Last night while some of us were taking in the sultry sounds of Jens Lekmen at the Black, the one and only Gilbert Arenas made his first appearance since November. Yay! Unfortunately, his two late free throws weren’t enough to lead Washington to victory, as Ramon Sessions (who?) hit a jumper from the corner at the buzzer to propel Milwaukee to a 110-109 victory. To make matters worse, DeShawn Stevenson and Antawn Jamison were both hurt in the last few plays of the game.
As for Gil, reactions around the web have been mixed:
The Post’s Mike Wise: “He’s b-a-a-ack,” the public-address announcer intoned. “Agent Zero, Gilbert Arenas!” A thunderous ovation ensued with 5 minutes 21 seconds left in the first quarter as he walked on the court and raised his arms in thanks. On his first offensive possession, he went back door, received a pass, feinted, lost his defender underneath, and scored an easy reverse layup.
The Post’s Ivan Carter: He checked into the game at the 5:21 mark to a standing ovation and made his first four shots, including two three-pointers. He finished with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting with two assists in 19 minutes.
Mr. Irrelevant’s Jamie Mottram: Not surprisingly, he doesn’t look good. Focused and full speed ahead, sure, but he misses some jumpers, loses the handle a couple of times and blows a layup he’d normally make in his sleep. He lacks the “rhythm” he talks about so much lately, but that’s OK.
The Sports Bog’s Dan Steinberg: Of all the players on both teams last night, Gilbert had the worst plus-minus rating (-8). When he entered the game the first time, his seven quick points were remarkable, and yet the Wiz still got outscored in that stretch. And when he entered the game for the last time, the Wiz were up nine; they then got outscored 24-14 down the stretch.
Yes, the loss hurts, but having Stevenson and Jamison go down might be the worst cut of all. I’m sure bad memories about the end of last season are popping into the heads of Wizards fans everywhere. So if you’re looking for some good news, here it is: John Hollinger’s playoff odds index have the Wizards in the playoffs, 100%, no doubt about it. Whether or not the team will be at full speed is yet to be seen. Next up for the Wizards – the woeful Miami Heat tomorrow night at the Verizon Center.
