Who Needs Spectacular? Steady is Just Fine for Arenas and the Wizards

ESPN’s Mark Stein was on hand in Dallas last night, and he weighed in at ESPN’s True Hoop to share his thoughts on Arenas:

He drove fearlessly to the bucket. He drained a few clutch contested jumpers. He even talked to the media.

It would be a stretch to say that Gilbert Arenas dazzled Tuesday night in the Wizards’ season-opening road win over the Mavericks, but he certainly turned in a complete game.

After all those knee problems that allowed him to play in only 15 games over the past two seasons, Arenas announced his return to prominence by ringing up 29 points and nine assists without a lot of highlight-reel material, capitalizing on vulnerabilities he sensed in Dallas’ pick-and-roll defense with a steady performance that looks gaudier in the box score than it did in person.

Not that the Wizards mind steady.

And indeed, while Gilbert’s game wasn’t exactly a collection of highlight reel plays, it was the little things that had Wizards fans buzzing. When he’d explode past a defender and draw a shooting foul, or when he’d pull up and drain a transition jumpshot in perfect rhythm. It may speak to the misery we endured last season that this sort of thing could spark so much optimism, but it did nonetheless. Spectacles may come later, but last night, steady was just fine for Arenas, and it reminded Washington fans what’s been missing the past few years.