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Wizards Look to Make Necessary Home Improvements
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Stevenson, who shot 19.6 percent in last year's Cleveland sweep, hasn't been able to slow James as a defender and has totaled 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting in the first two games. Arenas got hot for a stretch of Game 1 but missed all four of his fourth-quarter shots in the Wizards' 93-86 loss. He finished with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting in Game 2.
Arenas is still limited by his surgically repaired left knee and lacks the speed he displayed before the injury, but it's a little more difficult to explain why all-star forward Caron Butler hasn't been more of a factor.
In two games, Butler has scored 26 points on 9-of-23 shooting and hasn't looked anything like the player who helped carry the Wizards earlier in the season when Arenas was out.
Butler, the only player in the NBA this season to average at least 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, missed the final three games of the regular season with a bruised right knee and may still be trying to get back into a rhythm.
Making matters worse, the Cavaliers successfully took all-star Antawn Jamison out of Game 2 by rotating several defenders, including former Maryland star Joe Smith, on him throughout the game. In the second half, Jamison managed only two shot attempts in just over 14 minutes.
As a result, Washington's "big three" hasn't added up to Cleveland's one James.
Still, Jamison believes the Wizards can improve in several areas and salvage something from this series before it turns into another romp for James and the Cavaliers.
"Like I said before, they did what they were supposed to do winning two games at home," Jamison said. "The one disappointing thing about it is the fashion in which we lost on Monday. Not playing with discipline offensively, defensively letting them get anything they wanted and just letting everything go downhill. We know what to expect [tonight]. We know how the fans are going to react and we know how important this game is. You get Game 3 and you've got a series and then you can concentrate on Game 4."
Staff writer Michael Lee contributed to this report from Independence, Ohio.
