3/3/11: Gilbert Arenas, NBA 24/7 365 Hero

I know what you’re thinking: WTF am I thinking?  I’ve made it very clear that Gilbert Arenas has been one of my least favorite characters in the NBA for quite some time now.  Well, last night that all changed because he went and did this:

Gil was unable to feel his face following a pair of clutch fourth-quarter trifectas as the Magic pulled off the second-best comeback in their franchise history!  I’ve been dying for someone to bring this back since DeShawn Stevenson stopped doing it after he left Washington.  The Tony Yayo/John Cena/G-Unit (whatever you want to call it) is easily my favorite post-bucket celebration of all-time after the Stro Show bird sign.  I’ve got to show Gil love for not only brining it back, but doing so in a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat.  MAJOR props to Gilbert… never before has a player made such a large leap in my respect rankings in such a short amount of time.

Random Observations:

  • Highlight Recap, didn’t count Edition:

 

  • That’s what you get for lollygagging, Mike.  It looks to me like he didn’t release the ball as quickly as he could have in order to pad his field goal percentage.  I hate it when guys do that, because–as you can see–every once in a while you can get three big points out of a heave like this one.  Hey, guess how much Miami lost by last night? 
  • Highlight Recap, everything else Edition:

 

  • Assuming he gives a sh!t about winning basketball games, I’d venture a guess that Andrei Kirilenko didn’t get a wink of sleep last night…

  • This is how I’d expect a guy with a haircut like his to perform on a basketball court.  Despite his queer appearance, Andrei Kirilenko is a professional basketball player who stands 6’9… and he’s got to make this shot.  He was certainly rushing, and Kenyon Martin made a little swipe at the ball… but there’s no excuse here.  AK choked it.  Technically the clock should’ve been stopped at one second because Martin made the slightest of contact with the ball while standing out of bounds.  Utah should’ve received the ball… but if you asked them beforehand which opportunity they’d rather have, a point-blank layup or the ball out of bounds with a single second left, I’m thinking they opt for the layup.  As for the first 47:58 of this game… I can’t really tell you much because I passed out at halftime.  Denver led by seven at the time, but they had choked that lead away by the end of the third quarter.  They got it back for good bewteen the 2:14 and :41 marks of the fourth as Ty Lawson canned five straight freethrows.  Arron Afflolo, who has been Mr. Clutch lately, knocked down a huge three that put Denver up four with 11 seconds left.  Afflolo scored 19 in the game on 8-12 from the field.  Ty Lawsome (not a typo) led the Nuggs with 23 on 7-13.  CJ Miles led Utah with 22 off the bench.  The Jazz shot 52 percent, about four notches better than the Nuggets, but they were outscored by 13 at the charity stripe.
  • Alright… gotta take a deep breath before I attack this next game.  The Magic pulled off a 24-point comeback and beat the Heat 99-96.  They obviously did this by knocking down three after three after three (16 of 29, to be specific).  Dwight Howard controlled the boards (18 REB) and hit open shooters with five assists.  He swatted five shots and scored 14 points on 5-10.  Even though it looks like a rather average night for him based on the box score, he’s a big reason why Orlando was able to pull this out.  He impacts the game without scoring more than any other current player in the league.  I’m not going to say any more about the Magic because I don’t think this win really tells us anything we didn’t already know about ‘em: they live and die by the three… old news.  As for the Heat… well, they’re taking a lot of heat today.  The man taking the brunt of the fan/media beating is none other than LeBron James, who has failed to hit game-tying threes in three of his last four games.  Due to his recent inability to connect at the buzzer, he obviously has the “LEBRON IS A CHOKE ARTIST!” crowd going apesh!t.  Here are the shots I’m referring to:

  • Okay, watching all three bricks in succession like that does make it look ugly, I’ll give you that… but I’m not about to sit here and call this man a choke artist.  He’s missed a variety of big ones lately, but come on now, this guy has led the league in fourth quarter scoring multiple times.  He’s hit game winners.  He’s single-handedly dragged crappy teams to both regular and post season victories.  I’m not worried about these recent late-game issues… what I am worried about is his patented mid-game disappearing act.  Remember, the Heat should’ve never been in the position they were in with 15 seconds left in last night’s game.  They were ahead by 24 points.  Even when you factor in Orlando’s ridiculous three-point shooting they shouldn’t have been able to get back in this game.  Miami scored 33 points in the second half and lost by three damn points.  Three.  Fourty points isn’t a highly productive half by any stretch… yet that would’ve gotten the job done.  LeBron scored 13 of his 29 in the first quarter (didn’t miss a single shot in the period).  From the start of the second half through the moment the Heat lost the lead (7:37 mark of the fourth), LeBron took four shots.  Four.  F-O-U-R.  He does this type of thing on a regular basis, and it’s why I’m no longer one of his biggest supporters.  He’ll come out of the gate strong and help his team build a big lead early.  He’ll look completely unstoppable with 15 or 20 points 12 minutes in.  Then he goes and stands around for two quarters, refusing to be aggressive as his less-capable teammates brick shot after shot.  This dude is so obsessed with getting his teammates involved that it goes far beyond unselfishness and enters into the realm of stupidity.  When you’re the best player in the NBA and your teammates are struggling to hold onto a lead you MUST get aggressive.  Unfortunately, LeBron often fails to do so until it’s too late.  He didn’t do it at all last night, which is unusual.  I suppose I’ve said enough.  I highly doubt I’m changing anyone’s opinion of the King anyway.  Oh, I almost forgot: Eric Spoelstra, why the hell was Eddie House on the bench for that final possession? 

Quote of the Day: AK on his chokejob…

“(Martin’s) hand was on the ball. It wasn’t a foul but I didn’t really get the ball and I tried to finish without it.”

C’mon son.  You know you would’ve been heated had you made that layup like you should’ve and the refs called no basket because Martin’s pinky grazed the basketball.  Just tell us you blew it and move along.  F@ck outta here with that bullsh!t.  /Ed Lover.

Photo of the Day: This is why I love the NBA…

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