The Amazingly Sucky Andray Blatche Thread

[DMVleGeND]

Blatche is not "Amazingly Sucky" like some of you make him out to be. I still think that he can be a 2nd or 3rd option on a very good team. He's not showing it as much this season, but he's a gifted offensive player. Last season, he was so tough to defend because of his versatility and size. For his regression this season, I just think it's a matter of getting in shape. Me and many of you guys see that he just isn't doing the same things he was doing last season, so there's got to be something up with him, and it's probably physically. He's known for having a quick first-step for someone his size, but this season, he's nowhere near as fast and his game now only works against slow big men. A lot of his game requires him to beat his man off the dribble, but he can't do it as much this season because of how slow he is.

His shot-blocking has gone way down too. Before, if you put him in the starting lineup, he had the ability to average 2 bpg, but this season, he's only averaging 0.5 bpg. He doesn't have the same lift as he once did, which also causes him to get his shot blocked at the rim at a high rate, and it's affecting his rebounding.

His defense was TERRIBLE early in the season, but lately, it has been solid. I think his defense was so bad early in the season because of his effort, but you can clearly see that when he puts his mind to it, he can play solid defense, which he has been doing lately. With that being said, quick forwards are still able to drive past him EASILY because of how slow Dray is right now.

Plus, he's been playing with a nagging knee injury all season, so who knows if he's healthy right now.

Should he have been in shape by now? I don't know, but a broken foot is a tough injury to come back from. I think as he gets back in shape and regains his ups and speed, and as he gets healthy, his play will improve and we'll start to see the same player we saw last season.

[rockymac52]

Over the last few days I've come to believe that Blatche's biggest problem is that he's been here too long. He's only 24, but he's already been here 5 years. When we were making the playoffs, we still didn't put it together, and Blatche was barely seeing the floor. Now that he's getting minutes and performing decently, we're losing. We stink now. I think Blatche has been plagued by us losing so much. He's just going through the motions. He doesn't seem to have the drive to become a better player anymore. He clearly wants out. Either that, or he just doesn't want to get any better than he already is, which is worse.

[pancakes3]

eh. the only difference between this season and last season is that last season AB got the ball to start with and this season he's playing off-ball. i see very little difference in terms of "athleticism", or "explosiveness". he never was either.

his production has dropped because the guards get him the ball LATE in the shot clock and don't give him any time to use little dipsy doo's, pump fakes, up and unders, etc. he's reduced to driving straight to the basket and the second he sees that there's help under, he pulls up and shoots it. there's really nothing wrong with that, except those are plays usually given to the sg, not the pf.

if you want an effective blatche, or any post player in general, you get him the ball early in the shot clock and let him create. you don't pound the ball, dribble inside, abort the play, and then kick it out to blatche. if that's the game plan, we should have held onto our "stretch 4" in jamison and traded blatche for draft picks.

i mean, we can't pine for a post presence and then expect said presence to just get off high % shots willy nilly. big men have to work for their points, and use up shot clock seconds to do so. the problem is, our talent is/was loaded on the perimeter. wall needs an open lane to be effective, so blatche is designed to be in the wings. when wall doesn't have a wide open layup, blatche gets the ball on the perimeter BY DESIGN. he HAS to shoot it. if he tries to post up and go inside, it'll be a shot clock violation more often than not.

i just wish the pick and roll with blatche was our default offense. it just seems that mcgee or the sf de jour are always the ones picking for wall. i guess the idea there is to get the switch for either a slower player who can't keep up with wall, or a shorter player who can't block wall whereas opposing PFs who switch are both tall enough to block and fast enough to keep up... but then again that'll be catering to wall's strengths only. blatche would FEAST on pick and rolls vs pg's (and wall is tall enough and athletic enough to thread the needle too! it's not like we've got earl boykins out there who can't make the pnr pass!)

anywho... i think blatche's woes are moreso systemic than mental. that is all.

