Wizards Insider

The Oklahoma City Thunder had the makings of a disaster at the start of last season, when it won just three of its first 32 games. But the Thunder was a second-half surprise under Coach Scott Brooks, going 20-30 the rest of the way -- including an 88-83 win over the Wizards last March -- and has continued to improve. The Thunder is already 6-6, with wins over Orlando, Miami and San Antonio and it is coming off a 108-94 loss in Orlando on Wednesday. Here's what else you need to know about the Thunder:

We don't stink anymore! (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

1. Folks in Washington already know that Kevin Durant is a budding but low-key star, but few realize that he is also in pursuit of his college degree -- so are Russell Westbrook and fellow D.C. area native Jeff Green. He ranks sixth in the NBA in scoring at 27.1 points per game - with the help of his foul line shoulder shimmy -- but after being held to a season-low 12 points against Orlando, Durant said he doesn't think he can win the scoring title.

2. Etan Thomas is back home in Oklahoma, where as a high school star in Tulsa, he was known as "Derrick," even though his given first name is Dedrick. Thomas has a new book of poetry coming out next spring, but he already is expressing himself in his blog on Hoopshype.com. He touches a range of topics, including team trainers or doctors who "consistently misdiagnose numerous players." Who could he be talking about?

3. Second-year point guard Russell Westbrook is a feisty, athletic, combo guard who wears No. 0, but he's never had the chance to play against the man who helped inspire his jersey number choice. As a matter of fact, Durant and Green have never faced Gilbert Arenas, either.

Center Brendan Haywood is having a stellar season, which has been nearly overshadowed by the Wizards' slow start. Michael Lee writes about that -- and previews the game against Etan Thomas and the Oklahoma City Thunder -- for today's newspaper. On the blog, he recounts how DeShawn Stevenson got inside LeBron James's head on Wednesday night.

Dan Steinberg examines Earl Boykins's role in the return of Agent Zero and Boykins's uncanny strength. Not to mention the fact that Gilbert tweeted last night.

At the Washington Times, Mike Jones says the team hopes the win can serve as a building block to a turnaround.

Bullets Forever's Mike Prada offers a final wrap-up of Wednesday's win over the Cavaliers.

Truth About it reminds us: Don't call it a statement.

Around the League ...

The New York Times and Newsday are reporting that the Knicks have dropped their pursuit of Allen Iverson.

Last night the Hornets beat the Suns, 110-103 and the Jazz topped the Spurs, 90-83. Here's The Daily Zap:

DeShawn Stevenson could not stop himself from grinning on Thursday, a day after he managed to sucker LeBron James into some silly quest to dominate him in the fourth quarter. Coach Flip Saunders put Stevenson on James, and the move worked out splendidly for the Wizards, as Stevenson frustrated James and the Cavaliers offense went out of whack.

"What I was trying to do was make it a one-on-one thing, so that he would forget about his teammates," Stevenson said. "He's a good player and if he gets into that mode that he's shooting all the time, it's going to be hard for them to win."

James wasn't in that mode in the first quarter, as he handed out seven of the team's 13 assists in the period, and the Cavaliers built a 10-point lead. After three quarters, James had 28 points on just 13 shots, but he appeared offended that the Wizards would put Stevenson on him in the fourth quarter. Stevenson and James have had plenty of history against each other, dating back to the time when Stevenson called the league's reigning most valuable player "overrated" in March 2008. The feud ballooned to where rappers Jay-Z and Soulja Boy got involved.

James is better than 99.9 percent of the league, if not 100 percent, so it just seemed incredibly petty that he was so focused on proving a point to Stevenson. Heck, there are several players on the Wizards who are better than Stevenson. But that singular focus to dominate Stevenson backfired. He shot just 3 of 7 with no assists and one turnover in the fourth period, and continued to attack Stevenson even as the Wizards expanded the lead to 20 points (when James entered the game with 7:45 remaining, Cleveland trailed by just nine). His last two dunks were the angry kind, built out of frustration, with a left-handed jam causing some discomfort to his wrist.

