Two-to-One Mismatch

The Washington Wizards, without Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, are in bigger trouble than Miami without Dwyane Wade. Miami at least has Shaquille O'Neal, who despite age and injury can still deliver a thumping, as he did last night on the Wizards.

Miami, without Wade, can still fashion victory out of nasty defense and a whole lot of Shaq in the post and Shaq passing out of the post. The Wizards, without Butler and Jamison, look to be doomed, especially when Gilbert Arenas is slopping around in the ugliest shooting slump imaginable.

On a night when Shaq went for 23 points and 10 rebounds, Arenas shot 3 for 18 in yet another performance at home where he didn't come up with the goods when challenged by a legit contender. As prolific a scorer as Arenas is, he's finding out just how difficult it is for him to score when Butler and Jamison aren't on the floor, which allows teams to concentrate even more on stopping him.

The result was Miami's 17th victory over Washington in the last 18 meetings, and the Wizards' fourth straight loss. Miami, despite having Shaq then Pat Riley and now Wade in sick bay, moved within 3 1/2 games of the Wizards, who perhaps now realize how wasteful it is to blow a home game to the likes of Portland.

The large object in the Wizards' rear-view mirror is Shaq, who rolled right through Washington's non-double-teaming defense. "They singled me, so I had to go to work," Shaq said afterward.

If Butler and Jamison don't return soon and find their midseason form quickly, Miami will likely pass the Wizards in the Southeast Division even without Wade. Butler tried everything in his power to return to the lineup to face Miami. But that 12-hour travel extravaganza the Wizards went through last week to get to Minnesota put the Wizards on a long bus trip that gave Butler the first back spasms in his life. "But it's more painful watching us lose these games," he said before last night's game.

Asked about getting Butler and Jamison back, Jordan said, "Even if the cavalry comes riding in, it doesn't guarantee you're going to get a win. Quite frankly, the guys are going to be rusty coming back."

Miami can shoot 41.8 percent, as it did last night, and win because they can lock down defensively and take a game. The Wizards aren't going to win many games shooting 35.8 percent, as they did last night, because they can't play that kind of defense.

Jordan made a very savvy coaching move after the game when he talked publicly about how Arenas has been playing within the offense, not taking crazy shots, and taking special care to find his teammates when he is double-covered.

True as that may be, the league's best players fight their way through these slumps and find a way to hold the fort until their running mates get back in the lineup. Arenas's killer slump leaves the Wizards almost helpless with Butler and Jamison out.

Arenas missed 15 of 18 shots last night. He missed all eight of his three-point attempts. He missed open jumpers, layups, you name it. The Hibachi is in desperate need of some coals. Arenas was so ineffective that the Wizards wound up looking to DeShawn Stevenson and Roger Mason to make shots down the stretch, and that's not the formula to break a losing streak.

It's amazing how quickly the two teams' fortunes have changed. The Wizards have been in first place for two months while Miami has fought through one mini-drama after another, most notably Shaq's absence for more than 30 games. Now, even though Wade is out, the Miami players seem to sense they can overtake just about anybody in the Eastern Conference.