Gilbert Arenas says he talks to Jeremy Lin once a week.
He talks to Dwight Howard more than that (just passing that along), but Arenas told Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated he’s been giving tips and played in a game this summer with Lin.
This is part of a fantastic Q&A Amick did with Arenas that covers his comeback attempt (he won’t rule out the D-League), his time in Washington and the gun incident, plus much more. But of course Lin came up, as he always seems to do these days.
“[Lin] was a Warriors fan during the Agent Zero days. Then this summer, when I went to play in the All-Warriors game, he was on the opposing side and he got a couple shots off, but I hit like five threes — almost from half-court — straight on him, and that’s what he was laughing about. When we talked today, I was like, ‘Man, that shot you hit on [Pau] Gasol, where you just looked him down, and then hit it — that’s the shot right there.” He said, ‘Wait a minute, you did that shot to me five times.’ I’m just so happy that he’s getting an opportunity to play. I just tell him the more success you have, the more you work. Just keep working.
“He’s a great kid. He wants to get better.”
For Knicks fans wondering what kind of advice Arenas is giving Lin, it’s the kind of tips veterans pass on to young players in the league.
“When you watch tape, never watch your guy — the guy you’re sticking with. The guy that’s sticking you is basically nonexistent. You look at the defenders behind him. How good are they? How good they are lets you know the kind of night you’re going to have. Now, if you’ve got somebody like [Anderson] Varejao, who’s going to block shots and take charges and all that, you need to know you just can’t drive the lane. You might have to pull up, stay on the side and use the jumper. Or if you have a guy who likes to leave his feet a lot, you’ll have a great night at the free-throw line. Look at those guys. Don’t look at your guy, because in the NBA you can beat your guy any time you want because you can’t touch nobody in the NBA anymore.”
Seriousluy, go read the entire Q&A, you get an insight into Arena’s mind. Which is an interesting place to be.
