The coach also has to put out whatever might be simmering from the Brown-Arenas remarks when practice resumes Tuesday. Brown, 2-for-4 from the field with six points against the Bucks, doesn't plan to bring up the issue.
"It can't come from me. I guess people don't respect me; I'm a third-year guy," said Brown, who has yet to live up to the promise of his No. 1 overall selection in the 2001 draft. "It's got to come from the coach. We've got guys in here, vets, that have got to step up to the plate."
One of those veterans, Stackhouse, vented his frustration by tossing the ball about 30m to protest a foul call in the third quarter against the Bucks. Stackhouse was ejected, and he wasn't available to comment afterward.
Two days earlier, it was Eddie Jordan who got into trouble. His postgame rant at an official following Friday's loss to Indiana was penalized with a US$7,500 fine.
The only upside is that Michael Jordan is no longer with the team, so fewer people care. Sunday's crowd of 14,296 was only a few hundred more than attended the Maryland-Duke women's college game at nearby College Park.
Plus, the fans are used to it. The Wizards haven't been to the playoffs in seven years and haven't won a playoff game in 16 years. At 16-38, they're 7 1/2 games out of the last postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.
Infighting just comes with the territory.
"It is frustrating. When you get frustrated, you start blaming people," Arenas said. "You start blaming everything else. But individually, it's yourself. Everybody should just stop pointing fingers and just pick up themselves."
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