Last night, Gilbert Arenas scored 20 points in 22 minutes in the Magic's 88-85 Game 4 loss to the Hawks. He came in early in the third quarter and really filled it up, driving to the basket and covering on layups in a way we haven't seen him do all season. Alas, the Magic lost, because Stan Van Gundy called the final play for Hedo Turkoglu instead, but it was still a great performance by Arenas in a season where he's had very few.
I don't know how many of you watched the game, since it was on Easter Sunday night. But if you followed me or any other blogger-types on Twitter, you witnessed a lot of cheerleading for Arenas. The thing I always have to keep in mind is that Arenas is the blogosphere's original gem, so we're a bit biased. Also, I think my fondness for Arenas is well-documented in the annuals of Bullets Forever history. Therefore, I'm writing this post now because I'm curious if any of you all had the same reaction as me watching that game.
The thing is, I'm asking this question because Arenas is very much an outsider to me now. I think it's become clear that Ernie Grunfeld and the rest of the management team knew they had to deal him. I think it's becoming clear they knew he just didn't have anything close to what we thought he may have had left. I also think it's pretty clear that, even though Rashard Lewis has his own issues, the Magic ended up on the short end of that trade. A lot of my rooting interest with Arenas disappeared at the end of our Arenas Tribute day.
But I'll admit that it has resurfaced at times this year, none moreso than last night. I really wanted Arenas to lead the Magic to victory, and I can't help but admit that. My question is: was anyone else watching that game feeling the same thing?