Arenas Isn’t Grant Hill, So Just Calm Down

I may have already hinted at this in my BREAKING NEWS Arenas injury post, but now I’ll say it plainly: Everyone’s over-reacting. It’s true, I questioned whether this wouldn’t hamper the Wizards’ 2008-09. But all the “new Grant Hill,” “waste of cash,” “franchise is shot” talk is just ridiculous. First, some wise words from Ivan Carter:↵↵⇥-According to the folks I’ve spoken with, Arenas indeed followed the plan prescribed for him and has not pushed the knee as he did last summer. According to him, the knee has simply been bothering him and he made the decision to clean it out so that he can resume rehabbing and come back more quickly than he may have thought earlier.↵⇥
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↵⇥- Keep in mind that today’s news came as such a shocker because neither Arenas nor the team gave any impression that his rehab process was going at a pace that would lead to a return later than the opener. Apart from a few blogs and some short chats than included little detail, Arenas was silent this summer. I personally tried to get details about his rehab several times but he wasn’t talking.↵↵

There’s more there that, while not exactly uplifting, underscores the main point here: This is not out of the ordinary for someone coming back like Arenas is. And in the wake of Amare, Gilbert’s comeback isn’t nearly as much of a historic, or uphill, feat. Which is why it’s stupid to see Hill’s or Penny Hardaway’s names thrown around. Those were a lifetime ago, medicine-wise. Since then, we’ve seen Stoudemire go from immobile to All-NBA in less than a year. And let’s not forget that Greg Oden fellow -- the Blazers are still taken to be a future power on the strength of Oden, and yet no one’s presuming this plan could crash and burn.↵
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↵People like tragedy, excitement, upheaval, and good copy. Especially when it’s about a player as magnetic, divisive, and thrilling as Arenas. He might not be back on the court at one-hundred percent right away, but Gilbert Arenas will return, and resume his career sooner rather than later. It’s not about him, his outsider’s personality, or his gonzo work ethic -- it’s a simple fact of where sports medicine has gotten us to. There’s just no reason to presume the world will end -- except for the fact that indulges our masochistic tendencies as fans.↵