Most fans who watched game 4 of the Washington Wizards/Cleveland Cavaliers series probably think it just came down to only one shot- which is true.  But if you followed the game closely, the Wizards had several opportunities to take the game over.

         
      The Cavaliers left the door open for the Wizards throughout the 4^th quarter.  Entering the 4^th quarter, three starters for the Cavaliers were in foul trouble, F/C Ben Wallace had 4, C Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 4 and all-star G/F Lebron James had 3.  The Wizards have talented players who can put the ball on the floor and can get to the basket, especially all-star F Caron Butler, who can get to the basket against anyone.  Instead, the Wizards settled for jump shots.  The Wizards shot 46 percent from the field for the game, but shot 50 percent for the quarter.  The Cavaliers had 24 points from the paint, but only 2 points in the quarter.  The Wizards hit 36 points from the paint and 10 points in the quarter.  By settling for jump shots, they let the Cavaliers off the hook.  If the Wizards attacked more, they would have put more pressure on the Cavaliers and, perhaps, had more attempts from the free throw line. 

          
     The Cavaliers accomplished their job by dominating the boards, 51-31 with 18 coming on the offensive end.  The Cavaliers led the league in rebounding with 45 per game and in against Washington, they’ve grabbed a total 184 averaging 46 per game.  The Wizards are averaging 36 rebounds per game.

           
    The Wizards must continue to get to the line.  The Wizards are 4^th in the league in free-throw shooting at 78 percent.  The Wizards shot 79 percent for the game from the line and 74 percent for the series.  The Wizards have had 136 attempts this series averaging 34 attempts per game compared to the Cavaliers at 113 attempts averaging 29 per game.

         
      It is important for G Gilbert Arenas to get his confidence back, but he is not able to perform at the level he is use to because he is not completely healthy.  For the Wizards to play on, Arenas must play a lesser role so the Wizards can get back to playing the way they played when he was injured.  This means ball movement, believing in the system, and allowing the playmakers, Caron Butler, all-star F Antawn Jamison, G DeShawn Stevenson and G Roger Mason, Jr., to make plays. 

          
     The Wizards backs are against the wall heading into Cleveland down 1-3 for the series, but they have the talent to come out of this series on top.  The Wizards must bring energy on both ends of the floor.  James is licking his chops for game 5.  Stevenson, Mason and Jamison help set a franchise record of 575 three-point field goals this season.  Stevenson (158), Mason (130) and Jamison (120) also became the first trio in Washington history to hit at least 100 three-pointers in a season.  In this series, the Wizards scored 160 points from the paint averaging 40 per game when the Cavaliers scored 126 points from the paint averaging 31 per game.  In translation, the Wizards can shoot well beyond the arc and can score inside.  It can be done, but the Wizards must focus on playing ball and not on certain comments.

Written by Barry Barnes