Can Wizards Survive Without Star Arenas?

The Washington Wizards had high hopes coming into this season. With playoff appearances the past three years, they were hoping to make something more out of this season. The start of the season did not go well for them. They started 0-5, disappointing themselves and their fans. That quickly turned around the last few days. Not only did they win their first game, or their second, but six straight victories. Because of that, they are now in second in their division and fifth in their conference.

This was a surprising turnaround for the Wizards, but at the point when they were 3-5, a devastating injury left many fans wondering if they were going to continue the success. Gilbert Arenas, the star player on the Wizards, had two different surgical procedures on his left knee, forcing him to sit for three months. He had been having issues with that knee last year and had surgery for it, and then it reappeared this year with some swelling. MRI results showed that it was a cartilage tear. So far, it hasn't looked like Arenas being out will hurt them too much, but it is obvious that he was a necessary component to their team, averaging 22.4 points and 5.9 assists a game. Since Arenas has been out, the Wizards are 3-0 with many other players picking up the slack while the star is out.

Since Arenas has been out, the Wizards have defeated Portland, Philadelphia, and Charlotte. A few players have been filling in the gaps where Arenas would usually be. Against Charlotte, for example, Caron Butler scored 39 points, and Antawn Jamison had 27 points and 12 rebounds. Other contributing factors were Andray Blatche with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Arenas's backup, Antonio Daniels with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. They won that game in overtime. These players will need to continue to come up big for future games while not being able to rely on Arenas. Also, while the team is proud of how they have done, a few players have talked about what teams they have played, and how they will still need to do better when facing more difficult teams. Center Brandon Haywood stated, "We did win two games in convincing fashion without him, but it wasn't like it was the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs."

Arenas has made a few comments about his feelings toward his injury and his team on his blog. He discusses the severity of his injury and the pain he is currently in. He also tries to make a few jokes here and there about team rules and why he wont be on the bench until there are six minutes left in the second quarter because Antonio Daniels tells him not to. Overall, he seems to be as optimistic as he can be for having to sit out for three months.

So the question now is what fairs for the Wizards? Are they going to be able to keep winning against teams without their superstar Gilbert Arenas? We'll see if they can continue their winning streak tonight against Golden State, as well as how they will handle themselves against tougher teams like Dallas and San Antonio in the next couple weeks.