Jeffries, Thomas Hoping To Put on a Good Show

While the Wizards play for a chance to advance to the second round, a few of their players are also performing for their basketball futures. With so much attention focused on the series being the first playoff experience for Cleveland's LeBron James, Washington players such as Jared Jeffries and Billy Thomas know they must make the most of every moment on the court.

Jeffries, who scored a career playoff high 15 points in Game 1, will be a restricted free agent after the season and could earn himself a big offer from another team with a strong series.

Thomas, who was 0 for 5 from the field in eight minutes during Game 1, is getting his first taste of the playoffs after struggling to catch on with an NBA team for several years, and is playing for a future roster spot either with the Wizards or another team.

"You definitely want to come out and put on a good performance every night with the whole country watching," Jeffries said. "Maybe steal some of that limelight for yourself."

Jeffries will be one of the primary defenders on James for as long as the series lasts, and his ability to defend multiple positions has made him a valuable part of back-to-back Wizards playoff teams.

In terms of his offense, Jeffries said he plans on continuing to be aggressive in transition and on the offensive glass. Jeffries gave the Wizards a charge in the first quarter of Game 1 with a couple of dunks.

"Right now my legs are feeling good, I'm feeling real athletic, so I'm looking to go to the rim hard when I get a chance," Jeffries said. "If I can, I'm going to get up there and dunk it."

Grunfeld Says . . .

Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld took in yesterday's practice at Verizon Center and said he expects to see a better performance out of his team in Game 2.

"This team has been very resilient all year, we have great character guys and I'm looking for a much better effort [tonight]," Grunfeld said. "We have to make a few adjustments but there's no question about the will of this team and their ability to bounce back."

Hughes Knows . . .

The Cavaliers don't need to crack open a media guide to know that the Wizards snapped back from losses in Games 1 and 2 last spring to win a first-round series against the Chicago Bulls. Not with Larry Hughes on their team.

Hughes was a huge part of that Washington recovery and sounded like a man who expects to see his former team bounce back.

"I'm sure they're upset they lost Game 1," said Hughes, who averaged 20.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 10 playoff games with the Wizards last spring. "I was in that situation and it is never over until that team wins the fourth game."

Last season's Wizards were one of only 14 teams to win a seven-game series after falling behind 2-0. The team that has taken Game 1 has gone on to win 263 of 333 (79 percent) best-of-seven series since 1946-1947.

Gone Fishing . . .

It's one of the oldest cliches in sports: a team's season comes to an end and players are said to be "ready to hit the golf course." The cliche rings true in the case of Washington Capitals goaltender Brent Johnson. He really is going golfing.

As the Wizards wrapped up practice at Verizon Center yesterday, Johnson walked out of the Capitals' locker room with a golf bag slung over his shoulder. If the Wizards don't play better than they did in Game 1, they won't be far behind their Verizon Center co-tenants.