Washington – Gilbert Arenas’ knee bent the wrong way.
He was just standing there, settling into rebounding position as Gerald Wallace drove the baseline. When Wallace threw up an off-balance reverse layup, he crashed inadvertently into the left leg of the Washington Wizards guard.
Down went “Agent Zero.” And with him and his 28.4-point average, perhaps, the Wizards’ hopes of achieving much of anything in the playoffs this season.
Arenas’ sprained left knee rendered nearly everything else irrelevant in the Charlotte Bobcats’ 108-100 victory over the Wizards on Wednesday night. The three-time all-star will have an MRI today to determine the full extent of the damage, but the recovery time from such injuries is usually measured in weeks, not days, and the Wizards have only eight games left in the regular season.
“I’m hoping that it wasn’t as bad as mine,” said forward Antawn Jamison, who missed 12 games this season with the same injury.
Wizards reserve forward Andray Blatche has missed six games with a sprained knee, and he’s not expected back for another 10 days or so.
“Hopefully Gil is hurt – and not injured,” guard Antonio Daniels said. “And we can get him back sooner rather than later.”
Hope and heart is about all the Wizards have left after losing both of their all-stars in a four-day span – and back-to-back games to the mediocre Bobcats. Forward Caron Butler broke a bone in his hand Sunday – the Wizards are 2-9 this season when he doesn’t play – and he isn’t expected to return unless Washington advances deep into the playoffs.
“There are a lot of teams in this league who have had superstars injured, and they found a way to get it done,” Jamison said. “You just have to turn a negative into a positive and continue to play hard. Pretty much now, it’s all mental. Do we continue to believe we can play well as a team?”
Wallace, who survived several collisions in what became a very physical game, finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Bobcats. He had also stymied the Wizards the previous night, getting 34 points and 14 rebounds in a 122-102 win in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday.
Jamison had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wizards, who need only one more win to clinch a playoff berth.
