Can Arenas play at 2 if Wiz draft a PG?

[johnkim0011]

Just wondering if Wiz draft a traditional point guard

[Kanyewest]

I imagine for stretches like 10-15 minutes a game. It would work on offense but could spell trouble on the defensive end. You still need someone who can defend bigger shooting guards at this point although one can argue that Gilbert is going to have trouble defending either position effectively anyways.

[Ruzious]

He can play with any type of guard - as long as that guard plays excellent defense. But to play him with a pure PG would be a mistake, imo.

[hands11]

He can play with any type of guard - as long as that guard plays excellent defense. But to play him with a pure PG would be a mistake, imo.

I think a pure PG would be what GA needs most in order to just focus on playing the 2 when he gets minutes there. I never thought he was willing to let go with AD on the floor. While AD would play a solid PG, he wasn't enough of a threat to score from the outside and GA was just to used to being a ball in hand kind of player. That was part of it I think. I think GA is maturing now so he would be willing to play a role a SG sometimes.

If we find a quality PG and we are showing weakness at SG, GA will get PT there. We will have to see how things play out.

But if the question is can he. Definitely he can.

[Kanyewest]

AD wasn't an ideal compliment to Arenas offensively because a healthy Arenas was best for creating open jumpers for other teammates, and Daniels jumper was really inconsistent. I don't see how having just any pure point guard would help; obviously a guy like Chris Paul or Steve Nash. It also isn't ideal for Arenas to guard the likes of Dwayne Wade and Joe Johnson where he can easily get in foul trouble.

[johnkim0011]

Can he be a full-time SG and not have problem with offense/defense? Most of all, will he be back to 100% this upcoming season? He's been out for very long..

[DaRealHibachi]

Can he be a full-time SG and not have problem with offense/defense? Most of all, will he be back to 100% this upcoming season? He's been out for very long..

He'll be back atleast 90%...

Like was said before, he'll have no dificulty playing SG on offense, but defense the bigger SG's will have him for lunch...

[verbal8]

He can definitely play SG offensively, although he would have to move more without the ball. He would need to be paired with big PG who could guard the SGs sometimes. Pairing him with a guy like Curry would be a disaster defensively.

[nate33]

Offensively, Arenas is perfectly capable of handling either position. I think he's more comfortable shooting off the dribble than he is curling off a pick so he's probably a bit better as a PG. I also like his ability to shoot from extreme range early in the shot clock. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense and opens up more space to run the offense.

Defensively, I don't think Gil as any worse at SG than he is at PG. He's 6-3 with a 6-10 wingspan and he's strong as an ox. These days, most SG's aren't much bigger than 6-4 so there really isn't a huge size disparity. Gil can guard guys like Ben Gordon, Ray Allen, Kevin Martin, Michael Pietrus, etc. just fine (or rather, he can guard them as well as he can guard PG's). He has trouble against big SG's like Kobe and Joe Johnson, but there aren't that many of those guys around anymore. Most teams guard Kobe with a SF anyhow.

The reason why it doesn't make sense to play Arenas at SG is that it's harder to find a complimentary PG than it is to find a complimentary SG. It's easier to find a 6-5 guy who can play D and hit open shots than it is to find a 6-2 guy who can play D, hit open shots, and run an offense.

[VA_story]

Man hell no!

Like somebody said earlier..maybe in 10-15 min stretches but overall...NO!

For one it would have to be a pass-first PG because we both know Arenas is going to jack a myraid of shots.

Then on defense, he would get abused. Small ball doesn't work...we should know this from the E.Jordan days. Flip just needs to convince Arenas to pass the ball more.

[barelyawake]

The answer is there is no point guard in this draft who can come in, start and defend up to NBA standards.

However, Hinrich would work well with Arenas. Why? Because Hinrich can guard the 1 & 2. He can distribute. And he can hit the three. Those are the three major requirements for anyone you put next to Arenas -- and the three areas Dom ought to be practicing right now.

[Ruzious]

The answer is there is no point guard in this draft who can come in, start and defend up to NBA standards.

However, Hinrich would work well with Arenas. Why? Because Hinrich can guard the 1 & 2. He can distribute. And he can hit the three. Those are the three major requirements for anyone you put next to Arenas -- and the three areas Dom ought to be practicing right now.

Yeah, I always thought it'd be cool to have a backcourt of Arenas and Hinrich.

I wouldn't write-off Flynn and Lawson as rookie PGs who can start and defend PGs - as rookies. Obviously, you don't want them defending big guards on a regular basis. The best rookie guard to get just to blend with Arenas might be Green from UNC - and he probably lasts till the 2nd round - high basketball IQ, excellent long defender who creates turnovers, and fine spot-up 3 point shooter.

[Kanyewest]

Offensively, Arenas is perfectly capable of handling either position. I think he's more comfortable shooting off the dribble than he is curling off a pick so he's probably a bit better as a PG. I also like his ability to shoot from extreme range early in the shot clock. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense and opens up more space to run the offense.

