Darius Songaila, who underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk in his lower back on Nov. 2, began his rehab on Monday.  

He will be limited to work on a stationary bike and treadmill as well as other low-impact conditioning until his back gains strength.

"I feel better now than I felt in week two [after the surgery] and I felt better in week two than I did in week one so that's a positive sign," said Songaila, who injured his back this summer while playing with the Lithuanian national team. "I don't have pain, so now it's a matter of strengthening my core and letting the disk heal."

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said that forward Mike Ruffin could be out for two weeks, and the Wizards want to make sure that the injury is healed before he returns to the court. Ruffin injured his foot during the preseason and aggravated it during Tuesday's loss at Dallas.

"If he feels like it's okay in a week, we might try to wait another four, five days," Jordan said. "I can unequivocally stand here and say that he's a tough guy. He's fought through it and fought through it. It's just no mild sprain."

Memphis coach Mike Fratello was proud of the Grizzlies' defense. But he didn't get carried away about holding Washington's Gilbert Arenas to just three points.

"We defended for four quarters consistently ... but you also have to take into account that you caught him on a night when things would not fall for him," Fratello said after Memphis' 95-80 victory Friday night.

As the Wizards continue to struggle, head coach Eddie Jordan isn't planning on any significant changes to the line-up.

"If you aren't in it at the end or you have a big lead, you get your guys out but otherwise, you just approach it game by game," Jordan said. "There's no other thought process than to win that game. Now, if we're at Memphis and the game is out of hand, I'll be getting guys out so we can rest up, get home and try to win at home Saturday night. "

Wizards guard Jarvis Hayes was out of the hospital and listed as day-to-day Sunday after bruising his back and banging his head in a collision during a game.

X-rays showed he didn't do any structural damage, the Wizards said.

Wizards guard Jarvis Hayes was taken to the hospital for precautionary tests after bruising his back and banging his head on the court in a collision with Cavaliers guard Shannon Brown on Saturday night.

Hayes was speaking and had movement in his arms and legs, the Wizards said.

Eddie Jordan acknowledged a report that Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood had a fight, but said that the club has moved on.

"It's something that happened in the locker room, within the framework of the team, and that's where we're going to keep it," Jordan said of last week's incident. "It's behind us. It happens all over the league, different places, and we're no different than any team in the league. It's a part of basketball. Things happen. It's a nonissue for us."

DeShawn Stevenson can opt out of his contract with the Wizards next summer and Gilbert Arenas wants him to re-sign.  The two have become fast friends and are both called "Nutso."

"He's not going to go anywhere," Arenas said.

Washington Wizards centers Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood were involved in a physical altercation last Thursday in which the two traded punches at Verizon Center, the Washington Post writes, citing two team sources for the information.

One source, who requested anonymity because the team was trying to keep the incident private, said Thomas was angry over comments made by Haywood's agent, Andy Miller, on Oct. 30.

Miller was critical of Coach Eddie Jordan's decision to select Thomas as the starting center over Haywood, believing Jordan chose Thomas out of personal animosity toward Haywood rather than performance. "My concern is that this is based on personal issues rather than professional ones," Miller said the day of the decision.

Thomas felt that Miller's comments were a slight toward him, he approached Haywood and threw the first punch once the argument escalated, a source said. According to the source, Haywood responded to the punch by body-slamming Thomas to the ground, tearing out at least two of Thomas' dreadlocks in the process. The two players were separated by teammates and the altercation ended.

It is not the first time the two have fought.  Haywood was suspended for one game after he and Thomas got into a fight during practice last season.