Wizards get another win with without Jamison and Arenas in the line up against the Bulls last. Both should be OK for the playoffs.

I can’t see how the Wizards can get passed the Celtics in the playoffs, but other they aren’t a team I’d like to meet in the first round if I was the Cavaliers, Detroit, or Orlando.

So it looks like we’ll get to see both the Wizards in the playoffs and Gilbert Arenas back on the floor.

So far they’ve keep Gilbert to limited minutes, and given him some chances to show off his passing skills. It feels like the scene in the beginning of “White Men Can’t Jump” where Woody Harrelson gets beats Wesley Snipes with a couple of nifty passes, only to set up a victorious shooting contest.

Here’s to Lebron James/Wesley Snipes falling for the trick.

Here is Matt Yglesias on Gilbert Arenas coming back from injury.

Gilbert Arenas seems to be getting close to returning to the Wizards lineup. Sara maintains that you can tell by his off-kilter play during those few games at the start of the season that Gilbert was psychologically shattered by the initial injury and is never going to be the same player again. I’ve never heard her use the term “swag” in regard to this theory, but to students of Gilbertology I think the relevance should be clear.

I’m not, however, really sure I buy it. What’s more, Gilbert wouldn’t need to be all that good for reallocating minutes away from the likes of DeShawn Stevenson and Roger Mason, Jr. to constitute a net improvement for the team.

I basically agree. You here a lot questions Gilbert’s post injury production and value to the team. However, when you think about the alternatives line ups it’s hard to imagine his return is not going to have a positive impact for this year. Obviously we want the old Gilbert back, but I don’t think there is any serious danger to the Wizards short term prospects.

Caron Butler is back!

It’s possible the season isn’t a total waste for the Wizards after all.

In case you were wondering if the Wizards were a movie they’d be Man on Fire

Caron Butler and the Washington Wizards are a team on a mission playing for the honor of injured leader Gilbert Arenas’ honor. Similar to spending half the movie wondering if Creasy won’t ever see Creasy again, it is also unknown whether Gilbert who is a free agent this offseason will ever suit up for the Wiz again.

The Washington Post says Gilbert was getting closer, so hopefully we won’t find out that Caron Butler has been torturing people for no reason.

Currently the Wizards are beating up on the Miami Heat. I suppose it’s not surprising, but it good to see the Heat falling apart.

On a more objective level it’s very good to see Chicago playing badly. Unlike Boston and Miami, Chicago’s core players are all young to enough to be beating the Wizards for a decade or so. Not a problem if they’re a mediocre team.

It feels like the Wizards are treading water right now (better then sinking), but it’s good to see that Caron Butler is turning into a top 5 fantasy player. Too bad I don’t really understand fantasy basketball.

P.S. Does the site look weird to you to?

So Michael Wilbon doesn’t think losing Arenas is a season killer

Here’s the guts of the argument

Granted, the Hawks, Pacers, T-Wolves, Trail Blazers and Sixers are bottom feeders. But if the Wizards simply beat the stinky teams they’re supposed to beat (like the Pacers in the opener), they’ll be fine

Indeed. They seem to be demonstrating that without Gilbert they are better then half the teams in the league or least the Eastern Conference. Blatche and Haywood look more impressive then last year, and Nick Young seems just the kinda of guy the need to fill in for Arenas. Caron Butler (39 points !) is a top player that without Arenas will be an all star this year. The current mixture plus a healthy Arenas could really be a top team in the Eastern Conference come playoff time.
-Chris

Arenas out 3 months .
Well that’s less then the optimal outcome.
-Chris

The Washington Wiz beat the upstart Atlanta Hawks 101-90 Sunday to avoid the franchise’s worst season start ever (0-6). To say the least, it was a big win.

The pace was set early by Brendan Heywood, who scored 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter of the game as he earned his fourth double-double of the season. I would quote some of what he said to opponents while abusing them, but this is a PG-13 blog. However, I can assure you, it wasn’t nice. Heywood was joined in his big, mean play by Antoine “Mr. Clean the Boards” Jamison.

Jamison, known for his scoring, has emerged as a rebounding force (15 vs Atlanta) and is averaging a double-double for the season. Speaking of emerging,

DeShawn Stevenson who had shown little life since last season (pre-playoffs) emerged as a key part of the Wiz’s success Sunday. DeShawn is the guy you can’t leave open to focus on the Wiz’s big three…, because DeShawn will make you pay by hitting a big three. He did so in the third quarter on Sunday, effectively killing Atlanta’s second half surge and sealing an easy, big win.

Go Wiz!