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KLMNO PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL Short-handed Wizards trounce Bobcats wizards from D1


spent timeonandworkedon.But I don’t know if we’re that good, to hold teams to one field goal in 13 minutes. But we really contested shots and didn’t give many open looks.” Down the hallway, Charlotte


Coach Larry Brown blamed him- self for theblowout,whichmarked their ninth straight defeat on the road, the team’s longest road slide since 2008. It was also just their second loss in 11 games against Washington. “We’re not a team,” Brown said.


“We’re not well coached.We don’t play hard. To put a teamout there like that and look that way, that’s totallymy responsibility.” The Bobcats certainly did not


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


“My ultimate goal is to get this team into the playoffs,” new Wizard Rashard Lewis saidMonday, just hours after his arrival.


Shaken-up Lewis joins the Wizards


Traded fromone of the East’s best to itsworst, he readies forD.C. debut


BY TARIK EL-BASHIR Two days ago, Rashard Lewis


was a starter for the Orlando Magic, a team expected to con- tend for the championship. Monday night, he found him- selfwatching fromthe bench of the rebuilding Washington Wizards, the Eastern Confer- ence’s last-place club. Saturday’s trade for Gilbert


Arenas came as a shock to Lewis, he acknowledged during his introductory news confer- ence at Verizon Center. But after arriving earlier in the day, the veteran forward said all the right things about his sudden and unexpected change of for- tunes. “Going from a team that is


competing for a championship to a team that’s rebuilding, the goals obviously change forme,” he said. “I thought about that ever since the trade happened. Now, my ultimate goal is to get this team into the playoffs or into the hunt to make the play- offs and help these guys grow [by] being a veteran in the locker room, not by voice but most definitely by example.” Lewis did not suit up against


Charlotte, saying he did not have enough time to prepare mentally after arriving in Washington midafternoon. In- stead, he observed fromthe end of the bench in jeans and a sport coat. “First of all, I’m going to


watch and observe and not jump ahead of myself, try to come inandbe theBigBadWolf and tell everyone what to do and how to do it,” he said. Although the deal was as


much about finances as any- thing else — the Wizards will save more than $30 million by getting out from underneath Arenas’s contract — the team also hopes Lewis will bring some versatility to the team’s front court and inject veteran leadership into amostly youth- ful locker room. In addition to becoming the


Wizards’ highest paid player, Lewis,who is in the fourth year of a $118 million contract, also becomes their most accom- plished. He’s made two all-star


appearances, played on four 50-win teams (with the Magic and Seattle Supersonics) and reached the conference finals twice and the NBA Finals once. In other words, he’s used to winning. “When you rebuild, you have


to have veterans, that’s always the key,” Coach Flip Saunders said. “You need veterans who have been through it a little bit, and know where it’s at.” The big question facing


Saunders in the coming days is where to play Lewis, who playedmostly small forward for Seattle during his first nine seasons and at power forward the past three-plus seasons in Orlando. Lewis said he doesn’t have a


preference, though he hinted that he feels he’s most effective playing small forward. “Wehave toput thebest team


out on the floor, if that’s me playing the four position or if that’sme playing the three posi- tion, what ever fits the team best to win ball games,” Lewis said. He also was philosophical


about the trade that turned his personal and professional life upside down. With the Magic having lost


six of seven and his production slipping to 12.2 points per game — his lowest offensive output since his sophomore season — the 31-year-old said he under- stood Orlando General Manag- er Otis Smith’s logic. “Wins and losses, that’s what


it comes down to,” he said. “Especially when you’re on a teamlike theOrlandoMagic, an elite team. We started off the season winning. But at the same time, itwas a little up and down. We lost some games, wasn’t playingwell, and overall, our defense kind of slacked off. I guessOtis felt like he needed a change.” While the trade shook him,


to be sure, Lewis also said now that he’s had time to mull things over, he plans to use the change of scenery as motiva- tion. “This ismost definitely going


