FanHouse

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Cavaliers-Wizards game tonight.

1. The Agent Elephant In The Room: I understand folks not wanting to talk about it. But, we're going to talk about it. Two Washington wins? 10 minutes and 2 points combined for Gilbert Arenas. Three losses? Close to 85 minutes for Agent Zero. On the surface, it makes pretty simple sense. Injured player, can't effectively perform, drags down the team. However, it's more than that. The Wizards seem to revel in being without their star. Caron Butler was spectacular in Gilbert's first night back ... out. They seem more cohesive, and more importantly, they're winning more often. Even Zero admitted they're better without him right now. This series had the distinct look of a mismatch after Game 4, and all of a sudden, losing their "best" player may end up being exactly what the Wizards need to get over the hump.

2. Oh, THERE's The Wally I Know And Love: Wally Szczerbiak was apparently walking into Quicken Loans Arena when he passed a vehicle. And in the window of this vehicle, he saw a dreadful sight. Himself. And then he remember who he is. And promptly shot 1 of 6 from the field. Szczerbiak is undeniably the inconsistent thread that leavs the Cavaliers hanging in the wind. Sometimes he snaps, sometimes he holds. So you could say that if you want to destroy the Cavaliers, just hold this Wally while you walk away (while you walk away). The Cavs need supporting three-point shooting to win, unless LeBron has one of, you know, those nights.

3. Imperceptible. Imperceptibly Awesome. : The Cavaliers have an 8.4 rebound per game advantage in this series. LeBron James leads all rebounders for the Cavs with 8.8 rebounds per game. Now, I'm from Arkansas, and even I can do that kind of math. (I'll now pause for your jokes in the comments. Shall we continue?) Let's all take a second and remember he's a freaking small forward (technically). The problem is that the Wizards have stretched themselves too thin. You can't put a body on James without sacrificing box-out coverage on Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao, or Zydrunas Ilgauskus. There may not be an answer to this quandry, and it may be the separation.

4. The Butler Did It: With Arenas out, I pointed out that Butler needed to produce in order for the Wizards to win. 32 points later, it's pretty evident that theory holds true. Butler has an inconsistent track record in big games, but he needs to put together a solid back to back effort tonight or the Wizards are going to be without a primary scorer. Antawn Jamison is consistent, but his ceiling is lower. DeShawn Stevenson, even in the friendly confines of D.C., isn't the type of scorer to plug in 30 plus. Tough Juice needs to squeeze the fruit, or whatever less disturbing euphemism you want to use.

5. Darius Songaila Waits In the Shadows!: Punch or no punch, looks like the entire incident has blown over. But that's several hard, hard fouls on LeBron in this series, and either it's starting to get to him, or he's going to rise above it. The other option is for the refs to start protecting him, which isn't beyond belief. The Cavs do not want this thing going back to Cleveland with the Wizards on a win streak. And the odds of anyone else coming up big for the Cavs offensively are worse than Cleveland chanting "MVP" at DeShawn Stevenson. It's LeBron or bust tonight.