NBA-Wizards clear out, wondering what might have been

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) The injury-riddled Washington Wizards cleared out their lockers today after being swept out of the playoffs by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

''Every NBA season is an emotional roller-coaster ride,'' dejected coach Eddie Jordan told reporters. ''And we experienced all of it.'' ''We were riding high in February and took the low road down the stretch because of injuries. So that's what you have to expect.

Every season is a fragile season.'' A campaign that began with hopes of winning the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1979 disintegrated during a four-day stretch last month when All-Stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler suffered season-ending injuries.

Instead of finishing the regular season on a roll, the outmanned Wizards limped into the playoffs merely hoping to patch together a cohesive line-up.

Cleveland smelled blood and whipped the Wizards in four straight, advancing to the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the New Jersey Nets or the Toronto Raptors.

James scored 31 points in the Cavaliers' series-ending 97-90 victory yesterday night at the Verizon Centre and averaged 28 points and 8.5 rebounds over the four-game sweep.

''They were a good team,'' said Jordan. ''They've got a major player. They've got physical rebounders. They were first in the league in rebounding.

''We took care of that for the game but it took it's toll on us. We fought through it. We hung in there. But it's hard.

''I've never seen a team lose its two best players right before the postseason, whether it's football, baseball or basketball.'' FREE AGENTS The Wizards have eight free agents and undoubtedly will have some new faces in the locker room next year.

''Nowadays, there's so much change in professional sports, whether it's free agency or through trades,'' said guard Antonio Daniels.

''In a perfect world, I would love to have this team back so we can start this whole thing over again with the chemistry that we had at one point.

''Being human, you can't help but thinking what would have happened if we hadn't had those injuries. But things happen.

Injuries are part of the game. You deal with them and you move on.'' With Arenas and Butler on the sidelines, the Wizards won only three games the final month of the season. Still, they finished with a 39-35 record and qualified for the postseason, once a rarity in Washington.

''Obviously, you don't want the season to end like that, especially with a sweep,'' said Daniels. ''But the better team won. It's not the end of the world, it's just the end of the season.'' REUTERS SY BST0047