Washington Wizards interim head coach Ed Tapscott’s attitude and gait were noticeably different when he walked through the door to the media room.  75 games into the season, the questions are the same, the answers are boring, and everyone is tired.

But as he strode towards the podium and was asked that initial question about his starting lineup for his teams matchup against the NBA’s best team (based on won-loss record) the Cleveland Cavaliers,  Coach Tapscott’s face seem to be much brighter than usual.

“Brendan Haywood starts tonight, as does Gilbert Arenas,” Tapscott announced.  “So it’ll be a nice snapshot for our fans.  It’s a chance to see pretty much the team that we hoped we would be back in October.  And so we’re delighted to have those guys on the floor.  I think they’re excited to get together and have the chance to play together.”

After the Wizards arguably played their best game of the season, and defeated LeBron James and the Cavaliers, 109-101, Tapscott amended his words just a bit.

“Before the game I said it was a snapshot, now I’m going to say its a portrait because it was a win,” Tapscott said while smiling broadly. ”A very confidence inspiring win.  We hope this will give people a preview of what we can be next year.”

This confidence inspiring win that Tapscott spoke of, bucked all of the losing trends that had plagued the Wizards during this dismal, losing season.  There was balanced scoring that saw six players in double-figures, instead of Butler and Antawn Jamison doing the heavy lifting.  There was no catastrophic third quarter collapse that cost them the game and the bench, led by Nick Young and Darius Songalia, contributed 35 points.

The normally reserved Songalia, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds, was visibly emotional during some crucial points in both the third and fourth quarters.

After the game, he explained why his victory was emotional for the entire team.

“For us the season has been…different,” Songalia said diplomatically.  “And having the best team in the league right now with the best record, and having them come on our court with the crowd, and some guys coming back, it was a great game.  And then right down at the end we go possession for possession, there’s a lot of emotion there, and sometimes you gotta let it go.”

Arenas, who was playing only his second game since this season,  also spoke after the game about what this game meant to the Wizards.

“Its just a confidence booster, just to let us know we’re still there, we just need to be healthy, ” Arenas observed while talking to reporters.  “I know a lot of doubts came into this game, especially with them being number one with what 61 games (won) right now?  Number one team in the East, with a 13-game win streak.  That’s perfect for us, we had nothing to lose.”

In 33 minutes of play, Arenas scored 11 points, handed out 10 assists and had no turnovers.  In previous seasons, Arenas mainly helped the Wizards via his scoring, particularly in the clutch.  However, in what could possibly be a preview of the 2009-2010 version of Agent Zero, against the Cavaliers he played more of the traditional point guard role, and the rest of the team seemed to follow suit.

This unselfishness was not lost on Coach Tapscott.

“Gilbert has certainly come back with a wonderful pass first mentality and picks his spots to score, and we’ve often said success means 20 assists for our team,” Tapscott said.  “We had 15 at the half, 12 in the second half.  If we share the ball, then we’re a much better team, as any team is, and Gilbert sets that tone.  And a lot of things are infectious if you do it.  If you start off passing the ball, everyone gets into the mood, and you continue to pass the ball.  That was a big deal tonight.”

Much like Arenas, Brendan Haywood was playing only his second game this season, after missing 74 games with an injured wrist.  In his first game the  previous night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Haywood scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked three shots in just 24 minutes of play.  Against the Cavaliers in 31 minutes of play, not only did he grab 10 rebounds and give out hard fouls to none other than LeBron James; he also scored 12 points and was a significant presence in the paint for the Wizards.

Haywood explained why an inside scoring presence equals victory.

“Good teams score the ball in the paint.  That’s what the Spurs do.  That’s what Boston does, that’s what Cleveland does.  For a lot of this year, we’ve been a team that takes contested jumpshots and we got away from that tonight.  That’s why we were able to get the victory.”

While Haywood did not speak about his defensive effort, Arenas was happy to chime in with his two cents.

“I think he did a great job.  I think what people don’t realize about Brendan is that he plays great defense,” Arenas said. “He’s a smart defensive player and I’m glad we had him tonight against Illgauskas.”

Coach Tapscott took it one step further.

“I started singing Brendan’s praises the moment he walked in my hotel room yesterday (April 1st) and said it wasn’t an April Fool’s Joke,” Tapscott quipped.  “He’s always been sort of the captain of the defense.  His presence, his intelligence in the back, and his communication skills have helped us.  It builds a certain confidence.”

Although there are only six games left for Coach Tapscott, Haywood, Arenas and the rest of the Wizards squad, there is plenty of excitement about the team based on who is getting healthy and their defeat of a championship caliber team in the Cavaliers.

But in one of his final comments before heading to the showers, Haywood provided this sobering comment.

“It felt good to get it done, but you just can’t take one game and beat a good team and say, hey we’re going to win 70 games next year.  I think this team, through hard work, dedication and commitment on the defensive end can definitely be special if we’re healthy.”