By BRIAN DULIK

Staff Writer
Things could not have been going much worse for Wally Szczerbiak in mid-February. He was seeing spotty playing time under an eccentric coach on a dying team in an apathetic city.

My, how things have changed.

Just two months later, the Miami (Ohio) product is the starting shooting guard for the defending Eastern Conference champions in the basketball hotbed of Cleveland.

“I’m just ecstatic to be in this situation and very grateful for the way things have worked out,” Szczerbiak said Monday after scoring 15 points in the Cavaliers’ 116-86 win over Washington in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

“Obviously, it’s been a blessing that Cleveland decided to make the big trade and bring me and Delonte (West) here.”

Szczerbiak’s presence has also been a blessing for Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, who was left grasping at straws trying to replace Sasha Pavlovic after he severely sprained his ankle in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

After not giving Szczerbiak one second of action during that contest in Philadelphia, Brown inserted him into the starting five for Cleveland’s finale against Detroit. Whether it was necessity serving as the mother of invention, or pure desperation, the move worked.

Szczerbiak scored eight points in a solid performance in Game 1 against Washington, then erupted for 15 more on 6-of-9 shooting with two three 3-pointers in Game 2. He also played terrific defense against Wizards small forward Caron Butler, decisively winning their one-on-one battle as the Cavaliers took a 2-0 series lead.

“Wally can shoot with the best of them, so I’m not surprised at all how he’s doing,” said West, who also shared the backcourt with Szczerbiak in Seattle and Boston. “Once he fits in with a team and he’s confident, this is what he can do. It was just a matter of time — and this is his time.”

Playing a vital role for the Cavaliers in the playoffs was the furthest thing from Szczerbiak’s mind prior to being acquired in a three-team deal that also brought Ben Wallace and Joe Smith to town on Feb. 21.

The 6-foot-7 sharpshooter was stuck on a chemistry-challenged SuperSonics team that was playing out the string in Seattle. Not only was the ballclub preparing to move to Oklahoma City, it was being run by a notoriously difficult coach in P.J. Carlesimo.

Though Szczerbiak preferred to focus on the present instead of the past, West said they spent very little time on the court as a duo, but joked, “We were doing a lot of rooting on the team together from the bench.”

There is little chance of that scenario repeating itself for either West or Szczerbiak the rest of this postseason as their unconventional guard combo is getting the job done. So are backups Devin Brown and Daniel Gibson, giving Cleveland a four-man attack that has made life miserable for their Washington counterparts.

It’s no longer Gilbert Arenas’ and DeShawn Stevenson’s words that are getting the headlines, it’s Szczerbiak’s actions.

“Wally was terrific spacing the floor, and being ready to catch and shoot whenever they double-teamed LeBron (James),” Brown said. “Our guys know they’re coming after him, so they’ve got to know LeBron is going to hit them with a pass. I thought Wally was big for us tonight.”

Even better for the Cavaliers’ playoff chances, Szczerbiak is just getting warmed up. The career 49-percent shooter is only hitting at a .421 clip in this series, while his .273 3-point percentage is well below his lifetime rate of .405.

If he ever gets hot, Washington may have to fireproof the nets at the Verizon Center to stay alive.

“It felt good to contribute tonight, but the main thing I’ve learned on this team is it’s all about winning, not individual performances,” Szczerbiak said. “It’s about that scoreboard at the end of the game. Our coaches are phenomenal and have designed a great game plan.

“It’s up to us to come through for them. We’re very capable of doing this every night.”

Dulik may be reached at brisports@hotmail.com or 330-721-4059.