A follow up to yesterday

A day has passed since yesterday's entry, and Gilbert Arenas has somewhat addressed the issue of his inconsistent start in his blog. The entry still gave me the feeling that he's overthinking a little too much, but he does bring up a couple interesting moments that lead me to think that he's going to be okay.

The first was his meeting with Ernie Grunfeld. Grunfeld correctly mentioned to Arenas that he's improved in many other facets of his game.

He felt I was down because he asked me, “How do you think you’re playing this year?” And I told him, “Oh, I’m not playing very well.” And he was like, “Numbers don’t lie.” So he showed me the numbers, he said besides the shooting percentage, everything is up. Steals is up, rebounds up, assists up…

The other was this seemingly offhand statement.

You know what’s funny? As much as I’m complaining about not getting to the free throw line, I’m having more free throws than I did last year.

I sometimes wonder whether Arenas is self-aware, but I've started to realize that he is more aware of his actions than it seems. His brain seems to function in a way where he understands that his complaints are sometimes unnecessary, but also truely believes that he's right. It's a subconscious inner conflict that can cloud his mind at times when it should be more open.

Again, this is mostly my personal theory. I'm no psychologist, but as a college student trying to involve himself in many causes, I get the same struggles to concentrate as Arenas seems to get.

A few bloggers have also responded to the situation. True Hoop had this to say.

This season everyone, especially Gilbert Arenas, had the idea that Arenas was going to be an MVP candidate. In years past he was seen as a good player, even a great player (especially for a second-round pick). Now he's supposed to be outdueling the likes of Dwyane, LeBron, and Kobe every night.

And that changes everything. Because it used to be that if he had an OK game, that was OK. Now if he has an OK game, everyone--especially Gilbert Arenas--needs someone to blame.

It also means that on nights when he's just not scoring effectively--which hasn't been all that rare--well, the system, driven by the expectation that he's this team's savior, still seems to be in place for him to keep firing away. Just in the month of November he has had games of 2-12, 6-20, 6-23, 5-19, 7-20, 9-25, 8-26, and 1-12. Ouch.

Brett Edwards of The Association and NBA Fanhouse takes Arenas' side and agrees that the officials, particularly Steve Javie, are giving Arenas a raw deal.

The real problem here isn't Arenas, or his alleged need to adjust to the officiating. It's the refereeing of one Steve Javie. Now unless you've been a close follower of the top teams in the league, you may not recognize this official as being any better or worse than the rest. But after sitting in person at several playoffs and Finals games where Javie was involved, I can assure you that this guy has it in for star players, especially in their home building.

DC Sports Bogger Dan Steinberg feels like this will all boil over and Arenas will be back to his sniping ways.

Seriously, you usually think of guys popping off about the officiating when they're still in the heat of the moment, but I see this more as Gil's very straight-faced ruminations on the changing whims of referees, which is why he's saying the same thing in the same words on his blog. I wouldn't worry, all you people worrying about his well-being and focus and distractions and all that. He'll go for 40 or 45 within the next week.

I realize that people probably got the wrong idea from the last line of yesterday's post. Looking back on it, I realize I came off a little too strongly against Arenas at the end. I don't necessarily believe he should explicitly stop blogging or stop sponsering his HALO as I seemed to suggest. I'm really just saying that I think Arenas has to prioritize more effectively. This is not to say that he believes outside endeavors are almost as important as basketball, but it does mean that he needs to realize the limits of his own mind and try to scale down to casues he truely believes are important.

As much as I love Gilbert Arenas the person, at the end of the day, he's paid to play basketball first. If he's playing below his potential, it's a problem. I believe he'll turn it around, but if Arenas continues this inconsistent act, the Wizards are going to continue to struggle.

How much of an issue is this latest controversy? Is it even an issue at all?

Ivan Carter on Gilbert Arenas: "I have no idea what he's talking about half the time."