[queridiculo]

Over the last few days I've come to believe that Blatche's biggest problem is that he's been here too long. He's only 24, but he's already been here 5 years. When we were making the playoffs, we still didn't put it together, and Blatche was barely seeing the floor. Now that he's getting minutes and performing decently, we're losing. We stink now. I think Blatche has been plagued by us losing so much. He's just going through the motions. He doesn't seem to have the drive to become a better player anymore. He clearly wants out. Either that, or he just doesn't want to get any better than he already is, which is worse.

Are we talking about Andre, never miss a chance to end up with egg on my face Blatche?

Blatche has been an underachieving loser that didn't work to improve his game for the better part of his stint with the Wizards. I think you're glossing over the fact that Blatche couldn't be bothered to be a professional until the team had no choice but play the guy.

How many chances does this knucklehead need to be given exactly? Get him out of here already, Blatche doesn't need a 5th chance to prove to the Wizards FO that he can't be bothered to care.

[DaRealHibachi]

I think the problem with Dray is that when he receives the ball on the perimeter, he takes too much time seizing up his man, jab-stepping & pump-faking... He takes too long before he makes a move, kinda like Butler the past years... Most of his possessions end up in contested jumpers... Very annoying...

He should react more quickly, look for a shot first; either by wide open-ness (for lack of other words), or via posting up... If the shot/post move is not available the moment he catches it, he should pass it off... Simple as that... Even Young gets it...

He pretty much did this last year, no reason for him not to continue to do so...

[pancakes3]

if we posted blatche up from the get-go, with 18+ seconds on the shot-clock? sure. post move/pass. BUT we've got wall/hinny running the show. they take their time getting up the court, assessing the situation, etc. blatche can't post up because that eats up space in the lane, and gets in wall's way. so he's reduced to setting backdoor screens for nick, or popping out to the perimeter to catch a JW kick-out.

by the time he does that... you DRH, want him to pop it? as good as a shooter as he is, blatche is no nick young. he can't just curl off a screen and catch-and-shoot. he's still a PF. he'd rather take it inside. the problem is, as a PF, he's slow. he needs to gather himself before he drives in. if he just caught it and straight dribbled in, it would be turnover city. so.. in gathering himself, the defense is gathered and he needs those fakeouts to drive successfully. otherwise you'd end up with a big man dribbling in traffic and a wild-ass hook shot a la JVMcGee.

like i said earlier, his production last year was as the #1 option, getting the ball deep in the paint, and early in the shot clock. he had plenty of time and space to operate.

[Hoopalotta]

eh. the only difference between this season and last season is that last season AB got the ball to start with and this season he's playing off-ball. i see very little difference in terms of "athleticism", or "explosiveness". he never was either.

I agree with the broader point that you're making about how he's being used as far as the design and timing of things with our guard play, but it's not true that he's the same guy physically as far as quickness, athleticism and first step. I have a good number of games from last year on my hard drive and there's no question that he was far, far more mobile then, especially in the 1st half of games. This year, Dray in the 1st quarters is looking about like he was in the 3rd or 4th quarters of last year.

[hands11]

I think the problem with Dray is that when he receives the ball on the perimeter, he takes too much time seizing up his man, jab-stepping & pump-faking... He takes too long before he makes a move, kinda like Butler the past years... Most of his possessions end up in contested jumpers... Very annoying...

He should react more quickly, look for a shot first; either by wide open-ness (for lack of other words), or via posting up... If the shot/post move is not available the moment he catches it, he should pass it off... Simple as that... Even Young gets it...

He pretty much did this last year, no reason for him not to continue to do so...

Just watching the Houston game again.

Every player on their team catches the ball and makes quick decisions

Flip and the coaches did improve Nicks game by getting him to make quicker decisions. That is a good comparison. Dray looks like the old Nick.

Funny. Big E is talking about how he didnt have a hook or anything when he got into the league. So he worked 8 hrs a day over the summer on the turnaround jumper. Then even if he caught the ball facing the hoop, he would turn around to go to that one shot that he know he was good at.

Kareem was the same way.

That seems to be missing on this team over all. To many players shoot to many different shoots styles from to many locations on the court.

