| What To Make Of Gilbert And The Wizards Authored by Brian Reynolds - November 2, 2009 - 7:36 pm
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First things first, let me breakdown the game of Gilbert Arenas. The box score will indicate an off night, and in all honesty, it was an off night for Arenas. He scored 23 points on 22 field goal attempts while committing seven turnovers – not exactly stellar numbers from the three-time All-Star.
But let’s remember that Arenas is coming off not one, not two, but three surgeries on his left knee since April of 2007. What I saw on Friday night was a great player who simply just had a bad game. It’s to be expected. We are very early on in the season and Gilbert will have games that are UN-Gilbert like. The important thing is Gilbert attacked the paint and looked as if his knee was the last thing on his mind.
More than once Gilbert went right after the frontcourt of the Hawks. He didn’t finish the way he normally does, but he looked strong and at this point, that should be all that matters.
“It’s early in the season,” said head coach Flip Saunders after Friday’s game. “Every player is in the process of getting themselves into a rhythm. [Gilbert] did some positive things tonight. He did have some untimely turnovers, but he played well on Bibby defensively. He was effective.”
Arenas was visibly upset after his performance. He sat quietly at his locker going over the game in his head as teammates prepared to get on the bus to head back to D.C. Just like any competitor, he hates to lose, but at least now there is a tomorrow.
“I got four quick turnovers, then I stopped being aggressive,” Arenas said about his own game. “I was worried about how many turnovers I had. You just can’t play the game like that.”
Fortunately for the Wizards, they now have a relatively deep roster. So, when Arenas is off, they have other guys that can step up. In the off-season, they acquired Randy Foye and Mike Miller from Minnesota to add some backcourt depth.
Foye has been somewhat disappointing in the early part of his career, but has plenty of potential to become a capable point guard in this league and you know he will only improve learning from a superstar player like Arenas. Miller is a veteran who is known as a great three-point shooter, but he is a very underrated rebounder. Against Atlanta, Miller pulled down 10 rebounds. He also had five assists and two steals.
Andray Blatche and has been a pleasant surprise thus far and could be a sleeper pick for Most Improved Player. Nick Young still plays like his last name and seems to press a lot, but he is definitely a nice piece to have off the bench that can come in and give you instant offense
Since 2004, the staple in the Wizards lineup has been Antwan Jamison. Jamison is nursing a shoulder injury that he suffered in the preseason and should miss anywhere from the team’s first eight to 13 games of the season. When he comes back, we will get a real look on how good the Wizards really are.
With Arenas, Jamison, and Butler, Washington has the firepower to make noise in the East. At the very least, they will be one of the league’s most entertaining teams to watch this year – a blessing for Redskins fans.
I’m predicting the Wizards win 44 games this season and lock up the sixth seed in the East. Let’s hope they stay healthy because this is a team that causes serious matchup problems for all teams.
--Brian Reynolds is a contributing writer for RealGM and a recent graduate of Emory University. He can be reached at Brian.Matthew.Reynolds@gmail.com |
