The Wizards beat Dallas — and stumbled at Atlanta.
They sliced and diced abysmal New Jersey — then lost six in a row.
They bounced back with an emotional win over Cleveland — then tanked in consecutive blowouts at Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
They played their best game of the season to win in Miami for the first time in forever — then slept through the return leg at home against Charlotte.
What Washington team will show up tonight? While I missed last night’s game to cover the get-off-the-schneid battle between American and Howard, it appears Flip Saunders got what he wanted in the fourth quarter, when Gilbert Arenas scored 12 of his 22 points and was paired with Earl Boykins. Notable, also, was the full Big Three coming to play — 30 and 12 from Antawn Jamison, 19 and 7 from Caron Butler — not to mention tough, tough defense from Brendan Haywood (15 and 9 with 3 blocks). Shades of what the Wizards had hoped for all along? Let’s not get hasty.
As for the Bucks, I wrote about Brandon Jennings in Cheers & Jeers today, suggesting — in jest, of course — that he shouldn’t be eligible for NBA rookie of the year.
