Statement win in Dallas for Arenas and the Wizards

October 28, 10:38 AMWashington Wizards ExaminerGeorge Panagakos

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Gilbert Arenas soars over a back-pedaling Jason Kidd.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Gilbert Arenas led the Washington Wizards on the road last night with 29 points and 9 assists in a statement 102-91 season opener victory over the Dallas Mavericks.  Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 34 points and 9 rebounds in the loss.

The Wizards began their NBA season last night without the aid of Antawn Jamison, who is expected to miss at least the first 10 games on the Wizards schedule.  The Mavericks entered last night's game with a key loss of their own, that of the versatile slashing forward Josh Howard.  Washington's Fabricio Oberto filled in for the injured Jamison and was assigned the tough job of checking the Mav's Dirk Nowitzki, while reserve guard Quinton Ross received the starting nod for Dallas in place of the injured Howard.

The long awaited shooting guard spot went to Mike Miller last night, and he joined Oberto at power forward, Gilbert Arenas at point guard, Caron Butler at shooting guard, and Brendan Haywood at center.  However, the Wizards bench would turn out to give Washington the edge last night.

Oberto picked up two quick fouls unrelated to his cover on Nowitzki, and Fab had to sit out early with about 10:30 left in the first quarter.  Wizards Head Coach Flip Saunders searched his bench and decided to send Andray Blatche in for the challenge of controlling the Mavs' German scoring machine.

Nowitzki did have a slow start, with some credit due to Blatche (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks in first quarter), and at the end of one quarter Dirk had only shot 1-for-6 from the field.  However, as the quarter progressed, and Haywood provided a string of easy dunks thanks to Arenas set-ups, Nowitzki worked the free throw line and shot 7-for-7 to keep Dallas in the game, the score tied 21-all after one quarter.

Dirk would continue to be the sole option for Dallas, while the Wizards, led by the hot hand of Blatche off the bench (20 points on 8-for-14 shooting), proved to be the deeper team.  Wizards reserve combo-guard Randy Foye came in largely as a point guard and scored 19 points in the game, while Caron Butler finished with a line of 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, one of the two blocks coming late in the game when he stuffed a Shawn Marion fade away jumper.

The Wizards' off-season moves looked solid for Game 1.  Mike Miller and Randy Foye add offense and Butler can now be the lock-down defender he can be, and while Marion did end up with 16 points, he didn't see as many easy looks as he did when the two teams battled during the preseason a few weeks ago.  Of course, do not get too excited yet, because one of the reasons the Mavs won in the preseason was due to the speed of reserve guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who earned 0 minutes last night to open the season (day-to-day).  Expect Arenas to be tested a bit more this Friday, when the Wizards challenge division rival Mike Bibby and the Atlanta Hawks.

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Post Dilemmas
The Wizards aren't alone when it comes to an injured big man.  The Los Angeles Clippers find themselves in a similar boat, as rookie power forward Blake Griffin is expected to be out for up to 6 weeks following a tweak during a preseason game against the New Orleans Hornets.  As for the Portland Trail Blazers, the team will hope to begin and finish with a healthy Greg Oden this season, while the Houston Rockets will be without Yao Ming for the entire season.

Speaking of post dilemmas, I wasn't able to post content yesterday due a glitch in the system, and I decided to go for Plan B.  Here's a look at the outcome of opening day in the NBA, as well as some pointers for those still looking to play Fantasy Basketball this season.  Also, be sure to check out Caron Butler's new blog.

For a last minute Wizards refresher on fantasy picks for your fantasy basketball league this season, save a place for AJ in your mind, he could miss 10 or more games, Gil is still questionable for a top PG spot due to a lack of steals and blocks, and Butler rounds out as the top fantasy Wizard this year despite the add-ons of Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

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