Above the Rim: Understatement of the Year

Gilbert Arenas admitted that storing guns in his locker was "bad judgment" on his part. Other examples of bad judgement of this magnitude include Bill Clinton's behavior around his interns and Gus Frerotte headbutting a wall in celebration. It's amazing that it took half a week of news coverage to make Agent Zero realize that his locker at the arena was not a gun locker. Furthermore, his bad judgment in this respect is minor compared to his decision to allegedly pull one of those guns on teammate Javaris Crittenton. This situation is an example of some of the worst judgment ever. What could Arenas possibly have been thinking to think it was ok to store guns in such a public venue and then pull a gun on his teammate? I can't even offer an explanation.

Compared to troubled Cavaliers guard Delonte West's arrest this offseason, also in Washington D.C. (should they switch the name back to Bullets?), Arenas probably shows worse judgment that West. First, Arenas was storing the guns in an extremely public place while West was allegedly transporting them. Arenas pulled a gun on a teammate while West did not threaten anyone. In fact, at least one report stated that West was carrying the guns because he was concerned for his safety after being threatened. Finally, West suffers from depression and bi-polar disorder, both of which probably contribured to his lapse in judgment, and he admitted to not taking his medication. When comparing the two situations, Arenas has no justifications for his actions and threats, while West not only did not threaten anyone, but also is more sympathetic due to his unique circumstances.

There are many examples of poor judgment by Ron Artest that the Arenas situation could be compared to:

• Artest drinking Hennessey at halftime when with the Bulls- while extremely poor judgment on Artest's part, this in no way was a violation of the law and did not endanger anyone else, although it may have hurt his and the Bulls' performance.


• Artest leaving the Pacers to promote his (awful) rap album- again, poor judgment by Artest that shows a "me-first" attitude instead of being a team player, but Artest's behavior does not harm anyone other than himself and his team, and only in terms of performance or image.


• Artest's role in the Fight at Auburn Hills- when I first saw this, I was actually surprised at how much Artest was behaving by laying on the scorer's table and not being provoked into a fight with the 6'8" 250 lb. Ben Wallace ... then he ran into the stands and began throwing haymakers at a 5'8" 250 lb. fan wearing a Ben Wallace jersey. This is a closer parallel to Arenas. Not only was it an example of some of the worst decision making ever, but it also endangered everyone in the arena that night, fans and players alike. The only real differences between the two situations are that Artest involved 20,000 people while Arenas was only including members of the locker room. Also, Artest's situation did not include a deadly weapon (although it did include 40,000 fists) while Arenas used a gun.

The closest parallel to Arenas is probably when Plaxico Burress shot himself in the league at a night club. Both situations involved the reckless use of a gun in a public venue. Both endangered innocent bystanders. Fortunately, no one was injured by Arenas in this scenario.

To be honest, this "judgment" by Arenas will probably be one of the most infamous lapses of judment in sports history when it is all said and done, competing with Burress, 10 Cent Beer Night, Disco Demolition Night, and the Brawl at Auburn Hills. There are few occurrences in sports that can create such a degree of danger, and the scary thing about Arenas is that it included firearms.

One more variable that compounds the situation is the massive chip that Arenas insists on carrying on his shoulder. Arenas has always been quick to point out when people underestimate him, which some consider to be a key to his success. But this attitude can also be aggravating and potentially troublesome. First, Arenas insists on saying he doesn't get any respect despite being a past all-star and making near the league maximum. More troubling is that with such a large chip on his shoulder, who takes everything personally, would have a stash of guns in his locker. And then actually pull a gun on a teammate. Arenas can be a hothead at times, and when he does get fired up, it is not good that he has ready access to a cache of dangerous weapons. Arenas does not strike me as particularly responsible, and coupled with his short fuse, this could be very dangerous.

It will be interesting to see how the NBA and authorities handle this situation. Regardless, it should be remembered as one of the worst decisions ever by a professional athlete.

Above the Rim: Fantasy Pickups to Complete a Championship Team

As the NBA season winds down, many NBA coaches are looking to shorten their benches in preparation of the playoffs or to ride their stars in an effort to clinch a playoff berth. This means that there are not many impact pickups for fantasy owners. However, there are three point guards that should be interesting to watch and could be worth a pickup. Rodney Carney is also heating up and could be a solid pickup for the championship push.

Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards- Arenas is finally back from a knee injury that kept him out of action all season until his season debut on March 28th. After sitting out a game, Arenas came back to play against Cleveland on Thursday night, and then say out another game. If Arenas can stay in the lineup, he is a definite play for the rest of the season. In the two games he played, Arenas averaged over 31 minutes per game which shows that the knee can hold up during a game. While he is only shooting 6-23 (26.1%) from the floor and 2-7 from 3-point range (28.6%), Arenas is still averaging 13 points per game and is 12-16 (75%) from the free throw line. Arenas is also contributing on the glass with 4.5 rebounds per game. However, the most important stats to look at are Arenas’s assist numbers. Agent 0 has 10 assists in both his games this season giving him 2 double-doubles in 2 games as well as an average of 10 assists per game. More astounding is Gilbert’s assist-turnover ratio. I don’t ever remember seeing a player with a 20-1 assist to turnover ratio, including high school and CYO games. I know it is just 2 games, but to put up such high assist numbers with only 1 turnover in two games is absolutely amazing. If Arenas is available in your league, pick him up now. He is a former all-star that is at least playing close to his normal form, although his shooting is a little off. I think as he plays more, the shooting will return too. If anyone knows of a player that has put up a 20-1 assist-turnover ratio in 2 games, let me know.

Shaun Livingston, Oklahoma City Thunder- I wrote about Livingston in the preseason about him probably being one season away from being an effective NBA player again. He beat my prediction by 6 months. After suffering one of the most gruesome injuries I have ever seen, the Thunder signed Livingston to a multi-year contract on March 31st after averaging 9.5 points, 6 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 11 games for Tulsa of the NBDL. The interesting thing to me is that the deal is a multi-year deal showing that the Thunder believe Livingston is going to be fine and that this isn’t just a trial run. When I first saw this signing, I thought it was a move for next year, which it probably is because the Thunder have been out of playoff contention for quite some time, but Livingston has produced in the two games since he was picked up. In his first game with the Thunder (Livingston played 4 games early this season with the Heat), Shaun scored 10 points on 5-6 shooting with 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, and 1 block in 26 minutes. After that performance, I thought Livingston would be interesting to watch for the rest of the season to get a beat on how he would play next season. For the second time this season, Livingston surprised me with his quick recovery. In 27 minutes against the Pacers on Sunday, Livingston scored 10 on 5-7 shooting and added 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. I think the most impressive things about Livingston’s performances are his remarkably high shooting percentage (76.9%) and the completeness of his performance against the Pacers as he added rebounds, assists, and steals to a solid scoring performance. So much for waiting until next season to be a fantasy contributor, Livingston could be a nice consolation prize for owners that miss out on Arenas this season. And if my assessment of Livingston conforms with my predictions on him previously, Livingston will again surprise me and surpass Arenas’s performance for the rest of the season.

Kevin Ollie, Minnesota Timberwolves- Ollie took over as the starting point guard on March 25th and has put up solid numbers in 6 games since. Although he has averaged just 3.9 points and 2.4 assists this season, right with his career averages of 3.8 and 2.3, respectively, Ollie has improved his play with the increased playing time. In the six games since March 25th, Ollie is averaging 4.9 assists per game, a solid number for a journeyman point guard, and a very solid number for a late season pickup like this one. Don’t expect too much out of Ollie as he is averaging only .67 steals in these games to go with 6 points and 1.3 rebounds. If you are short on point guards or assists and Arenas and Livingston are not available, take a look at Ollie as a backup plan to fill your need.

Rodney Carney, Timberwolves- Carney has started 5 of the ‘Wolves last 6 games and in those games he has showed that he earned the promotion. Carney is averaging 16.2 points per game, including two games over 20 points. Carney is also averaging 3.8 rebounds and just over 1 assist as a starter. Carney is shooting 47.5% from the floor in these games including 45.9% from 3-point range, supported by 7-8 in one game, and 90.9% (10-11) from the free throw line. Carney should be a productive player for the rest of the season for the Timberwolves and is only owned in 10% of Yahoo! fantasy leagues, so he should be available in most leagues. Look to pick up Carney if your team needs some scoring for the remainder of the season. Because Carney is now starting, he should receive consistent minutes for the rest of the season.