Agent Zero is my Hero

First and foremost I’d like to extend a big thank you to the Boston Celtics for supporting my earlier post. Once again the Boston “Big Three” took on the D.C. “Big Three” and came up short. The Wizards are now the only team in the NBA to have beaten the Celtics three times. Which is all the more amazing since only 12 teams have beaten them even once. The Wizards alone account for nearly 20% of the Celtics losses.
 The Celtics had the upper hand in the first quarter as Paul Pierce was en fuego, but after the first twenty points the Celtics seemed to get away from their game plan. There were major stretches in both halves when both Garnett and Pierce were out, leaving Ray Allen to do most of the scoring, but he only managed 13 points the whole game thanks to DeShawn “Lockdown” Stevenson. Pierce had 14 of the team’s first 18 points, but then only 14 of the next 77 points. Boston head coach Doc Rivers seems to use the same forumla against the Wizards that works brilliantly on almost every other team, but the Wizards are a guard heavy team and can play with the undersized Celtics if they want to play small ball. If I’m Rivers, I’m making sure Garnett gets 25 shots at least, instead of only 16. I understand the balanced scoring, but against a team weak in the paint like the Wizards, everything should run through Garnett in the post, instead of the 17 footers he kept missing last night.
 The most encouraging thing of the night for Wizards fans was the play of Arenas. His shooting was a little off, but it’s the rest of his game that is going to be the difference. Caron has stepped up to become automatic points, and if Arenas is open, he’ll still hit it, but it’s the rest of his game that will be the reason the Wizards get over the hump. I guess the hump means finally beating Cleveland in the playoffs, but I don't think they'll stop there. Think big or go home.  Arenas is finally becoming the leader he needs to be. He was a scoring leader last year, but after sitting out for most of this year, he’s had time to realize just how he fits in to the team, and see the teams identity. Butler and Jamison have shown they can carry the load when they beat the Celtics back to back earlier this year, as well as the Mavericks and Magic, just to name a few. But the second Gilbert comes into the game, the team’s dynamic changes. Suddenly everyone is much more energized, the tempo has picked up, and everyone is confident.
 A couple of minutes into the second quarter Arenas made yet another one of his four steals and showed why this team is so much better with him. With the ball on an uncontested fast break, 10 feet from the basket, he dropped the ball off to a streaking Butler who tomahawks it in, sending the crowd to their feet and sparking a run that put the Wizards up 17 halfway through the second quarter. This type of unselfishness is what the Wizards need right now. They know they can score, they know they have all-stars in Jamison and Butler, but they need someone to keep it together and run the game with excitement and confidence. With Arenas just coming back from surgery, this transition is perfect. Eddie Jordan is doing a great job of getting him in there for 5 or 6 minute spurts, and then letting the team that has been playing so well together the rest of the year take over. Make no mistake however, come playoff time, Arenas will still be the one taking the big shots, calling for the ball as time runs off the shot clock, and taking the team as far as they are destined to go.