Players need to start first with having a place on the floor where they can get their shot and they should know what that shooting motion feels like. Specially your front court players. And players should have some idea of what they want to do with the ball before they catch it. Not catch it and then try to decide. If you catch it not in your spot, you shouldnt be shooting it.

I get that sense with some player.

Nick is good at a turn around jumper and a baseline 3. He can hit from the most places.
Dray used to be good at a spin to the baseline and a 15ft jumper from off center court
McGee has shown signs of a curl across the middle sky hook and he can alley op
Lewis has a baseline 3 and mid range floater.

This is what the offense should be set up to do. That is when you can run the same play over and over until they have to adjust to stop it, then you play off of that. I just don't see that enough here. About the most I see it is when they feed Dray on the post, only he doesn't seem to have a good pet move that forces the double team so they can play off it. I just don't see enough feeding of the hot hand either.

They should run more plays for Nick. He is the best scorer on the team. Then Lewis, because he is tall and has a really high release that is quick. He can always get his shot off. Get those two going, then play off of it.

I have no idea what Walls shot is except for an out of control drive. I really hate his game right now. It doesn't fit in any kind of offensive scheme ( kind of reminds me of another player we had). He just jets down the court 1 on 5 and ends up on the floor. Martin uses his quickness much more effectively. But then again, Martin has a nice outside shot.

You watch Martin and he is just so efficient. Actually, most of their player are.

[GoneShammGone]

Dray Speaks!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... lifti.html

While some of the points he raises are valid in and of themselves, overall this piece makes him seem like an entitled, petulant child. He's still at the point where he deflects all criticism instead of trying to internalize it and learn from it.

[tontoz]

Dray Speaks!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... lifti.html

While some of the points he raises are valid in and of themselves, overall this piece makes him seem like an entitled, petulant child. He's still at the point where he deflects all criticism instead of trying to internalize it and learn from it.

"I mean, the last couple games my defense has been great," Blatche said.

Wow

[nate33]

Dray Speaks!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... lifti.html

While some of the points he raises are valid in and of themselves, overall this piece makes him seem like an entitled, petulant child. He's still at the point where he deflects all criticism instead of trying to internalize it and learn from it.

I think "petulant child" is overstating it. He's defensive, as I'm sure I would be in his situation. His comments about playing within the defensive scheme ring true given that Flip never seems to bench him.

I kind of liked his candor on the lifting thing. The "man, I'm trying" comment evokes a little sympathy out of me, rather than ridicule.

I do wish he'd be a bit more critical of his own shot selection. A get that he's in a shooting slump, but he really needs to scale back his shot attempts until his shot comes around. I don't mind the open jumpers when he is square, but keep it inside of 18 feet and let's avoid the one-on-one moves unless the shot clock is running out.

Blatche shoots 16 shots a game. He'll hit 6 out of the 12 "good shots" that he takes, but then hit just 1 out of 4 of the "bad shots". That leaves him with a 43% FG%. If he would just avoid shooting the bad shots, he could get his FG% back up to a respectable 50% on about 12 attempts.

[nate33]

"I mean, the last couple games my defense has been great," Blatche said.

Wow

"Great" is an overstatement, but I'd say his defense and rebounding has been pretty solid lately, until the New Orleans game, that is.

[tontoz]

"I mean, the last couple games my defense has been great," Blatche said.

Wow

"Great" is an overstatement, but I'd say his defense and rebounding has been pretty solid lately, until the New Orleans game, that is.

This article was published today, so if the interview was done after the Philly game all I can do is shake my head in disbelief. He was lousy on D and on the boards last game.

[GoneShammGone]

Dray Speaks!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... lifti.html

While some of the points he raises are valid in and of themselves, overall this piece makes him seem like an entitled, petulant child. He's still at the point where he deflects all criticism instead of trying to internalize it and learn from it.

I think "petulant child" is overstating it. He's defensive, as I'm sure I would be in his situation. His comments about playing within the defensive scheme ring true given that Flip never seems to bench him.

I kind of liked his candor on the lifting thing. The "man, I'm trying" comment evokes a little sympathy out of me, rather than ridicule.

