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Bench Warmer
When the game was mercifully over, LeBron James took a little bit longer than usual to look down toward the Wizards bench. The season series with his biggest rival -- well, make that former rival -- was over and James knew it would never be the same.
He'd never see these Wizards again.
The Cavs and Wizards played a nondescript game Wednesday night. It was a 121-98 blowout. And that is news. For years, these teams have played each other like it is the playoffs, even in November. There are usually hard fouls, nasty looks and technicals. It didn't matter who was injured or what the standings said, every game was considered a statement game. A clear product of three consecutive years of first-round playoff meetings, all three won by the Cavs and none of the three earning the Wizards' respect.
Last season there were three teams that had winning records against the Cavs. The Lakers, the Magic and the Wizards, who won the season series 2-1 despite having just 19 wins on the season. It was a genuine rivalry. Key word being was.
Wednesday's game had no edge whatsoever, the Wizards reacting to the news of Gilbert Arenas being suspended not by stepping up but by rolling over. Staring into Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood and even DeShawn Stevenson's eyes, James didn't see the fire. And he knew.
"Tonight was nothing personal with Washington at all," James said. "I think it is over and done with."
He meant the rivalry and, it sounded like, the current incarnation of the team.
Passed away is beloved owner Abe Pollin, who opened his check book in the final years of his life to keep the team's stars together, paying up to give Arenas and Antawn Jamison extensions worth more than $160 million. Apparently now gone is the belief that the Wizards want to keep those two together with Butler to finally fulfill their destiny once they got past that string of injuries they could never shake.
Butler didn't even seem into the game against the Cavs, a team he's carried the Wizards to victories over numerous times. He went through the motions for eight points in 38 minutes, often just not even hinting an interest in fighting through screens. He hears trade rumors everyday and he's playing like someone who's waiting for it.
With Arenas back this season, Butler's numbers are down across the board from his All-Star stats. When Arenas was firing off his imaginary shots in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Butler was absent from the ring of teammates around him. And he's avoided the media, perhaps because he didn't want to give his true thoughts on the matter.
James -- who has been talking privately with his teammates about the Arenas-Javaris Crittenton incident even before it became public after being tipped off by a friend -- didn't dodge the question about the suspension.
"Surprised? Honestly, I'm not," James said. "People asked me what I thought would happen and it was exactly what happened. I didn't know it would be that extreme but I thought he'd probably get suspended indefinitely. I know Gil loves the game of basketball and for the game to be taken away from you is tough. But you've got to use better judgment sometimes."
Jamison was in the huddle surrounding Arenas in an image that will go down in history, way more salient than his various Tweets and mocking of NBA Commissioner David Stern as "mean." He's been extremely supportive of his teammates over the last few years, even when he's had to take on the role of a parent when Arenas and Stevenson were cooking up mischief and influencing younger players like Nick Young and Andray Blatche.
He's doing it again with this current dust up, encouraging the younger players to support a player they may never be on the court with again.
"Whatever the circumstances are, we're going to miss him," Jamison said. "But it goes beyond basketball now. This guy loves to play the game of basketball and hopefully one day, we want to see him back on the basketball court one day. In this situation, we have to support him as his teammate and his friends."
But Jamison is in the same situation as Butler. He will be a daily item in the rumors as the Wizards shop around for their options to re-make their team under an incoming owner. So will other players, anyone who isn't nailed down.
That is the way it is headed and it seems crystal clear, which is why James and his teammates were feeling almost nostalgic about their old battles with their old adversaries.
Meanwhile, down the hall, the Wizards couldn't dwell on that past. They waited for what was next, be it from the league office, from the police, or from the general manager telling them they are on the move.
"Right now, it's a like a black cloud is over us," Stevenson said. "If it hit us over the head again, we might break. It's just a lot of stuff we're dealing with right now with Gilbert, we're losing games, the media is here everyday, not because we're winning. It's tough. I don't know how to react to it."
By Brian Windhorst
Special to ESPN.com
He'd never see these Wizards again.
The Cavs and Wizards played a nondescript game Wednesday night. It was a 121-98 blowout. And that is news. For years, these teams have played each other like it is the playoffs, even in November. There are usually hard fouls, nasty looks and technicals. It didn't matter who was injured or what the standings said, every game was considered a statement game. A clear product of three consecutive years of first-round playoff meetings, all three won by the Cavs and none of the three earning the Wizards' respect.
Last season there were three teams that had winning records against the Cavs. The Lakers, the Magic and the Wizards, who won the season series 2-1 despite having just 19 wins on the season. It was a genuine rivalry. Key word being was.
Wednesday's game had no edge whatsoever, the Wizards reacting to the news of Gilbert Arenas being suspended not by stepping up but by rolling over. Staring into Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood and even DeShawn Stevenson's eyes, James didn't see the fire. And he knew.
"Tonight was nothing personal with Washington at all," James said. "I think it is over and done with."
He meant the rivalry and, it sounded like, the current incarnation of the team.
Passed away is beloved owner Abe Pollin, who opened his check book in the final years of his life to keep the team's stars together, paying up to give Arenas and Antawn Jamison extensions worth more than $160 million. Apparently now gone is the belief that the Wizards want to keep those two together with Butler to finally fulfill their destiny once they got past that string of injuries they could never shake.
Butler didn't even seem into the game against the Cavs, a team he's carried the Wizards to victories over numerous times. He went through the motions for eight points in 38 minutes, often just not even hinting an interest in fighting through screens. He hears trade rumors everyday and he's playing like someone who's waiting for it.
With Arenas back this season, Butler's numbers are down across the board from his All-Star stats. When Arenas was firing off his imaginary shots in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Butler was absent from the ring of teammates around him. And he's avoided the media, perhaps because he didn't want to give his true thoughts on the matter.
James -- who has been talking privately with his teammates about the Arenas-Javaris Crittenton incident even before it became public after being tipped off by a friend -- didn't dodge the question about the suspension.
"Surprised? Honestly, I'm not," James said. "People asked me what I thought would happen and it was exactly what happened. I didn't know it would be that extreme but I thought he'd probably get suspended indefinitely. I know Gil loves the game of basketball and for the game to be taken away from you is tough. But you've got to use better judgment sometimes."
Jamison was in the huddle surrounding Arenas in an image that will go down in history, way more salient than his various Tweets and mocking of NBA Commissioner David Stern as "mean." He's been extremely supportive of his teammates over the last few years, even when he's had to take on the role of a parent when Arenas and Stevenson were cooking up mischief and influencing younger players like Nick Young and Andray Blatche.
He's doing it again with this current dust up, encouraging the younger players to support a player they may never be on the court with again.
"Whatever the circumstances are, we're going to miss him," Jamison said. "But it goes beyond basketball now. This guy loves to play the game of basketball and hopefully one day, we want to see him back on the basketball court one day. In this situation, we have to support him as his teammate and his friends."
But Jamison is in the same situation as Butler. He will be a daily item in the rumors as the Wizards shop around for their options to re-make their team under an incoming owner. So will other players, anyone who isn't nailed down.
That is the way it is headed and it seems crystal clear, which is why James and his teammates were feeling almost nostalgic about their old battles with their old adversaries.
Meanwhile, down the hall, the Wizards couldn't dwell on that past. They waited for what was next, be it from the league office, from the police, or from the general manager telling them they are on the move.
"Right now, it's a like a black cloud is over us," Stevenson said. "If it hit us over the head again, we might break. It's just a lot of stuff we're dealing with right now with Gilbert, we're losing games, the media is here everyday, not because we're winning. It's tough. I don't know how to react to it."
By Brian Windhorst
Special to ESPN.com