to fuel me a little bit,” he said. “I’m the type of guy, I’ve been doubted my whole life growing up, from high school to the NBA. I feel like there’s always something in front of me chal- lengingme. I just look at this as another challenge.” elbashirt@washpost.com


look prepared at the start of the secondhalfagainstaWizardsteam thatHinrichsaidwasstillsmarting from Saturday’s late collapse againstMiami. Young opened the third quarter


by nailing a three-pointer, which was followed on consecutive pos- sessions by scores from Andray Blatche (19 points) and JaValeMc- Gee (10) that stretched the Wiz- ards’ leadto57-45. Boris Diaw made the Bobcats’


only field goal of the quarter at 10:13,while theWizards ripped off the next 14 straight points to turn the game into a laugher. The Bob- catsdidn’t get anotherbasketuntil DerrickBrownscoredat9:53of the fourth, andfinishedwithastonish- ing 7 percent shooting percentage inthe thirdquarter. “We kind of still had a bad taste


inourmouthfromtheMiamigame and we wanted to come out and playwith the same intensity,”Hin- richsaid. “Andwedidthat.” Young said the players and


coaches addressed the Wizards’ penchant for weak second half starts at the intermission. “Tocomeout inthe secondhalf


like that, the first five minutes, we wanted to come out with en- ergy and that’swhatwe did,” said Young, who is averaging 23.5 points per game the past four contests. Whatwasmostsurprisingabout


the lopsided outcome was the fact that theWizards pulled it offwith- outWall andLewis. Wall missed his fourth straight


game because of a bone bruise on under his right kneecap. In all he’s missed 11 of the season’s first 26 games because of injury, and it remains unclearwhen he’ll return fromhis latest ailment. Lewis arrived in Washington


Monday afternoon, 48 hours after being acquired from the Magic in exchange for Gilbert Arenas. After taking his physical and meeting with Saunders and General Man- ager Ernie Grunfeld, Rashard said he did not have enough time to prepare himself mentally to play. It’s likely he’ll make his Wizards debutWednesdayagainstChicago, thoughSaunders saidhemightnot start. While they wait for their two


best players to join them, theWiz- ards canat least enjoy the emphat- ic endtoamiserable slide. “It feltgreat,”Youngsaid.“Hope-


fullywe canstayona roll.” Wizards notes: The team


brought back LesterHudson to fill the backup point guard role with Arenas gone and Wall out indefi- nitely. Hudson was in uniform against theBobcats. elbashirt@washpost.com


“We did it because we were never in a panic situation offensively,” —Wizards Coach Flip Saunders


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2010


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


Behind a 21-2 run sparked by veteran guard KirkHinrich, the Wizards outscored the Bobcats 31-11 in the decisive third quarter. They also held Charlotte to a franchise-low one field goal in that period.


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


Though the Wizards had forward JoshHoward, above, in the lineup for a second straight game, Washington was again withoutNo. 1 overall pick JohnWall, who was sidelined again with a bone bruise.


Arenas’s fresh start begins with his first game with Orlando BYMICHAEL LEE


atlanta — The smile was back. Thatplayful jokingnaturethatonly made cameo appearances in Gil- bert Arenas’s last few months as a member of the Washington Wiz- ards, was on full display, on the hugevideoscreenatPhilipsArena. During the second quarter of


the Orlando Magic’s 91-81 loss against the Atlanta Hawks, the camera focused onArenas andhis longtime friendJasonRichardson ontheKissCam.Richardsonblew afewkisses,butArenasdecidedto really play to the crowd,wrapping his armaround Richardson, lean- ing inandstartedlaughing. Arenas is with a new team,


wearing anewnumber, andseem- ingly in amuch better place,men- tally and physically, after theWiz- ards dealt on Saturday the former face of their franchise. Arenas came off the bench and made his first shot, a three-pointer, and calmly backpedaled down the


court. He finished with 10 points, on just 2 of 11 shooting,with three assists inMagicdebut. He was so eager to get started


