Andray Blatche - Resurgence Thread ( Merged )

[hands11]

Blatche got a spot on the sports center highlight reel.

They actually said, let me introduce you to Andrey Blatche and did a little review.. where he went to school, etc.

Congrats Dray... They are starting to give you some props.

A few more games like this and he is going to start to get peoples attention.

I just hope someone is preparing him to answer questions about his past. Hopefully he has a good PR person to work with.

[Hoopalotta]

The Manning/McHale comparison is a good one. He moves not unlike a power forward version of Danny, kind of breezy and smooth agility as he goes by people who are probably better athletes than he is. And then McHale, yeah, we've seen it in the post a bit, though he's probably a bit more manning to this point.

Good call.

[Illuminaire]

What I absolutely adore about Blatche's game right now is how smoothly he fits into a *team* offense. He barely ever holds on to the ball unless he thinks the play will develop a pass for him to make a few seconds down the line... and if it doesn't, he gives it up or makes a quick, decisive move right then.

I have very, very rarely seen a player both resonate alpha-dog status and a fluid sense of team ball the way Andray is right now. I get shivers thinking about it.

[Hoopalotta]

As to worrying about how Blatche handles the hype, I think the thing to remember is that the guy has already developed his skills a lot and stands today as a player who's quite polished (or as I like to say, 'Polish', in honor of a random poster on the draft board who thought Greg Monroe could become polish if he stayed in school. True story).

Usually when we worry about how a young player handles the success, we're talking about a guy with raw physical ability who's succeeding due to that, which may lead them to get the big head and curtail their skill development. But Blatche is already quite Polish, so my view is the development is as much game experience or situational adjustments. As someone was mentioning somewhere or another, we already see Blatche adjusting to definitively keep his pivot foot planted. I think the impetus for what he needs to do with counter moves in the post will be spurred in game as well.

But we've already seen the guy develop quite a lot, skill-wise, so I'm not too worried. The guy is Polish already, you've got to admit.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

Man, I cant even get a Blatche jersey on the wizards website.....

That's wiz marketing for you. Im surprised they dont have a Jamison cavs jersey for sale.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

Some love for 7DD on Daily Dime

5. Extreme Behavior
By Maurice Brooks
ESPN.com

*
SUNDAY'S BEST
Blatche
Andray Blatche, Wizards: He continued his stellar play since the All-Star break, scoring a career-high 36 points while pulling down 15 rebounds and handing out four assists in Washington's four-point win over New Jersey.

[GhostsOfGil]

Sorry for my infatuation with this comparison to Tim Duncan... I know it may seem far fetched at this point, but I am really excited.

If you look at this Tim Duncan Mix,--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN9FQ3RGjX8 Dray`s game is very similar to his. Duncan finishes better around the rim with his left, where Blatche is probably the better shooter.

The way they move and play is similar in my opinion. Blatche just needs to learn to get on the block and continue to work for his position down low..

dude... tim duncan is one of the best shooting bigs the league has seen in the past decade. blatche is shooting great over a 10 game period. lets not get ahead of ourselves.

[nate33]

I can see the Tim Duncan comparison. I'm not saying Blatche can be as good as Duncan, but he has the same economy of motion that Duncan does. Blatche is smooth and doesn't seem to waste energy out there. Duncan is the same way.

[hands11]

What I absolutely adore about Blatche's game right now is how smoothly he fits into a *team* offense. He barely ever holds on to the ball unless he thinks the play will develop a pass for him to make a few seconds down the line... and if it doesn't, he gives it up or makes a quick, decisive move right then.

I have very, very rarely seen a player both resonate alpha-dog status and a fluid sense of team ball the way Andray is right now. I get shivers thinking about it.

True and a great compliment. A quality that the really good players all have.

I'm sticking with my comparison though it's easy to throw in other names like McHale.

To me, Duncan means Mr Fundamental. It would also include using the back board from mid range. That is signature Duncan. But Duncan is calm and matter of fact most the time. Dray is some what melo like that so far so that is something similar about them. But Dray has better range then Duncan and can shoot FTs.

McHale may be the best comparison for his game around the rim. Lack of leaps and long arms with good size. Lots of fakes to get people off balance. But Dray has better handles and better range and better passing. As for McHales, a good as he was, I don't think he had the skills to be a first line scorer on a team like Dray is showing. Drays game is wider then McHale's was.

KG - for how he looks running the floor and his stroke from outside and his all around game. Less power and leaps then KG for sure. Also, KG is all chest thumping and very intense. Dray is more melo.

Dirk - Like McHale, a less athletic non-leaping big PF. Dirk is defined by his clutch shooting and getting people off balance but Dirk does it on the outside more then McHale who did it on the inside more. Dray is more athletic than Dirke and has better handles. He would become more Dirk like if he adds a 3 ball which I expect to see later this year or after he get in another summer of work.

