There is such thing as trying to develop the bench for key playoff moments, and there is such thing as overkill. Yesterday was overkill.
Seriously, look at these plus/minus stats.
DeShawn Stevenson: +19
Brendan Haywood: +19
Caron Butler: +16
Antawn Jamison: +14
Gilbert Arenas: +11
Antonio Daniels: -24
Etan Thomas: -22
Darius Songaila: -16
Roger Mason: -10
Jarvis Hayes: -10
Andray Blatche: -7
The Wizards made a huge run in the third quarter with all their starters playing. Yet Eddie Jordan waited until 3:58 left in the fourth to put that same lineup back in. I understand that players get tired, but that's a hell of a long time to wait to put your best lineup back into the game. Naturally, the Heat made a major comeback, and the starters weren't able to pick up where they left off.
The whole idea of developing the bench is silly. The Wizards needed this one, and they lost it because they didn't have their best in there enough. Eddie should have come back with his starters with 7 or 8 minutes to go. Instead, he waited until under 4 to play, and by that time, the Heat had taken control of the game.