Interesting that an unconscious gunner covers a team of unconscious gunners. Who influenced whom? If the Post hired a defensive-minded beat writer, would the Wizards' defense improve?
Lately the Wizards have been hitting Jamison for spot-up threes as a trailer on the break, and he has been deadly. Kudos to whomever put that strategy in place -- it's been really effective and is very tough to stop.

I hope EJ will give more minutes to Mason and Blatche in 2nd and early 4th, so Arenas and Jamison can just take the game over in the 4th.

Hey IC, was that last snippet about KG meant to restart talks of the Jamison and a 2nd for KG trade?

I kid, I kid. Good stuff on the blog as usual. Appreciate it.

Wonder if EJ will treat this game the same as he did the one in Detroit. It will be interesting to see what he does tonight with his rotations, especially with this game being the first of a back to back set. You would think he won't stick to the six man rotation, but knowing EJ and his wacky substitution patterns, who knows...

Any interest in Brad Miller? I here he's available.

You mean Miller's single, or he can be had in a trade?

Ivan,

I saw last night that tonight's game would be on NBATV. ESPN still has that information up, but the Wizards site took it down. Do you know if it'll be aired on NBATV? It's the only way I can watch it.

Thanks.

Topeka, KS

Jan 30 Tonight
A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 13F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Jan 31 Tomorrow
Mostly cloudy with snow flurries and snow showers, especially in the afternoon. High 32F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Jan 31 Tomorrow night
Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 18F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Feb 1 Thursday
Mostly cloudy. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the mid teens.
Feb 2 Friday
Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the low teens.
Feb 3 Saturday
Plenty of sun. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the low teens.

I agree with the second comment aboug EJ giving Blatche and Mason more time. I've heard EJ say that he withholds playing time from Blatche b/c he makes mistakes in practice. My response to that is that no matter what a person does to earn their lliving, the best way for them to improve is to do daily whatever it is they do. In the case of Blatche, if EJ wants him to get better, play him more. I'd understand EJ's decision if the kid was a knucklehead or something, but he doesn't appear to be that type of person. Besides, when Kwame was in the District, EJ was patient with him and played him during critical times of games. I don't think it's asking too much for EJ to extend to Blatche the same type of patience. Besides, I think it would help Blatche's confidence for next season if he got some significant playing time during this season.

With regard to Mason, I think he should get the playing time that EJ inexplicably gives to Taylor. Taylor has shown me nothing to justify his getting more playing time than Mason. At least with Mason the Wizards have someone who can consistently knock down open jumpers. The same can't be said for Taylor. (Why is it that EG let Blake and Dixon go only to be replaced by Taylor? It had to be money, right?)

All that being said, I think the Wizards have a good chance of winning tonight. I don't think they'll have the same type of letdown that they had against Phoenix last week. (The hype, I think, overwhelmed the Wizards.)

Anyway, go Wiz.

Who is Tough Juice? You don't bother to mention that piece in the article.

I'm a pretty die-hard fan and read your article alot. I've never heard of Tough Juice.

Memphis' Eddie Jones just got released. I haven't seen him play this year at all, so I don't know if he has anything left in the tank to help the Wiz off the bench. If he has any outside shot left and his previously excellent defense, he'd be a good veteran for cheap. He looks heavy though. Any thoughts???

loco mullin: May I suggest you try www.weather.com.

This blog is for serious Wiz discussion, joe!

Tough Juice, I hope you're kidding...

Stevenson or AD will have 16+ points tonight.

Looks like Eddie Jones is headed back to the Heat. Could have been a nice pick-up if Ernie could have convinced him to come to the Wizards. Would added a lot of depth, veteran leadership and a good defender. Definitely an upgrade from Jarvis Hayes.

Eddie jones of old would help for sure. I have not seen him play lately, really in a few years. The Wiz need some body that can score off the bench at the 2 position, and the front line. Maybe if Jarvis stopped the lazy fade away on his shots, he would get his game back.

Ivan - if Zero spotted you 17 in a game to 21 - do you think you could take him?

Or better yet - how 'bout you and Michael Lee in a game of two-on-two vs. James Lang and Calvin Booth?

It's pretty clear that Memphis is tanking the season. Jones's release is just further evidence -- I guess Jerry West didn't like Jones hitting that game winner last week. West is a noted firm believer in getting No. 1 overall picks, and he clearly is shooting for it this year.

"Lately the Wizards have been hitting Jamison for spot-up threes as a trailer on the break, and he has been deadly."

Yeah he's really picked his spots and his shooting % is pretty decent also. I noticed the last few ganes he's been collectively over 50% which bodes well for the Wiz.

Tonight is going to be a really good game. I think this is a good mid-season test to see where the Wiz are in the East since everyone swears the Pistons will come out of it.

- Ray

"Anyone who thinks that Kevin Garnett has slipped even the slightest bit should have seen last night's Minny win over the Suns."

