How would you like to see Arenas play?

[Shanghai Kid]

Let's say Gilbert Arenas is completely healthy next year, in 06/7 form. Would you want him to be high scoring Gilbert, roleplayer Gilbert, or somewhere inbetween?

We know that Gilbert can score alot of points while keeping the Wizards offense amongst the best in the league.

But theirs also that growing feeling that the supporting cast is good enough to where Gilbert should play more like a real PG.

Theirs also a few posters who actually think that Caron Butler should be the teams number #1 option.

Should the Wizards think about getting a defensive PG with size this summer that will allow Gil to play more of an SG role?

What is best for the team? If we want Arenas to be Billups, that may never happen. He may just be content with being a big time scorer.

Dare I say that some of you would want Jamison and Butler to be the main scorers while Gil just takes spot up 3s and moves the ball?

[likwitdesi]

Like Wade. Less 3's...more slashing

[fishercob]

I'd like to see Arenas model his game after Veermenko.

[JWizmentality]

I want the 06/07 Gil back (preferably the December model), just with a little defense sprinkled in. Don't want him to change. He was fine the way he was.

[nate33]

Arenas can do it all. I've seen Arenas be a superstar scorer. I've seen Arenas dedicate himself to distributing the ball. I've seen Arenas be a disruptive defender against the ball handler at the point of attack.

Where Arenas falls short is his recognition of when to perform the above tasks. In the past, it seems like he makes a decision at the start of a game (or the start of a week, or start of the season) to be a "passer" or a "defender" for a given time period. He'll announce that he'll spend the first 3 quarters setting up his teammates and the 4th quarter taking over for himself. While that might be a good war plan in general, real war plans never survive the first battle.

What I would like to see from Arenas is for him to read his teammates and the opposition and adjust his game on the fly. Arenas needs to provide what his team needs, not just what he feels like providing at that moment. Sometimes that's scoring. Sometimes it's penetrate and dish. Sometimes it's merely patience and swinging the ball so that Butler or Jamison can work a matchup advantage.

The other thing I'd like to see from Arenas is more focus and energy on defense. Hopefully, that'll be an achievable goal next season since we have more depth. Arenas no longer has to carry the scoring load for 40 minutes a game. I was impressed with the way he hounded Delonte West and Daniel Gibson in the Cleveland series. I'd like to see a lot more of that. A LOT more.

[NbdyBeatsTheWiz]

Dare I say that some of you would want Jamison and Butler to be the main scorers while Gil just takes spot up 3s and moves the ball?

Heck no.

Gilbert is at his best when he's attacking at will and blowing by his defender. I'll be incredibly depressed if his knee injury makes that a thing of his past. I'd have to agree that if he settles for less 3's and drives more like Wade that would be nice. That gives him the opportunity to go in for the and-1 or kick it out for somebody else's wide open jumper. But in my book as long as he takes to heart the need to play solid man to man and help D, I more than trust him on offense to do what needs to be done.

I just hope his knee injury doesn't effect his play to the point it makes this entire conversation irrelevant.
If we have the Gil of 06-07 with some D sprinkled on top I'm happy.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Arenas can do it all. I've seen Arenas be a superstar scorer. I've seen Arenas dedicate himself to distributing the ball. I've seen Arenas be a disruptive defender against the ball handler at the point of attack.

Where Arenas falls short is his recognition of when to perform the above tasks. In the past, it seems like he makes a decision at the start of a game (or the start of a week, or start of the season) to be a "passer" or a "defender" for a given time period. He'll announce that he'll spend the first 3 quarters setting up his teammates and the 4th quarter taking over for himself. While that might be a good war plan in general, real war plans never survive the first battle.

What I would like to see from Arenas is for him to read his teammates and the opposition and adjust his game on the fly. Arenas needs to provide what his team needs, not just what he feels like providing at that moment. Sometimes that's scoring. Sometimes it's penetrate and dish. Sometimes it's merely patience and swinging the ball so that Butler or Jamison can work a matchup advantage.

The other thing I'd like to see from Arenas is more focus and energy on defense. Hopefully, that'll be an achievable goal next season since we have more depth. Arenas no longer has to carry the scoring load for 40 minutes a game. I was impressed with the way he hounded Delonte West and Daniel Gibson in the Cleveland series. I'd like to see a lot more of that. A LOT more.

