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For Arenas, 3 Letters Define His Play: MVP
Gilbert Arenas is averaging a career-high 30.3 points, and he's also shooting a career-best 40.2 percent from three-point range.
(Jonathan Newton - The Washington Post)
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The Wizards have overcome a choppy 4-9 start and injuries to one of their major offseason acquisitions, forward Darius Songaila; starting center Etan Thomas; reserve forward Michael Ruffin; and Thomas's replacement, Brendan Haywood.
Songaila is slowing making progress after undergoing lower back surgery on Nov. 2, Thomas could return this Sunday at Toronto and Haywood played on his sore right ankle Wednesday.
The Wizards are also getting a solid contribution off the bench from second-year forward Andray Blatche, who has been playing with a burst of defensive energy and offensive awareness that was lacking when he was given heavy minutes during the preseason.
After an impressive six-minute stretch during Friday's win over Orlando and a strong 12-minute run during Saturday's loss at Milwaukee, Blatche played a season-high 21 minutes Wednesday, made 2 of 4 shots, scored four points, pulled down three rebounds and blocked two shots.
Such contributions are key because even on nights when the Wizards can't match an opponent's bench scoring, their reserves need only grab a few rebounds, convert a few shots and keep the game close so that Arenas, Butler and Jamison can carry the team in the fourth quarter.
It can be a precarious formula on nights when Arenas struggles because the Wizards are giving up 106.5 points per game. Recently, those nights have been rare -- even when he's bothered by pain in his right shoulder, as he was on Wednesday.
"Once I get out there and get that blood flowing, I'm not going to feel that pain," Arenas said. "I'm not letting a shoulder stop me."
Lately, nothing has.
Wizards Notes: Despite his excellent play of late, Arenas ranks third among Eastern Conference guards in the latest returns for all-star voting. Wade and New Jersey's Vince Carter are ahead of Arenas. And despite his strong play, Butler isn't ranked among the top 10 vote-getters at forward.