The first time they matched up, James tried to shoot a three-pointer over him and missed badly. Then he batted the ball away and James again tried to shoot another three-pointer over Stevenson -- and airballed it. Stevenson said he was still kind of amazed that the officials later gave him a blocked shot when he jumped with James and cupped the ball in mid air. He appeared to give James a little body on the play, but it was ruled a clean play and James was flustered and livid. He even picked up a technical foul in protest.

"It feels good to get a whistle," he said. "Usually, he does get those calls, it goes in his favor. Last night, we did a good job on him and played him hard. I always like playing against Cleveland. It brings out the best in the whole team."

Stevenson said he thought the bobble-arm doll -- which waved a hand over the face -- that the Wizards gave to fans last night was "pretty cool." But he did notice that the beard wasn't as bushy. "They didn't give me the shaggy," he said. "It probably cost too much money to put that on; that little chin bar."

The Wizards broke out of their month-long funk last night with a 108-91 win over their "rivals," the Cleveland Cavaliers. After the game, Michael Lee took a deeper look at the victory. Michael Wilbon warned not to draw any conclusions from one encouraging game. And Dan Steinberg took a look at LeBron's night, in pictures.

Here's Mike Jones's game story in the Washington Times, and his observations after the game.

Before the game, Wizznutzz checked in with an epic blog post that is well worth your time.

Around the League ...

Howard Beck of the New York Times reverses field. Apparently, the Knicks are interested in Allen Iverson and plan on pursuing him as soon as he becomes a free agent on Thursday.

Knicks General Manager Donnie Walsh told the New York Daily News that the Knicks are likely to pursue him, but Frank Isola writes that the Miami Heat are also "hot" after the former league MVP.

The Hawks? The best team in basketball? They are certainly the most surprising team in the league after getting out to a 10-2 start. Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes about how the Hawks have gone from worst to first in less than five years.

Want to know how you can tell that the NBA has moved on since the infamous brawl? It's been five years since Ron Artest charged into the stands in Auburn Hills, Mich., and nobody outside of Indianapolis is really talking about it. Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star recalls the biggest black eye for the NBA -- before Tim Donaghy, of course.

Reigning rookie of the year Derrick Rose is playing so poorly that he's going to do something about it. Yep, he will not go to a barber until his game is back on track. The Bulls are hoping that he doesn't start looking like Jimi Hendrix, circa 1969.

Phil Jackson offers a scathing critique of Pau Gasol's acting on "CSI:Miami" and Gasol strikes back by mocking Jackson's marvelous turn in that T-Mobile commercial. Maybe they can kiss and make up when Gasol makes his season debut tonight against Chicago.

If one thing stood out from the game tonight, it was how important it is for the Washington Wizards to have all three of their all-stars on the court. Not one. Not two. But all three. The Wizards are not like Cleveland or Miami, teams that are fortunate to have one transcendent superstar to carry them over the course of 82 games. They need that trio to compete with the other big dogs in the NBA and this win served as a friendly reminder.

Unfortunately, the Wizards have rarely been able to get those guys on the floor together, which explains why they've never won a playoff series since the so-called Big Three was formed.

Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler have struggled with their shots all season, and it was no different on Wednesday night, as Arenas and Butler combined to shoot just 12 of 38. Any other night, the Wizards probably would've succumbed to the LeBron James one-man show.

But on this night, the Wizards had Antawn Jamison to fill the gaps, and he did that and more, as he scored 31 points with 10 rebounds, keeping the Wizards competitive in the first half, until Arenas was able to wake up in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his 18 points, and Butler was able to take over the game completely in the fourth, scoring 13 of his 19 points.

Three stars were able to trump one humungous star, as the Wizards passed the scoring load off -- with cameos from Mike Miller and Earl Boykins -- and finally put an end to that miserable six-game losing streak.

"It was great having him back out there," Arenas said of Jamison, "especially for me because they can't kill on me as much because most of my pick and rolls come off Antawn and he came out stroking it. He dominated that first quarter, Mike Miller dominated in the second quarter, I dominated in the third quarter, then Earl Boykins and Caron came in and dominated the fourth. We just had a real balanced effort tonight."

