Speeding Bullets: Let the play do the talking

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He's not talking much to the media, but star point guard Gilbert Arenas has let everyone know he's back to his old form through his play on the court.

"Gil's very committed," Saunders said. "He's very serious right now, doing what he needs to do to keep his body at the level he needs to play at. When I saw him in the summertime, I thought he was back then, and he continues to get better and better and better. I don't think he's shown any effects quickness-wise or (in) anything he's been able to do."

Saunders noted that Foye's arrival (in a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves with Miller) has helped relieve some of the burden on Arenas. It allows Arenas to think about the shots he wants to take or how to move the ball.

"Before, you'd just pass and cut and when you get the ball, you go score," Arenas said. "Now, I'm sitting there with the ball longer than I have the last six years of my career, so that's something I've got to adjust to."

Tom Knott has more on what Arenas means to the Wizards:

This is what it means to have a healthy franchise player. When all else fails around him, with the shot clock ticking down, the franchise player can manufacture a shot and make good on a shabby possession.

That 19-win team is now a distant memory, gone forever. The Wizards may not put together the kind of season they want, but they now can imagine all the wonderful possibilities. That is what the presence of Arenas means to the team. It is not just about his impressive numbers, essential though they are. It also is about the emotional lift that only he can provide to the team.

That point was underlined with Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison relegated to street clothes on the bench. Butler and Jamison may be All-Stars, but they do not rip out the heart of an opponent like Arenas does. They do not slice up a defense and live on the free throw line, as Arenas does.

Can Flip Saunders do what no other Wizards coach has been able to do - get the team to play defense?

Read the rest at

http://dcprosportsreport.com/2009/11/02/speeding-bullets-let-the-play-do-the-talking.html

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