Gilbert sat this one out with a sore knee, so he finished with 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists in 0 minutes of play (No word on if he used the opportunity to stuff his face with nachos). Since there’s nothing to talk about regarding his performance tonight, let’s talk about Gilbert’s wardrobe for tonight.

(AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Gilbert went with a collared shirt and tie, along with a sweater vest (A possible nod to Jim Tressel after Ohio State beat Michigan again today?) and a suit jacket. He would later take the jacket off, and reveal that he was going with the untucked look, which Nick Young was apparently copping as well. In both pictures, you can also clearly see that he tops off the look with jeans. That’s classic Gilbertology baby!

(Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

I’m not quite sure what happened between last Friday’s game against Denver and the game against Atlanta on Sunday, but since that point Gilbert has been on fire. His stats the last few games might look average compared to last year’s numbers, but when you consider that Gilbert still probably isn’t completely there health-wise, what he’s done during this 3 game stretch (and especially his last two games) has been remarkable. Last night, he kept the good times rolling as he poured in 27 points along with 8 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds.

If this indeed is the real Gilbert and the first five games were just a fluke, then Gilbert will be a force to be reckoned with and someone worthy of lots of All-Star votes. Lots, and lots, and lots of repeating votes.

(AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

If you were looking for a vintage Gilbert performance, look no farther than last night: 30 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds. It’s still too early to say that Gilbert is 100% back from his knee injury, but it’s looking a lot more like he’s comfortable at playing at the level he’s at and it showed last night.

What was the key to Gilbert’s performance last night? Warm ups. No really, just check out this tidbit from last night’s ESPN recap:

The All-Star guard has been taking it easy on days off and before games. But he decided he needed to get a feel for the basketball, so he went to the gym to shoot Tuesday night, then hoisted up 100 3-pointers before tipoff Wednesday.

“I was coming to games cold turkey, wasn’t even getting the ball up, just banking off my natural ability, and I was struggling,” Arenas said. “My handle wasn’t as crisp.”Wait a second. So you haven’t been warming up before games this season? What have you been doing?”Chillin’. Resting. Resting the knee,” Arenas said. “They told me to stay off the knee, so I stayed off of it.”

Here’s what some people had to say about Gilbert’s performance last night:

Eddie Jordan:

He’s grown, he’s matured.

Slam Magazine:

It is no secret Gilbert Arenas is an integral part of the success the Washington Wizards hope to have this season and it is also no coincidence that when he scored 30 points in their game last night, he was the biggest contributor in the Wizard’s 103-90 victory over Indiana.

Dime Magazine:

Gilbert’s back (the Gilbert we know, at least), dropping 30 points, 11 dimes, 6 boards and 50 percent shooting on Jamaal Tinsley’s head.

Just Give Me The Stats!!

THAT’S THE GILBERT I DRAFTED IN THE FIRST ROUND!!!! I’m sure there will be a let down in his next game, as he is obviously still getting healthy, but it’s just great to see him do it for a game!

Hoops Addict:

Gilbert looks 99.9% his old self (30pts, 11ast), but he added a leg sleeve from the Melo-Iveson Fall Collection and whaddaya know it worked! He was cutting, crashing and bombing away on various Pacers and it was a sight for sore eyes.

After Friday’s night game I suggested that Gilbert should take some time off to rest his knee.  Well, I’m an idiot.  Gilbert looked explosive off the dribble, and used that to get to the line for 12 free throws.  Gilbert’s knee is still affecting his jump shot (33% shooting against Atlanta)  but he was able to get the rest of the team going offensively and had two beautiful drives for layups near the end to put the game away.

But here’s the most interesting aspect of this game to me: Gilbert’s defense.  Obviously, Agent Zero isn’t known for his defensive prowess but he helped hold the Hawks’ three point guards (Acie Law IV, Tyronn Lue, and Salim Stoudamire) to a combined for 4 points.  Granted, Atlanta isn’t exactly known for its play at the point, but I still think that Gilbert’s D was one of the keys to the Wizards’ big win yesterday.

As Gilbert adjusts to his limitations due to injury, he’s developing parts of his game that he didn’t need as much before, which will only help Gilbert and the team as they move forward.  The first win is in the books, and they’ll go for number 2 Wednesday against Indiana. 

(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

More or less the same script as the first four games, Gilbert hasn’t shot well and he just looks like he’s not all there yet physicaly. If there’s any positive from last night’s game against Denver it would be Gilbert’s four steals, but that’s about it. The real question after tonight’s game is how healthy is Gilbert? Mike Wise of the Washington Post argues that Gilbert should take some time off to rest his knee some more:

Again, it might be a while before things are back to normal. Maybe two or three months.

In summer 2006, Stevenson had the same meniscus surgery that Arenas had. He said he didn’t feel back to his old self physically until February of the next year. Arenas’s expectations are much higher than that.

But the truth is, he’s not right. He won’t admit this — no elite athlete would — but he probably needs rest. So it’s up to the organization to show some courage and sit down Arenas for maybe a week, maybe more.

I don’t want to hear he’s all right physically and this is just a mental thing. If your mind is telling you your knee is not yet right, that you can’t push off and explode like you once did on a nightly basis, that’s real and tangible.

It’s a gamble because getting too far down too early in the standings puts the season in immediate jeopardy. But for the long haul, it might be need to be done. This is not about Arenas’s contract year; he’s going to be paid $100 million by someone next year. It might as well be by the Wizards, who can repay the guy who made them matter again by looking out for his long-term health instead of the short-term gain.

Based on his first five games, I can’t say I disagree. Don’t get me wrong, I love that Gilbert is still trying to give it a go despite being less than 100% but at some point you have to know when to pick your battles. It would be better to see Gil take a few games off and take Jason Kidd’s advice and get his knee looked at some more to see how his knee is doing and what he needs to do prevent further injury and be the most productive.