Role in win over Mavs shows Arenas adjusting to bench role in Orlando
By Steve Hunt
FOXSportsSouthwest.com
Jan. 9, 2010
After a stay in Washington that will be mostly remembered for a pretty big misstep off the court that cost him 50 games of his career, Gilbert Arenas now truly has a new lease on life in Orlando.
The University of Arizona product was shipped to the Magic on Dec. 18, 2010 for Rashard Lewis. Under coach Stan Van Gundy, he has been coming off the bench with, so far, favorable results. In 11 games with his new club, Arenas is averaging 10.1 points, 4.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 23 minutes a game.
All in all, things are going pretty well. Arenas said it's great to have a fresh start with a new team, especially one that's riding a nine-game win streak.
"Right now, I'm just trying to find my groove, be aggressive when I need to, then just push the tempo and find out where the starters like and just put myself into the mix," he said.
And after a tumultuous 2010 in the nation's capital, he entered 2011 with a simple, yet poignant attitude.
"Be happy. There's so much negativity in the world. You've just got to be happy," Arenas said. "It's a new year. Throw away 2010 and focus on this year."
Never one to dwell on the past, the NBA veteran has a positive attitude about his run with the Wizards.
"Yeah, I had some good days there. I just had one real rough one," he quipped with a big smile. "It's just good to be back in a situation where I'm happy again."
While some might make a big deal about him coming off the bench and being a sixth man for the first time in his career, he's just glad to be playing the game he truly loves with a great group of new teammates.
"Coming off the bench isn't [a big deal], as long as you're playing. I've just got to stay loose and just not jump into the warm-up line," Arenas said. "It's great having the ball again, making decisions and just playing basketball, especially when you lose 50 games of your career, plus the three injuries to your knees. I'm still adjusting to that."
Van Gundy likes what he has seen but also maintains that Arenas remains a work in progress.
"He was not playing the point much in Washington this year. He's playing the point almost exclusively for us," Van Gundy said. "He's having to adjust to coming off the bench, which he hasn't done very often in his career, and that's on top of adjusting to a new team and a new system. He's got a lot to deal with right now, and it hasn't been easy. It's been up and down. He's had a couple of games, San Antonio most notably, where he's been great and been the guy that turned it around. Hopefully, as he makes the adjustments to some of these things which are not easy, his consistency will improve."
His new teammates agree that his addition to an already talented Orlando roster adds a big spark.
"It shows how much of a team player he is. For him to come from teams where he's always been starting and never coming off the bench, to still be successful, I think that says a lot about Gilbert Arenas," Magic forward Brandon Bass said. "I know he's going to be big for us this year. Hopefully, things continue to go as well as they've been."
Coming to the Magic also reunited Arenas with Jason Richardson, a teammate during his run out in Golden State.
"We was young boys. It's great that we're being back together and finally winning. It's great for everybody," Arenas said.
On Saturday night, Arenas had 14 off the bench as the Magic stormed back to hand the Mavericks a 10-point setback on their home floor. It was his second-best outing since joining Orlando, behind a 22-point showing he had against Cleveland. That win in Dallas also increased his team's winning streak to nine games, something he contributes to a fairly simple thing.
"I think with the guys they had before, they had scorers. I think now you have more playmakers than before," Arenas said. "With me and [Hedo Turkoglu], we see the game different. We both can make plays. I think that's the difference that I can see right now, that you've got two guys that are making plays out there. So you've got your point forward with Turk and then your backup point who can score and pass the ball.
"I'm coming off the bench averaging five assists, so we're averaging about six more assists than what we did before. I think that's the biggest difference. They started off the season 15-4, so it's not like there's a big difference. There are just more passers now."
