Second-year guard Nick Young has been one of the few bright spots for the Wizards this season.

Through the first 10 games of the season, Young has shined in his role off the bench as a scoring threat.

He has scored in double figures in eight of the Wizards' first 10 games. And among second-year players, Young is seventh in the league in scoring with 13.0 points per game.

"I worked hard in the offseason because I knew I wanted to come back and make a contribution," Young said. "I want to do the things that will open eyes and make people say, 'That Nick Young turned out to be a pretty decent player.'"

While Young has demonstrated that he can thrive offensively, the Wizards want to see him show better development at the defensive end, where he has...

Two games in two nights, and only seven players available to run up and down the floor in Mike D'Antoni's system. That was enough for Quentin Richardson and the rest of the gutty New York Knicks. Richardson had 34 points and 12 rebounds in one of his best games since coming to New York, and the short-handed Knicks held on to beat the Washington Wizards 122-117 on Saturday night.

Yao Ming is 7-foot-6. JaVale McGee's wingspan is 7-foot-6. Once McGee gets some NBA seasoning, the two could have quite a duel. But in Round 1 on Friday night, McGee was a rookie making his second NBA start. He didn't back down -- he even won the opening tip and scored the game's first basket with a layup over Yao -- but the six-time All-Star from China and teammate Tracy McGrady dominated in the...

Injuries to Josh Smith and Al Horford left Marvin Williams as the only healthy starter on Atlanta's front line. Williams moved from small forward to power forward and showed he can play big when needed. Williams hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26 seconds left and matched his career high with 14 rebounds, and the Hawks overcame Caron Butler's 32-point effort to beat the Washington Wizards 91-87 on...

Before the game, coach Eddie Jordan said of his Washington Wizards: "We don't have rhythm, we don't have harmony, we're trying to incorporate chemistry." The Miami Heat seem to have the makings of all three, even though they're starting two rookies on a team that last year went 15-67. The Heat beat the Wizards on Tuesday night for the second time in five days.

Whenever possible, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra reminds his team that defense and rebounding have long been cornerstones of the Heat philosophy. Those players are listening. Dwyane Wade scored 24 points before taking the fourth quarter off, the Heat held Washington without a field goal for 9 minutes in the second half and outrebounded the bigger Wizards by a huge margin on the way to an easy 97-77...

This was, remember, Game 6 of 82, an early step in a long journey. Yet there was Caron Butler, near center court, animatedly pulling off his jersey and waving it at the final horn, celebrating a victory as though it truly meant a lot to him. Moments earlier, as Butler and fellow All-Star Antawn Jamison were combining for 20 fourth-quarter points, there were their Washington Wizards teammates, up...

Maybe it's because they know they made the playoffs after an 0-5 start last season. Maybe it's because they know they have two past All-Stars in the starting lineup and figure a third, Gilbert Arenas, eventually will return. Maybe it's because they know they can't possibly continue to lose and lose and lose, over and over and over again.