The Wizards will continue to need a complete team effort, because it's obvious that Arenas is not ready to carry the team as he once did -- not yet. He is still fighting with his mind, which is telling him that he can still dominate, while his body is saying otherwise. He seemed to really get stubborn in the third quarter, when he decided that he was going to shoot himself out his funk, no matter how many missed shots it took. Coach Flip Saunders said afterward that Arenas is still trying to regain his form and that it might take a few months before he truly resembles the old Gil. Arenas admitted the same after the game.

"I see myself getting to the rim whenever I want to, I need to just say, 'I'm just going to" stop thinking so much, Arenas said. "Just little things mentally I was faster in the game. In my mind, I know Delonte West jumps every time he shoots the ball. In my mind I know that! I've watched too much gamefilm not to know that. But in the game, I see him coming, and I'm not using the pump-fake, and as soon as it gets blocked, I'm like [crap], I already knew what he was going to do. It's just getting that timing back."

Jamison said he felt fine after missing the past five weeks. He looked odd with that mummy-like padding and sleeve on his right shoulder. He said it was good to test his arm in game situations, adding that he survived the early tests, such as when Delonte West blocked one of his shots, he dove to the ground for a loose ball and he got tangled with Brendan Haywood for a rebound. But I did notice what happened the first time he crossed paths with Zydrunas Ilguaskas. If you recall, this whole thing got started when Jamison chopped down on Ilguaskas last month in Cleveland. When Jamison defended Ilguaskas on Wednesday, he quickly slapped down with his left hand.

"When I see him, that's when I think about it," Jamison said with a laugh. "It was hard to deal with because it was just a fluke play [last month]. Those are the things that are hard to explain. That's about the only time I was conscious [of the injury] and said, 'Let me use this left instead of that right.' "

Wizards starters: Gilbert Arenas, Mike Miller, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood

Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, J.J. Hickson, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Line: Cavaliers by 4.

What does it say about the Wizards that this is only the second time this calendar year that Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler, Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison played a regular season game together? That foursome defeated the Cavaliers 109-101 on April 2. The Wizards have won the past two meetings between these two teams at Verizon Center. With Jamison making his season debut, Coach Flip Saunders said the vibe around the team is different entering this game.

"I think the energy level's up," Saunders said. "There's no question, and it's a combination of when you play one of the best teams your energy level had better be up and against LeBron and those things. And then, too, I think any time you get back one of your team leaders and a guy that's not only been a very good basketball player but also very vocal for you, I think it kind of ignites you a little bit."

Saunders said the opponent also has something to do with the increased level of energy. "That's the way our league is. Any great team, great player, it brings out the enthusiasm in everybody. It's no different if it's LeBron, or Kobe comes to town with the Lakers, or Boston and those good teams, they bring that out. They bring out enthusiasm, they bring out passion. But what you have to do is sustain it because that wears off about 4 minutes into the game and then the question is what can you do from an execution standpoint."

Well, it actually is a little different with LeBron than Kobe. I don't know if Saunders is prepared for how the fans will respond to the could-be King. Shaquille O'Neal did not travel with the team because of what the team is calling a "shoulder strain."

You know it wouldn't be the Wizards if there wasn't some injury. Fabricio Oberto will miss his first game of the season because of his left hamstring. Saunders said that it was too tight for the team to risk playing him.

Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown said Antawn Jamison brings another dimension to the Wizards. "It's another all-star for those guys. He's just a different type of player for them because he really stretches the floor. He puts you out of whack defensively, because you're constantly paying attention to him. He can rebound, he can post up. he can iso. He can put the points on the board in bunches. Hes another dangerous weapon that causes problems, big problems."

This is it. Unless they meet in the playoffs, this is the only time this season that Washington Wizards fans will be able to express their love and affection for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The last time Cleveland came to Washington, the Wizards snapped the Cavaliers' 13-game win streak as they fielded a team with Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood for the only time all season.