Didn't come from me, that guy is awesome. I couldn't put into words just how happy I would be if he was in a Wiz uni with Gil and Caron.

I would trade Jamison for him in a second. ;) ;)

- Ray

"Do you know if it'll be aired on NBATV?"

Colin,

My thingy has the Celts/Pacers game on NBATV, but ESPN says the Wiz so I'm not sure. :(

Here locally it's on CSN.

Sorry man, I know that doesn't help and the NBA has a monopoly on the radio stuff it seems. :(

- Ray

Ivan, any insight on how Gil broke his tooth the other night? Hopefully he is all fixed up and ready to go tonight.

Not quite halftime, but is it me or do the Pistons stink?

I mean they really stink!

They don't even look like they want to play tonight or resemble the team that recently won championships.

We'll see....

- Ray

PS - hope Jamison is ok and not out too long, figures.

Tough Juice is Caron Butler's nickname you die hard fan you.

I'm just turning the game on now (start of the 3rd quarter). Why is Booth in for Jamison?

Thanks.

How was 'Twan injured? Does it look serious?

rurikbird, Jamison has a sprained knee. It was a freak play under the basket. Don't know how long he'll be out--he was able to walk to the locker room. But didn't get back in the game.

Man, had Jamison just dunked that shot on the break instead of trying to lay it in vs. Rip, he wouldn't have been hurt! Hopefully it's not too serious. It didn't look too bad from multiple replays.

Another great win.... I can't wait to see Hollinger's new power rankings showing us still below the Pistons, Jazz, Nets, Pistons and Bulls, despite the fact that we've owned all those teams as of late.

This one was a grinder, but we definitely got into Detroit's head, and this one wasn't even as close as the score indicates. They never really got closer than 10. I think a lot of credit goes to our defense and rebounding tonight.

'Tawn's injury looked painful. DeShawn collided with him in mid-air as DeShawn came trailing on a fast break that 'Twan was streaking on. I heard Buck say alternately that it was a sprain and a bruise. Hopefully the latter.

Calvin Booth and Etan both gave great minutes tonight. And is it just me, or is Brendan starting to show signs of competence around the rim on offense? Dude actually seems to have some confidence lately.

DeShawn -- absolutely money tonight. Arvis -- don't care what the sheet says, you still can't hit the broad side of a barn, dude. Completely bricked a WIDE open trey in the 4th. Tough Juice? His nickname ought to be "Metamucil" because that dude keeps it nasty on a regular basis.

And of course, Hibachi, who got at least a half-dozen no-calls on dribble penetration (Sheed is good but not that good), and still poured in 30-something and like 12 dimes? Plus, he played pretty good defense tonight!

Now, let's just hope than Antawn is okay. Fingers crossed.

ESPN is saying it's a hyperextension, basically a re-aggravation of the injury he suffered against Boston. He came back to play in that game, maybe they held him out tonight so he'd be more available in Toronto tomorrow?

Wiz have now held the other team under a hundred points for the 3rd straight game. That's got to be a record for the year. Go Wiz go!

From ESPN: Wizards coach Eddie Jordan made a final case for Butler, who entered the game as the only player in the East averaging 20 points and eight rebounds: "What other forwards have the numbers, and what other forwards are playing on a first-place team?" Jordan said. "I think it's hands down."

Man, Chick's postgame interviews are excruciating. Can you saw "awkward"???

Brendan goes out of his way to not mention Etan when he talks about bench play, and then says "no, I dont think so" when Chick asks him if guys wanted to win tonight for Eddie, to help seal the All-Star coaching deal...

EJ was just on ESPN and first said that Antawn would be out 4 weeks, and then modified it to "a few weeks". Doesn't sound like he'll back anytime soon.

Looks like all of you Antawn haters will get to see what the Wizards look like without him for a while; I think you'll gain an appreciate for what he means to the team.

I don't think Jamison will be playing tomorrow night.....he seemed to disappear after he was hurt...which does not sound good.

Gack

[quote]I can't wait to see Hollinger's new power rankings showing us still below the Pistons, Jazz, Nets, Pistons and Bulls, despite the fact that we've owned all those teams as of late.[/quote]

I'm sure we'll be in top 5 in the next power rankings. We are #4 in Steve Kerr's rankings:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=sk-rankings012907&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Uh-oh. A couple of weeks is huge... say he misses of all of February, that's:

Lakers, Seattle, San Antonio, Portland, Minnesota, and Sacramento at home

- and -

Toronto, Philly, Chicago, Minnesota, New Jersey, Miami on the road.

That's 5 games against winning teams, 7 against losing teams, 1 divisional game vs Miami, and 5 conference games we could really use wins for playoff seeding. All of those are unfortunately road games.

Any speculation on what this means to the lineup? Could we see the first unveiling of Thomas-Haywood playing at the same time, with Booth rotating in?

