After losing twice this weekend to formidable foes from the Western Conference, a daunting task looms for the Wizards.
Starting Wednesday at home against defending NBA champion San Antonio, Washington plays four straight against teams from the West with winning records. With that in mind, the Wizards are attaching importance to tonight’s game at Philadelphia.
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“We’re struggling. There’s a sense of urgency,” said forward Antawn Jamison. “We have to get back on our high horse and go back to work, do the things that we were doing when we were successful. Defensively we’ve got to get better, get a lot more physical than we’ve been.”
After losing five of their last seven, and four straight on the road, Washington (24-22) is in danger of dropping below .500 for the first time in two months.
“Everybody has to play at a very high level for 48 minutes,” said coach Eddie Jordan. “We’ve shown we can play with the best when we play at a high level. Now we’ve let two games get away from us at home and we’re going on the road.”
The Wizards are anxious to regain the edge they played with during a 20-game span in December and January, when they won 13 and held all but four opponents under 100 points. Five of the Wizards’ last seven opponents have scored more than 100, including Los Angeles in a 103-91 verdict Sunday that was not as close as the final score.
Washington split two games inNovember with Philadelphia (18-29), who played Monday night at Atlanta. The Wizards will need to stop Sixers F Andre Iguodala (19.2 ppg) and PG Andre Miller (16.3 ppg, 6.3 apg) to be successful tonight in Philadelphia.
Wizards at Sixers
When » Tonight, 7
Where » Wachovia Center
TV » CSN
Radio » 980 AM
Game notes »
Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson practiced Monday, but rested during the live scrimmage. Both are expected to be in the starting lineup tonight.