I love you, too, D.C. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

There always seems to be good reason for the Wizards to be upset with the Cavaliers, but here is another: The Wizards' six-game losing streak began on Nov. 3 in Cleveland, when they blew an 18-point first half lead before Shaquille O'Neal knocked them over -- he clobbered DeShawn Stevenson and sent the rest of Washington's big men to the bench in foul trouble.

The Cavaliers (8-3) lost their next game against Chicago but they have won five straight since, including a 114-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. Here's what else you need to know about the Cavaliers:

1. The Wizards likely won't have to worry about seeing Shaq tonight. He has come down with something the Cavaliers are listing as a "shoulder strain" and is listed as "doubtful." They have won their past two games against Utah and Golden State without him, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Brian Windhorst offers this explanation: "He does have a shoulder injury but it is not serious. They haven't even said which shoulder it is. In fact, they haven't even issued an injury report with their highest-paid player on the sidelines. He's simply been given time off." Alrighty then.

2. J.J. Hickson has been a surprisingly efficient starter. Coach Mike Brown decided that the O'Neal/Anderson Varejao frontline wasn't working out, so he paired the more athletic Hickson with O'Neal and the team hasn't lost since he was inserted in the starting lineup against the New York Knicks on Nov. 6. In his past three games, the second-year forward is averaging 19.6 points and 5.6 rebounds. He had a career-high 21 points (on 9 of 9 shooting) with nine rebounds against Golden State on Tuesday. He'll have to come up big again with Varejao doubtful tonight with a hip contusion.

3. The problem with being LeBron James these days is that everything he says becomes a national headline and sometimes he sparks a controversy. On Tuesday, James said that he could help the Cleveland Browns win if he committed to football again. (Today, Browns Coach Eric Mangini said he would give LeBron a shot.)

Last week, James said he planned to honor Michael Jordan by switching from No. 23 to No. 6 next season. His comments infuriated Associated Press columnist Jim Litke, who said Jordan doesn't need help from LeBron.

Game day, at long last. Michael Lee checks in with Antawn Jamison, who was available to talk Tuesday, and he had plenty on his mind. Mike Jones of the Washington Times covers similar ground on the team's health front. The Wizards are actually getting healthy. Imagine that.

Mike Prada of Bullets Forever was doing some late-night number crunching (note the time stamp) in conjunction with the imminent return of Mr. Jamison.

On the other side, Cleveland played Tuesday night, eking out a home win over the Golden State Warriors, 114-108. And in case you're wondering: Shaq did not fly to Washington with the team. According to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Shaq and Anderson Varejao were expected to travel to Washington for today's game, but both were listed as doubtful. [Updated 10:08 a.m.]

Game highlights courtesy of NBA.com:

Around the League ...

Marc Stein's power rankings are out now on ESPN.com. Wizards are 24th and sinking.

Ten was supposedly enough, but what do the New Jersey Nets do about being 0-11? After losing at home to Indiana, 91-83, last night, the Nets have the worst record in the league and are off to the worst start in franchise history (for most older NBA fans, who remember the pre-Jason Kidd Nets, that REALLY is saying something). But Lawrence Frank appears to be safe, according to CBSSports' Ken Berger.

Chris Bosh didn't exactly howl like Kevin Garnett did after the Boston Celtics won the championship, but when asked about possibly pairing with Dwyane Wade next summer in Miami, the free agent-to-be told Chris Tomasson of NBA Fanhouse that "anything is possible."

All that talk about Allen Iverson going to New York? Fuggetaboutit! At least that's how Howard Beck of the New York Times sees it. He writes that Iverson could inhibit the growth of the Knicks' young players, citing the release of Stephon Marbury last season for similar concerns.

The Golden State Warriors shipped Stephen Jackson to Charlotte. Is Monta Ellis next? Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Ellis's agent, Jeff Fried, has been given permission to pursue a trade. But Ellis tells the San Francisco Chronicle that he wants to stay with the Warriors.

Just when Rashard Lewis returns, the Orlando Magic will be without Jameer Nelson for the next four to six weeks after he tore a meniscus in his left knee. Orlando might stand pat, but General Manager Otis Smith tells the Orlando Sentinel that he hasn't ruled out Allen Iverson as an option.

