Caron Butler | buhaybasketball.com

Gilbert Arenas’ comeback spoiled

March 29, 2009 By: Ongai Category: Player Analysis

Gilbert Arenas comeback

After missing 156 of the possible 173 games, Gilbert Arenas is back. This game against the Detroit Pistons marked his first since April 27, 2008. It was filled with mixed emotions as people were excited to see him back but unfortunately, the game resulted in a loss where Arenas’ shot was blocked by Kwame Brown.

Caron Butler was able to grab the ball and take a shot but missed resulting in a 98-96 Detroit win.

“I’m going to think about that the whole way to Indiana,” Arenas said as the team prepared to catch a postgame plane to play the Pacers on Sunday. “I should’ve called a timeout, or I should’ve just drove the lane off the rebound, but that’s what happened. We’ve got to live with it. … Just had a mental block.”

But it wasn’t all that bad as he finished the game with 15 points, 10 assists, 2 threes and only one turnover. The fg percentage was bad but is forgivable as Arenas was rusty from not playing in over a year.

“You’ve ever heard that expression, ‘If you want it to rain, wash your car’? That’s what happened this morning,” Arenas said. “I got here, knee’s been feeling fine this whole time, as soon as I got here it started aching. ‘Oh man, see, I knew this was going to happen.’ So I said I wasn’t going to play. And then once I got home, I felt better. I said, ‘Oh, it’s just nerves kicking in.’ Once I got out there, it was all basketball from there.”

It really looked like he was feeling well in that game and was having fun even after tripping. But unlike the Arenas we saw last year where he would have had a hard time getting up, this time it seemed that it didn’t bother him that much.

Even after losing to the Pistons, Wizards fans have to be happy that their $111 million is back and what a better sight than to see their Big 3 back in action. Caron Butler played for the first time after missing seven straight games with a sore hamstring. As long as Arenas’ knee can hold up, and with a a very high possibility of getting a top 4 pick in next year’s draft, it looks brighter in Washington. I just wish Eddie Jordan would have still been their coach.