Thomas out, Blatche to start

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After sitting out the last two practices with a sprained ankle -- suffered in Saturday's loss at Detroit -- Wizards center Etan Thomas will be inactive for tonight's game here in Milwaukee.

In his place Andray Blatche -- who had been in the doghouse for poor defensive effort, notably giving up eight points to Kwame Brown on four easy drives to the basket on Saturday -- will start.

It's a bit of a surprise considering the stern messages Eddie Jordan had been sending Blatche this week, but also a sign that Eddie believes in second, and third chances and believes Blatche has more to offer than he's been showing.

"It's a far cry from the minutes he carried in Detroit," Jordan said. "But, it's another opportunity to see if he can seize the moment. We want it to be a jumpstart not just for tonight, but hopefully it can carry over into tomorrow's practice and carry over into this weekend and the rest of the season."

With Etan on the inactive list, Oleksiy Pecherov will dress and could see his first action of the season.