Here's NBA.com's Daily Zap to get you caught up on all of Tuesday night's action:

The Washington Wizards are 2-7 and Flip Saunders points out that the Dallas Mavericks had a similar record last season, but turned it around, finished the season with 50 wins and advanced to the second round of the playoffs with an upset of San Antonio.

From 2-7 to second round? Ja, we did! (AP Photo)

If you recall, Dallas had basically brought back the same team that won 51 games the season before. But they were abandoning the schemes of Avery Johnson and implementing a new program under Rick Carlisle. After starting last season 2-7, the Mavericks won their next five games against New York, Charlotte, Houston, Memphis and Indiana. They were 31-21 by the all-star break.

The Wizards' next five games are against Cleveland, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Philadelphia and Miami. So, there isn't any let-up. But they did get some encouraging signs as Randy Foye returned to practice on Tuesday, joining Antawn Jamison, who practiced for the second time this season.

The Wizards' core group is finally intact for the first time since the regular season began. "Ooh, it felt good," Foye said of the mood in practice. "You could see the bounce and the pep in everybody¹s step, like, 'Here we go. Everybody's healthy. Let's go now.' "

Jamison said he is anxious to return to action after being sidelined since Oct. 14 with a shoulder subluxation and later an illness. Asked about coming back against the Cavaliers, who have won five of their past six games, Jamison said, "You know us. We don't care who we're playing. The tougher the competition the better we play. I don't care if I was playing an AAU team or the Dream Team, we're going to go out there and play well tomorrow. Play with a lot of energy, play smart and do the things that we normally do."

Fabricio Oberto sat out the final half of practice with a left hamstring injury but said he plans to play against the Cavaliers. Saunders said the mood of the team has picked up with the return of the injured players.

"We've had a couple good days of practice and guys feel pretty well," Saunders said. "We're not a team that you would say has lost six games in a row if you're watching."

The Wizards' schedule will lighten up some in December and get quite cushy in January, when 11 of their 16 games are at home. As for the full circle nature of Jamison's return, he got injured against the Cavaliers last month, yes, but the last time Jamison, Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler started together was April 2 -- against Cleveland. The Wizards had their most impressive win of the season on that night.

Saunders had hoped that he could help the Wizards avoid thier annual November slump. After hearing about the Wizards' early-season struggles, he said he went back and did a little research. In 2005-06, the Wizards started the season 9-14 and finished with 42 wins. They were 4-9 in 2006-07 and finished with 41 wins. They lost their first five games in 2007-08 and won 43 games. And you all remember the 1-10 start last season.

"I wasn't aware of how slow they had started," he said. "You can't worry about it now. Because we've been true to form as far as what's in the past. You can only worry about what we have going forward."

The last time the Wizards advanced to the second round, though, was 2004-05 and they started the season 10-5.

Getting closer to actually playing a basketball game this week, not to mention getting closer to seeing Antawn Jamison in uniform again. Michael Lee writes that Antawn Jamison practiced with the Wizards Monday, though he didn't speak with reporters. Here's how Mike Jones of The Washington Times saw it, again without comment from Jamison.

Mike Prada of Bullets Forever delves a little deeper into Gilbert Arenas's identity crisis. Also via Bullets Forever, Hoops Addict did a Q&A with Grant Hill, which included his thoughts on Arenas's comeback from injury.

The Cavaliers will come to Verizon Center having played Tuesday night at home against the Warriors, and Shaquille O'Neal is expected to be out for that one.

Around the League...

Only three games on the schedule, but plenty of action off the court. Allen Iverson and the Memphis Grizzlies parted ways. God chose Memphis for Iverson. The Grizzlies chose to dump him after just three games . Iverson is done on Beale Street, but Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports wonders if is his career is over as well. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News writes that the Knicks might be willing to give him a shot.

Stephen Jackson got traded (which we covered in a post yesterday). The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell talked to Jackson about his escape from Golden State.