back-to-back game.

Caron Butler was asked if there was a need for a greater sense urgency for this team and replied, "The last three games, we won two games. I'll take that, and let's start another streak."

Jamison said the team should want more. "The question at hand is, are we going to sacrifice? Are we going to be focused enough to do this night in and night out. Not just big games or when our back is really against the wall. How do we handle success, when we win two or three in a row? Do we do the necessary hard work that we need to do to take it to five or six? Or are we going to be satisfied with the up-and-down play? I don't think we're going to be satisfied at all."

They certainly can't be satisfied now.

Wizards starters: Gilbert Arenas, Nick Young, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood

Bobcats: Raymond Felton, Stephen Jackson, Tyson Chandler, Boris Diaw, Gerald Wallace

Line: Wizards by 4

This is a matchup of two teams that are trying to bounce back from early season slumps. The Bobcats have won three in a row after losing seven consecutive games, while the Wizards have won two in a row after losing eight of nine. The Wizards have not won three games in a row since April 2008.

Antawn Jamison had his fourth double-double of the season last night in Miami. He joins Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace as the only players in the NBA to record four double-doubles in their first five games.

A night after getting first win against Dwyane Wade, Gilbert Arenas will meet with Gerald Wallace for the first time since their infamous collision on April 4, 2007. Wallace said last season that he still doesn't recall falling on Arenas's knee, but it will be interesting how Arenas responds tonight, after scoring a season-low nine points against the Heat.

Arenas has been slumping from beyond the three-point line of late. He missed both of his three-point attempts in Miami and is 3 for 22 (13.6 percent) over the last five games after going 20 of 45 (44 percent) in his first nine.

Earl Boykins will face the last NBA team he played for before joining the Wizards, but he said it won't be anything special. "I don't carry any animosity," said Boykins, who averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 assists. "It's a regular game to me. Another divison game. it's going to be important that we bring the same energy we did [in Miami]."

Boykins is averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 assists in six games with the Wizards. He has 10 points and nine assists in just under 21 minutes against the Heat, which is the most assists by a Wizard off the bench since Juan Dixon had 11 assists on Nov. 7, 2008.

The Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly considering bringing back Allen Iverson nearly four years after they traded him to the Denver Nuggets. Charlotte Coach Larry Brown said that despite his tumultous departure from the 76ers, there is no better place for the former Georgetown standout, league's most valuable player and 10-time all-star to be.

"The thing in the past -- that's over. You're getting a guy who's motivated, who's always been an unbelievable competitor," said Brown, who coached Iverson for six seasons in Philadelphia. "I don't think deep down he ever wanted to leave Philly. He's said, deep down, numerous times that's where he wanted to finish his career. Let's hope he has an opportunity to come back. If it's not Philly, somebody will pick him up. I'm confident of that."

It's been a while since we've seen each other, Gilbert. (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

The two hottest teams in the Southeast Division -- believe it or not, it's true -- will meet at Verizon Center tonight. Like the Washington Wizards, the Charlotte Bobcats started the season at 3-9, but they arrive having won their past three games.

They have been steamrolling the competition of late, defeating Indiana by 16 and Toronto by 35. Charlotte is coming off its most impressive win of the season as the Bobcats defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 94-87, on Friday after taking a 24-point lead in the second half. Here's what else you need to know about the Bobcats:

1. Gerald Wallace is balling. Wallace has a major catalyst for the Bobcats' success of late. He has averaged 31 points and 13.5 rebounds in the past two wins over Cleveland and Toronto, which was the biggest rout in franchise history. The reason for his improved play? Taunts from Michael Jordan. This will be the first time that Wallace has faced Gilbert Arenas since he crashed into his left knee on April 4, 2007.

2. After forcing his way out of Golden State, Stephen Jackson is fitting in just fine in Charlotte. In his sixth game with the Bobcats, Jackson had 17 points against the Cavaliers. He's averaged 18.5 points for Charlotte.

3. Charlotte Coach Larry Brown is trying to convince Allen Iverson not to retire. Brown, who guided Iverson through his prime in Philadelphia, just hasn't pushed to put him in a Bobcats uniform -- yet.

The Wizards kept it going on Friday, and Michael Lee was on hand for their 94-84 victory over the Heat in Miami. Antawn Jamison, who missed the Wizards' first two games against Miami, proved to be the missing ingredient, with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Nick Young also stood out, with 22 points. Mr. Lee covers all of this in his postgame thoughts.

Here is the game story from Mike Jones in The Washington Times and the game story by The Miami Herald, which correctly pointed out that Dwyane Wade went 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter and was outscored by Young.

Highlights courtesy of NBA.com after the jump:

Just scrolling down the box score from Friday's game, a few things stand out. First, Nick Young had more shot attempts (23) than Antawn Jamison (20) and Dwyane Wade (19) and Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler combined (16). Second, Wade only attempted seven free throws. And third, the Wizards had 23 assists and 12 turnovers.

