Late in the game, when the matter was decided, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison tried something different. It was a little thing; it was also what they hadn’t done much of throughout Game 1 in Cleveland, a 97-86 loss.
Butler and Jamison drove the lane, scoring on shots near the basket. Early on, they had settled for jumpers. So, too, did the third member of the Big Three; but at least Gilbert Arenas found his scoring touch for the entire fourth quarter, when he scored 17 of his team-high 26 points.
If Washington wants to steal a win at Cleveland tonight in Game 2, it must have a better effort from this trio. In each case, it means attacking the basket more – especially against a Cavs front line not known for its quickness.
“It is important because that is where a majority of the team’s points come from,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said of the Big Three. “If we don’t produce, it’s going to be hard for us to win.”
If this group is scoring, it makes their defense better: Cleveland can’t score in transition as well after inbouding the ball as opposed to grabbing a rebound. It would also put more pressure on Cleveland to score; if the game gets into the 100s, it favors the Wizards.
“They have to trust the offense more,” Jordan said, “and be more disciplined. That hurt us more than anything else. [The game] came down to discipline on the offensive end.”
The concern with Jamison is that Saturday’s subpar scoring was a continuation of recent games. In his past eight games, Jamison has scored 16 points or less five times and is shooting just 39.8 percent.
“I know Caron and Antawn will get their games,” Arenas said. “I’m not worried about that.”
It nearly mirrors the stretch he endured in December, when his shot wasn’t falling and his game wasn’t clicking. For the month, Jamison averaged 15 points per game, by far his worst month of the season (every other month he’s been above 20 ppg). Coincidentally, Washington went 5-9.
The poor record wasn’t only Jamison’s fault. The Wizards clearly improved when Butler and reserve guard Antonio Daniels became more comfortable.
And that led to aggressive play by the Big Three, which stopped settling for jumpers in January, coinciding with more wins.
“We did not take it to them [Saturday],” Jamison said. “We weren’t the aggressor; they were more aggressive than we were. Those are the things we are accustomed to doing. I give them credit, but there are a lot of things that we could have done differently.”
Ohio players
» Another key for tonight is limiting Cavs star LeBron James’ sidekicks. The Wizards said they must rotate better, and not leave so many players open as they did Saturday.
» In the last 10 games, Antawn Jamison has made at least 50 percent of his field goal attempts just twice.
» In the last seven games, Caron Butler has made just seven of 25 three-point attempts
