INDEPENDENCE — Coach Mike Brown wouldn’t confirm it, but Wally Szczerbiak is expected to start at shooting guard when the Cavaliers host the Washington Wizards at 12:30 p.m. today in Game 1 of a best-of-seven playoff series.
“I think I might be starting,” Szczerbiak said Friday following a workout at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “I’m going to try to embrace that role and make the most of it.”
Mike Brown hemmed and hawed when asked who would start, but did say Devin Brown would come off the bench. The coach’s other option is to start Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, but all signs point to Szczerbiak getting the nod for the second time since joining the Cavs on Feb. 21.
A struggling Szczerbiak had fallen completely out of the rotation — he didn’t play in the second half Sunday against Miami and was a Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision for the first time in his career Monday against Philadelphia — but all that changed when Sasha Pavlovic sprained his ankle against the 76ers.
Szczerbiak started a meaningless season finale Wednesday against Detroit, scored a game-high 18 points and apparently showed Mike Brown enough to be on the floor for the opening tip of Game 1.
“That’s how this league works,” the ninth-year pro said. “You’ve got to stay ready. You’ve got to be ready to perform.”
Szczerbiak reached the playoffs in his first five seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but failed to get to the postseason the last three years.
Though Szczerbiak will be announced as the team’s starting shooting guard, he said he will defend Washington small forward Caron Butler. Containing the 20.3-point scorer will be a difficult task for the slow-footed Szczerbiak, but the move allows Cleveland small forward LeBron James to expend less energy against less-taxing Washington shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson.
Regardless, Szczerbiak is happy to be getting the opportunity after shooting just .359 from the field in 25 games with the Cavs.
“I just want to play, quite honestly,” he said.

No. 23

As always, most of the national spotlight will be on James, who was called “overrated” by Stevenson after missing a potential game-winning 3-pointer against the Wizards on March 13.
“He is always motivated,” Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said of James. “He doesn’t need any extra motivation. He’ll be ready to go.”

Blog, blog, blog

While it wouldn’t be surprising if James went out and tried to make Stevenson eat crow, no one in the Cavs organization seems remotely offended by the comments of Washington’s fun-loving and colorful Gilbert Arenas, who wrote in a recent blog that he didn’t think Cleveland could eliminate the Wizards from the playoffs for a third straight year.
When asked his reaction upon hearing that Stevenson had called James overrated, Cavs big man Joe Smith said, “I laughed. Since I’ve been here playing with him, that’s a statement I don’t think anybody in this league can make.”

Healthy outlook

A healthy Washington team lost to the Cavs in six thrilling games in the 2006 playoffs, but got swept last season with Arenas and Butler sidelined by injuries.
“I think this year is going to be different than last year because we have a lot of guys back,” Washington center Brendan Haywood said. “For us to get over the hump, it starts with defense and limiting LeBron’s easy looks. It ends and starts with him. If he has a great series against us like he did the previous two years, we are going to be in trouble.”

Tip-ins

The last time two teams met in the first round of the playoffs three straight years was from 2003-05, when Boston and Indiana squared off.
• The Cavs will have the No. 19 pick in what is expected to be a very deep NBA Draft.
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

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