With the playoffs approaching, it is time to start paying attention to the NBA again and situational spots.

Washington-Cleveland UNDER 198
Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler are both out for the Wiz tonight. That will necessitate some changes in how the Wiz play.

"It's going to be a totally different team," said guard DeShawn Stevenson, who along with Arenas had been the only player to start each game this season before Wednesday night. "We lost a guy who scores 30 points a game [Arenas] and we lost a guy who averages 20 points and eight rebounds a game [Butler], so we're going to have to share the ball and play great defense."

"I move right on to what we have to do to overcome it," Jordan said. "How do we play to our strengths? That has to be our thought process."

Arenas and Butler have accounted for 42.8 percent of the team's scoring, Butler ranked second in the league in steals (2.13 per game) and Arenas has earned a reputation as one of the game's most clutch players.

"We cannot rely on Gilbert and Caron with their terrific talents to break down defenses, make correct reads and make big plays but we have enough size and we have enough able bodies to do some certain things," Jordan said. "We will switch some things, we will open up the floor at times and then we will slow the game down a little bit."

Slow the game down? Music to my ears.

Cleveland is usually pretty bad on the ass end of back to back games.

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Washington/New Jersey Under 203
That one worked so well, I'm going to try it again. Going back to the well with a limbo on the Wiz. As I crank the numbers, it doesn't appear the total has been adjusted enough to reflect how the Wiz will play without Arenas and Butler. They put up only 94 at home Friday night. That included one big quarter, but each of the other three quarters they scored 23 or less. Now they go on the road in a back to back without their go-to guy. Jersey on back-to-back also. Doubt you will see both teams at their best.