Medical Miracle?

According to the Associated Press, Agent Zero will remain on the bench for some time. With his team holding down semi-solid playoff positioning, it's hard to say if Arenas' absence won't propel the Wizards to another level in a Joe Osteen kinda way.

However, Arenas hasn't been the only Wizard who has missed a number of games this season. Antonio Daniels (^left) is enjoying one of his better seasons (when not in a suite himself). Caron Butler "isn't ready to go," and the trade deadline has come and gone. If the playoffs started tomorrow, the Wizards would play a really healthy Orlando team anchored by one of the hottest players in the sport right now. Having watched the Wizards in the last couple of season's playoffs, I've kind of begun to look forward to how they play with their backs against the wall.

My question, which, by evidence of my comment counters, I'm sure, I am only posing to myself is : With a healthy Caron Butler, can the Washington Wizard get out of the first round of the playoffs without Gilbert Arenas?

KICK GAME!

A few months back, Sean Malcolm, my former cube-mate at KING magazine, assigned me the sweet task of speaking with both Gilbert Arenas and Chris Paul about their places on the covers of NBA Live '08 and NBA 2K8 respectively. The interviews were eventually published in the November '07 issue of KING and I kind of didn't think much about them after that. Agent Zero has sat out most of the season with an injury and Chris Paul's career couldn't be in more full swing.

Last week, I noticed (quite delayed) that Adidas, Arenas' shoe of choice, made a special NBA LIVE / EA SPORTS version of their Team Signature sneakers in honor of their man's presence on the cover of their magazine. More accurately known as the Men’s TS Lightswitch Low (EA Sports) they seem way more suited for off court than on. However, playing in sneakers below the ankle is an acquired taste. I mentioned my discovery to my esteemed superior editor, Khalid Salaam, who promptly placed a call to the three-stripe folks and had them send me over a pair.

I missed work Friday (flu bug) and made it in to work today, Tuesday, to find a fresh pair of said sneakers (with Khalids name on them) set aside for me to check out. Not only did I check them out, but I rocked them for the majority of the day.

By coincidence, a freelance assignment had me speaking with Chris Paul about his new signature sneaker from Jordan. The kick features the number 61 (in honor of the age his grandfather was when he was murdered) and the name, SKIP, on the inner tongue (to honor his college coach, Skip Prosser, who passed away late last year).

While Adidas promptly put in my request for the kicks pictured above, Jordan brand claimed they lacked the product. So, I doubt I will be able to bring original photos of a pair of Chris Paul Jordan brand kicks to this blog. Their loss!

WHERE HAVE YOU GONE GILBERT ARNEAS?:
Zero GP for Zero in the Playoffs

What happened here? The WIZARDS were great at the start of the season but, with the loss of Caron Bulter and Gilbert Arenas Washington has fallen behind three games to none against Cleveland. The loss of both Arenas and Butler from the playoffs not only lead to a preeminent sweep but took a ton of thunder out of the CAVS-WIZARDS first-round rematch from last year.

Antawn Jamison had 38 points and 11 rebounds in nearly every minute of the six-point loss to Cleveland. LeBron James and his 30 points, 9 dimes and six boards. I feel like a win today would have given the Wiz a second chance to fight back and/or tease the audience. Jamison is a guy who never lacked talent, I'm sure the Lakers and the Raptors would love to have him right now.

Another bright spot is Antonio Daniels, who might be relying less on his leaping abilities, has proving his worth. His numbers went up in each of the three games and in the third game, today, he left 20 points and 13 assists, 4 boards, 1 block, 1 steal and only one turnover behind. That's a nearly game, truly great point guard numbers. It's been his play in the playoffs that have earned Antonio Daniels nice contracts, he's got the ring with the Spurs to prove it. I could only see Daniels playing better or in a more complimentary capacity when Arenas was healthy. With no sign of return from "Zero to Hero," hey "There is always next year.


1 2 3 4 T
Cleveland 26 35 16 21 98
Washington 22 22 31 17 92