Jordan Is Happy With His Starters, Less Pleased With What's in Reserve

Gilbert Arenas once said that if Eddie Jordan wasn't coaching professional basketball, he'd probably be a high school science teacher or a college professor.

If Jordan graded his Washington Wizards after completing an eight-game preseason schedule with a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, he'd give high marks to his starters and a few incompletes to his reserves.

The preseason games followed a pattern: The Wizards typically controlled the early quarters, outscoring opponents 223-180 in that period overall, but they also blew several large leads once Jordan turned the game over to his second unit.

After taking yesterday off, the Wizards will practice today and start preparing for Wednesday's regular season opener at Cleveland.

"I like our first unit, the way we came out with a real defensive mind-set, a good defensive posture," Jordan said. "I think the numbers say so, I think the way we played says so. I also saw that we've had some problems when we get to the second quarter, that we struggled with some of the rotation guys. A pecking order has been established, and we have six more practices to really fine-tune things."

Among the starters, DeShawn Stevenson's smooth adjustment to the shooting guard position stood out. Meantime, reserve Antonio Daniels played the kind of intelligent, fundamentally sound basketball he played late last season, and former Virginia guard Roger Mason Jr. presented a strong case that he not only belongs on the final roster but may also deserve a spot in Jordan's rotation.

The 6-foot-5 Mason averaged 7.6 points, shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three-point range. He displayed an ability to swing between both guard spots and meshed particularly well with Daniels when the two were paired together.

"We've said it many times: Roger brings a special skill," Jordan said. "He's got good size and he can make shots in different ways. Coming off screens. Pulls up. Spots up. Running off pick-and-rolls. And he also plays pretty good defense."

Jordan also may have decided on a starting center. Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas rotated starts throughout the preseason, but Thomas's effort Tuesday night, when he blocked three shots and grabbed four rebounds in 12 minutes, made a strong impression on the coach.

When asked about Thomas's performance, Jordan said that Thomas had displayed "real force" and added, "Like I said, a pecking order has been established."

So does that mean Thomas will be the starter at Cleveland?

"We've got six more practices," Jordan said, refusing to elaborate.

Regardless of Jordan's choice at center, the playing rotation will consist primarily of Thomas and Haywood, Arenas, Stevenson, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Michael Ruffin and Jarvis Hayes, who made it through seven games without aggravating his surgically repaired right knee.

Mason could be in the mix as well, while second-year players Andray Blatche and Donell Taylor likely will have to earn minutes in practice.

The Wizards have until Monday at 6 p.m. to get down to the league maximum of 15 players.