Defensively, I don't think Gil as any worse at SG than he is at PG. He's 6-3 with a 6-10 wingspan and he's strong as an ox. These days, most SG's aren't much bigger than 6-4 so there really isn't a huge size disparity. Gil can guard guys like Ben Gordon, Ray Allen, Kevin Martin, Michael Pietrus, etc. just fine (or rather, he can guard them as well as he can guard PG's). He has trouble against big SG's like Kobe and Joe Johnson, but there aren't that many of those guys around anymore. Most teams guard Kobe with a SF anyhow.

The reason why it doesn't make sense to play Arenas at SG is that it's harder to find a complimentary PG than it is to find a complimentary SG. It's easier to find a 6-5 guy who can play D and hit open shots than it is to find a 6-2 guy who can play D, hit open shots, and run an offense.

I have to disagree that Gilbert can guard those guys any better than point guards; since he's a ball watcher, he likely to leave his man for open shots and those aren't guys you want to leave open. Ben Gordon is a smaller sg at 63, but all the other guys you listed are at least 6'5; in fact if you are going purely on height Kevin Martin is 6'7. If you are going mass, Pietrus would probably be one of the stronger shooting guards in the league in fact its a big reason why he was able to guard LeBron.

[VA_story]

However, Hinrich would work well with Arenas. Why? Because Hinrich can guard the 1 & 2. He can distribute. And he can hit the three. Those are the three major requirements for anyone you put next to Arenas -- and the three areas Dom ought to be practicing right now.

I agree wholeheartedly!

[wizards-fan]

Javaris is a solid 6-5 200 and athletic. Plays with a lot of heart, which ought to make up for a slight lack of size on the defensive end (against 2's). On offense, he's clearly not the shooter that Gil is, but they can both get into the lane at will and Javaris is more of pure point, so perhaps they complement each other. I'm looking forward to seeing them on the court together. Hopefully Javaris isn't strictly limited to being a backup PG 100% of the time.

[ctorres]

I think for Arenas to effectively play the 2-guard position, you'd have to draft a guy like Tyreke Evans or J'rue Holiday since they're big enough to play the 2 on the defensive end while running the point on offense. Curry and Arenas at the 1 and 2 might be too small.

[Brenice]

Javaris is a solid 6-5 200 and athletic. Plays with a lot of heart, which ought to make up for a slight lack of size on the defensive end (against 2's). On offense, he's clearly not the shooter that Gil is, but they can both get into the lane at will and Javaris is more of pure point, so perhaps they complement each other. I'm looking forward to seeing them on the court together. Hopefully Javaris isn't strictly limited to being a backup PG 100% of the time.

I beg to differ. Javaris is a good pure point, but Gil can be too. Gil can do what Javaris does. Can Javaris do what Gil does? For that matter, can most other points do what Gil does or did offensively? Gil has said the same thing in the past himself. When Gil decides to pass first or run the offense, his assists go up. When he doesn't have much to pass to, he guns, as he should.

[Shanghai Kid]

I think Gilbert's best posistion is point guard. I see him getting better and better as a point guard as he gets older. I also think it's a big thing that he's already adapt at playing with other scorers. I thin with Iverson the problem was that he was the only scorer for so long that it's hard for him to creative offensive chemistry with other scorers. With Gil, I think he can still score and keep his teammates involved for the most part.

[LyricalRico]

Gil is a point guard. Always has been, always will be.

[wizards-fan]

Javaris is a solid 6-5 200 and athletic. Plays with a lot of heart, which ought to make up for a slight lack of size on the defensive end (against 2's). On offense, he's clearly not the shooter that Gil is, but they can both get into the lane at will and Javaris is more of pure point, so perhaps they complement each other. I'm looking forward to seeing them on the court together. Hopefully Javaris isn't strictly limited to being a backup PG 100% of the time.

I beg to differ. Javaris is a good pure point, but Gil can be too. Gil can do what Javaris does. Can Javaris do what Gil does? For that matter, can most other points do what Gil does or did offensively? Gil has said the same thing in the past himself. When Gil decides to pass first or run the offense, his assists go up. When he doesn't have much to pass to, he guns, as he should.

Yeah, clearly Gilbert can do what Javaris can do and more. All I'm trying to say is that the two of them together is a unique and potentially very effective combination for this team: two guys, one 6-4 215 the other 6-5 200, both of whom can get in the lane anytime they want to either score or set up teammates. Javaris can't shoot as well, so he'd play more of a pass-first guard, freeing Gilbert to be the primary scoring option and try to score 40 -- that is, when they are both on the floor together. Either guy can bring the ball up and/or start the offense.

That's all I'm saying. Pairing Arenas with Nick Young, DeShawn Stevenson, Dom McGuire, Mike James, or a rookie wouldn't give you that same combination of quickness, penetrating ability, passing, and scoring. I think it would be a tough matchup. Can they hold the fort defensively, is the question. I think so, for 20 minutes a game, maybe more. It remains to be seen. But I just hope that the coaching staff will try that combination in games, and not just limit Javaris to 5-10 minutes per game as Gilberts backup. I like Crittenton's potential as a backcourt partner to Gilbert. I'm looking forward to seeing how that plays out this season.