Washington Wizard Antawn Jamison sat in the training room with Larry Hughes Saturday night as Hughes looked down blankly at his broken right thumb. "To see his face, and his reaction, that hurt me more than anything," Jamison said. "It was a lot of frustration because we know how much work he's put into being the player that he is."
Hughes had begun to discover his game and live up to the billing of the player selected No. 8 in 1998 -- ahead of both Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce. He emerged as the league's leader in steals and averaged 21.2 points. He also was on his way to career highs in rebounds (6.1), assists (5.3) and steals (2.82) this season. But most important, Hughes had helped lead the Wizards to their best start since 1979 -- the year he was born -- and finally tasted success for the first time since he was a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1999.
Then, after one unfortunate drive against the Phoenix Suns, Hughes was forced to miss the next four to six weeks. "To finally get us on the right track, for him to miss significant time," Jamison said, shaking his head. "He was a main reason why we got to the level we were at. Can we withstand it? Yes. But it's not the same without one of your warriors out there."
Not even close. The Wizards are going to be without Hughes until late February, and the adjustment hasn't been pretty thus far. In their first two games without Hughes, the Wizards came unglued in lopsided losses in San Antonio and Dallas by an average margin of 22.5 points. They didn't play with any spunk until the last two quarters of a 137-120 loss in Dallas -- but only after they fell behind by 37 points in the third quarter.
The Wizards have been horrendous on defense the past two games, giving up an average of 119 points, and allowing both teams to shoot a combined 54.9 percent. And while offense had never been a concern this season, they also set a season low in points in a 101-73 loss against the Spurs. "After these two games, we realize how much we miss Larry Hughes," said guard Juan Dixon, who has started in place of Hughes. "He's not here right now, and guys need to step up." Dixon has averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game, with a .460 field-goal percentage (23 of 50), in three starts this season.
Arenas scored a career-high 43 points in the loss against the Mavericks, but he said it wasn't the same without Hughes. "It's real hard," Arenas said. "The right-hand man is out. Juan is doing the best he can to bring the energy but he was that energy guy off the bench that keeps that beat up. We have to find somebody to fill [Dixon's] shoes."
Reserve forward Jarvis Hayes scored a career-high 27 points in the loss against the Spurs, but the Wizards will need more contributions from the bench -- especially with the status of forward-center Kwame Brown's right foot still uncertain.
Before Hughes's injury, the Wizards (22-15) were the hottest team in the league, having won seven in row. But after getting smacked around in Texas, the Wizards are moving into their most difficult stretch of games this season. Twelve of their next 19 games are against teams with records of .500 or better, although the Wizards will play 10 of those games at home, where they are 14-5.
They host the Toronto Raptors at MCI Center tomorrow, where they will try to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. "We always said there are going to be thunder bolts," Coach Eddie Jordan said. "This is one, and the schedule is one. How do we handle all of this at one time?"
Jordan said he hasn't allowed himself to question the Wizards' fate. "I never really said, you know, 'Why us?' " Jordan said. "It happens. We had our two bigs out -- Etan [Thomas] and Kwame -- and it wasn't, 'Why us?' It was, 'Let's go.' "
The difference, however, is that the team had already developed a style of play without Thomas or Brown. Hughes helped give the Wizards their identity.
"He was really the key of where we are, setting the defense for us, calling our defensive schemes . . . and obviously, his steals," Jordan said. "At the same time, he had a real comfort level with Gilbert [Arenas]. He and Larry were like twins in a sense. They played off each other as well as any guard combo in the league. It's up to Gilbert, his teammates and the coaching staff to find the avenues for him to play at the highest level like he did with Larry."
The Wizards have had injuries dampen their seasons in the past -- the last example being 2001-2002, when they started the season 26-21, then lost 24 of the final 35 games after Michael Jordan suffered a knee injury. But Jamison said this team won't fold without Hughes. "We still got some guys that can play," he said. "Now, I think we've got more confidence because now people are saying, 'Can they win?' It's almost like starting over. We know we've got to prove people wrong again."