4.03.2008

Welcome Back, Gilbert


Gilbert Arenas, always full of surprises, ended weeks of speculation about when he would return from a knee injury by delivering yet another shocker. Arenas arrived at the Verizon Center wearing his jersey for the first time since November, only days after it was believed he would be out long term. After missing 66 games, Agent Zero didn’t show a whole lot of rust, going 5-9 from the field, including 3-4 from downtown and scoring 17 points in 20 minutes. It was a great display of shooting from a guy who struggled in his first comeback from injury. Even though Ramon Sessions and his buzzer-beating shot overshadowed Gilbert’s return, there was plenty to be optimistic about. The Wizards fell into a three-way tie for fifth place with the Raptors and 76ers with seven games left. Washington could not have gotten their star back at a more crucial time.

Even with the Wizards locked in a tight playoff race, the story of the night would be Arenas, and how the team would respond with him back on the court. Without their charismatic superstar, Washington had done surprisingly well in staying afloat in the playoff standings all year. Clearly they were going to get a burst from his return. At first, the integration looked wonderful as Gilbert hit his first four shots in typical breathtaking fashion in leading the Wizards to a double-digit lead. Then, the Bucks overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth, exploiting a common weak link for Eddie Jordan’s team. Defensive lapses from Washington cost them down the stretch as Milwaukee scored on possession after possession. Jordan has received praise for the improved defense his team has played this season, but could it be possible that his superstar could actually hurt his team’s improved defense? It’s too early to answer that.

As much as having Arenas on the floor is going to help Washington, the Wizards have learned to become a proficient team without him. Integrating number zero make into the lineup will be tougher than most think. Washington is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, dropping an overtime game where they led by four with two to go at Staples against the Lakers, then getting blown out of the building by Utah, before last night’s deflating loss. Rookie Nick Young averaged 17 points and shot 66% during that stretch. His 27-point game in his return to LA was topped by teammate DeShawn Stevenson, who hit a franchise-record 8 3-pointers in the loss. Jamison and Butler have also been getting solid contributions down low from Andray Blatche and Brendan Haywood, who’s averaging over 10 points for the fist time in his career. These players have been great in complementary roles beside Jamison and Butler, two players that have emerged as All-Stars. Many believe that Washington’s offense is much more fluid without Arenas, but his return will bring a lot more firepower to an already improving offense.

In addition, it will finally give Washington a game breaker that is capable of winning any game by himself. The Wizards have struggled with consistency, largely depending on youngsters like Young, Blatche, or Roger Mason, another role player who’s been thrust into a new role because of injuries to Arenas and Caron Butler. Just look at the first two games of their current losing streak to see how this team ebbs and flows. After playing one of its best games of the year against the Lakers, Washington laid an egg in losing by 42 points to the Jazz. Playoff teams don’t have atrocious performances like that. Arenas’ presence on the floor makes the chances of something like that happening a lot less, just because of the tremendous presence he will give to the entire team as the orchestrator. We haven’t even mentioned that the Wizards also finally have their big shot player back. Few players in the league can hit a shot with the game on the line like Agent Zero can. Last season, he put together a highlight reel full of dramatic shots that were simply amazing.

There’s no doubt there will be growing pains. A fourth-quarter defensive breakdown against one of the East’s worst teams is definitely one of them, but for the first time in months, Washington can finally say that they are healthy again. Having the opportunity to get things straight with their superstar during the tail end of the regular season makes the Wizards much more dangerous in the playoffs. By then, Washington will know whether Arenas’ return was the right decision or not. Either way, the Wizards have shown they can play with the league’s best and will be a tough out come playoff time.



More Arenas News:

Arenas willing to take pay cut to stay in Washington (Yahoo! Sports)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Deshawn has been busy.
http://mediatakeout.com/users/ellbo/31922/nba_player_deshawn_stevenson_new_girlfriend_and_pregnant_baby_momma

confused_questions said...

dude way to get on deadspin again! congrats!

Sportsattitude said...

Isn't Gilbert a hoot. I hope he's healthy and gives the Wiz a shot at doing a little damage in the JV portion of the NBA playoffs.