WASHINGTON -- Much of the crowd of 19,859 for the Wizards' home opener last night got to their seats a little late. That was a good sign -- the streets around MCI Center were packed with cars and fans on foot some two hours before tip-off, indicating that the team's prospects and its early production were paying off.
Meanwhile, many of the fans who were in their seats for player introductions wore Miami Heat black and red and whooped it up for Shaquille O'Neal. Old habits die hard, even when you're 2-0 for the first time in 10 years. Chances are still good that if you're at MCI for a Wizards game, you're there to see the other team.
Yet there were a handful of indicators last night that the tide was turning. Twice in the third quarter, the Heat was forced to call time out to cool off Wizards hot streaks that threatened the lead it held virtually the whole night -- and each time the Wizards were escorted to their bench with standing ovations.
That was only the beginning. They spurred the same reaction with 3 1/2 minutes left in the game -- after trimming the lead one more time, this time to 99-98. When they tied it with 2:26 to go, for the first time since the opening minutes, the roar was loud and unmistakable in its leanings.
Undermanned once again and overmatched at two positions all night, the Wizards didn't buckle until the final 90 seconds, and it was Eddie Jones, rather than Shaq or Dwyane Wade, who threw the final daggers. So the Wizards lost, 118-106, and didn't get to 3-0 for the first time since Jeff Malone was the go-to guy.
But the Wizards, not the NBA's new marquee team, wound up as the main attraction.
They've got 40 more chances to do that. They have a chance to accomplish it if, and when, all their pieces are back in place. If they can manage with what they have now, with so many spots on the bench taken up by guys in suits as was the case last night, when those players get back into uniform, then the MCI Center can get back to being more than the place for visiting fans to see their favorites.
Coach Eddie Jordan was guardedly optimistic before the game, noting that his group was adapting exactly as it needed to without much of an inside presence. No Kwame Brown (until his foot heals), no Etan Thomas (until his abdominal strain is better), no Brendan Haywood (until Tuesday, because this was the last game of his suspension for the preseason slap-fight in Chicago). That required a completely different game plan at both ends, especially when Shaq was coming in.
