After one basket Sunday, Cleveland’s LeBron James shot Antawn Jamison a look, one that Jamison has seen for years. Then he offered a line Jamison has heard equally as long.
“I don’t know where that came from, but that was a good shot,” James said.
And if the Wizards harbor any hopes of threatening Cleveland in the playoffs, Jamison will probably hear that more and more.
Jamison has abandoned staying strictly on the outside, looking for more creative ways to score. So that means shots in traffic, with his shooting hand going under a defenders’ arm to flip a shot in. Or it means leaning one way and flinging a shot the other way.
“Sometimes I watch game tape and I laugh,” Jamison said.
The only problem is, will the reliance on Jamison cause him to wear down, rendering him ineffective? Also, the Cavs succeeded in double-teaming him late in Sundays’ 97-82 win.
That won’t change, either, with Gilbert Arenas done for the season and Caron Butler unavailable until the second round at the earliest (which coach Eddie Jordan repeated Tuesday).
“I’m surprising myself a little bit,” Jamison said. “Normally I’m a guy who catches and shoots or takes one dribble to the basket. Now I’m putting the ball on the floor more. That’s given me confidence to know there are other things I can do, and do well, now that I’m getting the opportunity.”
Jamison is averaging 28 points in his last 10 games. And he’s relying on his unorthodoxed moves, which he said he honed at North Carolina while facing players who outweighed him by 40 pounds.
“He’s expanded his game,” Jordan said. “He’s [using] a little shake and bake that we haven’t seen form him. He’s getting it done in the post for us, he’s going off of drives.”
In the past three games, Jamison has shot 47 free throws. In the previous nine games, he shot only 45.
And, as he plays more minutes and draws more attention, his outside shot has become less reliable. He’s made just one of his last nine 3-pointers and 10 of his last 35.
“It’s not like he’s a shooting guard,” Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson said. “He’s banging with people, boxing out. There’s wear and tear, but he’s a leader and that’s what we need him for.”
It helps Jamison that there’s a longer break between games during the playoffs.
Besides, Jamison said, “If we don’t win the series, I got all the minutes in the world to relax and rest up. It’s playoff time.”
Court notes
» Center Brendan Haywood said he’s not sure whether or not his playing time will increase in Game 2 tonight, after playing five minutes in the Game 1 lossat Cleveland. “It’s frustrating, you want to play, but it’s not up to me,” he said. “… I’ll abide by whatever decision [coach Eddie Jordan] goes with.”
Haywood has fared well against Cleveland’s Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the past. “I’m long, athletic and sometimes I give him a little bit of problems,” Haywood said.
» Guard DeShawn Stevenson said the Wizards need to send a message inside. “We need the centers to go out and give hard fouls to let them know we’re here.” Haywood disagreed. “I don’t see where they’re having a layup fest where we can say we need to foul someone real hard to send a message. … We just have to play good defense.
