"Gilbert Arenas and Randy Foye hardly played together during the Wizards' preseason games. But practice was a different story, and a sly grin from Flip Saunders after Thursday's practice said that particular backcourt pairing -- one crucial to Washington's opening-night victory at Dallas -- wasn't all he had waited to reveal about his rotation until the regular season.

"I was wondering when it was going to happen," said Foye, who led Washington (1-0) with eight of his 19 points off the bench in the final quarter, the final 7:34 partnered with Arenas. "But I guess [Saunders] probably didn't want people to see it, because then they'd probably be waiting for it. I think when he put us in together, Dallas really didn't have an answer."

Combined with who he didn't play against the Mavericks -- Nick Young and Mike James both received dreaded DNP-CDs (did not play, coach's decision) on Tuesday -- Saunders gave an indication of how he plans to utilize his deep roster this season. Or did he?

"I think I can change it," Saunders said. "JaVale [McGee] has played extremely well ... Now we're playing a team [Atlanta] that relies more with athletic ability, where a guy like JaVale should have an impact.""