Start Arenas, and you will see a difference ...

[Arielle]

There are a lot of people who will crucify me for this, but as I watch EVERY Magic game -- despite Arenas not making his shots and occasionally turning the ball over -- it is so clear that he improves the flow of the offense when he is at the point. More players become involved. Others get motivated and the ball moves much better overall. It is also quite clear that when he and Redick are together -- the Magic start to regain momentum. This is not to say that Arenas and Redick need to start together, but consider putting Arenas in the lineup where he has options to create shots for those who can score (Richardson, for example). The reason Richardson thrived in Phoenix is because Steve Nash controlled the offense. Richardson is missing that where he plays mostly with Nelson, who is a great scorer, great heart, but, to be honest, is just not the best player to get his teammates involved. We've seen this for years, i.e. our team starting off slow and winning games in the end, etc. NELSON IS A SIXTH MAN AND NOT THE RIGHT STARTING PG FOR THIS TEAM.

 

Another reason we are losing now -- lack of additional big men. The loss of Gortat (and even Lewis to some extent) is clearly starting to show us a glaring weakness -- a lack of interior defense. Lewis was a great team defender, and Howard is now lacking aid of a second big man who can defend inside. Plus, the perimeter defense has been awful (should Duhon get playing time again?). BTW, what happened to Earl Clark tonight? How come he didn't play???

 

Not saying that everything I said above will solve our problems, but it is clearly worth a try. Arenas again showed some flashes of great despite not having a great statistical night.

 

I can't wait for SVG to actually try the above scenario so everyone can see what this Orlando Magic team is really lacking. A true court general in the starting lineup to help out Dwight. (We missed the boat on Deron Williams ... He would have been a perfect fit for the Magic...)

[Fultz4thewin]

you again?

[Arielle]

This is a forum where people are free to express their opinions and observations. I don't think my opinion is that unreasonable.

[Miller4Prez66]

Yeah, because starting will fix all of his problems. His knees will just magically heal in the starting lineup.

 

Gilbert Arenas is just done. His knees are ruined and we're stuck with him because he's Otis' bestie. Jameer was actually having a really good year before Arenas got here. Which just makes the trade even worse.

[Marc Acres 3:16]

I wish they would, just for you so you could see how F'ING STUPID OF AN IDEA THIS IS. Watch some basketball for a change instead of reading stat lines. Did you watch any of the game tonight? Do you watch any games?

[Air Gordon]

stopped reading after you said you watch every magic game.. that doesn't really make you unique on this board.. start anybody from the bench over any starter now and you will see a difference, that doesn't mean it should happen.. I guess since we're stuck with Gil we might as well use him? He just really gives me the vibe that his best days, and even his good days, are behind him

[ninjapj]

he's toast!

[COLOMBIANO]

Will he also get smarter by starting?

 

Tonight he committed a turnover, was able to get back to defense on the same play and gave them an "and 1"

 

Have you seen how he's rushed a shot with 30 second left in the quarter, then the other team grabs his rebound, advance the ball an with 10 seconds left he commits a foul on purpose w/o realizing we had a foul to give? Arenas has become the most annoying player to watch!

[Arielle]

I wish they would, just for you so you could see how F'ING STUPID OF AN IDEA THIS IS. Watch some basketball for a change instead of reading stat lines. Did you watch any of the game tonight? Do you watch any games?

 

In fact, I did. And I do. It is so evident that the flow of the offense is better when Arenas is given a chance. Do this. Next game, when we start off and the other team takes a 5-8 point lead, observe what happens when Arenas and Redick comes off the bench and then that lead disappears and we either tie it up or actually get a lead.

 

The above scenario happens A LOT. It happened tonight.

 

We have a talented starting lineup with so many offensive weapons. There's no excuse with the poor energy and poor execution that happens more often than not as of late. Shake it up a bit, because losing to the Kings at home -- not good.

 

Oh, and Mark Acres if you would -- please re-watch the last 5 minutes of that game. Compare it to the previous 5 minutes before that. What do you see? I have it on DVR. Let's watch it together why don't we?

[Catman]

Just because you watch a Magic game does not mean you process it correctly.

[Arielle]

I'm not saying that Arenas is perfect. Yes, he makes mistakes. But look beyond the stats. Look at the overall flow of the game. I swear I'm not making this up. The OFFENSE greatly improves overall despite occasional mistakes here and there.

 

Our team has other glaring problems now, defense in particular, but that deserves another topic of its own.

 

And I'm not trying to crucify Nelson. I keep saying that Nelson would be the perfect 6th man in the way Ginobili was utilized as a sixth man, i.e pure scorer. Nelson thrived as a sixth man in his earlier days. Yes, I watched those games too.

 

We are NOT maximizing the talents of this team.

 

Gilbert Arenas may not be the best, but we should consider the possibility that he may be the best we have in that position, or at least give him the shot at it on a more consistent basis.

[Magicman28]

Arenas does run the offense better.