Some Forward Thinking at Center
Preseason Opener Illustrates Jordan's Plan of Attack: Wizards 81, Cavaliers 62

By Ivan Carter
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 10, 2007

CLEVELAND, Oct. 9 -- With only one true center available and a trio of versatile big men who can play multiple positions, Washington Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan isn't using traditional labels when talking about his team this season.

Andray Blatche, Darius Songaila and rookie Oleksiy Pecherov are listed as forwards, but all of them will see action at center behind starter Brendan Haywood.

During Tuesday night's 81-62 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the preseason opener for both teams, the Wizards had success using several front-court combinations, and the experimentation will continue throughout the preseason.

"We're moving more towards calling them big men and not necessarily calling them centers or power forwards," Jordan said. "We're utilizing an offense where we may have three smalls [guards] and two bigs [forwards and centers], so they're pretty much interchangeable. They can all do different things to help us."

Veteran center Etan Thomas, who made 32 starts last season, is out indefinitely after a cardiac exam taken before training camp revealed an irregularity, so the 6-foot-11 Blatche is the primary backup to Haywood.

Blatche entered Tuesday night's game at the end of the first quarter and briefly spelled Haywood at center, but he shifted to forward early in the second quarter when Songaila replaced starter Antawn Jamison.

Songaila, whose ability to rebound, dribble, pass and shoot makes him an ideal big man for Jordan's system, was only in the game for a short period before he ran a successful pick-and-roll play with guard Antonio Daniels and made an open jump shot from the wing over Cavaliers reserve center Dwayne Jones.

A few minutes later, Cavaliers guard Damon Jones appeared to be on his way to an easy layup when Blatche swooped in from the other side of the lane and swatted away the ball. At the end of the first half, Blatche faced the ultimate test when he was assigned to defend Cavaliers star LeBron James.

During another stretch of the second quarter, the Wizards had the 7-foot Haywood, the 6-11 Blatche and the 7-foot Pecherov on the court at the same time, and it was Washington's size, agility and defensive cohesion that limited the Cavaliers to 30.6 percent shooting. Also, Cleveland's 62 points were the second fewest ever scored by a Wizards opponent in a preseason game.

"We have a lot of long, very active players and we can all do things that can affect the game in a positive manner," said Haywood, who finished with five points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 20 minutes. "This was a good start for us."

A unit consisting of Blatche, Songaila, Daniels, rookie small forward Dominic McGuire and Roger Mason put together a 16-2 run that gave the Wizards a 32-17 second-quarter lead. Pecherov helped extend the advantage to 38-22 when he scored on a 17-foot jump shot and two free throws shortly after checking in late in the period.

Gilbert Arenas, who saw his first game action since injuring his left knee against Charlotte on April 4, capped the half with a shot that brought back memories from last season. With time running down in the first half, Arenas pulled up a few steps past midcourt and banked in a three-pointer. Asked whether he had called the bank, Arenas laughed.

"No, I don't have to," he said. "Everybody knows that it's going in."

Last season, Arenas made game-winning shots to beat Milwaukee, Utah and Seattle and made 14 shots with three seconds or less remaining in a quarter, half or game. On Tuesday night, Arenas finished with nine points on 2-of-11 shooting, with four assists and four steals in 21 minutes.

"It was cool," Arenas said. "My wind was there and that was what I was really the most concerned about. I just wanted to get back some of that momentum and see how the game feels again. I felt great out there."

Wizards Notes: The next preseason game is Saturday against Dallas at Patriot Center in Fairfax. . . . The first regular season meeting between the Wizards and Cavaliers will be Dec. 5 at Verizon Center.