Pardoned in D.C.

Washington -- After getting on Mike Brown for some issues Thursday night, I felt it was important to give him credit last night in the win over the Wizards.  Surely it should've been an easier win than it was, but  right now the sickly Cavs need anything they can get.

--When Brown put Ira Newble in for Eric Snow with six minutes left I was a little puzzled.  Snow had just made two big plays, a driving layup and a steal, and I wondered about it.  Eric certainly wasn't pleased, he stalked over to the end of the bench and shot a glare down to the coaching staff.  But after Antawn Jamison had stopped scoring in the second half, Eddie Jordan pushed him to small forward, had Darius Songalia at the 4 and Etan Thomas at 5 and the matchups weren't working.  So Mike made the move to Ira, who delivered at both ends.  It directly helped the Cavs win the game and for that the head coach deserves credit.
--There were still way to many jumpers cast up by the Cavs (Larry Hughes is 8-of-20 the last two games, ahem, "All roads...") but they did drive late and they did make their foul shots.  LeBron especially put ups some bad shots especially considering he knew by the fourth quarter his jumper was off.
--The Wizards cannot win when they don't play their style of ball.  They cannot win a game played in the 80s or 90s and they couldn't do it with their full lineup (5-20 when scoring under 100).  This is why they will never be a serious playoff threat regardless of their health.
--No seems to be noticing, but Zydrunas Ilgauskas has really played well over the last month.  He needs to redeem himself in the playoffs after last year.  Also, Z said before the game that he's 7-foot-2.  He's always been listed at 7-3.  Hmmmm.
--Scot Pollard should get at least a few minutes every game, if not for anything else he's a good changeup.  The Cavs have a good front line, but they are a little bit soft up there.  Varejao and Gooden are strong players, but Pollard is rougher than both of them.
--Finally, here's two things I've learned on the road over the years that is in full effect on holiday weekends.  When the average once or twice a year flyer gets to the airport, their IQ drops by 50 points.  Seriously, I've never seen so many people mindlessly walking around.  Also, take this tip: always, always, always lock and bolt your door in your hotel room.  These hotel employees come walking in all day long.  It happens in every city.  Why do they always need to be coming into these rooms?  You've cleaned it, leave me alone!