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Arenas Injury Update – Saturday Return

Stephen Kersey — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:20:29 +0000

Gilbert Arenas, who has missed the entire season due to a knee injury, is finally scheduled to return. On Saturday when the Washington Wizards play at home against the Detroit Pistons, Arenas is expected to play.

Although it’s difficult to know what to expect from Arenas, he’s well worth the risk for fantasy basketball purposes. Even when he has returned injured in past seasons, he has still put stats on the board. Obviously he won’t put up his stats from a few years ago but averaging 15 points and five assists is very realistic.

However, don’t put all your eggs into his basket by banking on Arenas to return. Though everything and everyone is pointing to Saturday, we’ve seen many delays over the last few seasons when it has come to Arenas returning from injury.

With the Wizards at the bottom of the standings, you should check nightly to make sure Arenas is playing. It’s likely that the Wizards will opt to keep him out of back-to-back contests for the rest of the season.

The bottom line is that Arenas is an intriguing fantasy option who can help your team but you should definitely be careful and realize the risks.

Here is a Gilbert Arenas video to help you remember how good he was before his injury problems:

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Gilbert Arenas Injury Update – Fantasy Impact

Stephen Kersey — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:07:44 +0000

Gilbert Arenas, who has yet to see live NBA action for the Washington Wizards, is back practicing with the team. In fact, reports indicate that Arenas is practicing at full speed and is playing extremely well.

However, it’s not a given that Arenas will return to the court during the 2008-09 NBA season. With the Wizards buried in the standings, Arenas returning to the court wouldn’t make much sense. Most people expect Arenas and the Wizards to play it safe and have Arenas sit out until the beginning of next season.

That said, it might be worth the risk of picking up Arenas now and hoping that he decides to play at some point. If you have an open roster spot and a deep enough roster, what could it hurt? If he actually returns, Arenas is a stud fantasy player who will get his usual load of touches with the Wizards.

Heading into next season, Arenas will be a difficult player to evaluate. He’s been hampered by injuries lately and there’s no guarantee that he will ever be 100% again. But there will likely be fantasy owners willing to hope Arenas will have put the injuries behind him.

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Gilbert Arenas Out for the Season?

Stephen Kersey — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:18:10 +0000

Gilbert Arenas was first said to be targeting December for his return from knee surgery. December got pushed back to January. Now there are rumors that Gilbert Arenas is out for the season. While these rumors have been far from verified by Arenas or anyone with the Wizards, it’d make some sense.

The biggest reason why it’d make sense to keep Arenas out for the rest of the season is because the Washington Wizards are so horrible. The only teams in the NBA who have worse records are the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder. At 5-23, the Wizards are by far the worst team in the Eastern Conference.

Arenas coming back this season makes makes less and less sense as the playoffs become out of the realm of possibilities. If the Wizards are going to miss the playoffs, they might as well be as bad as possible to make sure they get the best chances of having a good draft pick.

At 26, Arenas is young enough to bounce back from this latest knee surgery. Even if he misses the rest of the season, as long as he enters 2009-10 healthy he will be a very intriguing fantasy basketball player. His surgery wasn’t deemed serious and there’s no indication that his career could be in jeopardy.

As for this season, Arenas’ fantasy basketball value is at an all-time new low. Unless you can stash him away on an injured list, there’s really not much reason to have him on your roster.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Gilbert Arenas Injury Update – January?

Stephen Kersey — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:52:39 +0000

Gilbert Arenas isn’t exactly close to being back on the court for the Washington Wizards but there are signs that he could be back in the next few months. Arenas was seen warming up prior to a recent Wizards game. Although he’s still not clear for contact, the fact that he’s on the basketball court again is cause for optimism.

Right now, the best guess on when Arenas could once again resume his NBA career is at some point in January. Prior to the season, there were some discussions about him possibly being available in December but that doesn’t appear to be realistic at this point.

If you have Arenas in a dynasty league, this comeback will tell a lot about his future. If he comes back only to get injured again or require another knee surgery, Arenas’ long-term outlook will be somewhat grim. However, if he can return close to his normal level, he will remain most of his value.

In a redraft, Arenas is worth gambling on if he’s available on the waiver wire and you have an extra space on your roster. Just don’t count on him returning to full strength. That said, even if he returns to half strength, he’s better than a lot of fantasy point guards.

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Gilbert Arenas Video – New Commercial

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:10:08 +0000

Two things we know about Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards. He writes a good blog and he makes good commercials. For his latest commercial, watch the Gilbert Arenas video at the end of this entry.

Off the court, Arenas is a success. However, in the fantasy basketball world, all we are concerned about is how he’s playing on the court. For Arenas, the first thing we want to know is when he’ll be playing on the court.

According to the latest reports, Arenas is a little bit ahead of schedule. He took on Nick Young in a game of one-on-one and beat him. He’s also said to be dunking the basketball in practice.

That said, Arenas is at the very least another month away from returning. More likely, you won’t see him until around Christmas.

