Gilbert Arenas' strange preseason is over, but the effects continue to linger. First, he faked an injury. Then, he suffered a groin injury. Now, he has an ankle injury which may be serious enough to cause him to miss some games.
Arenas missed his second straight practice today, and coach Flip Saunders said there's a chance he might miss the season opener against the Orlando Magic on Thursday. Via Samuel Chamberlain of TBD:
When asked if Arenas would be able to play Thursday night, Saunders replied, "I have no idea if he's going to be ready or not ready. If we don't have him, I still think we can go out there and be effective."
Honestly, that sounds like a coach that is prepared to play without him. It's also a bit strange that Arenas now has an ankle injury instead of a groin injury, which is what knocked him out of the preseason. He had ankle soreness earlier in the preseason, but it seemed like he had gotten over that. Apparently, he hasn't.
What does Arenas himself have to say about his injury. Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner tried to get an answer out of him, but failed. Via Stouffer's Twitter.
Tried 2 ask Arenas after #wizards practice about his groin/ankle.He looked straight thru me, headed to lockr rm w/ a sing-songy "You'll see"
In that sense, it looks like Arenas is back to his old self.