I do wish he'd be a bit more critical of his own shot selection. A get that he's in a shooting slump, but he really needs to scale back his shot attempts until his shot comes around. I don't mind the open jumpers when he is square, but keep it inside of 18 feet and let's avoid the one-on-one moves unless the shot clock is running out.

Blatche shoots 16 shots a game. He'll hit 6 out of the 12 "good shots" that he takes, but then hit just 1 out of 4 of the "bad shots". That leaves him with a 43% FG%. If he would just avoid shooting the bad shots, he could get his FG% back up to a respectable 50% on about 12 attempts.

I used to feel the way you do. I used to want to cut Dray a break. I've just grown more and more frustrated with him over the course of this season, and the last few games of shot-jacking have just pushed me over the edge to the point where I've lost patience. The comments do make me wonder what message he is getting from the coaching staff. I expect the stuff about how "my coaches and Ernie" are very supportive of his shot selection are likely to raise the ire of the Flip-haters on this board. I know I was a bit surprised by that part...

[WizarDynasty]

the problem is that wizards have been so twisted in their concept of a team that they fail to realize that a center is suppose to be a better post player than a powerforward on ANY TEam.

inherently a p/f has more perimeter skills than a center but a center has better post skills than a p/f.

Not the case with this team because we have had crappy haywood for 7 years --who had next to no post offense or reliable post moves. and we have crappy javale who has no reliable post moves yet a CENTER strength is suppose to be their ability to score on post moves in the paint.

This team does not have a center. Don't get mad and dray when he plays the way his position is designed. If he actually had a tough starting center, have alot more wide open jumpers because his center would actually be able to draw a double team when on the block. no one respects javale people which is why blatche's life is harder. last year blatche had a smart oberto and singleton and livingston whipping him high iq passes. We know we dont' get any high iq passes from starting center java but at least Java should be able to force a double team on the block if he is true Center. That should be the wizards goal. Then their future all star p/f blatche can get uncontested wide open perimeter jumpers which he can nail with ease since he shoots and amazing 80 percent from free throw line.

You people keep lying to yourself and calling Javale a p/f. he does not have the lateral footspeed to ever be a p/f.

You guys want to transform blatche into a center but he is not. javale is not a center and he isn't a powerforward. he is speciality bench player because he can't do the things that traditional center is suppose to do. That is post up the block.

We have gimmick starting at center and you people want to take it out blatche. yes blatche's jumper isn't falling as smoothly as when he had livingston whipping him pinpoint passes last year but blatche is playing like a p/f.

javale mcgee has failed the entire season at the providing the essential traits that a center normally gives a team offensively one on one in the post adn defensively one one one in the post.

With haywood, we was very good with his one on defense---but he didn't give us anything offensively as far as one on one moves in the post.

Javale so far as been improving his defensive rebounding but he has yet to do it over a 20 game span which is only 1/4 the season. being good at defensive rebound is good for a high energy bench player,


but for a starting center--you need to be good one on one in the tradition center area of the basketball court in order for an offense to flow smoothly. and you need to be good defensively one on one in the traditional areas that a center normally operates in order to anchor your defense.

javale has succed partially when he surprises the opponent on help defense but one on one he is doo doo and switching off he is poor.

blatche has been poor to but blatche has played much better man to man defense out on the perimeter--which is the advantage that p/f have over centers. Centers are suppose to be better one on one post defenders. Javale is horrible at this and your excuse for him is that he is actually a p/f...he is not.

[tontoz]

McGee is not the reason Blatche keeps jacking up 20 footers.

Blatche has a TS% of 47.2% which is 65th in the NBA among power forwards. His rebounding rate is 45th in the league among power forwards.

In other words Blatche is a well below average player for his position.

[DMVleGeND]

Dray Speaks!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... lifti.html

While some of the points he raises are valid in and of themselves, overall this piece makes him seem like an entitled, petulant child. He's still at the point where he deflects all criticism instead of trying to internalize it and learn from it.