In terms of pure numbers, the Wizards rank right around where they did last year. They're shooting a lot of free throws, taking good care of the ball, giving up too many open shots, and allowing too many points. Yet they still sit at 5-9 on the season only a year after finishing 42-40 with an pythagorean won-loss record of 46-36.

What's the difference so far? Ivan Carter says there's something very wrong with Gilbert Arenas.

Gilbert's problems remain a mystery to me. With each passing game it seems that he's getting more and more caught up in the referees than actually playing. After the game, he talked at length about how the refs are calling the game different from last season, about how he can't "figure out" how a particular game is being called and how he can't wait until January when the refs find some consistency. This is disturbing on many levels but especially so because he's the franchise player and controls the ball most of the time. Basically, I have no idea what he's talking about half the time.

Gil's in his sixth season, he's a two-time all star and this franchise has deeply invested in him so perhaps it's time for him to focus on what's important and forget about the zebras. It's affecting his play and that in turn, is affecting this team.

Of all members of mainstream and independent media, Carter is probably the closest to the Wizards. If he has no idea what's going on with Gilbert Arenas, then I don't know who does.

There are a couple interesting theories in the comments section of Carter's blog entry. One commenter speculates that Arenas' scouting of officials' tendencies in the offseason has caused a phenomenon where "every time he drives to the basket he appears to be trying to get a 3 point play." Another speculates that "Gil usually uses the 'everyone is against me' thing as motivation, but lately, I think he's just getting too wrapped up in it. He's so focused on trying to be a super-star, and getting noticed for this and that."

I personally think that the major problem with Arenas right now is that he's stretched himself too far into other causes. There's no doubt that his antics (including promoting his Halo team and his blog, among others) allows Arenas to feel loved by a city who's been betrayed far too often, but Arenas is starting to get to the point where he can't concentrate mentally.

It seems wierd to say this, but Gilbert Arenas' plight reminds me of college students who succeed in high school, but struggle with grades in college. One would think that the students struggle due to increased academic difficulty, but the element that kills many college students (including me, to some degree) is the tendency to thrust yourself into so many clubs and extracurricular responsibility that you simply don't have time or mental capacity to work dilligently on anything. Eventually, the pressures of so many different activities crash together in one's head, making it difficult to completely focus on each individual one. Eventually, simple prioritizing is not enough to prevent your brain from overloading, and the only way out is to drop one of the activities.

Considering some of Arenas' past actions, he doesn't seem to have a brain that prioritizes well. Arenas tends to do what he feels without thinking the action through. You can only go back and look at his denial of the claim "quirky" to understand his self-awareness. This is not a knock on Arenas at all: in many ways, it is a blessing. He's an extremely kind soul who wants to pour himself into many causes, and he gives off a sense of genuiness that is so rare among professional athletes.

However, Arenas is facing the classic college student dilema. He knows he wants to be involved with many things, and he knows he wants to show genuine devotion to all of his causes. But just like the college student's sagging academic performance, Arenas is struggling to perform his best consistently in what matters most: on the court. His facade with the referees is an expression of personal confusion—he's stronger and faster than ever, so he believes it can't be his fault that he's been so inconsistent. The reality is that Arenas is often too subconsciously preoccupied in his head to perform as consistently as before.

So, even though we've seen Arenas antics produce some incredible material for the blogosphere, as a Wizards fan, I sincerely hope he takes down his blog, stops sponsering the Halo team, and try to focus on what's important.

Agree? Disagree? What's Agent Zero's problem this year?

Arenas Says Officials Bother Him on Road

Via Ivan Carter's Wizards Insider:

At home, where they are 4-1, the Wiz are averaging 112.3 and on the road they are averaging 92.5. One key is Gilbert Arenas. For whatever reason, he's gotten way too caught up in the reffing on the road and has allowed that to affect his overall game. He had that odd opening night in Cleveland where he dished out 11 assists but otherwise looked passive and he was ice cold in New York.

"I've just got to carry over how I was tonight on the road and not worry about the calls and that other stuff. Sometimes, when I'm getting those charges on me and those ticky tack foulsI let that get me out of my rhythm."

