Stat Line: 24 points (8-16 from the field, 4-5 for three), 3 assists, 1 rebound, 0 steals, and 0 rebounds in 27:47 (+5).

To start this off, let’s go back to a quote from Gil yesterday:

“I’m an assassin. I get buckets. I haven’t played in a long time, but my shot is still there. When I come off the bench, there’s going to be some trouble.”

In his first stint off the bench, I’d say Gilbert was playing more like a sniper, and an accurate one at that, hitting long distance shots like this one:

In the second half, he cooled off quite a bit. It would’ve been nearly impossible to replicate his first half barrage, but it was clear that he tailed off near the end of the game. Trainers recently cleared him to play up to 30 minutes a game, but there’s a noted difference between being healthy enough to play 30 minutes a game, and being able to play 30 minutes effectively. You could see the same thing happening when he was being held to 25 minutes. In his first game back, he stared off great but he slowed down considerably by the end of the game. Then by his fourth game back against Philly, he was finishing stronger than he started in his 25 minutes.

Today was just another step in the recovery process. As each day comes he’s getting better and better. With his strong start we saw that he was capable of doing much of what we remember of the pre-injury Gil, as he continues to work his way back we’ll see more of what we remember most about him most–his strong finishes.

Stat Line: 20 points (7-14 from the field, 4-9 beyond the arc), 5 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers in 25:06 (+21).

Shoes: Gil II Zero Cust0mize.

If you missed it, here are Gilbert’s highlights from last night’s game against the Sixers:

For the first three quarters of the game, Gilbert was doing okay. He had a few points, a couple assists, and some rebounds. It was nothing spectacular, but it wasn’t abysmal either. As the Wizards entered the final 12 minutes, they were down by 6 and needed somebody to raise their game in final stanza.

I think we all know who answered the call. Just compare these two stat lines from the final quarter:

Gilbert’s performance was simply spectacular in the fourth quarter last night.  Even though we know it’s unrealistic to put up those kind of numbers every night, knowing that he can is going to make him and the rest of the Wizards that much more dangerous going into the playoffs.

Stat Line: 10 points (2-8 shooting, 1-4 beyond the arc), 1 assist, 2 rebounds, 0 steals, and 2 turnovers in 19:10 (-19).

Shoes: Gil II Zero TS Lightswitch Home (even though they were playing in Detroit).

The good news from last night is that Gilbert should be able to play again tonight, which is good both for Gilbert as he continues his recovery but of course it’s good for the Wizards since they’ll need all the players they can get for tonight’s key game against Philadelphia. A win tonight would just about wrap up the 5 seed and set up Wizards vs. Cavs: Round 3.

The bad news is that if the team plays like they did tonight, the third meeting is going to end up a lot like the first two.  Gilbert struggled, the rest of the team struggled, and G-Wiz couldn’t even board the plane.  It was just a bad night all around.  One of the good things about Gilbert is that you rarely see him have two bad games in a row, so expect to see a much better performance tonight back at the Verizon Center.

Stat Line: 13 points (5-14 shooting, 1-5 beyond the arc), 3 assists, 1 rebound, 4 steals, and 1 turnover in 24:21 (+7).

Shoes: Gil II Zero DC Football/Chocolate City which were given to a lucky fan after the game.

The big thing that I’m going to take away from Wednesday’s game against Boston is Gilbert’s steals.  Like I mentioned in the game against Miami, the key to Gilbert’s return is going to be how he performs in the fast break and since forcing steals is a really, really good way to start a fast break, I’d say he succeeded in that regard tonight.

As you can see from the stat line, his shot was off tonight.  Part of that was the Celtics D, part of that was bizarre phenomenon known as an off night.  It happens sometimes.

Two other quick notes from the game:

• This was the most minutes Gilbert has logged in a game to this point in his comeback.  The training staff has given the coaching staff strict orders to keep him from playing more than 20-25 minutes a game, so I don’t see him exceeding tonight’s total by much.
• Have you noticed that Gil hasn’t really talked since he made his comeback?  You’re not the only one.

Stat Line: 13 points (4-10 shooting, 3-5 from beyond the arc), 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 0 steals, and 1 turnover in 20:10 (+14).

Shoes: Gil II Zero UNDRCRWN.

You might remember a few weeks ago that Rod Benson suggested that Gilbert should come down to D-League to start his rehab. Last night against the Heat, Gil essentially got that chance and he got to do it with his Wizards’ teammates to boot. It was a win-win situation for everyone involved (well, besides the Heat) and the results show that.

While the numbers were impressive, Gil’s main contribution had less to do with how much he put up and more with how he did it. Let’s let Mike O’Koren explain:

The Wizards have been forced to play at a slower pace without Arenas all season but he helped them post 20 fast-break points last night.

“We haven’t had that in a long time and the byproduct of those fast-break points was Gilbert Arenas, when he has the basketball and the way he pushes it,” said associate head coach Mike O’Koren, who handled the pre- and postgame news conferences for Coach Eddie Jordan, who has been battling flu-like symptoms and a severe sinus headache. “Our big guys, they see a lob pass or a pass ahead and they are going to run extra. That’s a big reason why we won this game, we got easy buckets.”

More than anything else, Gilbert’s effectiveness for the rest of the season (especially if he’s restricted to 20-25 minutes a game) is going to be measured by how well he creates and capitalizes on fast break opportunities. Antonio Daniels is a very solid point guard, but he’s much more effective in a half-court setup than he is running the break. If Gil can come in and help get easy points like he did tonight, he’s going to give the Wizards a dangerous new dimension as they enter the playoffs.