On paper, Wizards no match for Cavs

LeBron James seems likely to have his way with undermanned Washington.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Nervous is not a feeling LeBron James has very often. But before stepping onto basketball's biggest stage last spring, he was a little shaky not knowing what to expect in his first trip to the NBA playoffs.
Turns out, he had nothing to worry about.
All James did was record a triple-double in his debut, score 41 points in his first road playoff game and average 35.7 points in six games while helping Cleveland win its first postseason series in 13 years.
So what does he have in store this year?
"You'll see," James said with a smile.
Consider yourselves warned. You, too, Wizards.
Looking for lengthy run
With a year of playoff experience under their belts, James and the Cavaliers will open what they hope is a lengthy postseason run today by playing host to injury-riddled Washington in Game 1 of their best-of-7 Eastern Conference series. Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday.
It's a rematch from last year's opening round, when the Cavaliers outlasted the Wizards in six games. Three of those were decided by one point and Games 5 and 6 went into overtime -- with Cleveland winning both.
This series doesn't figure to be nearly as tight. The second-seeded Cavaliers are expected to easily breeze past the ailing Wizards, who are missing All-Stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler.
The absence of Arenas means he and James can't reprise their classic scorer's duel from last April when they matched jumper for jumper. In Game 5, James outscored Arenas 45-44.
Although he'll be wearing street clothes, Arenas, who severely sprained his knee last month, is trying to have an influence on the series. Over the past few days he has called several of the Cavaliers, and as Cleveland guard Larry Hughes put it, told them "it's not going to be easy" against the Wizards.
James said he only listened to Arenas' trash talk. Silence was his only response.
"I don't talk trash, only when somebody talks trash a little bit to me. But he [Arenas] isn't playing," James said, grinning. "I can't talk trash to him. It doesn't make sense."
Strong debut
James' playoff debut in 2006 was similarly dumbfounding.
In the opener against the Wizards, he dropped 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to become just the third player to get a triple-double in his first playoff game. Even for a player who has continually met or exceeded expectations, it was special.
"What made him so good," Ilgauskas said, "was that he had a great timing of when to take it and when to pass it and that made us dangerous -- not only dangerous himself, but us as a team. He had the triple-double and that set the tone."
For the Wizards to have any chance, they have to stop James.
"He's a beast," said Washington's Jarvis Hayes, who has missed the playoffs the best two seasons because of injuries. "Their whole team is fueled by what LeBron does. We have to slow him down a little bit."
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