Without the deepest bench to support him, somehow Eddie Jordan has kept the Washington Wizards going all season, and even flirting with the home court in the first round.

Sure, they were on the verge of setting a franchise record Monday night at Utah when Jerry Sloan mercifully called off the dogs in the 42-point destruction of the Wizards. But along with Gilbert Arenas missing his 65th straight game, Caron Butler was sidelined with a strained left hamstring and Antonio Daniels sat out due to a sprained left wrist. So really, the 2-3 swing West doesn’t look so bad, with the possibility of all three playing Wednesday night at home against the languishing Milwaukee Bucks.

Looking up, the Wiz is just three games behind the erratic Cavaliers.

Looking down, they are tied for fifth with the Raptors and just a game ahead of the red-hot Sixers.

Nonetheless, with little but mouth coming from Arenas all season, and Butler struggling since very early February with hip problems and now the hamstring, Jordan’s coaching job has to be considered one of the best in the East. Antawn Jamison has been special all season, playing in all 74 games, averaging 21.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, while Brendan Haywood and DeShaun Stevenson have been solid while averaging in double figures. In the process, Jordan has also developed a decent bench with youngsters Andray Blatche, Roger Mason, Darius Songaila and Nick Young.

In the stretch run and looking forward to the playoffs, the Wizards could be very dangerous if they somehow get healthy. It’s impossible to distinguish between fact and fiction coming from Arenas’ mouth – even the latest about how he’ll take a pay cut this summer in his new contract so Jamison can get what he deserves – so we don’t know if he’s going to play Wednesday, or not at all this season.

Either way, Jordan deserves praise for how well they’ve played in what could have had this team struggling to make it at the bottom of the playoff chart.

 

And before we let go of the Jazz, what is it with them? In the last two weeks they have lost at Minnesota, at the Lakers, at New Jersey and at Chicago. They did look impressive winning at Boston, but it’s tough to take them as serious contenders to win the West considering they are 16-22 on the road. They have yet to put any consistent play together away from the friendly confines of the Great Salt Lake, where they have set a franchise record with a glittering 33-4 record already.

 

Switching back to the East, the Hawks won their fourth in a row and have a three-game lead in the loss column over the Nets and Pacers in their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The next four games will be huge, with the Raptors coming in, followed by a home-and-home series with the Sixers, and a trip to Indy. Joe Johnson has averaged 23.4 points as the Hawks have won eight of 10 to strengthen their grip on the eighth seed. The jobs of coach Mike Woodson and general manager Billy Knight are hanging in the balance even if they do make the playoffs, with ownership still in a state of disarray. But at least the fans finally have something to wrap their arms around now that Knight finally figured out they needed a point guard when he dealt for Mike Bibby.

 

The Pacers know they may have to sweep their final eight games to make the playoffs, but there was a reason to get excited Monday night. Jermaine O’Neal played for the first time since Jan. 16 during their 20-point win over the Heat, and responded with 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a block in 18 minutes. O’Neal missed 33 games with a bone bruise on his left knee and few expected him to play anymore this season. Wonder why? Well, he’d certainly like to help the team make the playoffs, but also wants to prove he can play. The Pacers would love that too, particularly if he can garner interest and unload that $20 million-a-year contract. Wouldn’t Larry Bird love to have that offer of Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic from the Nets, again?

 

We’ll know a lot more about the Mavericks very soon, but you can’t write them off yet. They busted that three-way tie for seventh in the West last night with a win over the Clippers, while the Nuggets were blowing a big lead at Phoenix with a second-half collapse. So the Mavs (46-28) now lead the Warriors (45-28) by a half game, with the Nuggets (45-29) falling to ninth, a half game out of eighth and a full game out of seventh. The Mavs play host to the Warriors and the Nuggets play host to the Suns tonight, with the Mavericks playing at the Lakers and Suns over the weekend. The Mavs are now 11-0 against sub-.500 teams with Jason Kidd and 0-10 against teams with a winning record. Tonight will be a great one. Dirk Nowitzki has begun jogging on that balky knee and ankle, but for him to return this weekend could cause him to miss the rest of the season. It will be interesting.

 

Now that commissioner David Stern has the Board of Governors fawning all over Oklahoma City too, you have to wonder what Seattle is going to do with its lawsuit to hold the Sonics for two more years. Do they squeeze more money out of owner Clay Bennett and let him go next season to have the rest of the dough to pay the $300 million to double the footprint of KeyArena, and wait for another team? Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that the news broke last week that Chicago-based owner Michael Heisley’s Memphis partners with the Grizzlies saw their share drop from 30 percent to 5.8 percent and lost the right of first refusal to match any offer for the team. Could Seattle have a dark year, then regain a team in the fall of 2009? Evidently, $350 million to Heisley, plus the $105 million to buy out the lease might put the Grizzlies in Seattle. Or, it could cost a lot less if the Hornets are ready to move from New Orleans in 2009. It would certainly help with the Western Conference schedule and travel to put one of those teams in Seattle for the Northwest Division and the Oklahoma team in the Southwest Division.