'We're Ready to Attack'

Despite Jamison's Absence, Wizards Hope to Regain Form in Second Half

Caron Butler and the Wizards are five games ahead of the Heat in the loss column and with 32 games to go they will try to maintain that advantage. (Joel Richardson - The Washington Post)

Coach Eddie Jordan, his staff and all-stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler didn't have much time to reflect on their experiences in Las Vegas because shortly after the East lost to the West on Sunday, they boarded an overnight flight to Washington. After getting some sleep yesterday, the Wizards' all-star representatives caught up with the rest of the team for an evening practice at Verizon Center.

On the flight home, Jordan already was thinking about the final 32 games of the regular season, a stretch that begins tonight at home against Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"The comfort zone is going to be real welcome," Jordan said. "We'll be back home at the Verizon Center, coming up with a game plan and talking to our own players. We had a great ending to the first half with a win at Philadelphia, which was all about our bench guys coming in and contributing, so we feel really, really good about ourselves. I think us coming back home -- myself, Gilbert and Caron -- that will be a little bit of a spark for us."

The Wizards (29-21) lost four of six going into the break and displayed sloppy form. The mini-slump coincided with the absence of forward Antawn Jamison, who is expected to sit out at least two more weeks because of a sprained left knee.

But Jamison's impending return is only one key to the remainder of the season. Center Etan Thomas rejoined the team last night after a two-game suspension and he'll be part of a deeper front court that also includes forward Darius Songaila, whose playing time has steadily increased since he returned after missing the first 45 games because of a lower back injury, and second-year forward Andray Blatche, who played as well as he has played with the Wizards heading into the break.

It also would help if Arenas can snap out of a shooting slump that has dogged him since Jamison went down. In the last five games, Arenas has made 34 of 108 field goal attempts (32 percent) and 7 of 43 three-point attempts.

"We've got to straighten it back up," Arenas said. "We have to hurry up and get that rhythm we had when we were dominant. We have to get out in the open and start playoff basketball now. We have a goal in mind and that's a personal goal amongst ourselves, but we know we can hit it."

Arenas wouldn't reveal the goal, but chances are it has to do with winning at least 50 games for the first time since the 1978-79 season. To get there, the Wizards will have to go 21-11.

Caron Butler, who made his first career all-star appearance over the weekend, said the team is in a good position.

"Now we're going to have more help," Butler said. "We're getting Antawn back. Darius is healthy. DeShawn [Stevenson] has become more assertive in the offense. Andray Blatche is coming into his own. We had a lot of guys get minutes with Antawn out so now, you add them to the mix with their newfound confidence and with everyone else healthy, we can be dangerous."

Though the Wizards fell short of the goal established by Jordan and Arenas to be at least 10 games above .500 going into the break, the team is "right where we'd like to be," Jordan said.

The Wizards entered All-Star Weekend trailing the Detroit Pistons (32-19) by 2 1/2 games and the Cleveland Cavaliers (31-22) by a half-game in the East. They also have taken advantage of Miami's struggles to build a four-game lead over the defending NBA champion in the Southeast Division. The teams will meet three more times: Feb. 28 at Verizon Center and March 11 and April 11 in Miami.

However, the Heat is 6-3 since Shaquille O'Neal returned from injury, recently reached the .500 mark for the first time this season and will have Coach Pat Riley back on the sideline after he missed 21 games because of knee and hip surgery.

"We're getting all of our horses back and we're going to make a run at it," O'Neal said over All-Star Weekend.

Arenas has been to three all-star games so he understands how to shift back into regular season mode. For Jordan and Butler, the short gap between Sunday's fun and tonight's seriousness may be abrupt, but even before he'd removed his all-star uniform in Las Vegas, Butler said he was thinking about the games that count.

"It won't be a problem at all," Butler said. "This was a reward for the first half of the season and now you have to put it behind you and on this 5 1/2 -hour flight back, you have to get your perspective back. Mentally and physically. I think we're all well rested. Myself, Gilbert and we're getting some guys back and we're ready to attack this second half of the season."