When we last checked in on them, the Washington Wizards were 8-11 and facing a tough five game road trip that would go a long way in deciding the outcome of their season. After losing their first three in L.A. (to the Lakers), Portland and Seattle, the team pulled out the last two games in Denver and Phoenix, giving them some much needed momentum when they returned home to face the Lakers last night.

Of course the big story from last night’s 94-91 Wizards win was Kwame Brown’s return to the MCI Center. And from the looks of things, the new Kwame isn’t much different from the old Kwame. The boo-birds were out in full force and hounded him during his passive five point, seven rebound effort which included bouncing a pass off of his forehead. Brown can try and spin it any way he wants, but everyone in the nation’s capital knows we’re much better off with Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins in his stead.

Butler continued his stellar play of late with 16 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes as the team moved to 3-0 with him in the starting line up. Looks like head coach Eddie Jordan finally figured out that bench scoring is overrated when your starters are getting outplayed. Gilbert Arenas, fourth in the league in scoring, racked up 34 points on 11-23 shooting and outdueled Kobe Bryant. Arenas has led the team in scoring for the last six games. Chucky Atkins, who scored 12 points last night, seems to have finally earned his spot in the rotation and Antonio Daniels is showing signs of life, so things may be looking up for the Wizards. Also worth noting is the effort Jared Jeffries has been giving on the defensive end of the court in his new position of shooting guard.

The Wiz are now riding their second three game winning streak of the season and face Phoenix, Miami and Houston all in the next week in the comforts of the MCI Center.

(AP Photo by Evan Vucci)