Wiz open Summer League with a win

The Wizards squandered an 18-point lead before defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-93 in game one of their Summer League schedule in Las Vegas. Teams are allowed to dress only 4 NBA veterans per game and the Wiz shook things up by sitting Dominic McGuire and going with Nick Young, Andray Blatche, Javaris Crittenton and Javale McGee. Blatche was the surprise start, though he earned his minutes.Nick Young was the star of the night, scoring 36 points [42 in the Summer League record] on 13 of 19 shooting, while Blatche added 21 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Young was coming off screens all night and just shooting away. He didn't get any assists, but that clearly wasn't his role tonight. Young's job was to come off those screens and shoot until his shot stopped falling. It never did. At times, Blatche looked far too good to be on the court [which he ought to be by now], though he was shaky early, which he attributed to nerves in post-game interviews. [A]t one stretch late in the first half, Blatche drove and converted a three-point play, came back with a spin move, and then grabbed a rebound and led a fast break. With the game tied in the final two minutes, he drew the biggest oohs of the night with another three-point play on a reverse, and later added two key free throws. So, can anybody out here check him?"I mean, I don't want to sound over stuck on myself, but I felt like I'm a tough matchup for guys out there," he said.At some point early in the game, he tossed his headband in frustration, which he said is what happens "when I get my little attitude. That's when I get more aggressive," he explained."We played through Dre a lot tonight, and he facilitated our offense, because he's a versatile player," Wittman said. "He can post up, he can pass, he can dribble. Again, he's got to continue to understand, he got three or four baskets on a post up early in the second half, they doubled him and he's got to now make the easy pass."Now, if we could only see Blatche do this [with some consistency] in a real NBA game. Blatche says he's never been so committed to winning and improving his game, crediting his fondness for the new coaching staff for his enthusiasm. Okay, that's great, but we've heard good things from Andray before. Antawn Jamison gets that, too."We know what he can do. We know he's talented. We just need him to bring it night in and night out, rebound, be a post threat, offensively, defensively, just going in every direction. We just need him to be consistent with it."Apparently, further evidence of Blatche's commitment is changing his jersey number from 32 to 7. Eh? Even coach Saunders is singing Blatche's praises and saying the only thing stopping him from being a terrific player is conditioning. Fine, guys. Get Blatche into proper NBA shape and then let me see him average 15 and 9 this season. Then I'll buy it. Until then, not so much. Less talk, more proof.Crittenton contributed 8 assists against only 2 turnovers, but McGee didn't do much at all. Neither did Josh Heytvelt, which is a bit of a disappointment. I thought he played pretty good defense, but never got much of a chance on offense. Considering the lack of depth in the front court, the Wizards need about 2 big guys and Heytvelt could be one of them.Flip Saunders is in Vegas, but he's leaving the coaching to his assistants. Lead assistant Randy Wittman coached last night and will coach the team again tonight. Assistant Don Zierden will coach the team on Friday and Saturday and Sam Cassell will coach on Sunday.Might Gilbert Arenas actually show up and play in a Summer League game? You never know.