Bullets fall short, so does Deshawn

The Bullets lost 98-92 last night to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bullets trailed by one at halftime and by 4 after 3 quarters. They briefly held a small lead in the 4th quarter before All Star SG Brandon Roy came back into the game for the Blazers and put the Bullets in their place. Roy scored 12 points in the 4th quarter on jumpers and drives to the basket. Former Terp and Bullet PG Steve Blake also burned the Bullets in the 4th quarter with his drives and passing. 
It really became clear last night how much Washington misses a real point guard, particularly down the stretch. The team turned point guard duties over to Caron Butler, who is a good passer for a forward, but not really suited to the point guard role. It’s no coincidence that Washington played its best game and Dee Brown played his best game at the same time — the 20-point road win over New Jersey earlier this week. Without a real point guard, Deshawn Stevenson winds up holding the ball too much and that often leads to losses, as it did last night. Stevenson missed 3 of 4 free throws late in the game, essentially putting the game out of reach for Washington. 
Stevenson also got torched defensively in the 4th quarter, unable to do anything with Brandon Roy. [To be fair, Roy makes a lot of guys look bad. The problem is that Stevenson wasn't make Roy work hard on the other end. If Stevenson isn't shutting his man down, he's a complete liability on the court.] In the 4th quarter, Portland’s guards took over and Washington’s guards couldn’t stop them. 
LaMarcus Aldridge was outplayed by Antawn Jamison [22 points, 5 rebounds] and although Caron Butler didn’t play particularly well, he didn’t let Portlan’d small forwards do much either. At center, Greg Oden outplayed his normal stats by scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. However, Javale McGee wasn’t abused, scoring 6 points on 7 shots and pulling down 7 rebounds in only 18 minutes. He also had a beautiful block on Aldridge, one of 3 blocks for McGee in the game. 
The Blazers are a good team, having won 6 in a row and sporting a gaudy 15-5 record overall. So they ought to beat the Bullets. Washington stuck with them for most of the game, though, because of good play from Jamison and McGee, as well as big contributions from Andray Blatche [11 points], Nick Young [11 points], and Darius Songaila [8 points]. Washington just can’t finish against these good teams because of too many mistakes. Butler neglected to block out on a play late in the 4th quarter, allowing Rudy Fernandez to sneak in for an offensive rebound and put-back. Deshawn Stevenson got torched by Brandon Roy repeatedly. Needing a bucket badly late in the game, the Bullets got the ball to their rookie center for a 15-foot jump shot with 3 seconds left on the clock. The shot didn’t even draw iron. The fact that McGee took the shot on that play demonstrates how badly Washington needs a real point guard they can trust late in games. They don’t have one and it cost them against Portland. As it will throughout this season until Gilbert Arenas returns. 
The Bullets badly need their point guard back and they need to play Nick Young more in place of Stevenson. Yes, Young doesn’t play any defense, but Stevenson’s lack of offense is really hurting the team right now. Washington simply MUST get more offensive production from its back court.