Harris and Arenas to Return
Even tho the NJ Nets got pummeled last night by a far superior Laker squad it was interesting to see rising star Devin Harris return to the lineup. One of the front runners for most improved player Harris grabbed 13 pts. on 14 assts., 6 boards and a stl. to once again retain his post. To me it didn’t appear that he looked too winded or was wincing of pain as he played a strong 37 mins. so it might be safe to say he’s back to stay for the rest of the regular season.
Over to the Washington front now and All-star guard Gilbert Arenas is set to make his first appearance of the regular season today, Saturday against the Detroit Pistons. There has been a lot of speculation about if he’ll be ready to go because in one of the more recent practice sessions he was no where to be found but interim coach Tapscott and fellow players Jamison and Butler seem to think he’ll be ready… and might even start. I believe he’ll probably dress for the game but we’ll have to see about his minutes as well as if he’ll make the start, of that I’m more doubtful. Arenas has been struggling with his 3rd knee operation in the last 1 and 1/2 yrs. and has ventured on the side of caution with this return stating that he rushed himself in years past.
With all this being said I don’t agree with any of these players’ returns. Most of the teams have around 10 games left in the regular season to go which I think amounts to around a 3 week span give or take. Not to mention both of these teams are now out of the playoff hunt. The Wizards have been long gone for a while now and the Nets are 4th to last in the conference so they’d have to go on one hell of a run, meaning win just about all of their final games, to even have a shot at one of the last seeds in the East. Here are the next 10 games for the Nets and my predictions on each one of them:
@T’Wolves (Win, but not by much)
vs Bucks (Probably lose but they do have homecourt)
vs Pistons (Have a better shot at home but Detroit is in the last spot)
@Bulls (No chance)
vs 76ers (Have a chance but Philly’s @ #6 right now so they’ll be playin tuff)
@Boston (No chance)
@Pistons (A lot harder to beat this team @ home)
vs Magic (No chance)
vs Bobcats (Probably a win)
@ Knicks (Knicks have beaten some of the best teams in the league at home)
Out of those 10 I see maybe 2 that they could definitely win, even with Harris in the lineup. All the others will be a tough fought battle or just a blowout. Point is- Don’t have your stars come back when there’s no chance of making a playoff run! Especially this late in the season where they could risk even further injury!!! I know there are rebuttles out there and I more than welcome your feedback.
