In what’s quickly becoming one of the most bizarre sports stories of the 2K era, the Gilbert Arenas gun fiasco has officially gained a life of its own. First, the details:
– Arenas admitted (in interviews, via Twitter, to anybody who would listen, really) that he stored an unloaded gun in his locker at the Verizon Centre, home of the Washington Wizards. Later, it was revealed Arenas wasn’t just storing it — the gun was brandished during an argument with teammate Javaris Crittenton over unpaid gambling debts.
– An investigation from the D.C. metro police and the U.S. Attorney’s office soon followed. Apparently unfazed by the severity, Arenas continued to joke about the incident (in interviews, via Twitter, to anybody who would listen, really). Arenas, a noted practical joker, seemed to figure this incident was no big deal. He even went so far as to brandish mock finger pistols (see picutre here) during pregame warmups in Philadelphia the other night.
– NBA commissioner David Stern didn’t think it was so funny. He’s suspended Arenas indefinitely, citing “that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game.”
Now, for the fallout. As we saw with the Ron Artest suspension, Stern is not afraid to suspend “problem players” for incredibly long lengths of time. So it is conceivable that Arenas — a three-time NBA all-star and one of the most consistent scorers in the league — could be out of action for a very, very long time. As we’re wont to do here, we’re going to take a look at how the Arenas suspension will affect the Wizards from a sports betting perspective.
To put it bluntly, the Wizards have been awful this season. They have an 11-22 record, worst in the Southeast Division and — was it not for the 3-32 New Jersey Nets — would be challenging for the worst record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Washington isn’t especially stellar against the spread, either — the 12-20-1 mark (37.5 percent) is bad, but worse is the 4-10 mark at the Verizon Center (the same place where the now-infamous gun brandishing took place).
Over the last six weeks, though, is where the Wizards have really struggled. On Dec. 26th, they hosted an truly bad Minnesota team (the T-Wolves are 7-29) and were listed as slim two-point favourites. What transpired was a nightmare — a 101-89 loss to the worst team in the Western Conference — and that was WITH Arenas in the lineup. He had 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and was really the only Wizard to do much of anything.
With Arenas suspended, the Wizards are going to be epically bad. The team is now comprised of prospects that aren’t panning out (Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee, the aforementioned Javaris Crittenton) and retread veterans who all seem to play a similar perimeter game (Caron Butler, Mike James, Mike Miller, DeShawn Stevenson). The only consistent scorer on this team is Antawn Jamison (21.3 ppg), but he’s missed a bunch of games to injury and has never been a go-to player in his career.
So, how will the Gilbert Arenas gun fiasco end? Nobody really knows. One thing is for certain, though — it’s far from being over.
