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Arenas has been told by team doctors that he has not been cleared to play. The Wizards need him if they are going to compete with the rest of the NBA. Good news for the Magic and any other team facing the Wizards.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/stor ... NHeadlines

cougar13 wrote:Arenas has been told by team doctors that he has not been cleared to play. The Wizards need him if they are going to compete with the rest of the NBA. Good news for the Magic and any other team facing the Wizards.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/stor ... NHeadlines

yeah they have a problem but i think that will be clevelands issue and not orlandos. the magic will probably face toronto or philly.

washington without arenas> with him.

they just beat the pistons.

yea the Wizards are rolling, they've won 6 of 7 and beaten some really good teams to get there. Don't underestimate them. They have two stars and a good supporting cast.

I don't know if Arenas makes them better or not. But he does give them another option, and if he's playing well they are harder to beat, as that's a 3rd person that could go off for a ton of points at any moment.

He makes them more dynamic, if nothing else.

All I know is I do NOT want to face them in the first round. I'd rather face Toronto or Philadelphia. Preferably Philly, who I think will most likely get swept out of the playoffs.

lets go wizards and sixers!

Actually I think the Magic have the bigger problem. The team is entering the playoffs and instead of having meshed the team is showing that it can't be neither the undermanned Wizards nor the Hawks. Unless all of this is some sort of the Magic conserving Dwight for the playoffs which would explain his poor outings lately.

^lol talk about being pessimisstic. i doubt the pistons are all shaking in their boots after losing to an undermanned washington team worse than we did. come on. we have clinched a playoff spot and essentially the 3rd seed. atlanta is fighting just to be in the playoffs and washington is fighting for playoff positioning.

They've been fine without him all season. Probably not a big deal for them.

CourtsideTV wrote:washington without arenas> with him.

they just beat the pistons.

Actually I just read that Detroit is letting players get more rest since they have clinched playoff spot. So the Wizards beating them might not be the big thing that you posted.
The Magic should think about resting some of their heavy hitters otherwise they won't be rested for the playoffs.

I thought this thread was going to be about Hedo.

Pancho_Pantera wrote:I thought this thread was going to be about Hedo.

So how to you get Hedo mixed with the Wizards I have to ask what have you been smoking as of late that could explain your thinking.

cougar13 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



So how to you get Hedo mixed with the Wizards I have to ask what have you been smoking as of late that could explain your thinking.

he was joking, saying Hedo IS the Wizards problem (i.e. - he will tear them apart in the playoffs).

And flyingvee, all teams lose to teams they shouldn't. It's why we play the games.

Washington - on a roll, playing for playoff positioning. They've beaten some of the best teams in the league on this roll of theirs. Does this mean we can't beat them? No. They just happen to beat us this game.

Atlanta - second night of a back-to-back on the road. I don't know what the percentage is, but i'm pretty sure the road team loses most times when it's the second night of a back-to-back. Plus Atlanta is playing for their playoff lives.

Not surprising when you consider the Magic have little to play for other than a slightly better record. Half the players look lethargic like they just want to get to the postseason already.

flyingvee wrote:Actually I think the Magic have the bigger problem. The team is entering the playoffs and instead of having meshed the team is showing that it can't be neither the undermanned Wizards nor the Hawks. Unless all of this is some sort of the Magic conserving Dwight for the playoffs which would explain his poor outings lately.

Curious that you're noticeably absent until 2 disappointing loses.

Everyone underestimates Gilbert's value in the playoffs. They are a better regular season team without him because they can actually play like a "team". When it comes playoff time every team needs at least one superstar to have a shot at survival. The other teams kick up the defense several levels and without a true go to guy, there is no chance of doing anything.

Gilbert is the difference in them possibly getting to the second round or likely going no more than 5 games.

LBPTarHeel27 wrote:Everyone underestimates Gilbert's value in the playoffs. They are a better regular season team without him because they can actually play like a "team". When it comes playoff time every team needs at least one superstar to have a shot at survival. The other teams kick up the defense several levels and without a true go to guy, there is no chance of doing anything.

Gilbert is the difference in them possibly getting to the second round or likely going no more than 5 games.

I agree, Gilbert will just make them that much better, even though he hasn't played all year. Players like him dont just forget how to play, its just matter of conditioning and all he needs is a week to be an effective post season player. They are a tough team no doubt, and us not having to play them first round makes me that much happier.

LBPTarHeel27 wrote:Everyone underestimates Gilbert's value in the playoffs. They are a better regular season team without him because they can actually play like a "team". When it comes playoff time every team needs at least one superstar to have a shot at survival. The other teams kick up the defense several levels and without a true go to guy, there is no chance of doing anything.

Gilbert is the difference in them possibly getting to the second round or likely going no more than 5 games.

My issue with this is not the premise, but the application of the theory.

As you said, the Wiz have been playing as a "team" for 90% of the season so far. Now they're going to have to change the way they play to fit in Arenas. This can throw off their chemistry and the groove they've got going. Additionally, Arenas - no matter how much he practices - will have to get back into game shape and game mode.

Also, Butler and Jamison will have to take more of a backseat role after carrying the team all season - I'm sure that can be frustrating all of a sudden. They carry the team doing the grunt work, and now in the spotlight of the playoffs, here comes Gilbert riding in to save the team, on a national spotlight.

I'm not saying dogmatically that this will happen, but I can see these as possibilities which will mitigate the effect of the addition of his talent to the team at this point in time.

Its absurd to think the wizards wont be better adding a player that can drop 50 on you. A rusty gilbert is still agent zero. Still i have them playing the cavs and dont see Lebron letting his team lose.

MagicNolesFSU wrote:Its absurd to think the wizards wont be better adding a player that can drop 50 on you. A rusty gilbert is still agent zero. Still i have them playing the cavs and dont see Lebron letting his team lose.

It's absurd to think that team that has played 70+ games with a particular style will be able to change their style and be as effective as they've been all season in the short term.

Had Gilbert come back a month ago, then I'd feel differently about this.

mhectorgato wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



Curious that you're noticeably absent until 2 disappointing loses.

Flyingvee cannot be a real fan of this team. Predictibly he is absent when the Magic are winning and then predictily appears after a loss or 2.

Does anyone remember earlier in the season when Gilbert tried to play injured and messed the team up?

Now imagine that times a million. That's what it's going to be like it.

People also don't realize that they're better this season because of their defense. Gilbert is NOT known as a good defender, and a sorta gimpy or rusty Arenas will not help them at all on that end.

I believe they're better off letting him sit the season out or at least make him come off the bench for 15 to 20 minutes a game, sitting him if he messes anything up within the offense.