Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Washington Wizards are three-quarters of the way through a four game layover between games. Tomorrow they finish their five game home stand by hosting the Portland Trail Blazers for the first and only time this season. The good news is they have had plenty of time to let their victory over the Timberwolves sink in. From a psychological perspective, they're ready. And now it seems from a physical perspective, they're ready as well. Etan Thomas returns to the lineup tomorrow for the first time all season.
Thomas signed a $39 million, six year offer sheet with the Milwaukee Bucks over the offseason but he never requested the Wizards not to match. It was all along merely a market price-setting mechanism. The Wizards matched in the 11th hour and Thomas, the poet and political activist, soon strained his abdomen in training camp. He was expected back in December but it's a good thing they didn't rush him back in. An injury like that, reinjured, could be terrible.
The poet is now ready to be the enforcer. He will be a defensive stopper and a rebounding machine. And that's exactly what the Wizards need to help them spread the floor, pressure on defense, and collect offensive misses. With an enforcer lurking in the paint, the perimeter defenders will be given a little more room in gambling for the steal or overplaying their man. Whereas before such defense might result in layups, now it will result, at worst, in a block by Etan Thomas.
NEXT GAME
The Wizards (19-13, second in the Southeast) host the Portland Trail Blazers (15-18, third in the Northwest) tomorrow night, January 12th, 2005. The game starts at 7:00pm and will be carried on CSN and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Fans may purchase “Tsunami Relief Bandsâ€for a minimum $2 donation, with all donations collected going to UNICEF’s relief efforts for survivors of the recent tsunami in South Asia.
INJURY UPDATE
Steve Blake(ankle),Peter John Ramos(knee), andEtan Thomas (abdominal) are all on the injured list.Samaki Walker(flu) and Kwame Brown(ankle) are questionable for Wednesday's game.
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Thomas never has scored more than the 8.9 points he averaged last season, and he has had the mind-set of a lunch-pail player since the Wizards acquired him from Dallas almost four years ago.Carrying at least 260 pounds on his 6-foot-9 frame — the injury hasn't kept him out of the weight room — Thomas knows exactly what the Wizards want from him, and they are more than happy to see it coming. "Aw, man. I can't wait for Etan because it makes us more dangerous," forward Antawn Jamison said. "It takes away from Jared [Jeffries] and myself having to bang with those big guys. They bring us more toughness. If you say what we don't have and what can we improve on, it would be that."
Michael Lee ofThe Washington Postwrites: As of yesterday afternoon, the Washington Wizards had raised more than $30,000 for the tsunami relief effort in South Asia with "Tsunami Relief Bands."The Wizards teamed up with the U.S. fund for UNICEF and began selling the black wrist bands at MCI Center on Jan. 4. Several players wore the bands during the Wizards' 112-88 win against the New Jersey Nets.
Michael Lee ofThe Washington Postwrites: Etan Thomas and Coach Eddie Jordan both confirmed yesterday that the 6-foot-9 forward will be activated from the injured list before the Wizards (19-13) play the Portland Trail Blazers tomorrow at MCI Center.Thomas, who signed a six-year, $38 million contract last summer, strained his abdomen in training camp and expected to miss a few weeks. Instead, he has missed the past three months of action.