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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Daniels's Status for the Wizards is Still Uncertain
January 18, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2008
By Ivan Carter -
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 18, 2008; Page E01
The Wizards earned their most impressive victories in recent memory when they knocked off the Boston Celtics in a home-and-home set earlier this week. Then they lost on the road to one of the worst teams in the league, the New York Knicks, on Tuesday night.
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The big difference between the wins over the Celtics and the loss to the Knicks was the absence of Antonio Daniels on Tuesday, and the Wizards could play without the veteran point guard again tonight when the Knicks visit Verizon Center.
Daniels, who missed seven games with a sprained ligament in his right knee between Dec. 15 and Dec. 29 and sat out Tuesday's game because of soreness in the same knee, did not practice yesterday and will be a game-time decision tonight.
"We'll have to see how it goes," Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan said yesterday following practice. "He's been sore. Anybody who has had a sprained knee knows what it is like. Actually, not many people know what it's like because they don't play in the NBA, but it's something he has to deal with."
If Daniels can't play or is limited, the Wizards will have to be creative as they try to snap out of a recent offensive funk. In the last three games -- two of them wins over the Celtics -- the Wizards have shot 38.3 percent and have been held to less than 100 points.
The Wizards are 14-7 with Daniels as a starter this season and 3-5 when he has not played. Roger Mason Jr. and DeShawn Stevenson have split point guard duties when Daniels has been out and both players are capable ballhandlers, but replacing the playmaking and decision-making Daniels brings to the game is not easy.
In the absence of injured all-star Gilbert Arenas, Daniels has played some of the best basketball of his 10-season career while helping the Wizards remain within two games of the first-place Orlando Magic in the Southeast Division.
In 21 games as a starter, Daniels is averaging 11 points, 6.3 assists and 1.6 turnovers while shooting 52 percent. Without him running the offense Tuesday night, the Wizards struggled to create quality shots early on, and the Knicks took advantage by building a 30-14 first-quarter lead.
The Wizards eventually got going, thanks to some timely three-point shooting. But they still shot 39.5 percent for the game, finished with only 13 assists and struggled all night to contain Knicks guards Jamal Crawford (29 points) and Nate Robinson (14 points off the bench).
However, as badly as the Wizards need Daniels in the lineup, there also is a feeling that he should not push himself if the knee does not feel right. Forward Antawn Jamison, who missed 12 games with a knee sprain last season, has talked with Daniels about his own experience.
"Of course every situation is different, but I just told him about what happened with my knee," Jamison said. "There were a couple of times when I wanted to come back a little more quickly but held off to make sure. He said that it's not that severe, but he's having problems with it. This is about the long haul. It's not about right now. We've got some guys who are playing really well and we can ill-afford to have this linger throughout the rest of the season going into the playoffs."
Regardless of Daniels's status tonight, the Wizards understand that they must bring more energy and a better defensive approach against a Knicks team that has won three straight games for the first time all season.
On Tuesday, the Knicks shot 51.2 percent, connected on 11 of 17 three-pointers and finished with a 43-37 edge in rebounding. Crawford, who has hit 12 of 17 three-point attempts in the last two games, repeatedly hurt the Wizards by rolling off of screens and making shots before a defender could arrive.
With Stephon Marbury out of action because of an ankle injury, Crawford has assumed a larger role in Coach Isiah Thomas's guard-friendly system, and the seven-year veteran is thriving.
"He's got a lot of stuff to his game," said Mason, who was a teammate of Crawford's when they played for the Bulls during the 2002-03 season and also took his turns defending Crawford on Tuesday night. "You can't really try to lock in on any one thing with Jamal. I've seen it up close in practice. He can hurt you off the dribble and he can also hurt you coming off of screens on catch-and-shoots. He's as talented a guard as there is in the league when he gets it going."
Arenas Update
Arenas recently was cleared to go through extensive shooting drills for the first time since undergoing surgery on his left knee on Nov. 21 and was on the practice court shooting after practice yesterday.
Arenas said he expects to return to game action sometime after the all-star break, Feb. 14-18.
The Wizards will host the Knicks in their first post-break game on Feb. 19. Arenas said he is optimistic that he will be able to play from 25 to 30 games before the end of the regular season. ...
The Wizards are 11-8 at Verizon Center this season and a key statistic has been points allowed. The team is 9-0 when holding an opponent to 90 points or less. ...
With a win tonight, the Wizards would improve to 21-17. The team was 22-16 through 38 games last season.
