Washington staved off elimination last night, and they have Caron Butler’s tuff (get it?) driving layup to thank for the series going back to Washington. LeBron James could not convert on the game-winning attempt – and yes, I know there was some contact on the play, but no reasonable human being would’ve or should’ve blown the whistle there.
(One thing about LeBron: He might be the only player in League history that consistently gets to the rack in game-winning situations. When teams play him straight up, and he’s not forced to give up the pill, James almost always gets a layup attempt. I can’t think of another player who has ever managed to do this before. Jordan, Kobe, Bird, whoever … they’ve always relied on their jumpers at money time. Must be nice to be 6-8 and about 260 pounds.)
Over on the Wizards’ side, Gilbert Arenas announced prior to Game 5 that he will not be suiting up again this season.
“It’s frustrating because I was willing to do anything; I end up taking the shot, taking four different kinds of pain pills, Vicodin, I sound like a drug addict just to play in the game, and it still doesn’t work,” he said. “We just have to go back and start rehabbing it again and get ready for next season.”
Not much of a surprise there; Arenas’ injury has prevented him from bringing anything to the table during the series, and has probably hurt his team by being out on the floor with a gimpy leg.
What is surprising is Arenas’s claim that his blogging career is about to come to an end. Say it ain’t so, Gilbert!
