Arenas is assassin waiting to strike
Washington's point guard has yet to carry the Wizards.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- See LeBron play well. See the Cleveland Cavaliers win.
See LeBron play not-so-well. See the Cavaliers lose.
The first-round meeting between the Cavaliers and Washington Wizards might as well be called the LeBron James Series, given all the attention paid to the Cleveland star making his playoff debut.
Gilbert Arenas wouldn't mind doing a bit of upstaging.
With the series tied going into tonight's Game 3 in Washington, the Wizards' point guard was asked when there will be a return of the "Eastern Conference Assassin," the nickname he gave himself after being snubbed in the coaches' voting for the All-Star game.
"I'm waiting. I'm waiting," Arenas said Thursday. "Right now, they're focused on me. And they should be. But as long as we're in the game, I don't need to try to attack.
"But don't worry. He will come out in the series."
The comparison
Arenas, who eventually made the All-Star game as an injury replacement, had more 40-point games (11) than James (10) during the regular season, but against the Cavaliers he has yet to have one of those stretches where he carries the Wizards.
Arenas scored 26 points in the Game 1 loss and 30 in the Game 2 victory, but he's only shooting 39 percent (17-for-44) and has frequently been content to distribute the ball against a Cavaliers defense that is obviously wary of the No. 4 scorer in the league.
"I think he may be more aggressive," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "He's a little bit different at home -- he attacks early and often. But he knows that the best players help their teammates, and that's what he's been doing."
A big game from Arenas isn't required for a Washington victory. James may be the Chosen One, but the Wizards have the Big Three.
In Game 2, it was Caron Butler who almost single-handedly dug his team out of an early hole by scoring 10 of 14 points during a first-quarter run.
Arenas took over from there, then he got struggling Antawn Jamison in gear by saying, "You've got to let that thing fly."
"He pump-faked and threw the ball to Brendan [Haywood], and the ball got stolen," Arenas said. "I'm like, 'That's not what you do.' ...
"When Antawn is at his best is when he's not thinking. He just has to shoot it and let it fly and not think about looking for somebody else."
Breaking out
Jamison got going with a four-point play and scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half.
"That was big for me," Jamison said. "For some reason, I just couldn't get it going. To knock the shot down and go to the free-throw line, it kind of got me into a rhythm and kind of got my energy up."
The Big Three had finally come to play.
"We really put it upon our shoulders to come out and play well," Jamison said. "Caron had it going early and I had it going late. Those are the things that we're accustomed to. Teams know that we're the highest-scoring trio in the league. If we're playing well, it's going to be hard to beat us."
The Wizards are interested to see how James reacts in his first road playoff game, where the crowd will be mostly hostile and the public address announcer won't be bellowing his praises after every made basket.
"They have Eric Snow, Donyell Marshall; they have players who have been to playoff games," Arenas said, "but the main player on that team hasn't, and I think that's where our advantage is."
Thinks he can handle it
For his part, James appears unfazed by the prospect of playing on the road -- or by his performance in Game 2.
The Wizards dared him to do more by guarding him one-on-one, but they also made sure they put a body on him whenever he entered the paint.
"Roughhousing, that never has an effect on my game," James said. "I can play finesse. I can play physical. Whatever type of game there is, I'm going to be there for it."
James, like Arenas, had a bit of a guarantee of his own.
"I felt myself forcing the action a little bit in Game 2," James said. "You learn from mistakes, of course. I've always been able to do that. My teammates are going to want me to do things. I can't shy away from the action. If I'm out there missing shots or if I'm making shots, I've still got to be aggressive.
"You learn from it, and I'll be ready for Game 3. I promise you."