Wizards LookFor MoreFrom Young Players

The Washington Wizards snapped a five-game losing streak with a 106-94 home win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night and while one victory over another struggling team won't cure all that ails them, it did create a modicum of momentum as they continue the season's longest homestand.

The Wizards (10-37) host the Memphis Grizzlies (11-35), who have lost 12 straight and recently fired their coach, tonight at Verizon Center.

"It's funny to hear a team that has our record having a must-win game but, this was a good win for us because it starts off on a homestand here where we have five games in a row and it gives us a little confidence," said Tapscott, who gave his players yesterday off after a grueling stretch that included a five-game road trip and eight games in 13 days overall. "You can go into shoot-around [this morning] and emphasize all of your points and say: We did these things the other night and we won. The sales job is always easier when you win."

Saturday's victory was very much the product of facing a lousy Clippers team that turned the ball over 25 times, but it also featured some encouraging performances from up and down the lineup.

Specifically, rookie center JaVale McGee was an active presence from the moment he checked into the game late in the first quarter and finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and a block in 24 high-energy minutes.

Also, second-year guard Nick Young snapped out of a recent slump to score 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes. Coming one night after second-year point guard Javaris Crittenton and second-year forward Dominic McGuire turned in their best individual efforts during a loss at Philadelphia, Saturday's game provided hope that the team's youngsters are coming along.

Then again, none of the young players has been consistent. That, along with injuries to Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood, have been a major factor in the team's poor record.

What the team can expect from the youngsters tonight against the struggling Grizzlies is anyone's guess.

"That's what they've been doing all year," said veteran forward Antawn Jamison, who has been the essence of consistency with 24 double-doubles on the season. "Every once in a while they give us an excellent game. Now it's 'can you be consistent with it?' It was good to see McGee and Crittenton out there playing well and Nick finally got out of his slide, but my thing all year has been, let's be consistent with it night in, night out, and being able to rely on you. JaVale played an awesome game and that's what we need from him. Protect the rim and offensively, go to the rim. In order for us to put something together and win some games, we need our young guys to be consistent."

Young, who is averaging 10.2 points on 45.5 percent shooting along with 1.8 assists and 1.1 turnovers, has particularly been a mystery. After a solid start that included a 23-point effort in a loss at Detroit in the second game of the season, his production dipped along with his minutes. Then after a quiet December and start to January, he exploded by averaging 25.8 points on 71 percent shooting during a four-game stretch.

Then, after opponents began keying their defenses to slow him, Young went quiet again, saw his minutes dip and failed to score in double figures in seven straight games.

That came to an end Saturday night. What the Wizards can expect out of the streaky Young tonight and going forward is anyone's guess.

"I will say to you that he's only a second-year player," Tapscott said. "He was a first-year player forced to play a lot last year and had his moments but generally, it's your third or fourth year when you're supposed to be turning the corner and becoming a more consistent player and he's still at least a year away from that."

In a way, Young's up-and-down play is a perfect illustration of the situation the Wizards find themselves in as an organization. With Arenas, who is armed with a guaranteed $111 million contract, in no apparent hurry to come back from a third knee surgery and the playoffs a mere pipe dream, the development of the team's youngsters is about the only thing that matters.

"He's still learning how to play the game," Tapscott said. "I always tell him that there is a difference between being an NBA talent and being an NBA player. Being an NBA player, that's a guy you can consistently mark down for certain things and that takes time and there's no substitute for time."