I agree 100% with Nate's post... and would add that what he is talking about is similiar to the transition Chauncey Billups made a few years back. I think Gil can be a better Billups... can score whenever he wants to, gets his teammates involved nightly, plays defense, understands what the game needs instead of predetermining what he'll bring.

Billups was helped greatly by Larry Brown. I hope Gil can progress w/o a coach who has a reputation for making (or breaking, if you will) point guards... or, I hope the Wiz get such a coach after they resign Gilbert.

[yungal07]

Offensively, I want him to stay the same. Maybe lessen the 3 pointers a bit, but other than that, I love the way he plays on the offensive side of the floor.

I want to see him improve defensively. Play the pick-n-roll better. Stop ball-watching and play his man more honestly instead of playing the passing lanes for steals. The guy has the physical tools to be a good defender but he still instinctively reacts slowly.

A healthy Arenas is aa superstar. It's unfortunate we don't have a low post animal that demands a double team. Then you'd see an even more dangerous Arenas. One that you can't double team.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Gil is already better than Billups. I would like to see him play like Chris Paul. Scoring PG that also passes well.

[nate33]

Gil is already better than Billups. I would like to see him play like Chris Paul. Scoring PG that also passes well.

I just don't think that's realistic. Chris Paul has that rare, hard-wired capacity to be a pure PG. He see angles that nobody else sees. Pure passers like that are extremely rare. There have only been a handful of guys in NBA history capable of averaging 11-12 assists per game: Magic, Stockton, Mark Jackson, Nash, Paul. Maybe you can throw in Isiah, Kidd, KJ and Deron Williams into that category. That's about it. You don't develop that kind of skill. It's innate. Arenas doesn't have it. Paul does.

I think the Billups mold is about right for Arenas. I think Arenas can be better than Billups because he's a better penetrator and he's longer defensively, but he'll have the same style of game. Like Billups, I think his ceiling is about 8-9 assists per game.

8-9 assists per game is fine with me though. The Princeton Offense doesn't need a 12-assist-per-game PG. If Arenas can average about 22 points and 8 assists with high efficiency, low turnovers, and good D; this team is going to win a ton of games.

[Soup's Uncle]

I want the Gil that dropped 60 on the Lakers. The Gil that heats up and can't be stopped. The Gil that had 50+ against the Jazz and hit the game winner. The Gil that dunked on LeBron two years ago in the playoffs. The Gil that can blow by anyone and can score from anywhere.

[Spence]

How would you like to see Arenas play?

Frequently and healthily.

[Dat2U]

I want the "hibachi" version of Gil. The one we saw that averaged like 35 ppg for the month of December 06 with incredible efficiency.

Damn all this nonsense about becoming Chris Paul or deferring to lesser players like Caron & Antawn. Let Gil be Gil, one of top five offensive players in the game who puts defenses on their heels by consistently pushing tempo and attacking the rack if a defender plays up or drilling Js with a high level of accuracy if the defender plays him to drive. Gil when healthy is impossible to defend.

The only place I'd ask is to see improvement is being more disciplined on defense end and not following the ball so much. I've never had a problem with Gil's physical effort defensively, I'd just like to see him be smarter on that end of the court. Often he loses track of his man by getting caught up in looking for steals.

[nate33]

I want the "hibachi" version of Gil. The one we saw that averaged like 35 ppg for the month of December 06 with incredible efficiency.

Obviously we'd all want a guy who can average 35 with efficiency. But that's just not realistic. December 06 was an incredible run, but it was a streak. He came back down to Earth afterwards.

I'm not looking for him to become Chris Paul, but I do think he needs to take a few less shots than in past years now that we have seen the offense be efficient without him.

Instead of averaging 28 points on 21 attempts (per 40) with a TS% of .565, I'd rather see about 23 points on 17 attempts with a TS% around .590 plus another 2 or so assists. I don't want him to radically alter his game, but I want him to give the offense a chance to run a little more before he resorts to taking over.

[Dat2U]

I'd rather the most efficient offensive player taking the most shots. What good does it do to get other guys shots if they aren't as efficent scorers as Gil is?

I wouldn't mind dumping it into Wood a bit more b/c he's also very efficient, but I don't see the need to get more shots for Caron, Antawn or Deshawn just so they can jack up mid-range or long-range jumpers of their own.