From those numbers, it's pretty easy to glean how the Wizards (5-9) snapped a six-game losing streak to the Miami Heat, including the past four in Miami, and won consecutive games for just the first time since Feb. 20.

That time on the shelf, and not suiting up at all against the San Antonio Spurs has provided the necessary jolt to Young -- especially with the team counting on him to deliver with Mike Miller out with a strained right calf, Butler easing himself back while nursing a sore right ankle, and Arenas admitting that he has yet to fully regain his rhythm after missing so much time the past two seasons.

Young was back to dusting himself off, as he scored a season-high 22 points and handing out five assists. About the only thing Young didn't do well on Friday was shoot the three ball, as he missed all three of his attempts from long distance. Young said he played with "courage" on Friday, which translated to controlled aggression.

"I told him, until I get a rhythm where I can play consistent basketball, I need him to score. I need him to be aggressive. I need him Tawn and CB to be the scorers in that starting group," said Arenas, who had just nine points and five assists in 27 minutes.

But he did some smart things with the ball, especially late in the third quarter, when the Heat scored nine consecutive points and got within 63-62 when Wade made two free throws. Instead of settling for some fallaway jumper, Young responded by driving to the basket and converting a nifty reverse layup.

"Nick did another very good job," Coach Flip Saunders said. "Not only offensively, but defensively. He used his length, he got in front of him and contested every shot. Nick has made good progress this last week defensively."

Wizards starters: Gilbert Arenas, Nick Young, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood

Heat: Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, James Jones, Michael Beasley, Jermaine O'Neal

Line: Heat by 7

Caron Butler tested his sore right ankle in shootaround and is set to give it a go after missing Tuesday's game against Philadelphia. It will be just the fourth time this season that the Wizards can put Butler, Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas on the floor together.

"It helps us because we need to get our main guys to play together and get into a rhythm. It's been one of those things that either Antawn was hurt so much and we get going, and then Caron sits out," Coach Flip Saunders said. "We just need those guys to play together, because where want to get, all three are going to have to play together and play well together."

I came across an incredible statistic this afternoon. Gilbert Arenas has never defeated Dwyane Wade head-to-head in the NBA. He's 0-19, losing 15 times in the playoffs and four more times in the 2005 playoffs. Arenas hasn't had much success against the Heat in his career, winning just one game on Dec. 15, 2006. Wade sat out that game. All time, the Wizards are 10-34 in Miami.

It got lost in all of the emotion surrounding the Wizards' victory against Philadelphia on the night Abe Pollin passed, but reserve center JaVale McGee had a career-high six blocked shots in 14 minutes against the 76ers. McGee has had nine blocks in the past two games against Philadelphia and San Antonio, giving Saunders more confidence in using him earlier in games.

"He's gotten it here over the last couple of weeks. He's played with energy and he's played under control," Saunders said. "He's a play changer. Not a lot of guys you can put in this league that have the ability to change plays. he can erase mistakes that guys make around the basket that guys make defensively and he can do a lot of things as far as controlling the paint. He blocked Tony Parker's shot. Tony kind of looked around like, 'Where'd that guy come from?' "

McGee said he is learning the art the shot blocking, which will allow him to reject and alter more shots, without getting called for so many goaltending. "It's timing and knowing when to jump, not too early and not too late, just at the right time," McGee said. "I want to block some shots that are above the rim, and some of them will be blocks, but I feel like the refs will call it as a goal tend so I just don't even try it."

McGee said he used to study great shot blockers like Hakeem Olajuwon, but he stopped "because they were more old school. Like, they'd be there early or hands straight up, like that. I just started trying to figure it out myself."

Will the third time be the charm? The Washington Wizards lost their two first games against the Miami Heat this month, with Dwyane Wade erupting for 81 combined points and Gilbert Arenas having two games he'd rather forget.

I feel another 40 coming on. (Photo by Isaac Baldizon/Getty Images)

Arenas missed 18 of 27 shots and had three miscues in the final 25 seconds when the Wizards lost the first meeting, 93-89, on Nov. 4. And, when the Wizards went to Miami on Nov. 10, Arenas set a franchise record with 12 turnovers as they lost, 90-76. The Wizards have lost four in a row in Miami and are seeking their first win at AmericanAirlines Arena since March, 21, 2008.

After a three-game slide, the Heat has bounced back to win two in a row against New Orleans and Orlando. The Heat beat the Magic, 99-98, on Wednesday, as District native Michael Beasley got his first career game-winner as he rebounded a rare Wade airball and dunked. Here's what else you need to know about the Heat:

1. Wade, the league's leading scorer last season, is averaging 27.5 points a game this season, but he is spending more time as the primary fourth-quarter ballhandler. LeBron James and Chris Bosh have both decided to shut down talk about being free agents in 2010, but Wade is still going. This week, he mentioned a surpise possible destination --- in Orlando, with Dwight Howard.

