WASHINGTON: By the end of the regular season, the line in some form or another was likely in every team's scouting report on the Cavaliers.

Pressure the ball, pressure the point guards.

The Cavs' search for a reliable point man has been well-documented and discussed for years now. They've tried numerous different options and explanations, the most popular being that they don't need a classic point guard with LeBron James in the fold.

In many ways, that has proven to be true, but the events in their historically lopsided loss in Game 3 to the Washington Wizards was quite a refresher about the team's continued weakness at that spot.

It has unveiled a true issue the Cavs must face. Both of their current point guards, Daniel Gibson and Delonte West, are headed for free agency this summer. And re-signing them and for how much just might come down to how well they can
handle the demands of the position in the playoffs. Because if they can't, the Cavs' search might have to continue.

The Wizards ratcheted up their intensity on the Cavs' guards, James included, and the result was a spate of turnovers in the blowout Thursday night. The Cavs did a great job of taking care of the ball in Games 1 and 2.

Game 3's 23 turnovers might have been a bit of an aberration, but it wasn't totally out of character. This season, the Cavs committed the third-most turnovers in the NBA, and a large reason was the still spotty point guard play.

The fact remains that West, Gibson and James are the team's primary ballhandlers, but none are true point guards. That reality affected the Cavs numerous times on the road when their turnover problems often surged, just like in Game 3. And in today's Game 4 at the Verizon Center, count on the Wizards trying to do it again.

''I would expect them to do the same thing. It worked the last game,'' Gibson said. ''They caught me off guard; they had to make an adjustment somewhere; they picked up the intensity with the guys who had the ball.''

Indeed, the Cavs promise to be more prepared and have better countermeasures. Two days of practice and film study have given them plenty of time to work on the Wizards' double teams and new strategy of trapping on pick-and-rolls and then overplaying the nearby passing lanes.

Cavs coach Mike Brown said some of the adjustment is for his guards to simply be ''stronger with the ball.''

The question is just how strong can they be. Throughout the series, the Wizards have been applying full-court pressure to Gibson and West to make them work at bringing the ball upcourt. In Game 3, they extended their perimeter defenders to make things more uncomfortable 20-25 feet from the basket, often pushing West and Gibson backward or pinching James and forcing him to give up the ball.

One of the reasons they feel they can get away with it is that West and Gibson are not top-notch ballhandlers. Both have their moments, but they are prone to be inconsistent.

''Neither is a classic point guard of the future,'' said ESPN.com stats analyst John Hollinger, who said both Gibson and West's ratings rank them low on the list of the league's point guards. Hollinger compiles a complicated rating system known as the PER (player efficiency rating), which gives him a way to statistically compare players.

''West put up a PER that is good for a backup, but he has a fairly low assist rate and is a good, but not great, 3-point shooter. Basically, he's a nice third guard to have,'' Hollinger said. ''Gibson is a 3-point specialist but provides almost nothing in other categories, in particular, an extremely low assist rate. He's only 22, but usually guys who evolve in the one-trick pony direction don't suddenly start busting out crossover moves and such. Basically, he seems like a better version of Damon Jones.''

Jones, of course, is out of the Cavs' rotation. In the past, Jones and the injured Eric Snow played most of the point-guard minutes for the Cavs and both had excellent assist-to-turnover ratios. But Jones struggled on defense and Snow was a strong defender, but a weak scorer. West and Gibson are much younger and more athletic but, as Hollinger points out, might still not be what the Cavs need as the point guard.

Gibson has worked hard on his game over the past two years to become a better ball handler and bristles a bit when his potential weakness is brought up.

''I wouldn't be here if I couldn't handle the ball,'' Gibson said. ''It is a matter of adjusting and understanding what they are doing. I'll be ready to handle [the Wizards] in Game 4.''

West oozes even more confidence than Gibson. Playing third string in Seattle before being traded to the Cavs in February, he's generally played well with Cleveland but has struggled with consistency in handling the ball and decision-making. He said he understands his performance in the rest of this series and further, if the Cavs advance, might not only affect his future with the team, but also the size of his paycheck.

''You're constantly on audition for your current teams and other teams,'' West said. ''As point guard, you have to prove that you can handle pressure in any situation — that is what makes a good point guard in this league.''