Empty the Bench

Understatement of the Year: a 36-point thumping of the Cleveland Cavaliers is just what the Wizards needed.

For all the confidence this squad has in itself, and for all the trash talk and hard fouls they’ve been dishing in abundance since this series kicked off last weekend, Eddie Jordan’s Wizards had done very (very) little to distinguish themselves as anything more than talented-but-underachieving blowhards. LeBron James was effortlessly reassuming his postseason posturing (and dominance) of ‘07. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was making mincemeat of Brendan Haywood and the rest of Washington’s big men. And Cleveland’s defense was suffocating their opponent into an average of 86 points and 38% FG over the first two games in Cleveland.

Not so last night in Washington.

Energized by their rabid, color-coded hometown fans and led by humble outspoken SG DeShawn Stevenson (19 points, 5 triples, 3 steals), the Wizards started slowly but got the blowout going in the second quarter, when they outscored the Cavs 28-16 in building a 16-point lead at the half. It was a laugher by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, with James the only Cavalier finishing with a semi-respectable line (22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 turnovers), though for him that’s a sub-par postseason performance at best.

In what we’re hoping becomes a major storyline as the series heads towards the pivotal Game 4 Sunday afternoon, Gilbert Arenas logged just 10 minutes before succumbing to a knee bruise. He’s considered day-to-day at this point, but we wouldn’t be surprised if he misses at least one game. Fortunately for the Wizards, and contrary to popular belief, Arenas’ absence hardly dooms his team to a first-round exit. The Arenas apologists (of which there are still a surprisingly large number) will angrily disagree, but right now, this season, the Washington Wizards are a better team without Gilbert Arenas in the lineup.

Sure—Arenas is a late-game clutch performer who can knock down the big shot, he forces the defense to always account for him when he’s on the floor, and when he’s healthy and able to drive to the basket can create open perimeter shots for his teammates. But he’s not healthy. He’s not making his teammates better. And his poor shot selection and need to dominate the ball was bogging down the Wizards offense. Andrew made an interesting observation last night in the comments section of his feature about Arenas and Tracy McGrady:

I think it’s interesting that Gilbert was injured this game and played his fewest minutes of the series — and the Wizards won by 36 points.

They had 20 assists and shot 52.1% FGs, this after Washington failed to eclipse 16 assists or shoot better than 40.2% FGs in either of the previous games. Every Washington player who played 20 minutes made at least half of their field-goal attempts.

Antonio Daniels had 6 assists, three times what he had in the previous two games combined and equal to Gilbert’s combined total from those games. The Cavaliers point guards Delonte West and Daniel Gibson were held to 9 total points and 3 total assists. That pair combined for 43 points and 16 assists in the first two games.

Surely, it’s just a coincidence… right? And I’m sure it’ll be another coincidence if the same thing happens again in Game 4 with Arenas watching from the bench.

UPDATE: “Actually, I missed the last two practices because I had achiness,” Arenas said afterward. “I knew I wasn’t going to play more than 10 or 15 minutes. I just wanted to get out there energize the crowd.” There you have it: Gilbert saves the day, again, for his teammates, his fans, his franchise, his world by making an appearance. He didn’t want the attention. He just did it for his fans.

Tags: Gilbert Arenas, DeShawn Stevenson, LeBron James, Washington Wizards