Arenas Cleared to Practice
Photo. TadderYou may have seen the reports last night or early this morning that Gilbert Arenas has been cleared by doctors to start practicing with the Wizards. The Washington Post’s “Wizards Insider” blog quoted Gil on his impending return:
The team confirmed that Arenas has been cleared to practice but said no date has been set for his return to game action. Arenas said he will practice at full speed for the first time tomorrow.
“I’ve been cleared to practice and play,” said Arenas. “Right now, it’s just getting in shape. It’s more mental. I’m actually scared to play right now. I think that’s where we’re at right now so I’m looking at it game by game. I think I’m scared to go out there right now. I just need to go through these practices and get my rhythm back. I’m still going to try and take it slow.”
Still, Arenas said he is reluctant to push himself too quickly.
“I don’t want to get hurt again,” Arenas said. “Two injuries back-to-back kind of messes with a guy mentally. I took a long time, I rehabbed very well and I don’t want another setback. Mentally, I don’t want to go through that again. I’m just going to take it slow, work out with the team and just build up the confidence mentally.”
So what does this mean for the Wiz and for Gil? Arenas obviously takes a ton of shots – what will his addition do to a young team that has developed nicely (DeShawn, Roger Mason, Blatche, Nick Young, etc.) without him on the floor? Will they revert to the pre-injury cast that just sits around and watches the Gilbert Show?
March 4th, 2008 at 9:17 am
YOUNGFED says:
Can’t wait till Gil gets back he’ll be taking back his throne as best point in the league. CP3 fans take notice.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Kobeef says:
“just build up the confidence mentally”….
I don’t think Agent 0 needs time to build up confidence. My guess is that he is back jacking up lots of shots as soon as he can…even if the shots aren’t going in.
Birdman is Back!
“With commissioner David Stern expected to reinstate Chris Andersen on Tuesday, the Hornets will re-sign him assuming he passes his physical”
March 4th, 2008 at 9:43 am
the_don_mega says:
no offense YOUNGFED…
but just when did Agent 0 cop the title as “best point guard” in the L?
never heard of that before…
for me it the food chain goes like this…
1. kidd and nash
2. chauncey billups and tony parker
3. deron and cp3
man…
if we talkin’ ’bout point guards…
and i mean real point guards…
i’d be happy to rank andre miller higher that agent 0 anytime…
ain’t no hater of his game…
but for me he’s more of an AI type of player…
not a tweener but a pure shooting guard trapped in a point guard body…
March 4th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Adrian Zapata says:
Gilbert Arenas is just a clown, all show. He’s not a good “point” because he’s an AI type player. And he can never back up anything he says. Hopefully he sits out the rest of the year.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:14 am
GayforRudy says:
Yeah hey look at me I’m Youngfed…
Gilhova will be back soon! Weeeeeeeeeee
March 4th, 2008 at 11:51 am
GEE... Cold on em! says:
For real you messin with ya cred. when you post a statement talking about Gil. being the best pg. He has never been the best lol.
How does that even come up for consideration?
March 4th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
K-Dizzle says:
I don’t think CP3 fans are worried…
March 4th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
dagwaller says:
I don’t know. You guys seem to forget last year pretty quickly. I’m a huge Nash fan, and I have a lot of respect for some of the others on the list, but for about a month last year, Gil was (for me) the MVP of the League. Crazy, I know, but remember when the Wizards were #1 in the East? That month where he scored a ton and had a bunch of dramatics?
Like I said, only for a month or so. But he’s up there with the elite guards, just as much as TP and Baron Davis, when he’s on.
Now, he hasn’t been on like that since about a year ago, so I don’t want to make any predictions. I don’t think that his style meshes well with hardly any TEAM. That having been said, he’s still better than any of the guys he’s replacing, so I have to feel like they’ll improve slightly. Right now they’d be drawing the Cavs in the playoffs, so I don’t think it would matter, but if they can reach the 5th seed (if they keep improving), they’d play the Magic, which is a better look for them, I think.
That’s assuming that they play better, because even though Gil’s better than anyone else currently playing for them, a lot of why they’re winning right now is the chemistry and wizardry (haha…sigh) of Eddie Jordan, neither of which would be as necessary with Gil. I’m going to predict them finishing at the 6th seed, then going down 4-1 to the Cavs.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
GEE... Cold on em! says:
Naw Dag didn’t forget but to say he is the best? I can’t feel that. He may be top 7, I can just give him the crown though.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
dagwaller says:
IS the best? Definitely not, even if he hadn’t been injured. But Baron Davis didn’t REALLY heat up til the spring, Kidd was on yet another underachieving team, TP was on a great TEAM, and CP and Deron hadn’t really arrived yet. For that month, Chauncey and Nash were the only PGs I’d have right with Gil. Although the Suns (along with the Mavs) were just coming off of a very slow start.
At the time, Gilbert was like Kobe East: carrying a team that was perceived to not be very good. I’m not saying that Gil was ever better than Kobe, but better than the rest of the PGs in the league? For a minute or two.
Here’s hoping (as a Wiz fan) that he can recapture some of that magic (did it again!), and that the rest of the team can integrate him seamlessly.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
word says:
Hopefully sitting on his ass seeing what his team is capable of without him will make him pass more and get over his bloated ego. We all know what he can do, but we want to see the team play, especially since they developed really well this season.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
rolledup says:
“bloated ego”
gil’s ego is the best thing in the league for a while. he’s not egotistic in the standard way. he’s like someone who is living a dream and when he scores 60 on kobe he gets pumped and let’s everyone know it. his ego is something I can respect because he’s a fan’s player. hopefully he can step up his team player game.
think of this ego from a fan standpoint…
when kobe dropped 81 he was unemotional/dry and said his team played well even though we all know he is the most egotistical player around. show some emotion…you just scored 81 points fool. your team played well only because they let you take all the shots dummy.