Foye, Miller critical if team hopes to rebound
The Wizards’ victory at Dallas on opening night nearly three months ago may have been the only time this season when defeat, disruption and doubt were the furthest thing from anyone in Washington’s mind.
“After that we looked at each other,” said Wizards guard Randy Foye. “We were like, ‘Yeah, what everyone was predicting might be right,’ a 50-win season and things like that.”
Instead, it’s been an endless tumble down the rabbit hole ever since as the Wizards (14-26) prepare to meet the Mavericks (27-14) again. But there is a renewed sense of something resembling optimism thanks to consecutive victories to start a six-game homestand that won’t conclude for another week.
“It seems like last week at this time, that it was about eight months ago, with the guys and everything they’ve been through,” said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders. “Now, for the first time in a long time and in the last month, they’ve been able to concentrate on just basketball.”
Their potential without Gilbert Arenas still remains cloudy. But their ability to play without him is clear, particularly with a healthy Mike Miller back after being injured for the last two months, and steady improvement from Randy Foye, who has replaced Arenas at point guard.
“Now, with Gil not here, I’ve got to pick my spots, be a little more aggressive,” said Miller, who is expected be limited to 20-26 minutes off the bench against Dallas. “But you can still affect a game without scoring. It’s a little old school basketball, but it’s the truth.”
Saunders has been hard on Foye, wanting to both hug him and strangle him at times, but if nothing else, the fourth-year guard hasn’t tried to assume Arenas’ offensive load by himself.
“Get the ball moving,” said Foye. “Get the ball popping. Get the ball to Caron [Butler] and Antawn [Jamison] in the right spots. Everybody else just comes in as fillers. We know those two need their shots, and as a lead guard and a point guard, I need to get them the ball.”
When they arrived via pre-draft trade in June, Miller and Foye were assumed to be complimentary pieces. Instead, they’ve become critical to getting the Wizards turned around.
“I always got the mentality to just go out there and just try to play as hard as I can and play together and be unselfish,” said Foye. “I know that [Miller] has the same mentality. I think that with us bringing that to the table, that’s what helps the team win.”