[TheKingOfVa360]

-= original quote snipped =-


I just don't think that's realistic. Chris Paul has that rare, hard-wired capacity to be a pure PG. He see angles that nobody else sees. Pure passers like that are extremely rare. There have only been a handful of guys in NBA history capable of averaging 11-12 assists per game: Magic, Stockton, Mark Jackson, Nash, Paul. Maybe you can throw in Isiah, Kidd, KJ and Deron Williams into that category. That's about it. You don't develop that kind of skill. It's innate. Arenas doesn't have it. Paul does.

I think the Billups mold is about right for Arenas. I think Arenas can be better than Billups because he's a better penetrator and he's longer defensively, but he'll have the same style of game. Like Billups, I think his ceiling is about 8-9 assists per game.

8-9 assists per game is fine with me though. The Princeton Offense doesn't need a 12-assist-per-game PG. If Arenas can average about 22 points and 8 assists with high efficiency, low turnovers, and good D; this team is going to win a ton of games.

Great point I was just dreaming about it. No way Arenas turns into Chris Paul.

[Shanghai Kid]

I'd rather the most efficient offensive player taking the most shots. What good does it do to get other guys shots if they aren't as efficent scorers as Gil is?

I wouldn't mind dumping it into Wood a bit more b/c he's also very efficient, but I don't see the need to get more shots for Caron, Antawn or Deshawn just so they can jack up mid-range or long-range jumpers of their own.

Agree big time.

Hibachi Arenas is love or hate him, a top 10 threat in the NBA. What I mean by threat is not top 10 player, but top 10 guys in the NBA that other teams need to worry about.

[queridiculo]

Gil needs to be Gil. I want the Arenas that was destroying defenses by raining 3s from the outside and killing defenders of the dribble before his injury.

More importantly though, I want us fans to finally abandon the notion that this teams was somehow better during Gilbert's absence.

Where I want to see Arenas change is on the defensive side. I want him to show a commitment to defense. I want to see him come out with the same defensive intensity he showed in the beginning of game 4 of the series.

[doclinkin]

I'd say Gil's upside is less 'Chris Paul' and more : 'Baron Davis, Super-Deluxe Edition'.

I'd take that. Add even more pressure defense at the point of attack (with dedication, effort and film study) maintain the missile launch range; then borrow a bit of BDiddy's game awareness set-up game, tone down the flash in his passing to add a bit more of the 'get it done' intensity.

Chris Paul is just another order of Ball smarts. No point trying to mimic that, you'll be more likely to get yourself in trouble. With continuity Gil can develop a more efficient and streamlined game than he has now, especially with these players, which says alot. But CP3 can make his whole team better no matter their talent, has the schematics to polish a turd into a nugget of gold.

No knock on Gil at all. That level of perception is just as much a level of talent as a quick first step or whatever. Not something you can really develop unless you're born with it. Gil's a half-step behind that, is looking for the pass not seeing it instantly. More likely to force what isn't there if he gets too pass-happy and doesn't maintain his personal aggression. What makes him dangerous is his constant attack threat. That's what opens up plays for other people. If he's a pass-first guy, defenses aren't back on their heels the way they need to be for the team to best succeed.

But Baron's 20 and 8 (and 2 steals, 4 boards) are well within Gil's skillset, and then some. Gil just has better range on his 3 ball. Needs a little more peripheral awareness of the pass while mid-attack. That's it. Call it 25pts 8ast 3 boards 2 steals, with multiple double digit ast games. The assist increase coming from improved teammate finishers, familiarity with the team, and a willingness not to force it on nights when the other guy's got the hot hand. Wins matter first.

Best thing: As a mentor/role-model, BDiddy's a Cali guy who Gil practices with and looks up to. And he's got the injury recovery thing in common, a few years ago it looked like his career might be destroyed with injury, but this year he played all 82.

Plus he's laid back and cool like that. Feisty, firey at a slow smolder. Gil's gonna say stuff, but he can call upon his inner Baron at times and let his play do the work then talk after, or in-game, not give them fuel before the fact. That's all well within his skillset as a baseline, then add bells and whistles on top of that. Some games you drop 60, some days you gun for a dozen dimes or more.

Agent Diddy. That'd work, way I see it.

[penbeast0]

I'd like to see Baron's defense out of Gil, the rest of his game I prefer Gil. You think Gil jacks a lot of early in the count 3's? Baron has something like 3-4 of the highest 3 attempt seasons in NBA history and something like the 500th highest efficiency. Gil's a smarter offensive player.