The Washington Wizards kept King James from ruling. The defense was steady, the road crowd was silenced and Antawn Jamison scored 28 points.
And yet, Cleveland won the opening game of the first-round of the playoffs on Sunday, 97-82, by grinding past injury-depleted Washington. The Cavaliers don’t have to be spectacular like last season’s six-game playoff win over the Wizards. They just have to wear out Washington.
The Wizards can spin their manpower shortage however they want, re-enact “Hoosiers” until Eddie Jordan looks like Gene Hackman, but losing their two best players to injuries leaves Washington a bigger underdog than George Mason last year.
The opening loss was a perfect example of how the Cavaliers can simply muscle past the Wizards. After Washington closed within 54-52 in the third quarter, Cleveland’s LeBron James fell to the floor after stepping on Etan Thomas’ foot. James rolled on the floor in pain, and for a minute it seemed the Wizards might have caught a major break. Instead, James got up and finished with 23 points. Former Wizards guard Larry Hughes was the real dagger with a timely 27 points as Cleveland steadily pulled away with 84 points from its starters.
The Wizards showed they could have beaten the Cavaliers with a healthy roster. Getting either Gilbert Arenas or Caron Butler back would have given Washington a chance. Instead, they can play as hard as they can, but it’s not going to win the series. Two wins would be a phenomenal effort.
Washington needs to bang more in Wednesday’s meeting. Turn the series into the second coming of the old Detroit Pistons. The Wizards can’t let the Cavaliers outscore them 21-1 on fastbreak points. Washington has to find a Bruise Brothers way of slowing things down because up-tempo isn’t going to work.
Unfortunately, when the point guard is the second leading rebounder, the front court isn’t manning up. Darius Songaila fouled out with nearly six minutes remaining. Brendan Haywood managed two fouls and one rebound in five minutes. Thomas scored two points.
Washington is down to two players — Jamison and Jarvis Hayes. Jamison delivered as the de facto leader with 28 points and 14 rebounds while Hayes added 18 points. Antonio Daniels is well-rounded with 11 assists, nine points and seven rebounds. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to win in the playoffs.
Too bad — the Wizards coulda been contenders.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
