If you had been out for an extended period with an injury, would you want to come back against the San Antonio Spurs, only best team in the NBA – on the night after they were inexplicably held to 71 points?
Neither would Josh Howard, who Wizards head coach Flip Saunders said “more than likely, I think he’ll probably be ready to go tomorrow at Cleveland.”
The problem for Saunders, of course, is that not only does he not have Howard, he doesn’t have any small forwards available tonight against San Antonio, as Rashard Lewis (right knee stiffness) and Al Thornton (dislocated right middle finger) will also be out. Thornton said he was planning on playing tomorrow, but Lewis’ status is uncertain.
For tonight, Kirk Hinrich will return to the starting lineup, sliding Nick Young to small forward, where he’ll at least start the night against Richard Jefferson. (By the way, the Spurs have altered their lineup for the first time this season, inserting George Hill into the starting five for Manu Ginobili.)
“Nick’s going to have to rebound better because in order to play against these, you have to be able to defend and rebound,” said Saunders. “Our hope is that JaVale [McGee] is still going to be able to rebound like he did last game and those guys can rebound and defend the paint a little bit and hopefully, Jefferson’s going to have to guard Nick, too.”
To help bolster the roster, the Wizards also brought back guard Mustafa Shakur for his second 10-day contract. Shakur injured his ankle at the end of his first stint, and the Wizards in part wanted to wait for him to get healthy before bringing him back again.
The pressure of playing a Spurs team that has lost consecutive games only once this season replaces the pressure of tomorrow’s game hanging over the 0-25-on-the-road Wizards since the Cavaliers snapped their 26-game losing streak overall last night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
“There was a lot riding on that game,” said Young, who watched Cleveland’s overtime victory. “If they would’ve lost, there would’ve been a lot of pressure, but we still got the pressure on us to try to get a road win.”
Young, who Wizards assistant coach Sam Cassell has taken to calling “MIP” – for Most Improved Player – also admitted, “I kind of wanted to play in that environment, but then it’s like, whatever happens.”
Given the Wizards won face the pressure of an elimination playoff game this season, he has a point.
