It appears to me that our own International Man of Mystery has lost his "mojo."  I would like to be the first person to ask Gilbert Arenas to let Agent 0 out of solitary confinement.  Don't let the media make you feel like you can't be yourself.  You were not wrong when you explained a long time ago that you are an entertainer.  Don't deny yourself.  You are who you are, and your fans appreciate that. 

The silent treatment has even been kind of humorous to me, but enough already.

It might just be possible that without his swag, Gil is just not the same player.  None of us expected Gilbert Arenas to start off this season at 100 percent, draining daggers and putting up 60 points a game.  Still he has impressed with solid outings every night, even though I wouldn't call them spectacular.  The funny thing is that many of us expected him to become more of a jump shooter, instead of going back to his best strength of diving to the hoop, drawing a foul and taking a lot of contact. 

The opposite has happened.  Gilbert is distributing, and driving the lane with reckless abandon, showing the speed and strength he is known for.  But when he raises up for that jumper, he looks uncertain.  Is it this "serious" Gilbert telling the showman to shut up actually hurting his game? 

Is predicting you will drop 60 on a team, or that Boston or Cleveland ain't that great a smart way to show your enthusiasm for the game?  No, but shutting down the absolute joy for playing basketball expressed through your blog and interviews does not work, either.

I don't like this skulking, deadpan Gilbert.  We have come to expect the throwing of the jersey to a fan after each game, a visible reminder that dude just gave his all to win whether they are leaving with a victory or defeat.  Now he just walks off the court into the locker room like everyone else.  It doesn't feel right.

I understand what he's trying to do. He doesn't want to be known as a "chucker." He doesn't want to say cocky stuff that comes back to hurt the team. He wants to be a "leader."

You know what, he was a better leader before!  Three years ago, no deficit seemed too much for this team.  We knew that Gilbert could go off for 20 points and pull us back in.  Now I find myself screaming at the television: "Shoot the Rock, Gil!"  Right now everybody is loving on Flip, myself included, but he needs to adapt the offense a little more to Gil's game.  He needs more freedom to stop and pop.  I am getting sick of seeing that Oberto/Haywood pick and roll every possession.  Design more plays that cater to Gil's strength.

Gilbert Arenas:  If you're reading this, I hope you will know that we won't hate on you if you go back to your quotable, eccentric, electric self.  You wear your emotions on your sleeve.  Being professional is a laudable goal, but not at the expense of the swag that makes you the player you truly are.  I hope we are yelling "Hibachi!" again in the near future. 

CNNSI Truth & Rumors says Tyson Chandler is on the block for a backup Power Forward. Remember folks, this is Michael Jordan the GM we're talking about. Could we swing something involving Blatche and Critter for Tyson? Him and JaVale would be rockin a lot of alley oops!

From T&R:

Some things I wouldn't be surprised happen between now and the start of Bobcats training camp: A trade of one of the centers for a forward: It's going to be tough to distribute minutes between Tyson Chandler, Gana Diop and Nazr Mohammed. The Bobcats obviously need a reliable backup power forward. I think there have been some discussions and Golden State and Dallas seem logical trade partners. I don't expect Juwan Howard to be back as a Bobcat. I hear there's a good chance of him ending up in Portland, a better bet for the playoffs.

Charlotte Observer