I think before you go blasting some of us as Jamison haters, just hold on and remember something. Everyone here appreciates Jamison's contributions but also is smart enough to know his weaknesses (lack of defense, shot is off on second night of back-to-backs).
I hope he isn't out for more than a couple of games, because I think they can get by for that amount of time. Hopefully between Daniels, Blatche, Mason and Taylor the Wizards can make up the difference. Or maybe the Wizards play Haywood and Thomas at the same time and go with Agent Zero, Butler, Stevenson, Thomas (at 4) and Haywood.

E Jordan did say 3 weeks barring anything unforseen showing up on the MRI. He also said Songailia should be back before the break.

Interesting... when you run team stat splits between wins and losses, you get:

- Wins -
Arenas 34.0ppg | 5.0rpg | 6.7apg
Jamison 22.3ppg | 8.3rpg | 2.5apg
Butler 21.3ppg | 7.4rpg | 4.6apg
Stevenson 10.2ppg | 2.4rpg | 2.8apg
Haywood 8.0ppg | 8.0rpg | 0.9apg
Daniels 6.4ppg | 2.3rpg | 3.0apg

- Losses -
Arenas 22.4ppg | 4.0rpg | 5.7apg
Butler 20.0ppg | 9.2rpg | 2.7apg
Jamison 15.6ppg | 7.8rpg | 1.1apg
Stevenson 8.4ppg | 2.7rpg | 2.4apg
Daniels 8.1ppg | 1.1rpg | 2.1apg
...
Haywood 5.1ppg | 5.6rpg | 0.8apg

-Top differentials (wins vs losses)-
Arenas +11.6ppg | +1.0rpg | +1.0apg
Jamison +6.7ppg | +0.5rpg | +1.4apg
Haywood +2.9ppg | +2.4rpg | +0.1apg
Butler +1.3ppg | -1.8rpg | +1.9apg
Daniels -1.7ppg | +1.2rpg | +0.9apg
Stevenson -1.8ppg | -0.3rpg | +0.4apg

This should illustrate Antawn's importance to this team. IMO, it also means we're going to need a few things to survive a month without him:

* Hibachi-level play from Gil (over 30 a game, and the extra rebs and dimes)
* More passing from Tough Juice, AD, and DeShawn.
* More boards from Brendan.
* This probably also means DeShawn and AD will need to score more (strange, since they seem to score more in losing efforts, perhaps due to their reluctance to be scorers when the "Big 3" are clicking).

Gack, I think we'll probably see Booth, and Blatche (according to IC's game recap).

Hard to believe EJ would put Haywood and Etan at the same time since that wouldn't leave him with any depth at the 5. Could happen though, but doubtful.

"From ESPN: Wizards coach Eddie Jordan made a final case for Butler."

As he should, I would be disappointed if he didn't say anything.

"Everyone here appreciates Jamison's contributions but also is smart enough to know his weaknesses"

Yeah, I agree with George. I've said several times that the Wiz need his 20/10 to go anywhere HOWEVER it's not a secret that he can't play a lick of defense.

It's going to be tough without him and I genuinely think if Jamison plays the whole game tonight it's a blowout. But he needs to be healthy and there was a reason he was wearing that wrap for the last week to begin with. Hopefully it's not serious.

I WILL say however it was nice to see both Haywood and Booth in there at the same time. It gave someone to cover Haywood's backside when he stepped out. The Pistons couldn't get the easy layup either because of this.

I think Ivan is 100% right on his assessment of the Pistons, they look like they are just going through the motions. Bye, bye, Flip Saunders after the season.

They don't look anything like they did a couple years ago and Rasheed is hardly trying it seems. Maybe he's pushing for a trade, who knows. I don't really like the guy but he's better then he's playing right now for sure.

- Ray

Good post Ray, so what if we don't go with Haywood and Thomas in the lineup. Can we really afford to go small with Butler at PF? Jordan won't start Blatche, I don't think, he doesn't play him that much to start with. It would be nice if Songaila were ready, he could just go into the 4 spot straight away.

Rasheed could have had that post-up/turn-around jumper all night long (likewise in the game @detroit).

I don't know whether Detroit was just being dumb by not exploiting it, or whether Rasheed was being a lackadaisical headcase, but either way, I'm glad they went away from it. Those games could have easily wound up 0-2 instead of 2-0.

I like the confidence of the team right now. Seems like they know they are going to win particularly at home. Good stuff!!!!

Hope AJ gets back soon! I have only stated that I don't see a NBA championship team with a 6' 9" finesse starter power forward. Hey, maybe we start a trend! Of course, any team is going to miss a guy that can go for 20 and 8.

Did I see Haywood and Booth playing at the same time? Nice....C-Webb, sorry no championship to bolster your egotistical career...awww. Detoit has lost its mojo.

Big up, JP! You called it. Stevenson: 7-8 FG for 15 points (would have had 17 but was 0-2 from the foul line).