DeShawn Stevenson could return to the court on Friday night when the Wizards take on the 76ers in Philadelphia.

Stevenson has missed 15 straight games with lower back pain that came as a result of a slipped disk.

"I hated not being out there with my guys, but it just got to the point where I couldn't play through it anymore," said Stevenson. "It's feeling a lot better now, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there. I just want to help any way I can. It's been a tough season."

Washington center Andray Blatche will miss two-to-four weeks after suffering a strained left knee against Phoenix on Monday night.

Blatche said he felt his knee pop when he was bumped by Shaquille O'Neal in the fourth quarter.

He is averaging 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds as a center filling in for the injured Brendan Haywood although he is a natural power forward.

Wizards' guard DeShawn Stevenson missed another game on Monday night with a sore lower back, but he's hoping to return on either Friday or Saturday night.

Interim coach Ed Tapscott wants Stevenson to take part in at least two more practices before he returns.

"It's still tight," Stevenson said of his back, "but the pain kind of went away in my leg -- a lot. I'm going to try to go out there and give it a shot. I just got to find a way to stop this pain."

As the Wizards continue to struggle, the losing is starting to take a toll on veterans like Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, and Mike James.

Washington has made four straight playoff appearances and hoped to remain competitive even without injured guard Gilbert Arenas and center Brendan Haywood this season.

"Losing is not something you ever get used to," said James. "If you have pride like the guys in this locker room do, you hate losing. I know I do."

The Wizards are 9-33, the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics traveled to Orlando on Thursday night and handed the Magic a rare loss.

- Boston 90, Orlando 80

Team FIC Differential: Celtics +11.3, Magic -11.3

The Celtics (36-9) built an early lead and never really looked back against the Magic (33-9) on Thursday night. Paul Pierce led with 27 points and 10 rebounds; Kevin Garnett posted 16 points and 5 boards; and Glen Davis contributed 16 points off the bench. Boston outrebounded Orlando by four and held the home team to just 38% shooting. Hedo Turkoglu had a team-high 22 points; Rashard Lewis tallied 20 points and 10 rebounds; and Dwight Howard turned in 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks in defeat.

Game FIC Scores

Paul Pierce, Boston ? 18.3

Rashard Lewis, Orlando ? 16.6

Glen Davis, Boston ? 9.5

Dwight Howard, Orlando ? 8.0

- L.A. Lakers 117, Washington 97

Team FIC Differential: Lakers +31.1, Wizards -31.1

The Lakers (34-8) used a dominant second quarter to put the Wizards (9-33) away early at the STAPLES Center. Andrew Bynum had 23 points and 14 rebounds; Pau Gasol tallied 16 points and 5 boards; and Kobe Bryant added 11 points and 5 assists in just 28 minutes of action. Los Angeles shot 53% on the night and outrebounded Washington by five. JaVale McGee led with 18 points and 9 rebounds; Antawn Jamison posted 19 points and 5 boards; and Caron Butler added 12 points and 6 assists in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles ? 23.0

Lamar Odom, Los Angeles ? 17.8

JaVale McGee, Washington ? 14.8

Antawn Jamison, Washington ? 13.4

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.?
Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

Etan Thomas underwent tests on Tuesday, which revealed that the Wizards' center has a torn MCL in his left knee.?

The injury occurred in the first quarter of last night?s game versus Milwaukee.? Thomas will be listed as out indefinitely and will be reevaluated in two weeks.
?

Just days after the Wizards expressed optimism regarding the return of guard Gilbert Arenas, their stance has quickly changed.

Caron Butler said he didn't expect Arenas to return from his September knee surgery during a radio interview on Thursday.

"I really don't think it's gonna happen," Butler said.

Arenas also expressed uncertainty about the possibly of a return from his third knee surgery since April 2007.

"I don't know. I mean, seven wins? Would you?" said Arenas, who last July signed a six-year, $111 million contract to remain in Washington. "And truthfully, right now, I'm not even close."

The Raptors will face the Wizards on Wednesday night without Jose Calderon, Jamario Moon and Jermaine O'Neal.

Moon traveled to Alabama to be with his wife, who is due to give birth to the couple's first child.

O'Neal and Calderon have been nursing injuries as of late.

DeShawn Stevenson sat out his third consecutive game on Tuesday night with back woes caused by pressure on a nerve, but the Wizards' guard does not want to hear anything about surgery, the Washington Post is reporting.

"It's just a matter of trying to get to the point where I can move without having that shooting pain go down my leg," said Stevenson, who began experiencing problems during training camp. "As long as I don't have to hear anything about surgery, I'm cool. I don't want that."

Despite being called for traveling and then being mocked by Wizard players over the move that LeBron James has labeled the 'crab dribble', the move is here to stay, the Associated Press is reporting.

"I've done that move plenty of times, and I believe it's a good move," he said after practice on Tuesday. "If they called it more consistently, then I guess it ain't a good move then, and I'll change my game. But it's not called consistently."

James is not surprised that the traveling call with the game on the line has made the news.

"Everything I do is a big deal," James said, smiling. "It's easy for people who don't play the game of basketball to say something about a certain move. You hear all the people on SportsCenter talk about it, but they've never touched a basketball in their lives. They just report about it."