Hayes Makes His 3rd Straight Start

Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan elected to stick with a starting lineup consisting of Gilbert Arenas and DeShawn Stevenson at guards, Jarvis Hayes and Caron Butler at forward and Brendan Haywood at center against the larger lineup presented by the Spurs.

Hayes made his third straight start after 6-foot-11 Calvin Booth started at Toronto last Wednesday night. Jordan has said that he would like to stick with one lineup until injured forward Antawn Jamison returns from a left knee sprain.

Hayes can spread a defense with his shooting and ballhandling, but he was 4 of 13 from the field and 1 of 7 from three-point range against the Lakers and SuperSonics and entered last night's game shooting 39.8 percent overall and 34.1 percent from three-point range on the season.

Also, in the second half of Monday's 118-108 win over the Sonics, the Wizards had success with a larger lineup that included Booth and 6-11 Andray Blatche. Still, Jordan said he likes the offensive mismatches that can be created when the 6-8 Hayes is on the floor.

"We're going to continue to give Jarvis a chance to blossom a little bit, help us and make them make a change," Jordan said.

That didn't happen in the early going against the Spurs last night as Jordan was forced to use a timeout after the Wizards fell behind 14-4.