Wizards

I have to take at least a moment today to celebrate the Wizards' back-to-back victories over the Celtics. They finished last night on a 25-6 run to complete a come-from-behind victory at 88-83 in Boston. This comes on the heels of an 85-78 victory on Saturday night in Washington. The fact is, the Celtics couldn't stop Caron Butler (above and right) when it counted. He scored 21 to lead the Wizards' scorers. He and Jamison are now the NBA's leading scoring duo.

When I turned the game on last night, the Wizards were down in the fourth, and then the Celtics completed a 16-4 run that left me thinking the Wizards were done for. Tommy Heinsohn was gloating about how great the Celtics were, and not a good word for the Wizards at all. Even when Haywood blocked Tony Allen's shot off the court, Heinsohn was still all about how great Tony Allen is. The Celtics are great this year. But I got so sick of hearing Heinsohn's one-sided commentary that I turned down the volume, and watched in silence as the Wizards mounted a terrific comeback. They went on that 25-6 run over the last 6:24 of the game, and only knew they'd won when Deshawn Stevenson put them up by 4 with a free-throw at .5 seconds left.

I can't say enough about what a joy it has been to watch this team this year. They lost their starting center, Etan Thomas (below), to heart-surgery before the season began. (And by the way, doctors have just cleared Etan to practice with the team! Good for him! Yay! I was afraid he'd never play again. They gave him a new aorta valve. Oh, the miracles of modern medicine.) And then they lost Gilbert Arenas early on for at least 3 months. And yet, without Arenas, they're still only a game and a half back from the division leader after starting 0-5. Their record without Arenas this year is 17-11.

Note the low scores in the Boston games. Boston has been winning more with their defense this year than with their offense. Washington, long the epitome of a porous NBA defense, has matched Boston's intensity of defense. And they're playing team basketball. What a novel concept! They pass the ball around and look for open shots. Eddie Jordan (left ) has done a great job with this team.