He clashed with his coach and grew frustrated with his role. Brendan Haywood always viewed himself as a starting center. So when he wasn’t, he wondered about his future in Washington.
All that has changed. He now has a good relationship with Wizards coach Eddie Jordan. And he’s once again proved his worth as a starting center. However, that might change again now that Etan Thomas is healthy and back playing. Thomas started the first 20 games this season before missing 13 with a sprained left ankle.
In their first game together again on Wednesday against Chicago, Haywood continued to start and play starter’s minutes. For the time being, that will continue.
“I want to start and would like to keep starting,” Haywood said. “But I’ll respect their decision. Since I’ve been here I’ve come to expect the unexpected.”
The Wizards have gone 11-2 with Haywood as the starter. As a starter, Haywood is averaging 8.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.31 blocks per game. He’s a different player than Thomas, who is needed to provide energy and more inside scoring.
“You know how [Thomas] plays, with that tenacity and that force and that power,” Jordan said. “He was really protecting the rim at all costs. He was shot blocking, taking charges, rebounding. And we miss that. We really do.”
But what’s helped Haywood is knowing he’ll receive quality time. And that’s why he said he’s been more productive. In 18 minutes a game as a sub, he’s averaging 5.3 points and 5.3 boards.
“I’m not looking over my shoulder,” he said. “I have a sense of how many minutes I’ll play and when it doesn’t go well early, you know you’ll get a chance to fight through it.”
And, he said, with Thomas back he’s still not peering over his shoulder.
“I don’t worry about that,” he said. “I’m worried about winning.”
That’s what his teammates see.
“Brendan has done a great job staying focused,” guard Antonio Daniels said. “We need them; they get the best out of each other.”
There’s a sense of irony in the phrase pushing each other considering Thomas and Haywood have reportedly fought on at least one occasion during practice. Now, though, they’re fighting for playing time and it’s helping the Wizards.
“We expect them to continue pushing each other,” Jordan said. “Brendan has been motivated and I know Etan is motivated coming back. They might not admit it, but they really push each other and motivate each other. We want to continue to see toughness, rebounding and physicality from them.”
Center of attention
» Last season was the first time Haywood’s scoring numbers did not improve. His scoring average dropped from 9.3 per game in 2004-05 to 7.3 last season — his rebounding average fell from 6.8 to 5.9. The Wizards have scored 111 more points than the opposition with Haywood in the lineup and are minus-55 with him out of it.
» The Wizards play back-to-back road games starting tonight against New Orleans in Oklahoma City and Saturday against San Antonio. They host Utah at 1 p.m. Monday.
» Washington is the second highest scoring team in the league at 108.2 points per game, trailing only Phoenix (110.85). The Wizards have scored more than 100 points in 18 straight games.