2. The Heat will likely need to retain Wade in order to return to championship glory, but NBA.com's Shaun Powell writes that the other key is Pat Riley's persuasive words next summer.

3. Brendan Haywood and Quentin Richardson exchanged words at the end of the last meeting, but Richardson likely won't be available tonight because of back spasms. But Richardson's play had begun to taper off before his injury, opening the way for James Jones at small forward. He had 16 against Orlando on Wednesday.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

If you're looking for a break from football (or family) today, we've got some stuff here to look over. In Thursday's Post, Michael Lee takes the temperature of the team after its practice Wednesday, with Caron Butler expressing hope that Abe Pollin's death can serve as a rallying point. And in the D.C. Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg remembers the night Butler won one for Mr. Pollin.

Plenty to digest from an emotional Tuesday for the Wizards franchise. For complete coverage of the passing of owner Abe Pollin, go to this splash page. We won't link to every single story here. It's all on the splash page. Take our word for it.

From Steinberg's Bog: Agent Zero's reaction to the death of Pollin, and Daniel Snyder's reaction.

As for the game itself, the Wizards held on to beat the Sixers 108-107. Michael Lee has plenty more to say on the game in his postgame thoughts.

On a night like tonight, basketball games, locker room feuds and the return of a former coach all seemed quite trivial. Abe Pollin, the patriarch of the Washington Wizards died on Tuesday afternoon, creating an emotional and somber tone as the players were informed only a few minutes before they arrived at Verizon Center.

Pollin had close relationships with several of players, viewing many of them as his sons. Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas both spoke of the special relationships they had with Pollin. Jamison had formed a close bond with Pollin, similar, though not nearly as deep as, to the one Pollin had established with the legendary Wes Unseld. Arenas said Pollin "was like a father away from home."

Brendan Haywood, the longest tenured Wizard with nine years in the organization, recalled how when he arrived, Pollin used to run around the arena for exercise and how difficult it was to see him deteriorate the past few years.

"No question, there was a lot of emotion," Coach Flip Saunders said. "A lot of these players were really close and they know Mr. Pollin's love for the team, for the NBA and the city of D.C. it was an emotional game."

The Wizards were saddened and carried heavy hearts onto the court as they faced Eddie Jordan on the anniversary of his firing. They also were shorthanded with both Mike Miller (strained right calf) and Caron Butler (sore right ankle) sidelined because of injuries. That forced Flip Saunders to get a bit creative with his roster, as he started Nick Young at shooting guard and Jamison at small forward, with Fabricio Oberto starting at power forward.

The moves worked out well. After having participating one practice at small forward, Jamison scored a season-high 32 points with 14 rebounds and three assists, while Young scored 20 points with four rebounds. Young's performance was especially surprising since he was placed on the inactive list in San Antonio last Friday, but also because Saunders had to have him on the floor.

"It wasn't his offense, it was his defense," Saunders said. "Probably not many times that we couldn't take out Nick because he did a good job defensively. He did a very, very good job."

Young helped hold Andre Iguodala to just 12 points on 2 of 10 shooting. He also made some smart basketball plays, like when he recovered a loose ball in the third quarter and alertly called timeout before falling out of bounds.

Saunders said that going on the inactive list probably forced Young to say, " 'I got a choice. I can change myself or go along with the motions.' To his credit, our last few practices, he's probably been our best player."

But Saunders did have a problem with one aspect of Young's game -- his annoying habit of brushing his shoulders after every made basket. "He has to get rid of that flick of the shirt when he makes shots," Saunders said. "That's not why you make shots."

The Wizards led 96-82 when Brendan Haywood tip in a shot, but the Wizards could ease into the night. The 76ers made a relentless charge in the fourth quarter behind rookie Jrue Holiday and Louis Williams, who combined to make five three-pointers and score 21 points in the period. "Philadelphia is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league," Saunders said. "You wouldn't know it from the fourth quarter."

The run was aided by three Arenas turnovers in the final 5:30. After Arenas made a difficult running layup to give the Wizards a 108-105 lead, he surrendered an underhanded scoop shot to Williams, then lost the ball with 27.8 seconds left. But when Williams fired his final three-pointer, the ball rimmed out.

"Maybe Abe's spirit knocked that out," Jordan said.

Haywood wasn't buying it. "I love Mr. Pollin, but I think good defense stopped the Williams shot, so give us our credit right there."

Jamison is hopeful that the Wizards can build on this win. "It was tough for us but we knew Mr. Pollin would want us to come out here and play hard and find a way to get it done. We were fortunate to do that tonight," he said. "We didn't play smart down the stretch, with costly turnovers. Right now, we don't care if they are pretty."

But Jamison said that it would be difficult to finish a game and not hear a congratulatory call from Pollin. Arenas said his favorite memory of Pollin was how he celebrated victories. "You know, after every win he would slap the [stuffing] out of you in the face. He'd be walking around slapping everybody. I just remember the players used to come in and when he was getting ready to slap you they'd just give him the duck in."

Arenas was joking, but those days will be missed.