on the next, next chapter of a career that latelyhasbeendefined by comebacks and supposed reju- venations, thatwhenhe foundout the tradewas official,hepersonal- ly bought a ticket to Orlando and made it to Amway Arena by half- time of the Magic’s home loss to Philadelphia. “Hewasexcitedabout theoppor-


tunity tocomeandplayhere,”Mag- ic General Manager Otis Smith said. “More than anything else, I think he would’ve been excited to go anywhere, but he’smore excited about justafreshstart.” The timing of Orlando’s dra-


matic rostermakeover—inwhich the Magic dealt away Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Marcin Gor- tat and Mickael Pietrus and broughtbackArenas,Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark — may have seemed a bit premature but Smith had grown impatient


with the performance of his team through 25 games. And, Arenas’s trade from Washington actually sparedhimfromhavingtodriveto Verizon Center for practice on Tuesday morning and step into the locker roomon the anniversa- ry of the day he brought four un- loaded guns and forever changed the course of a franchise that he once liftedto aplayoff contender. Arenas believed that he had


damaged his legacy in Washing- ton, where he ascended to star- domwithhis electrifying play and quirky off-court antics, last Dec. 21. And he never felt comfortable with his new role in the organiza- tion after the team drafted point guard John Wall with the No. 1 overall pick and shifted him over to shooting guard. Arenas had an uneven 21 games with the Wiz- ards,ashestruggledinhis roleasa veteran leader on a rebuilding team. But he has found a safe landing


spot with theMagic, since he has had a close relationship with


Smithdatingbacktowhenthetwo were in Golden State. Arenas had privately hoped that Smithwould come after him following his 50- game suspension last season. The Wizards contacted the Magic about a deal before theNBAdraft, but Smithwasworried aboutAre- nas’shealth. Smith had to make a nearly


75-minute pitch to Magic owner Rich DeVos to convince him that Arenas was worth the risk, with his reputation and the three years and $60million remaining on his salary after this season. “Quite frankly, tobehonest, Iputmyneck on the line as it relates to him,” Smith said. “I don’t have a prob- lemdoing that, because I’ve been doing that, pretty much since he came inour league.” Smith sat down and spokewith


Arenas after themaking the trade and told him to focus on basket- ball and being himself, while blocking out his past indiscre- tions. “Regardlessofwhathedoes, he’s still going to be linked to the


gunthing.That’snevergoingtogo away,”Smithsaid. “Inthis country, we’ll forgiveanyonebutaprofessi- nal athlete.We justnever forgive a professional athlete. That’s just wherewe are as a country.He has to realize, he has to go out, play basketball and let that speak for itself.” Arenas was born in Florida,


maintains an offseason home in Orlando, and grew up rooting for the Magic and Penny Hardaway, whomhe has honored bywearing No. 1.Arenas is readytoleavewhat happened in Washington in the past, as he returns to a playoff contender, on a team with the league’s best big man in Dwight Howardandhas reachedtheEast- ernConference finals the past two years, including an NBA Finals appearance in2009. Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy


saidthatwhilehedecidedtobring Arenas off the bench, he wasn’t certain that the move would be permanent. He said he could tell that Arenaswas excited about be-


ing in Orlando. “More than any- thing, he loves to play basketball and he’s a great competitor. He loves to be in situations at the end of the game and is afraid of noth- ing. If youwant to be a great team come playoff time. those are the guys youneed.” Richardson, who was Arenas’s


teammate during their first two years in the league, said this could be an ideal place. “I think it’s good for him,” said Richardson, who was acquired in a separate deal from Phoenix last Saturday. “The situation inWashingtonwas kind of tough for him, the situation with the guns, but everybody needs a fresh start. He can leave everything that happened in Washington, in Washington. A new organization, new city, new fans. They’re not worried about anything that happened inWash- ington. Only thing he needs to do is just go back to playing the way he knows how to play, having fun andbeinghimself.” leem@washpost.com


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