By TAFT COGHILL JR.

WASHINGTON--The first-round NBA playoff series between the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers has gone much like the Wizards' season. Unpredictable.

The series is tied 2-2, and neither team has been able to put together back-to-back winning performances.

That type of fluctuating play perhaps should be expected from a team that comes back and wins a game after its coach stops calling plays and from one whose star player completely changes his uniform to get back on the right track.

The Wizards are labeled as a strange team because they led the NBA in games lost when leading by 10 points or more. They often play better from behind than in front.

"It's easier to play better from behind because you're down," Arenas said. "At halftime [of Game 4], coach said 'Throw away the plays.' To us, throw away the plays, that's like playing outside."

Arenas thought that playing from behind is easier than leading a game throughout was never more obvious than in games 3 and 4 of this series.

In Game 3, Washington led by 14 in the first half before losing 97-96 on a Lebron James basket with 5.7 seconds left. In Game 4, Washington trailed by 13 in the third quarter before it rallied for a 106-96 victory.

The wacky, but interesting battle will continue on tonight in Cleveland.

"This is going to be a great series," James said following Sunday night's Game 4 loss at the Verizon Center in Washington.

After Game 1, James was lauded when he became the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double in his first playoff game.

But after Game 2, he was the goat because he committed 10 turnovers. He quickly regained his "King James" status with a 41-point performance and game-winning shot in Game 3. In Game 4, Arenas scored 28 of his 34 points in the second half, while James fizzled with 13 second-half points, including a scoreless third quarter.