What can you expect when he gets back? While the Wizards will likely bring him along slowly at first, it won’t be long before he’s contributing big minutes. A that point, there’s no reason to believe he can’t be a fantasy basketball force once again. While he’s been injured a lot recently, none of the injuries have been considered career threatening. If he’s available in your fantasy basketball league, a smart move would be to pick him up and wait out his injury.

Here is the video of Gilbert Arenas and his new commercial:

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Nick Young Dunk Video – Fantasy Basketball

Stephen Kersey — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:42:25 +0000

Nick Young is an interesting basketball player. While some say he has Kobe Bryant like skills, he doesn’t always play anywhere near his potential. As a fantasy basketball player, he’s a fringe player at this point.

Young’s best attribute is scoring. He can shoot it from the outside off the dribble or if he’s spotting up. His one-on-one game is actually quite advanced and he’s good at using his dribble to create separation. And as you can see in the Nick Young video below, he’s quite capable of finishing at the rim with a thunderous dunk.

During the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season, he’ll most likely be somewhat valuable early in the season while Gilbert Arenas is sidelined. He can come into the game and become the designated scorer. There’s also a chance he could move into the starting lineup if the Wizards aren’t able to generate enough offense with their current starting group.

Keep an eye on Young, especially early on the season.

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Point Guard Sleepers – Fantasy Basketball 2008

Stephen Kersey — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:40:08 +0000

Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
It’s easy to give up on Gilbert Arenas. He’s gone from Agent Zero to Agent Injured. It seems like every other blog he writes is about him undergoing a new surgery. That said, when he’s healthy he has a light greener than just about any player in the NBA. In fantasy basketball, that is gold.

Marcus Williams, Golden State Warriors
Being at the helm of the Golden State Warriors’ run and shoot offense should do wonders for Marcus Williams’ fantasy value. As long as he stays healthy and stays in shape, there’s really no reason for him not to be a huge contributor — until at least Monta Ellis is healthy.

Rodney Stuckey, Detroit Pistons
As a rookie, Rodney Stuckey flashed superstar potential at times. While he’s still stuck in a log jam, that could change at any given time. A trade or an injury could push Stuckey into the starting lineup where he’d do much fantasy basketball damage.

Ramon Sessions, Milwaukee Bucks
Although brief, Ramon Sessions’ stint with the Bucks last season was phenomenal. He looked very good and his stats were off the charts. If he’s given a chance to start during the 2008-09, he might end up the point guard sleeper of all point guard sleepers.

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Gilbert Arenas Injury Update – More Surgery

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:54:47 +0000

Another month, another surgery for Gilbert Arenas. The Washington Wizards star guard needs yet another surgery on his troublesome knee. According to published reports, Arenas will likely be out until at least sometime in December.

Since hurting his knee at the end of the 2006-07 season, Arenas hasn’t been right. He’s struggled with knee pain and the latest discomfort led to Arenas having the knee cleaned out to remove debris.

In fantasy basketball drafts, drafting Gilbert Arenas comes with a huge risk. He hasn’t proven he’s healthy at all and the Wizards once again will get used to playing without him. Unless he drops in your fantasy basketball draft, it’d be best to let someone else deal with the headache.

This turn of events definitely raises the stocks of Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler. Butler especially become a fantasy basketball stud last season while Arenas was out. If you want to get off to a good fantasy start, draft Butler and let him carry you for the first month or two of the season.

For Agent 0, lets hope that he doesn’t turn into Agent 0 Games Played. Or Agent Injured, for that matter.

Gilbert Arenas – Agent Injured

Photo: Newscom

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Gilbert Arenas Swimming Pool – Pictures

Stephen Kersey — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:07:28 +0000

Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards likes to have his name in the paper. He got some added attention recently when pictures of his million dollar swimming pool hit the internet. Here are the pictures:

Arenas is sure to throw a number of parties once his swimming pool is completely ready. And even though it cost a million dollars, Arenas’ new $111M contract makes this a relatively small purchase for Gilbert.

If Gilbert Arenas gets hurt next season, at least he’ll have a nice place to relax.

Photo: Newscom

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Gilbert Arenas Back With Wizards – Impact

Stephen Kersey — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:40:03 +0000

The Washington Wizards and Gilbert Arenas have agreed on a new contract that will pay Arenas $111M. The Wizards made re-signing Arenas their number one offseason priority and they successfully accomplished that goal. Arenas turned down a deal from the Golden State Warriors to re-up with Washington.

Arenas has proven himself to be a very good basketball player — in real life and the fantasy world. He’s a point guard who can score and also rack up the assists. He’s an explosive athlete who is also a very capable outside shooter.

The only concern regarding Arenas right now is injury. Arenas has had two knee surgeries that have shortened his last two NBA seasons. When healthy, he’s a fantastic asset. But if he can’t stay healthy, the Wizards may live to regret this decision.

In fantasy basketball drafts, Arenas is probably a solid second rounder in the 2008-09 season. If he can prove to be healthy, his stock could rise into the first round.

The Wizards hope Gilbert Arenas can forget about the suits.

Photo: Newscom

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