Sore Knee Slows Down Wizards' Daniels

Like his team, Wizards point guard Antonio Daniels is limping through the early portion of the season. Daniels, who missed Saturday's ugly 106-81 loss in Orlando after developing soreness in his right knee, did not practice yesterday and is day-to-day according to Coach Eddie Jordan.

An examination revealed no serious damage, but Daniels had his right knee encased in ice bags yesterday and he favored the leg as he left the court for the locker room after practice.

"He has a sore knee and we'll see how his rehab will go," Coach Eddie Jordan said. "Whenever he's ready. It's going to be up to the trainers and doctors and up to him as to when he's going to be able to play."

Daniels has not been ruled out for tomorrow night's game against the Utah Jazz at Verizon Center, but Jordan said Juan Dixon would make his second straight start at guard alongside DeShawn Stevenson.

The Wizards (0-5) will attempt to avoid the worst start in franchise history. They opened 0-5 last season but rebounded to win six straight.

Dixon, who finished with three points on 1-of-6 shooting with three assists against the Magic on Saturday night, has been among the team's most consistent players so far but his role will be different as a starter.

"I'm running with two all-stars," Dixon said in reference to Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. "So my job is to try and get those guys involved as much as possible, get the team set, execute the offense and hopefully get us a good shot."

Jordan said he has tried to remain as positive as possible with his team, which had been competitive in every game until Saturday night's lopsided loss. Behind Dwight Howard, Orlando took control with a 30-9 second-quarter run and never looked back.

"Right now it's tough, when you're 0-5 and you've come close a few times, it's a little bit down but we had a good practice and they understand where we are," Jordan said. "You've just got to fight through it, fight through it, fight through it until you can come up with a win. Every game is an opportunity and you never know where your wins come from so we're working on staying upbeat and working on our execution so we can give ourselves a chance."

Even after learning that three-time all-star guard Gilbert Arenas would miss training camp, the preseason and the first month of the regular season with a left knee injury, the Wizards expressed confidence that they would remain competitive.

A major source of that optimism is Daniels, who stepped in for Arenas last November and helped the Wizards overcome a rough start. The team was 37-26 in games he started.

However, the knee has bothered Daniels off and on since camp -- he missed one preseason game to give it some rest -- and he did not look like the same player through the first four games.

Daniels is averaging 5.5 points on 43.8 percent shooting and 4.5 assists while lacking the explosiveness and lateral quickness he displayed last season. That is key because with Daniels on the floor, the Wizards rely on him in the pick-and-roll game to create open shots for Butler, Jamison and Stevenson, who is also off to a rough start offensively.

With Dixon, who is not a traditional point guard, the offense takes on a different look.

"Juan scores a little easier than Antonio," Jordan said. "He doesn't run as many pick-and-rolls and he doesn't drive to the basket and get to the line as much as Antonio but he's a threat from the perimeter -- from the three -- and he scores a little easier. He's smaller but he fights his butt off in the post so I don't see guard backing him down and he picks up full court."

Wizards Note: Butler was excused from practice so he could attend to a family matter. He is expected to practice today and play tomorrow night.