Kris and Dan Answer NBA Questions

We took a little time off due to unforeseen circumstances (admit it, you missed us) but now Kris and Dan are back answering NBA questions.

Let's get right to it:

Question: Are the Washington Wizards really better without Gilbert Arenas?


Kris says:

In short, the answer is no.

However, something seems to happen to young teams when they lose a superstar. They rally around that and all pick up the slack for a little while. And with a young team it can help instill the necessary confidence in those young guys that will help carry them in the playoffs.

Obviously, last season the Wizards were just devastated to lose Agent Zer0 just weeks prior to the playoffs. Most weren’t sure if he would be back to start the season, but he was and the Wizards looked again as a strong contender in the East. However the Wiz started off the season by losing five straight, then rebounded to win 6 straight in the middle of which Arenas was again injured.

Since the injury the Wizards have won 8 of 13 games and put themselves back in the hunt. During this time it has allowed Caron Butler to really grow into his own player. He is the Robin to Arenas’ Batman when it comes playoff time. In Jamison, Haywood and Antonio Daniels there is a solid core of veterans but Butler needs to stand up and be counted on to win games with Arenas on the offensive end of the floor. The Wizards also have received contributions from their young bench in the time Arenas has sat out including third year man center Andrea Blatche and rookie Swingman Nick Young both of whom ripped off 3 straight double figure games when Arenas was inured.

So in fact the Arenas early season injury may turn out to be a good thing for the Wizards down the road, or at least that’s what I think. As great man once said, “often wrong, but never in doubt.”

Dan says:

Let’s get this out there first: Gilbert Arenas is a phenomenally talented player. He can score from anywhere, he can create his own shot off the dribble, and he is fearless in crunch time. He also plays with confidence and swagger that his teammates feed off of.

So of course in the long run the Wizards aren’t better off without him. No team is better when they lose a guy who’s one of the top 15 players in the league.

But here’s the thing about Gilbert Arenas: he dominates the ball. He needs the ball in his hands on most possessions, and he is a scorer first, facilitator second. Sure, he averages a pretty high assists-per-game, around 6, but that has as much to do with the pace that Washington plays as it does his ability as a play-maker for others.

So to some degree Gilbert’s success necessarily diminishes the success of those around him. Because of the volume of shots he takes, because of the volume of possessions that go through his hands, it limits what the other people on the Wizards can do.

Now, if this was a team like, say, the Cavs, where the other players are not particularly good, then losing your best player is catastrophic. But the Wizards have Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. Both of those guys are outstanding players, way better than ordinary.

So with Gilbert gone, and with the ball being spread to these two all-star-level players much more than usual, the Wizards have turned out to be fine without Arenas. And remember, it was that both Butler AND Arenas were out at the end of last year that caused the Wizards to fail so miserably in the playoffs.

The answer then, is no, they are not better without him. But they are not as bad off without him as they could be.

While we’re here – why isn’t there more talk about the Caron Butler for Kwame Brown trade being one of the worst ever? Do you think Kobe wouldn’t mind playing with Caron Butler right now? How much better would the Lakers be with a lineup of Fischer, Bryant, Butler, Odom, and Bynum, with Walton, Turiaf, and Farmar off the bench? Just a lot better or championship run better?