Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
With last night's spectacular Chicago victory over Cleveland, only half a game separates the fourth-place Wizards from the fifth-place Bulls. A loss to the Magic tonight would bring the Wizards into a neck-and-neck tie with the Bulls for home court advantage but do they want that kind of photo finish?
With the season series currently tied at one apiece, the head-to-head matchup between the two teams on the bubble between the fourth and fifth spots slated for April 13th could wind up being the deciding game, both in terms of giving the victor a one-game cushion as well as being the tie-breaker decision.
After tonight's game, the Wizards play five straight games against playoff teams, then Milwaukee, and then the final Chicago game. In the meantime, the Bulls play just two playoff teams and four lottery-bound teams, so they could be riding both a superior record and a chip on their shoulder into the game since the last game they play before facing the Wizards is against their divisional rival and reigning world champions Detroit Pistons.
Either way, it's all down to the next two weeks for the Wizards. It will be a challenging sequence as they will have to play with playoff-caliber tenacity to secure homecourt advantage later in the month.
NEXT GAME
The Washington Wizards (40-30, second in the Southeast) visit their divisional rivals Orlando Magic (34-37, third in the Southeast) TONIGHT. Who will the April Fool be? The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on CSN, Sun Sports, and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
April Fools With 'Twan: Antawn Jamison wants all fans to e-mail him their funniest April Fool's Day stories. It can be a prank that you pulled on someone; prank that was pulled on you; or even a funny story that you heard about. He will post the best stories on his web site.
INJURY UPDATE
Antawn Jamison(knee),Jarvis Hayes(knee), andBrendan Haywood (thumb fracture) are all on the injured list.Anthony Peeler(knee) is out indefinitely.
Tom Knott ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Take Juan Dixon, the local favorite who led the Terrapins to the national championship three seasons ago and wound up as a backup with the Wizards.Dixon, simply put, was a wonderful collegian, the embodiment of hard work and perseverance trumping the long odds stacked against his basketball dream. As resourceful and resilient as Dixon is, he has found the NBA to be a decidedly greater challenge. There are certain truths about Dixon that cannot be hidden in the NBA. His ball-handling skills are lacking; the same with his vision. His physique is hardly NBA quality. He is a step slow against the quicker guards in the NBA. He is, on some level, a one-dimensional shooter who provides quick offense off the bench.
Chris Tomasson ofThe Rocky Mountain Newswrites: Steve Blake was ready to become a human billboard.He was ready to become a graduate of Tattoo U. Blake came up with an idea a few years ago. He figured it was the ideal tattoo for a point guard, a player who is supposed to see everything on the floor. "I thought about putting a pair of eyes on the back of my neck," Blake said. Then Blake got to thinking. Did he really want to be walking around with an extra set of pupils for "the rest of my life" and perhaps being reduced to wearing turtlenecks in the summer? Plan canceled. The Washington Wizards guard remains tattooless.
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: A glance at the 12 games left on the schedule suggests the Washington Wizards are a lock for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and the resulting homecourt advantage.The Wizards have a cumulative record of 18-12 this season against the teams they will face in those games. In fact, the Wizards (40-30) own a winning record against nine of the 12 teams and have a chance to sweep the Charlotte Bobcats, Indiana Pacers and New Jersey Nets as they did the woeful Atlanta Hawks.
Tim Povtak ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: The Magic begin the most critical -- yet most difficult -- month of their season tonight with a virtual must-win game against the Washington Wizards at the TD Waterhouse Centre.