He’s Back…

After attending Friday’s preseason NBA game of the Wizards vs. Mavericks, I can confidently say now (with a sigh of relief) Gilbert is back! After almost a 2 year hiatus of various injuries, Gilbert Arenas is back and ready to play harder than ever.

As the game began, Arenas took a much more humble approach to his style of play.  Rather than come out guns blazing, Arenas focused his energy on helping his teammates by passing and setting screens to open up the court.  Gilbert played the first 10 minutes of the game, and didn’t take a single shot.  That’s right, I’m talking about the Hibachi not launching 3′s or bulldozing down the lane to get a foul call.  At first I was a little concerned.  What’s going on?  Has he lost his touch?  Is he afraid to take shots now?

After sitting out the rest of the 2nd half, all of my questions were answered as the Agent Zero I know and love entered in the game during the 3rd quarter.  2 minutes into the 2nd half, Arenas hit his first jumper of the game and the crowd went nuts.  Feeding off the energy from the crowd, Gil took the opportunity to demonstrate some of his patented moves as he lit up the court with absolute precision including a dazzling reverse lay-up through 4 Maverick defenders.  In just 21 minutes of play, Arenas finished with 12 points, shooting 6/6 from the field while dishing out 9 assists.

Despite all of the reports from head coach Flip Saunders and the local media outlets assuring me that Gilbert was 100% healthy and ready to go, I just couldn’t be sure until I saw it for myself.  While only a preseason game, his performance on Friday night re-established his athletic ability and his uncapped potential in my mind.

It’s hard to imagine, but the last full season that Gilbert played with the Washington Wizards was the 06/7 season.  During that time Arenas averaged 28.4 points, 6 assists, 1.9 steals, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.8 3- pointers.  Slightly older, and hopefully more mature, Gilbert attempts to repeat these impressive numbers as the Wizards look to rise in the East once again.  With an absolutely deadly surrounding cast in Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Mike Miller, and Randy Foye, the Wizards look set to give a few of the top dogs a run for their money.

One sign that he’s grown up a bit is Gilbert’s refusal to talk to the media during the preseason.  Formerly a media loving hog, Gilbert has told several outlets that he will not be making his normal boneheaded remarks this time around.  It seems that he is beginning to understand the importance of his behavior and leadership on a team that desperately needs some new direction after a 19-63 season.  Another good sign is added attention towards passing the ball.  Once called a “ball-stopper” by Charles Barkley, Arenas has made it a point to get more players involved in the offensive sets before he takes over the play.  After 2 preseason games Gilbert is averaging 9.5 assists.  While it is still very early, it is nice to see a change of pace in Gilbert’s game.

So while the Wizards still have an uphill battle for themselves this season, Wizards’ fans can rest easy knowing that their star player is ready to light up the stage once more.