GILBERT ARENAS IS BACK!

Finally basketball games that matter are here! Here's a quick recap of the games for 10.27.09.

Gilbert Arenas is back. Gone are the nicknames and side shows and welcome back to his explosive game. He owned Dallas tonight and every time Dallas threatened Arenas made them pay. Watch out for the Wizards, their supporting cast is solid and getting better and Flip Saunders has already made an immediate improvement.

Shaq's new nickname should be the "Big Speedbump", he slows down any offense he's involved with. Recently he said that maybe he should have studied the playbook more in the off-season? Um, correct me if I'm wrong, you're still a pro and knowing the plays is your job.

Also Cleveland has some issues with their bigs. Shaq and Ilgauskas can share the floor on the offensive end as Big Z can space the floor and knock down some open jumpers but the two of them on the floor at the same time are a nightmare defensively. Time and time again in the fourth quarter the Celtics ran pick and roll to the middle of the floor with Rasheed Wallace spacing out behind the 3 point line for a jumper. They got this every time they wanted it. Cleveland has a lot of work to do defensively with those two on the floor at the same time.

Subscribe to www.basketballcoachesreport.com and you'll set Boston's sets in the 4th quarter as they beat the Cavaliers.

The Wizards were the team of the night, they were really impressive and they have some nice pieces. Mike Miller stretches teams with his perimeter shooting and his overall basketball IQ is higher than I gave him credit for. Brendan Haywood was very active on the glass in the fourth quarter and looks recovered from last year's wrist and this pre-season's ankle injury. I love Caron Butler who's as good as it gets as an NBA third wheel (Jamison being the second). Lastly Randy Foye did a great job knocking down jumpers when the Mavericks played the pick and roll by going under the screener.

So far Houston has looked listless against Portland who is impressive with Andre Miller running the PG for the second unit. Houston made a good comeback to close the game to single digits late in the game before Portland finished them off. Portland's versatility is exceptional. On one possession Brandon Roy guards Luis Scola then plays the point on the offensive end. I can't imagine trying to match up with Portland.

Dallas really struggled last night. Here's a good rule of thumb for Rick Carlisle, keep two of these players on the floor at all times as they're your only offensive threats: Dirk, Terry, & Marion, and we're not quite sold on Marion unless it's in the open court. Jason Kidd is a threat only in transition, Erick Dampier is a solid defensive role player but not a threat on offense. Unless they come from Terry and Nowitzki, points will be hard to come by in Dallas this year.