Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
Friday, February 9, 2007, Washington Post

Keep Your Eyes on the Surprise

The Washington Wizards' "Big 3" is suddenly the "Big 2."

Antawn Jamison, their star forward, hurt his left knee last week. He won't be able to play again for three to six weeks. So the Wizards will try to stay in the race for the best record in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association with two star players -- Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler -- instead of three.

Several Wizards will work hard to replace Jamison's 19 points and eight rebounds a game. None is as solid as he is, though. Jarvis Hayes is supposed to be a shooter, but he isn't shooting very well. Andray Blatche is young, so he looks like a star one night and not so hot the next. Darius Songaila is returning from back surgery.

So far the Wizards are 1-3 without Jamison. But the season isn't over by a long shot. The Houston Rockets lost their star 7-foot-6 center, Yao Ming, when he broke his right leg on Dec. 23. The Rockets have been better without him, winning 15 games and losing six since Yao went out.

Jamison's injury reminds kids of a couple of important things about team sports. First, surprises happen in any season. Second, every player on a team has to be ready to step in and do his best if something happens to a star.

Just like the pros, kids sometimes miss games because of injuries. But there can be other reasons. Some miss games because of a school play or piano recital. Or maybe a family ski trip. Or because Grandpa is having a party for his 80th birthday.

Family stuff is as important as sports -- maybe more important. I coached a team that had a player named Isaac who went to so many bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs one season that he hardly played at all.

So if you are on a basketball, hockey, indoor soccer or other team this winter, you have to be ready to play some games without all of your players. Of course, when your teammates miss games, it's a chance for you to play more. If you have been practicing and play well, it might persuade the coach to play you more the next game.

For a few weeks, the Wizards' Hayes, Blatche and Songaila will get more playing time and a chance to show Coach Eddie Jordan that they are better players than he thought. Starters Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson will have to do more scoring and rebounding.

But if all the Wizards stick together and don't complain about the bad break they got with Jamison's injury, they might surprise us.