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Uh Oh. Gilbert Has a Feeling.

Jimmie | January 16, 2007 | Comments (0)

When Gilbert Arenas has omens, the NBA ought to watch out.

“I’m going for the gusto,” Arenas said. “I’m going for that winner. The funny part is I was sitting right here before the game and I told DeShawn (Stevenson): ‘I feel like 37 and the game-winner tonight.’”

Okay, so he was off by a little bit. He didn’t get 37.

He got 51 punctuated by an in-your-face three at the buzzer to take down the first place Utah Jazz. The win broke a two-game Wizards losing streak that had them scoring below a hundred points for the first time since the end of November. Gilbert also shook off a pesky sore shoulder that had his scoring numbers slumping quite a bit to drop the big number, which tied Michael Jordan’s Verizon Center scoring record.

This may be the year of The Takeover, but don’t think that Arenas is doing it all by himself.
Caron Butler, Washington’s best-kept sports secret, dropped in 21 and played the sort of game that, if there’s justice in the NBA, ought to give him a spot on the All-Star Team. Jarvis Hayes is starting to play with more confidence and has yet to get himself back to his career averages. Etan Thomas is back to put some more muscle in the middle and, along with Brendan Haywood are putting up nearly identical strong numbers (7 points and 6-7 rebounds). Antawn Jameson is still averaging nearly a double-double (so is Butler, by the way) and Antonio Daniels is playing some of the most fierce basketball on the team.

Here’s something to remember. Against the West, the Wizards are 8-7. They are by no means dominating, but they’re certainly giving as good as they get against teams that the NBA Nabobs say are far superior to any team in the east.