Caron with 30 in loss to Knicks

The return of Etan Thomas helped the Wizards
protect the paint tonight, but the three point arc
was another story 
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Washington Wizards approached tonight's 114-108 loss to the New York Knicks with a few objectives in mind, including a presence in the paint without giving up easy threes, and an effort to prevent ball handling mistakes found rampant last Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.  Balanced scoring gave the Knicks a way around those objectives.

In the first half of play, Washington gave up only 18 points in the paint, and suffered only four turnovers. However, they also allowed the Knicks 27 points from the three-point arc on 54.3% field goal shooting. In fact, by the end of the game, seven of the nine players set for tonight's New York rotation earned at least one three-point made, including center Zack Randolph. It was that kind of night for the Knicks.

Washington found themselves in a familiar 11-4 deficit to begin the game, came back strong, and lost the momentum at the end of the half, 64-58, Knicks. The Wizards battled in the third, led by the high-flying, block-any-shot-I-see JaVale McGee, and by the end of three, the Wizards were down by only one, 89-88.

With just under five minutes to go in the fourth, the Wizards held a 102-103 lead. The Knicks would go on a 10-0 lead in the next two and a half minutes and the Wizards would fall to their fourth straight loss of the season.

Caron Butler had a huge game tonight with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, but no game-changing, momentum-altering steals like Butler has provided the team in games past.

Tonight's defensive efforts were rewarded predominately to Etan Thomas, who missed Wednesday due to an ankle tweak, as well as JaVale McGee, who had a huge third quarter with hustle plays and 6 big points. McGee's performance, only slighted by his conditioning, was possibly the best McGee has played this year, picking up 12 points and 10 boards off the bench. Thomas would play only about five minutes in the second half, and Juan Dixon had a minor setback that would see him on the bench for a few plays as well, but both players should be okay for tomorrow's game against Orlando.  It's unlikely the one night rest will help Thomas out, but the Wizards will be a better team if they can squeeze some more minutes out of him.

Disappointment is an understatement at this point. One could argue for a Wizards win in each of the four losses so far in this season. I want to say it is mainly the Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee situation, or rather, who do you rotate in behind Etan Thomas and Antawn Jamison?  One interesting thing to note is Coach Eddie Jordan played both Blatche and McGee together late in the first quarter, but I feel when they took Antonio Daniels out of the game and put Dominic McGuire in, there wasn't enough passers on the court.

I like that Coach Jordan is mixing things up, and I think the combo of Blatche and McGee will prove to be powerful down the road (they were in the preseason, at least), just as long as their roles can be defined. Both can handle the ball well, but it would be best for the Wizards if a Antonio Daniels or Dee Brown or Juan Dixon led the charge. Speaking of Juan, Dixon had 5 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds tonight in 27 minutes. While the tandem of Dixon and Nick Young off the bench is probably where they should be for the team, it is tempting to think about the two starting a game in place of DeShawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels. However, Daniels gives a harder-nosed point who will drive the ball to look for foul shots. It's a tough call to make, Coach Jordan knows that better than anyone.

Note: Oleksiy Pecherov did not play tonight, and Washington missed his three-point shooting.  Also, be sure to check out The Fishman's take on the game, over at the New York Knicks Examiner.