I'm not really criticizing his style-of-play, because when he's in a groove, it works well for him and he doesn't have the body to become a banger. You can't turn him into something he's not. But the things I do criticize about his game is his shot-selection, him taking it softly to the basket and trying to finish a soft lay-up in traffic instead of trying to finish aggressively, his help defense, and his conditioning.

While his shot-selection has been a LITTLE better recently, he still takes too many unnecessary shots. It's like a lot of times when he gets the ball he feels obligated to shoot, even when there's a man in his face, but he still takes the shot. He needs to work on that.

I also hate how he goes to the basket trying to do an "up & under" or a soft lay up instead of taking it to the hoop aggressively and trying to dunk it or draw a foul. This is the main reason why he fails to convert on so many lay-ups and his shot gets blocked at the rim so many times.

While his man-to-man defense has improved since the Toronto game, he is still a bad help defender. Every he has to watch a man go by his teammate he just watches and doesn't step up. An example of this is right here. http://www.truthaboutit.net/2011/01/wha ... rnets.html

He's also very out-of-shape right now, so he can't use his finesse game as effectively because he's lost quickness and lift. And I’ve been lifting for a very long time and I know that if you aren’t seeing results it’s because a) you’re on a bad diet or b) you aren’t pushing yourself enough or c) you’re not working out consistently (Every other day) so pick your poison, if you aren’t seeing results it’s because you’re doing one of those things. This just leads me to question his work ethic.

[WizarDynasty]

McGee is not the reason Blatche keeps jacking up 20 footers.

Blatche has a TS% of 47.2% which is 65th in the NBA among power forwards. His rebounding rate is 45th in the league among power forwards.

In other words Blatche is a well below average player for his position.

McGee is 17 months younger than Blatche, do we think that in 17th months, McGee will be able to draw double teams when he post up?

in a year and half, do we expect for javale to draw double teams when he post up on the block? A center's post game traditionally helps open up the p/f perimeter game.

Javale's lack of post game is significantly affecting Blatche's chances to stroke wide open jumpers which is he is extremely good at. Last year, blatche had a smart oberton and singleton and livingston whipping him pin point passes for wide open jumpers.

this year is so called starting center--"who is suppose to specialize in the post traditionally" can't even force a double team when he has the ball in the post. McGee is only 17 months younger than Blatche so there is no excuse for why McGee can't force double teams since 12 months ago Blatche was doing at the beginning of the year which was 17 months ago.

[nate33]

the problem is that wizards have been so twisted in their concept of a team that they fail to realize that a center is suppose to be a better post player than a powerforward on ANY TEam.

inherently a p/f has more perimeter skills than a center but a center has better post skills than a p/f.

This is getting tiresome.

Yes, you're a genius. You have identified that our problem is that we lack a hall of fame caliber center who can command a double team in the post and be a defensive anchor in help defense and man-to-man defense. Obviously, guys like this grow on trees on only EG's incompetence keeps us from having one ourselves. Nevermind that nearly every other team in the league has a center who isn't an offensive threat. What do these names mean to you: Chandler, Joel Anthony, Perkins, Noah, Blair, Krstic. And that's just the centers for most of the elite teams in the league.

Basically, you are flat wrong. Because it's damn near impossible to acquire an elite defensive center who is also a post threat, most teams opt for a no-offense defensive center and then try to put a high quality low post PF alongside him (think Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio, Boston of last year). If McGee can become a good defensive center, and then grab 12-14 garbage points per game on fast breaks, drive-and-dishes, and offensive rebounds, the Wizards would be in great shape at center.

[WizarDynasty]

yeah i agree. you and i disagree that a core requirement for a starting center is that he be tough.

We also disagree what tough is. You think strength is tied to toughness and i disagree.

Until we can agree that a core requirement for a starting center is that he is "tough', we won't agree on anything but i am pretty sure alot of knowledge basketball fans from other successful teams would agree with me that a starting center should be one of the toughest players on your team and that the wizards are built wrong with having Java start.

Now i assume your next statement will...but wait...Java is tough because he blocks shots.