[MJG]

<center>Washington Wizards (1-2)
vs.
<font color=#0B479D>Dallas</font> <font color=#258ADD>Mavericks</font> (2-1)



11.5.03
7:00 PM on CSN

Key Matchup: PG
vs.

Matchup to Watch: SF
vs.

MJG's Prediction
WAS 89-101 <font color=#0B479D>D</font><font color=#258ADD>A</font><font color=#0B479D>L</font></center>
<hr><center>
WAS 100-90 <font color=#0B479D>D</font><font color=#258ADD>A</font><font color=#0B479D>L</font>

Player of the Game

25 points (11-25 FG), 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 38 minutes

Next Game
11.7.03
7:00 PM on CSN
vs. Toronto Raptors (2-1)</center>

[CP26]

Walker plays SF? I though Jamison was

[MJG]

Jamison comes off the bench, Walker starts at the 3. I put it as my matchup to watch because I think both players are going to struggle guarding the other big time. If Hayes can take advantage of that more than Walker (a tough feat, but it's possible), it could really help us out.

This assumes that they have all their players there and healthy -- Dirk twisted his ankle tonight (though he came back to finish the game) and Fortson didn't start. They ran a Nash/Delk/Finley/Walker/Dirk lineup, which would change my SF matchup.

[jazzy1]

EJ is gonna spend the next couple of days fussing and cussing so I expect the Wizards to give tremendous effort and steal this game. The Mavs don't have their chemistry down yet and while they score alot of points they don't defend at all.

I think 2 match-ups will be big here. Kwame and Dirk. Along with Walker and whomever.

JJ is gonna be huge this game. He has the size and perimeter agility to guard either Walker or Dirk.

I look for an up tempo game and the Wizards doing a good job with pts in the paint.

I look for Arenas to have a real big game as well as hughes and kwame.

The Wizards WIN.

[MJG]

I too think that JJ will be very key in this game. Assuming that Walker starts at SF, I doubt Hayes will be able to handle him on defense if he goes inside. Jeffries, on the other hand, has enough size to give him a little more trouble.

[erickboy22]

i believe that wizards will play the mavs competitively but they just don't have the firepower to keep up ... The Wiz lose but i see that Arenas, Kwame and Etan will play well ... Arenas b/c i think he'll be looking to get his shot a lil more often and Kwame and Etan will take advantage of the weak-post defense and score some inside points ... Wiz lose 105-97

[local_sportsfan]

The Wiz win 98-92. We destroy the Mavs in the paint and on the glass. Etan goes crazy, scoring 19 and grabbing 15 boards. Kwame chips in with 21 and 9.

[MJG]

I think Etan is going to go wild on the inside, I'm going to predict a career game from him. I think a game of around 20/15, close to what local_sportsfan said, is entirely possible. On the other hand, I think this won't be such a hot game for Kwame. I think he's going to be in foul trouble against this one. He'll probably be guarding either Dirk, Jamison, or Walker whenever he's in there, three tough players to guard. Even if he stays out of foul trouble, staying with those guys on defense is going to take a lot of work, which might slow him down on offense.