Gilbert Arenas

At the time of Arenas' surgery, Washington had followed five straight losses to open the season with six consecutive wins, three of them without Arenas, who had already been sitting out to rest his knee. Still, it remained an open question how the Wizards would perform without their go-to player. In 2006-07, the team was outscored by 11.4 points per 100 possessions with Arenas on the bench - a mark commensurate with the league's worst teams. Playing without Arenas and All-Star forward Caron Butler at the end of the 2006-07 season, Washington lost 10 of its final 12 games, including a four-game playoff sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

More than a month after losing Arenas, the Wizards have more than been able to hold their own. They are 16-15 on the season after beating Milwaukee on Friday, and 13-10 in games without Arenas. Washington currently holds a percentage-points advantage over the tight competition for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, which would mean home-court advantage if the season ended today. The Wizards are also fourth in the East in point differential (+2.0 ppg).

The biggest reason Washington has stayed competitive in the East despite losing Arenas is improved defense. The Wizards rank 18th in the league in Defensive Rating, which is an enormous step forward from last year, when only Milwaukee and Memphis allowed more points on a per-possession basis. Given where they started, it was almost inevitable the team would improve on defense, but the progress also has its roots in an injury - not the one suffered by Arenas.

Washington also lost center Etan Thomas prior to the season when he had to undergo open-heart surgery to repair his aortic valve. In his absence, Wizards Head Coach Eddie Jordan has increased starting center Brendan Haywood's playing time from 22.6 minutes per game to 27.4 this season. Haywood is the team's best defender (Washington's Defensive Rating was 6.6 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor last season), so that's helped the defense. Additionally, young big man Andray Blatche has successfully stepped into Thomas' reserve role and become a formidable defender in his own right, averaging 1.6 blocks per game and 3.4 per 40 minutes. Blatche's development has meant the Wizards no longer see much of a defensive drop-off with Haywood on the bench.

While Washington has improved on defense, make no mistake - the Wizards still win with their offense, which is ranked 10th in the NBA on a per-possession basis. It is here that Washington has been able to not only survive but even thrive without Arenas. Much of the credit for that success has to go to Butler, who has managed to move into the ranks of the league's elite scorers this season. Butler has added the three-pointer to his game this season, making 33 of them (his career high is 41 in a season) at a 40.2% clip. Butler has been a very efficient scorer this season; amongst the 28 players who average 20 points a game, his 58.2% True Shooting Percentage ranks fifth. Butler is also making more plays with the ball, handing out a career-high 4.6 assists per game.

To replace Arenas in the lineup, the Wizards have been lucky to promote a proven veteran in former Sonics point guard Antonio Daniels. Daniels has been playing his usual brand of mistake-free basketball, posting a 3.24 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks him ninth in the NBA. The concern is that Daniels is playing heavy minutes - a career-high 30.3 per night - which puts stress on his own troublesome knee. Daniels missed seven games with a sprained MCL before returning on Wednesday.

The Seattle SuperSonics head East to Washington, D.C. with two days off after Thursday's hard-fought loss in Phoenix. The schedule has given the Sonics some rest early in the new year, with just the one game in the first five days. The Sonics were also able to get healthy Thursday, bringing three players back in the lineup. One of them, forward Chris Wilcox subsequently suffered an unrelated injury, a dislocated finger on his right hand, which has his status up in the air for this game. While the Sonics have to travel further than any other team in the NBA, they've had a lot of success on the East Coast, going 3-3 against East opponents on the road this season.

KEY MATCHUP
	Wizards forward Antawn Jamison broke into the NBA under Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo when both were in Golden State. Since then, Jamison has developed into one of the league's most dangerous power forwards with the ability to score inside and out. His 51 three-pointers rank second amongst post players, and Jamison is also very capable of getting to the basket either from the post or off the dribble. The Sonics, including Nick Collison, did a solid job defensively against Jamison last season. He played in just one of the two matchups and had 21 points, but needed 21 shots (making just seven) to get them. Jamison is averaging a career-high 10.6 rebounds per game this season, but Collison has been doing yeoman's work lately on the glass, pulling down at least 10 rebounds in four of his last six games.

Another close game, another loss for the Sonics on March 21. Tied at 106 with the Wizards, the Sonics saw Arenas get the final shot. He isolated against Earl Watson at the top of the key, drove left and got to the basket. His banker went through the net just as the clock hit zero, giving Washington a thrilling 108-106 victory. The teams got to the tie with wild action in the final minute. Daniels pushed Washington ahead by leaking ahead to a draw a foul in transition and hitting both free throws. Rashard Lewis had his shot blocked by Michael Ruffin in the lane, but got another chance when Darius Songaila split two free throws. This time, Lewis drew a foul and hit both free throws, setting up Arenas' heroics.

For most of the night, the story was Wilcox's play. Wilcox put together the second 20-20 outing of his career, finishing with 27 points and a season-high 22 rebounds. Wilcox, Lewis (26 points, 10 boards) and Collison (10 points, 10 rebounds) all recorded double-doubles, the first time since December 2003 that three Sonics pulled down at least 10 boards. Playing without guard Ray Allen (bone spur, left ankle), the Sonics also got 15 points off the bench from Watson. Arenas, however, was simply too good. He scored 42 points on 13-for-24 shooting, 6-for-12 from downtown and 10-of-12 from the line. He scored at least 10 points in every quarter - including the game-winner.

Kia Surprising Stat

INJURIES

Sonics - Forward Chris Wilcox (sprained left knee) is a game-time decision. Center Robert Swift (tendinitis and contusion, right knee) is out.

Washington - Guard Gilbert Arenas (knee surgery), forward Oleksiy Pecherov (hairline fracture, right ankle) and center Etan Thomas (heart surgery) are out.

For more analysis before tonight's game, listen to the Sonics Pregame Show starting at 9:30 on KTTH 770 AM.