The Day After

To quote Quentin Tarantino's “Kill Bill”: You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?

The Washington Wizards turned the tables in a big way on Thursday night at the Verizon Center, and the Cavaliers club that looked like a well-oiled machine on Monday in Cleveland, looked as muddled as a soup sandwich three days later in D.C. The series may still be tilting the Wine and Gold’s way, but the Wizards definitely served notice in Game 3.

Both clubs practiced on Friday at the Wizards’ gym, with a few hugs and handshakes exchanged when they passed in the halls – primarily with Gilbert Arenas. (Arenas’ dad was down there as well, playfully chiding the Cavaliers as they came through.)

That’s about the only smiles we’ll see for the rest of the series. After the Wizards thumped the Cavaliers by 36 on Thursday night, the two clubs – who really don’t like each other to begin with – know that it’ll be a dogfight to get into the Second Round.

Before the Cavaliers rolled in, Arenas said that the Game 3 crowd was the loudest he’s ever heard at the Verizon Center. The District faithful was definitely smelling blood and gave it to LeBron every time he touched the ball. He is definitely Public Enemy No. 1 – and it’s a role that doesn’t phase the Chosen One whatsoever.

“I think all the fans know how I approach the game every night and how I play the game,” deadpanned James. “Any time you get in a hostile environment, you want to perform well and help your team win. But at the same time, you have to maintain focus, and I’ve always been able to do that.

“The fans are the reason why we have big games,” added LeBron. “Without the fans, there is no NBA, no stars, no superstars. So, I respect their fans.”

LeBron was the only bright spot for Cleveland on Thursday, but even he didn’t have his normal game. LeBron finished with 22 points, but didn’t get an assist until midway through the third quarter and only made four trips to the line. He knows that the Cavaliers feed off his energy and knows they’ll have to be the aggressors in Game 4.

“It’s a big game for them, but it’s a big game for us, too,” said James. “Just to see how we react to getting blown out (Thursday) night. They reacted really well to getting blown out, so we have to react with a sense of urgency too.”

The Wizards closed off LeBron’s passing and driving lanes and, without his teammates sinking shots on the backside, put their captain in a precarious spot. Cavaliers who had been successful in the first two games – notably Delonte West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas – struggled in Game 3.

According to Ilgauskas, Washington’s team defense “wasn’t much different than what they tried to do the first two games, they were just successful (on Thursday).”

Big Z added: “They still double-teamed LeBron, still tried to take us out of our sets. They were just the aggressors. We turned the ball over, had some lazy passes. And that just created dunks on the other end and it got their crowd going. We know how it feels on the other side because in Game 2, everything went our way.”

The Cavaliers will try to get the Large Lithuanian more early touches on Sunday afternoon. But more than any particular strategy, they know it’s important to come out of the gate with much more intensity before the white-out blankets them the way it did in Game 3.

“At the end of the day, it’s one loss,” said LeBron. “But we know we can’t play that way on the road and try to win a game.”