FanHouse Washington Wizards

Things are really, really not going well for the Washington Wizards. It all began last weekend, with that fluke loss to Toronto. Then, Caron Butler's serious injury. Then, losing Gilbert Arenas, which capped off back-to-back losses to the Bobcats.

Well, here's a shred of hope. According to The Washington Times, Butler is trying come back way sooner than originally planned:

While the team's medical staff has said he will be out at least six weeks, Butler is going to do everything possible to play in the first round this month.

"I'm really looking forward to getting out there in the playoffs," Butler said. "It's going to be hard for them to keep me from that court. I'm seriously thinking about pushing it. I'm going to give it a shot; I'm not ruling it out."

I know Butler's an indomitable competitor, is that team's will, and all that. And certainly, he and Jamison could team up to get the Wizards out of the first round. But that's assuming it's time for him to come back. Last year against the Wiz, Larry Hughes rushed back from a seriously broken finger. He was barely himself, and very nearly did more harm than good for the struggling Cavs offense. Butler might think the team needs him, but unless he's actually ready to play, whether or not he decided to suit up might be a moot point.

What a terrible weekend for the Washington Wizards. First, they lose a game on some serious bad luck. Now, Caron Butler, their third All-Star and an absolutely pivotal presence in last year's playoffs, is gone for the season. The fractured hand he sustained last night should keep him out indefinitely, with the second or third round a hypothetical glimmer of hope.

The Wizards are going to miss him, big time. Eddie Jordan will tell you as much, and his words should chill Wizards fans. From Wizards Insider:

"Caron is probably going to be gone for a long time, maybe the season...We're going to miss his numbers obviously, that's plain and simple. His mindset, his toughness, his aggressive nature, and the blue-collar approach to the game."

So maybe you think Jordan is just paying respect to the fallen. Well, chew on the numbers: this season, the Wiz are 2-7 without Butler. This isn't as bad as losing Arenas would be, but arguably worse than life without Jamison.

Some of you may recollect those Nike "fun police" ads, in which a young Kevin Garnett mocked the NBA's crackdown on all things expressive. Well, it looks like The Ticket has grown more conservative with age. According to the Star Tribune, KG was not into Arenas's celebration in Seattle last Wednesday. Recap: following his game-winner, Gil took off his jersey and laid in flat at the three-point line:

"That's pretty insulting. There are just certain standards, man. You can hit shots and, y'know what, 'I'm good, you're good, you hit a shot,' it's cool. But that's like T.O. going to the star."

It's interesting, if distressing, to think that our beloved Gilbert could be verging on Owens territory. Garnett seemed to back off that a little and look at the big picture:

Then the Wolves star went elder statesman: "Hey, it's a young league right now. These young boys feel like they can do that, and until you do something about it, that's just what it is."

The article also notes that Areans himself admitted he probably should have saved it for a home game. All regrets aside, though, there's a world of difference between players enjoying themselves and trying to humiliate the home team. Garnett may be showing his age, but he's also flexing that wisdom that's made him so respected around the league (if not in his own locker room).

The above video is the Gilbert Arenas edition of a new series of adidas ads that I think are positively beautiful. I hadn't seen the Gilbert ad, or any of the others ... I'm not sure if they just haven't debuted here yet, or if it's because I DVR everything and skip through the commercials. But I'm glad I saw this. If I should stumble across them on the DVR sometime, I will actually stop it to watch these commercials. I love them.

There are a bunch of them -- the Lionel Messi, David Beckham, and Saint Margarets ones being my favorites -- in the series. Maybe it's just me being soft, but these just make me feel good. Everything is perfect ... the music, the colors, the athletes tone of voice, the cartoons ... the adidas advertising people have won me over. I'm not even a big Gilbert Arenas fan, but this commercial, more than anything else he's done, has me buying that he's an earnest, grounded, underdog. Even Beckham -- Beckham, of all people -- seems sweet and lovable. Amazing.

Big thanks to Hoops Addict for the pick-up.

For those of you that missed it Thursday, here's video of Gilbert Arenas joining TNT's Tip-Off show to discuss being voted an All-Star starter for the first time.



Ugh! If you turn the volume up, you can smell the awkwardness near the end...

With Gilbert Arenas' promise to score 50 against the Trailblazers and head coach Nate McMillan, it's been asked a couple of times what Arenas would do if he played Duke. Duke, of course, employs Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Olympic team, from which Gilbert Arenas was cut. Well, Gilbert answered on his blog:

D'Antoni said that after I scored 54 on them and made my prediction to score 50 on the Blazers that he'd like to see what I'm going to do against Duke.

I thought it was funny because if I have the chance to go back to college, I'll give up one NBA season to play against Duke.

One college game...that's five fouls, right?...40-minute game...at Duke, they got soft rims...I'd probably score 84 or 85.

I wouldn't pass the ball.

I wouldn't even think about passing it. It would be like a NBA Live or an NBA 2K7 game, you just shoot with one person.

If Paulus was guarding him, 85 is probably a conservative estimate.

Still, and I hate to speak negatively about the blogosphere's favorite son, but I find all of this just a little bit annoying. And I don't know how serious he is about it, if he really hates Coach K, D'Antoni and McMillan, or if he's just sort of playing around, but ... I wish he'd let this one go.

It's not like being cut from that Olympic team is some kind of terrible slight. It was 16 of the best basketball players in the world, and a few of them had to be cut ... and I'm sorry you were one of them, Gil, I really am, but ... the team needed an extra forward and some guys who don't need to take a ton of shots. The numbers didn't work out for you. It's not like Krzyzewski, D'Antoni, or McMillan punched you in the face and told you that you sucked. The numbers just didn't work for you. Sorry.

Granted, at the same time, I understand that Gilbert's career -- hell, probably his entire life -- is built on turning perceived slights into motivation, and I don't begrudge him that. It works for him. But that doesn't mean it isn't just a little bit petty.