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BRAVEONAWARPATH

By BRAVEONAWARPATH
in The Tailgate

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BRAVEONAWARPATH

BRAVEONAWARPATH

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/05/AR2010110507636.html

Arenas was set to come back for the first time since his 50-game suspension for bringing guns into Verizon Center's locker room - and for the first time since high school he wore a jersey other than No. 0. He was admittedly overcome with anxiety, with thoughts of the unknown permeating in his mind; the same worries that caused him problems last month, when fears about the reaction he would receive at a home preseason game led him to fake an injury.

"I didn't know what to expect, so I said I was hurt," Arenas said after coming off the bench to score 18 points in the Wizards' 112-91 loss to the New York Knicks. "It was one of those things, my nerves kicked in. Human nature I guess."

That uneasiness was apparent when Arenas's first jumper clanked hard off the backboard in the first period. Arenas was understandably rusty early after being out of action for nearly three weeks with a mild groin strain and also a strained tendon in his right ankle. But after finally settling down, Arenas scored 14 points in the fourth period, and even dove into the second row trying to recover a loose ball.

"It's really been a long time," Arenas said. "They kept yelling for me to be aggressive and I was like, 'I forgot how to.' "

"I thought about retiring for a minute, because I really didn't know what to expect. I just thought it was too much negativity to come back and I just didn't know if I was mentally prepared for it again," Arenas said, jokingly explaining why he eventually had to get back on the court. "I couldn't stay home. When you're a father and you have kids, eventually you have to get out of the house."
He came back to play three games in the preseason, but was saddled with more injuries, fake or otherwise, afterward. Coach Flip Saunders called on Arenas to enter the game with about three minutes left in the first period and the three-time all-star said he was prepared to take on that role for however long it's necessary.

"I haven't been consistent with the team since training camp," Arenas said. "So those guys earned those spots. I'm surprised I got in as fast as I did. I'm appreciative of that. I should be coming off the bench for another couple weeks, couple of months. It's fine with me. When I come off, I got to be ready, like 'The Microwave.' "

I'm disappointed how we lost," Arenas said. "I'm glad I got the first one out of the way. Now, we can get some team chemistry and start picking this thing up."

Saunders said afterward that it was good to have Arenas back, even in defeat. "I think if there's a bright spot, him getting out there, playing a little bit. For not having more than one practice in three weeks he can still score, and that's one thing he can do. Now it's a matter of seeing how we fit him all in with our guys."

Edited by BRAVEONAWARPATH
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G.A.C.O.L.B.

G.A.C.O.L.B.

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NBA.com box must be wrong. Blatche 7/8 (2/2 FT) for 16 points in the first QUARTER???! :rubeyes:

EDIT: And the miss was from the 3 :ols:

And then he proceeded to score six in the other three quarters. I thought for a second that I was wrong about Blatche. But maybe it's just a conditioning thing. Hopefully.

Anyway, that was a disappointment. But whatever. I think we're the 4th youngest team in the league? **** is gonna happen. And the Knicks have been on fire the last two games.

As far as Gil goes, I'm torn on it. In a way it felt right to see him out there in a Wiz uniform. But it also didn't seem to fit. I don't know. We'll see how it goes.

Also, I'm not liking the #9 on him. That's not Gilbert. And he killed his free throw routine as well.

As far as Wall goes, not his greatest game. But it was a typical rookie game. And does anyone else think that he tries too hard to be a pure PG sometimes? It's like he'll have an open lane to the basket and instead of taking it he'll force a pass that results in a turnover (what a selfish ballhog he is. I swear, I'm dropping Cowherd if I ever meet him.) Also, you can tell his jumper ****s with him. He hesitates almost every single time he takes one. You can tell he doesn't trust himself. But I think that's good in a way too. He's thinking about it. He'll fix it. And he'll be unstoppable. I still can't believe we got him. It's so surreal. Good stuff like that just doesn't happen to the Wizards.

One last thing, it's one of the great travesties of history that God decided to give McGee the kind of athleticism he has. He could be such a beast--top 5 big man--if he wasn't so damn dumb about the game. It drives me crazy.

Edited by G.A.C.O.L.B.
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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Jesus. It's been worse for Arenas than I imagined. It might be a little while before he gets his mind right again. Now would be a good time for someone to step up and guide him back into the fold. He's a sensitive guy and he just seems to be flailing around trying to get back into the swing of things. One of the bad things about having a team as young as ours is that Arenas is our veteran leadership.

Hopefully Wall can step up and be the leader we need him to. Arenas needs to find his confidence again.

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ixcuincle

ixcuincle

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As you can probably deduce from my last comment I heard the Cowherd rant last night

It was a ridiculous argument, especially for a guard like 3 or 4 games into the NBA, to criticize him because he didn't have enough assists

He had like 9 that day, that's not bad

Wall is doing well so far for a rookie, I don't know why anyone would criticize. Think rationally, it's his 3rd game

Stupid Herd

Edited by ixcuincle
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No Excuses

No Excuses

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Flip needs to kill the zone defense. We have a roster made up of dumbasses. The essence of a zone defense is having a center who's smart enough to man the middle. Right now between McGee and Armstrong, we might have the dumbest suckiest center pairing ever put together.

BTW what is this about Arenas confidence you guys are talking about? Dude scored 14 in the fourth. Hit clutch three after another. Too bad for him that his offensive explosion was wasted thanks to Yi, McGee and Armstrong playing like a box of kleenex. Also less Kirk Hinrich please. I don't know what happened to this guy over his years in Chicago but he is a really really below average player now.

Edited by No Excuses
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Warhead36

Warhead36

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Also less Kirk Hinrich please. I don't know what happened to this guy over his years in Chicago but he is a really really below average player now.

I don't know WTF happened to his shooting. He was always a pretty good shooter, or so I thought. But he was just bricking open 3 after open 3 last night. It was really frustrating. If he hit one of those open 3s during that early/mid 4th quarter run that had us within 5 or 6 the whole complexion of the game changes.

I'd say outside shooting is our biggest need. If we had better outside shooting threats, the D wouldn't be able to just sag off and collapse the middle when Wall drives for fear of him dishing to open guys. Last night he could have had like 4 or 5 more assists but guys were just clanging open shots. On the flip side the Knicks were hitting 3 after 3 even with hands in their face.

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