Jamison (middle) has been sidelined since a preseason
shoulder dislocation suffered against the Cavs earlier
this year. He is expected to make his season debut today.
(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
Tonight the Washington Wizards host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first and last time at home this season. Washington will hope to even the season series after a loss to Cleveland earlier this month and are expected to rotate Antawn Jamison tonight in his season debut.
Cleveland punished the Wizards on Election Day, the boxscore ballot co-signed by Shaquille O'Neal and Anderson Varejao in the paint. Both O'Neal (shoulder) and Varejao (hip) are on the day-to-day injury list for tonight's game, and it is possible Shaq will be out for tonight's contest. Even with O'Neal out at center, Washington will need to find some way to control Cleveland's perimeter shooters.
The Cavs' six-year veteran guard Mo Williams has been Mr. Consistent for Cleveland, with a career-high 18.2 points per game average over 11 games this season. Mo hasn't played a single game this year without scoring at least 10 points and he is shooting an amazing 48.7% from the field and 51% from beyond the three point arc. The scoring combo of Williams and LeBron James, with O'Neal in the middle, has been the recipe for Cleveland's current five-game winning streak.
Washington is on the other side of the streak, with a six-game losing skid which began after that early November loss to the Cavs. However, the Wizards are no stranger when it comes to stripping Cleveland of a streak, and newest Wizard Earl Boykins should prevent Washington from feeling the strain of backcourt depth concerns. Boykins clocked a career high 48 minutes against the Cavs two years ago for the Milwaukee Bucks, and should be ready for extended minutes tonight as both Fabricio Oberto (hamstring) and Randy Foye (ankle) are on the day-to-day injury list alongside Jamison.
Tonight's game starts at 7:00 p.m. ET and will air on Comcast SportsNet and 106.7 The Fan. The game will also air nationally on ESPN; if I was betting man, I'd say over half of all Cavs games are aired nationally this season. I'll be among the media blitz tonight and will Tweet from the Phone Booth (using my Verizon cell phone no less) if any big stories crop up. Post game I'll be back here for a brief synopsis on tonight's rivalry and will follow-up with a full article tomorrow morning, as well as a look at the Southeast division (including OKC's big win over MIA yesterday) and a word on NBA 2K10 for the Wii (words like "buy it").
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• Examiner's NBA Preseason Power Rankings
• Washington Wizards 09-10 Media Guide (PDF)
• Boston Celtics Examiner: Season Preview Q&A
• Wizards 101: Who is on the 2009-10 roster?
• Wizards 101: Where are the Wizards on Twitter?
• NBA.com's Free Agent Tracker
• Gilbert Arenas on Flip Saunders
• Obamamania strikes Washington in victory
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Comments
Hope to bump into you at the Turtle after the game and hope there is more to talk about than just what The King commanded tonight.
So Shaq and Gilbert wil face off... Hmmmm
JP -- LeBron has a lot of talent around him this season, but the help is streaky. If the Wizards can't beat the Cavs with Jamison back in the starting five, then it'll be a long two-game road trip this weekend for Washington.
AJ -- Looks like Shaq will be out for tonight but he'll probably be a gametime decision. If that changes I'll be sure to Tweet.
JJ Hickson has had 3 straight career games for the Cavs, will he get his 4th one tonight?
It has to be easy when you play with Lebron and Mo Williams and your defender is busy double-teaming The King
No Oberto for Washington, no Shaq or Varejao for Cavs, and a huge 108-91 win for the Wizards. Jamison returns with a double-double, 31 points and 10 rebounds in 37 1/2 minutes. LeBron scores 31 points and picks up 9 assists but none of those assists come in the fourth quarter. Great momentum game for the Wizards heading into a mini road trip against OKC and SAS this Friday and Saturday. And Hickson? Only 6 points tonight. I'll have more on the game tomorrow :).
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