Teammates and Detroit Pistons React.
We took to the locker rooms after the Wizards vs Detroit game to get reactions on Gilbert returning to the hardwood in prime time. Here's what we were told.
Wizards' Brendan Haywood - "I think everyone played well. The team fed off Gilbert's energy and I think it was evident how much we needed him tonight by the way we played. Tonight we responded and played better, I think, as a team than we have in a long time."
Detroit Piston's Kwame Brown (blocked Arenas' final shot) - "For his first game, it was a good performance. He got all the guys involved. You can tell they missed him all year long. They played with a different intensity... As he progresses he's going to be the same old Gilbert - a great scorer. They're a difficult team with him in the lineup. We just didn't know how much Gilbert was going to be his old self, so we knew we were going to have a problem if he was half the player that he was before the injury. He came out, got the players involved and started making some tough shots...He had us a little nervous, but he was still a little rusty, so he'll probably get back to rare form before the end of the season. If they get all their pieces back, with Brendan Haywood, they're a playoff team - but without those guys they couldn't have made it."
Detroit's Rasheed Wallace - "It was slow... I guess he wanted to test his knee to see where he's at. He helped them (Wizards) a little bit, scored a couple of buckets, so I guess it's on him. It was close, but we needed it a bit more."
Detroit's Allen Iverson - "I think he did good being that he was out so long."
And what did Gilbert have to say about his performance?
Not wanting "to be flamboyant", Gilbert had this to say....
"It felt good. Everybody played at an NBA level. I got a text from Eddie Jordan (former Wizards coach), and he said just go out there and let the game come to you... Don't expect to go out and score thirty points."
When asked what grade he would have given himself, Gilbert replied, "That's not my job. That's the trainers' job to see how I looked out there... That's what you guys are here for."
The Wizards are back at home on April 2nd to face LeBron James. Speaking of LeBron, did you see him on 60 Minutes this past Sunday?
We took to the locker rooms after the Wizards vs Detroit game to get reactions on Gilbert returning to the hardwood in prime time. Here's what we were told.
Wizards' Brendan Haywood - "I think everyone played well. The team fed off Gilbert's energy and I think it was evident how much we needed him tonight by the way we played. Tonight we responded and played better, I think, as a team than we have in a long time."
Detroit Piston's Kwame Brown (blocked Arenas' final shot) - "For his first game, it was a good performance. He got all the guys involved. You can tell they missed him all year long. They played with a different intensity... As he progresses he's going to be the same old Gilbert - a great scorer. They're a difficult team with him in the lineup. We just didn't know how much Gilbert was going to be his old self, so we knew we were going to have a problem if he was half the player that he was before the injury. He came out, got the players involved and started making some tough shots...He had us a little nervous, but he was still a little rusty, so he'll probably get back to rare form before the end of the season. If they get all their pieces back, with Brendan Haywood, they're a playoff team - but without those guys they couldn't have made it."
Detroit's Rasheed Wallace - "It was slow... I guess he wanted to test his knee to see where he's at. He helped them (Wizards) a little bit, scored a couple of buckets, so I guess it's on him. It was close, but we needed it a bit more."
Detroit's Allen Iverson - "I think he did good being that he was out so long."
And what did Gilbert have to say about his performance?
Not wanting "to be flamboyant", Gilbert had this to say....
"It felt good. Everybody played at an NBA level. I got a text from Eddie Jordan (former Wizards coach), and he said just go out there and let the game come to you... Don't expect to go out and score thirty points."
When asked what grade he would have given himself, Gilbert replied, "That's not my job. That's the trainers' job to see how I looked out there... That's what you guys are here for."
The Wizards are back at home on April 2nd to face LeBron James. Speaking of LeBron, did you see him on 60 Minutes this past Sunday?
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