To me, this is an interesting way to think about it. Arenas has certainly not been himself on the road; that's unquestionable. He's only averaging 18.3 points per game, 28 percent field goal shooting, and 17 percent from three point range on the road this season. I also do agree that it semes like he's worrying too much about the officials. It's not that he's whining--he has no technical fouls this year--but it seems like he's broken down his moves in such a way that is designed to get officials to notice and call fouls. This is invariably leading to Arenas making moves that he isn't necessarily comfortable and good at making, which takes away a lot of his production.

The problem with this is that the Wizards have been a bad road team for some time even before this season. They were 15-26 on the road last season and 16-25 the year before, and Arenas wasn't worrying as much about the officials then. That means that there has to be something else that is holding Washington back. My guess is that the Wizards lack the defensive intensity to win tough road games, but road wins can often be flukish by nature. Sometimes, you end up catching the better teams on back-to-backs, which means they don't play as well. This doesn't mean we can denounce the Wizards' disturbing trend, but it makes you wonder whether the solution is as simple as it seems.

Do you agree that Arenas plays too much for the officials? What do you think is ultimately the Wizards problem in road games?

Gilbert Arenas Is Not Quirky

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here, but I wouldn't be a good Wizards blogger if I didn't mention this blog post by Michael Lee on Wizards Insider. Apparently, Gilbert Arenas does not like being called "quirky" and thinks his actions are normal.

"What is quirky?" Arenas asked me, seeking a definition. "Why do people always call me quirky?"

I told Gilbert that "quirky" is a nice way of saying he's special; that people call him quirky because, well, "you're a little different."

"What are you talking about?" Arenas said. "I'm not different!"

Brendan Haywood, sitting about 10 feet away, quickly lifted his head and said, "You are different, Gilbert."

"No I'm not. What makes me different?" he asked.

I tried to come up with all the reasons that I have labeled him quirky and eccentric in my time covering him. Arenas is often painted as a bit of a goofball by those of us in media. I know that I've helped contribute to the quirky label - but so has he. C'mon, Sports Illustrated dubbed him the 'Wizard of Odd' with good reason. I'm embarassed to admit that I never thought that I'd need to prepare myself to have a discussion with Arenas about what makes him weird. I figured some things are universally understood. Sky is to blue as Gilbert Arenas is to quirky.

I kind of covered my take in the comments section of Lee's blog entry, but I think Gilbert really doesn't feel the need to fall under any sort of classification. He's not concerned with his image like so many athletes are, but I also think that he legitimately does get tired of being labeled "quirky." In a perfect world, I think Gilbert Arenas just wants to be classified as "Gilbert Arenas." With that being said, I think that Arenas is a media members' dream, and that he, on some level, understands that.

Most of the complaints are mere frustration, but Arenas makes some interesting points at the end.

I told him that most competitiors don't break stuff in the locker room. Arenas then got defensive about how players get certain reputations in the league. He takes exception the labels that players around the league receive. He asked how certain players are called hotheads for being emotional when they lose, but others are called passionate and fiery - for doing the same things - if they win. I told him that winning is air freshener for you flaws in this league.

"That's not right," Arenas said. "My first few years in the league, I was called a 'hothead.' Now
that I'm winning, I'm 'quirky.' I don't get it."

This complaint is definetly valid, but it's the type of thing that is never going to go away. As Lee says, in the eyes of the sports media world, winning cures all. I can understand Arenas' frustration, however. How would you like going from a "hothead" to being "quirky" or "wierd." It's definetly an odd jump to make.

Overall, I think we need to remember just how young Arenas is. He's going to have some instances where his immaturity shines through. This seems to be one of those instances. Deep down, I think Arenas is a little more insecure than most, considering that he's been doubted at every level of his basketball career. This just seems like another step in his maturity. I think we'll see a return of charismatic, unique Gilbert Arenas very soon.

How exactly would you characterize Gilbert Arenas? If "quirky" isn't the best word, what is?