Thoughts from a therapeutic, ecstatic Game 1:
- Start with the obvious: for one game, Agent Zero was back. Attacking Jason Kidd on the first play gave us hope. The back to back pull up J's were nice. The three pointer in transition brought back memories. But it was when he got irate at the officials and took it out on JJ Barea, slamming his shoulder into the smaller player's chest while banking in the layup, that we allowed ourselves a smile. It's been over two years, but Gilbert flippin Arenas was finally back in the house.
- Speaking of smiles, did you see Phil Chenier at halftime? Barely holding back an ear to ear grin as he tried to break down the first half. The most shocking display of Chenier emotion on record, and utterly infectious.
- Who was that guy wearing the Andray Blatche mask? Cause he was good. Like, really good. Active on D, grabbing boards, knocking down everything the defense gave him. Going into the game everyone thought we'd be hurting without Antawn. Thanks to Dray, we didn't even notice he was gone.
- Not only did Nick Young not start, he DIDN'T PLAY. Not one second. Obviously, Flip hasn't started following ZA. Yet. But incredibly, despite completely ignoring our endorsement, the Wiz still won by 11! That's enough to shake most young bloggers to the core. Not Zards Alards. Because somehow, we don't think finding 18 minutes for Nick is going to be that hard.
- Things don't look as rosy for Javale. He got 41 seconds of burn and it's not clear who more would come from. Brendan looks great, Oberto has already begun winning hearts and minds with that blind bounce pass to Arenas, and the Wizards clearly have the talent to go small for long stretches. The hype is about to be put on hold. This won't be the Year of Epic Vale.
- Mike Miller (+12) and Randy Foye (+16) were huge. Miller was aggressive on the glass, snatching 8 rebounds to help the Wiz win the battle of the boards, something approximately zero people expected going in to this game. Randy was deadly from the perimeter, piling up 19 points, and frequently knocking down shots just as the Mavs thought they'd started a run.
- On the other hand, the play of Mike Miller and Randy Foye raised concerns. Flip has to crack the Miller conundrum and get him more involved, because every time he touched the ball something good happened. Randy's game was all 21 footers. Maybe that'll hold up, but his career percentages don't inspire confidence.
- This game was awesome. For anyone who endured last season, who suffered through the injuries that ultimately ruined the two seasons before that, it was almost unbelievable. The Wizards played well. Not for a quarter. Not for a half. For 48 minutes.
- Finally, Deshawn played terribly, but he still grabbed our attention. Already visually arresting, his new hairdo is something else. I can't find a photo, but it's virtually identical to the look sported by Drew Gooden.
First the beards, now the Barcode. If Deshawn and Drew ever start a barbershop, believe I'll be in line when they open for business.
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