Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Gilbert Arenas was right that an explosive, scoring point guard from the Eastern Conference would be the All-Star game's MVP, it just turned out to be Allen Iverson instead of himself. Had Arenas hit all of his shots, however, he would have been 11-for-11 for 25 points to lead the East. That would have been enough to tip the scales. But after starting 0-for-4 in the first half, there wasn't enough time to realize his dream. Maybe, in the ironic words of Grant Hill after All-Star game 2000, there's next year?
Arenas and Antawn Jamison played the fewest minutes of anyone on the east other than Paul Pierce. Those three guys were the 10th, 11th, and 12th men as far as All-Star head coach Stan Van Gundy was concerned. Is it because they are less talented than Grant Hil or Vince Carter or Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Is it because Van Gundy wanted to tire out his more important competition? Or is it just a fluke?
Ah, it doesn't matter.
It's probably better they rested anyway. Let Shaq and Wade get tired playing for their coach. Let LeBron James flirt with injury. These Washington Wizards are looking for a more important achievement than an extra hundred seconds of meaningless burn. They're looking for something that no one can arbitrarily give or take away: a playoff berth.
NEXT GAME
The Washington Wizards (30-22, second in the Southeast) host the Memphis Grizzlies (30-23, fourth in the Southwest) on Wednesday, February 23rd. The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on Comcast Sports Net and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
One day after placing fourth in Saturday's PlayStation Skills Challenge, Gilbert Arenas scored seven points in the East's 125-115 winover the West in the 54th NBA All-Star Game. Teammate Antawn Jamison also represented Washington, tallying five points in the contest.
Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas will be onlineon Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 1 pm to answer questions about his experience at the All-Star Game and an unforgettable first half of the season.
INJURY UPDATE
Samaki Walker(lower back),Larry Hughes(thumb), andKwame Brown(ankle) are all on the injured list.Juan Dixon(ankle) is out 2-3 weeks.
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Neither of the Wizards' first-time All-Stars reached double figures.It became clear early on Gilbert Arenas' dream of walking off with the MVP trophy would not be realized. He was scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting from the field in the first half and missed his next shot before finally heating up to finish with seven points in 15 minutes. Antawn Jamison had five points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.
Mike Wise ofThe Washington Postwrites: The problem with the aesthetic quality of the game is there are essentially two kinds of NBA teams: no-defense, transition teams like the Suns, the Wizards, the Sacramento Kings and the Seattle SuperSonics, and lock-down, half-court squads like the Spurs, Pistons and the Houston Rockets.The more the running teams can get an important stop and the more defensive teams score, the more the NBA will generate genuine rivalries. As it is, many of the league's observers think it is impossible for a team like Phoenix to advance very far in the postseason. Playoff basketball is half-court, bump-and-grind basketball, and running teams are often ground to a halt by May.