WIZARDS HEAD COACH EDDIE JORDAN

On the upcoming game in Cleveland on Friday:

“We’re trying to prepare for them ( Cleveland ).  They’re a real good team with one of the best players in the league in LeBron James.  We’re going to have to find a way to corral him and get it done against a good team that’s been to the Finals and has had our number recently.  Hopefully we can stay together, be prepared and go there and play a lot better than we did last night (vs. New York ).”

On not having Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas to close games:

“That’s what the NBA is about: your best players on the floor closing out games.  I think we’ve done well and that is a credit to our players and our leadership and our coaching staff, but to get down to the wire and try to win a game is tough.  Our big closers are out, yet Antawn (Jamison) has found a way.  He had a three, a dunk and a tip-in to win the game for us against the Clippers.  He’s proven to be a closer for us, but when they take him away we need to find some other guys who can do it for us.”

On Caron Butler:

“He didn’t practice today, so he got a full day of rest and therapy and rehab.  We’ll see how he is tomorrow.”

WIZARDS FORWARD CARON BUTLER

On his state of mind after missing his sixth straight game with a left hip flexor strain:

“I’ve just been thinking about yesterday’s game, and thinking about the games coming up on Friday and Saturday, and I’m just trying to remain optimistic about getting out there.  I just have to see how I feel.  It’s a day-to-day thing, and hopefully I’ll feel physically up to it.”

On what it will take for him to return from this injury:

“I need to feel good in practice.  Pain free.  I’m not going to go through a situation in which I step back on the court and the same thing occurs like it did in Philadelphia (on February 5^th).  Then I will be of no use to the team.  I want to come back at 100% so that we can make a push.”

On watching his teammates in his absence:

“I just want to get back out there on the court.  Yesterday was a game that I felt we could have got, but we fell a little short.  The guys really worked their tails off, but something was missing.  I felt that if I was out there, we probably would have gotten over the hump.  But that’s all speculation, and I still tip my hat off to the guys for working so hard.  I’m just frustrated.  I want to be out there more than anybody.”

On what he can offer from the sideline:

“I’m trying to stay in everyone’s ear as much as possible, but it is different coming from the sideline.  That’s why the coaches always emphasize the point that they need a voice on the court.  They can be the voice off the court on the sidelines, but you need a voice on the court.  Right now, I can’t do that.  I can give encouraging words, but it hurts not to be out there.”

WIZARDS CENTER BRENDAN HAYWOOD

On moving past last night’s game:

“That’s what you’ve got to do in the NBA whether or not it’s a win or a loss.  You move on to the next game.  Whether you win or lose, that’s how you have to handle yourself.”

On the Cleveland Cavaliers:

“ Cleveland is a very good team.  They’ve been playing better of late.  LeBron is probably either the first or second best player in the league, so we’ll have our hands full.  We’re not sure how many guys we’re going to have, but we have to go out there and play.”

On closing out tight games:

“The key to closing some of these games out is executing down the stretch.  That’s what we need to do.  Last night we had a possession to extend the lead, but we didn’t execute.  Down the stretch in games, especially when you are short handed, your execution needs to become better and your overall team defense needs to become better.”

On missing Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas late in games:

“Down the stretch it has been tough this year.  Last year, we basically went to one guy.  Everybody knew what was going to happen.  If it was a tie game and we were down one or two points, we isolated Gilbert Arenas and let him go to work.  Nine out of ten times he made something good happen for us.  We don’t have that right now so we need to focus on other things.”

WIZARDS GUARD DESHAWN STEVENSON

On the team:

“We had a good practice today, and we’ll have a good practice and watch some film before we go to Cleveland tomorrow.  It has been tough, but we have to keep our heads up.  We have to do a better job closing out games.  We just had a tough game yesterday.”

WIZARDS GUARD ROGER MASON JR.

On the team:

“We are moving forward and there is light at the end of the tunnel.  We have two All-Stars coming back soon, but in the meantime we can’t let games like last night happen.  Moving forward we have to win the games we can win and wait until we get the rest of the guys back.”

More on the team:

“We know we could have given a better effort last night.  It is a little discouraging, but you don’t harp on it.  You come into practice, work hard and get ready for the next game.”

On the Cleveland Cavaliers:

“They have great guards.  Larry (Hughes) and Daniel (Gibson) are playing really well.  They know this is the time of the year you start rounding into form for the playoffs.  It will be a good game for us.”