Of all of them, I would say he is mostly like KG/McHale/Dirk

But like it was mentioned before, Dray is his own unique player. Some combination of these players.

That is a great compliment. But his game can be expanded still so we will have to see. More range and more FTs attempts would be nice.

[keynote]

^
I can't believe the official Wizards store went with the Nick Young jersey over the Blatche jersey. Even before this stretch of hot play, Blatche had shown more than Young, and was far more likely to be part of the team's future than Nick.

On the main NBA store, you can buy authentic jerseys for Foye, Young and McGee.

[cdouglas]

I don't understand you guys! Gil is still a great player and you want him GONE! That's RIDICULOUS!!

[nate33]

There is no doubt that Arenas is a good player who would help this team. The question is, how many more wins do we get from his $20M contract versus signing somebody like Foye or Lowry for $4M? $20M a year is a lot of money for a guy who only plays one end of the court.

We haven't seen Arenas play with this team so there's really no way to be sure how well he'll fit in. I'm more than willing to give it a go at the beginning of next season and see how things work. But if it becomes apparent that Arenas production isn't translating into wins, then I'd willing to trade him - even if we get nothing but 2011 expirings in return.

[Gilfanatic123]

I've been noticing more and more that people are starting compare AB to Kevin Garnett. Call me a clueless Wizards fan... but I fail to see the comparisons. Is it because AB is being coached under Flip Saunders so he's like KG? I'm somewhat clueless here. Can someone fill me in?

[no D in Hibachi]

Have you looked at a picture of KG and then a picture of AB? Their physical resemblance is startling. They are both 6'11'', slender, but not bean poles, both have long arms, both are highly skilled players who are a tad more finesse than typical bruising banging PF's. Both are very cerebral players who have the ability to fill the stat sheet. Actually I've never thought about the fact that Flip coached them both.

By the way, we have an AB thread, IBTL.

[TheBigThree]

Frankly, I don't understand how people DON'T see the similarities.

Not saying Blatche will eventually become KG, because he still doesn't possess the big thing that makes KG who he is; the intensity and fire that he plays every game with. Hopefully Blatche will gain that attribute when the team is actually competing for a playoff spot, or playing in the playoffs with him as a key cog.

Other than that, they both have similar builds, can shoot from virtually anywhere on the floor, and play the position very similarly. Blatche has a while to go on the defensive end, but he's no slouch there either.

[BruceO]

NO you don't trade gil. I don't understand why people here want to get rid of special players. When wizdynasty and I were talking about this team not being very good with an undersized caron and an undersized jamison and how they should be traded for longer more athletic players no one even spoke about it.

I was trying to find old posts of mine were i was suggesting pro types for positions and how a 6 11 pf was worth more wins and I thought blatche would create more value for this team in the long run. Gil earned his contract but he is injured, The team took that risk. Gil is a top tier player in this league and I'd take him over most pass first point guards. A good coach should be able to win with Gil at the helm.

I will continue to defend Dray, continue to defend Gil, defending javale like I did during draft night, continue to defend nick young because he too has a chance to be special. I like thornton too since the clippers wizards game during his rookie season. Lets not trade gil. If he is here next year and doing well most people who wanted him traded will not be saying that they did. I'm on the record, don't trade him. Dray keep up the good work , you are the prototype

[BruceO]

the height and the passing ability, and ability to play defense and block shots. Primarily passing. Few bigs have that size and that passing ability. Many bigs can score and rebound, but i think those stats just like in jamisons case are empty without the ability to block shots and pass.

[DaRealHibachi]

I wouldn't trade Gil, we need a legit #1 option... Blatche has improved, but I don't see him as the #1 scorer on a playoff team... As the #2 option, he'd be awesome...

[closg00]

IBTL, see ya at the Andray MIP thread.

[TheSecretWeapon]

Maybe it's the exuberant comparisons of Blatche to Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers, but I'm kinda feeling like Crash Davis when he told Nuke that his fastball was up and his curveball was hanging.

Blatche has put up BIG TIME numbers over the past 7 games. But the skeptic in me wants to consider the competition and note that each of the last 7 opponents allows opposing PFs to post an above average PER. PFs on average look like All-Stars against the Nets (average opponent PER of 19.5). Yi is almost as bad on defense as McGee.

Blatche has skills, no doubt. An array of moves, a nice feel for the game. I love the focus, toughness and intensity he's showing. I want to believe the Wiz FINALLY have a young, big star.

But then I start wondering -- how did 3 different coaching staffs so totally fail to recognize what he was capable of doing? Why is he suddenly sooooooo much better than he'd been previously. Using David Berri's Win Score (for ease of calculation), through the first 49 games Blatche had 197 TOTAL Win Score credits in 1068 minutes. He has 102 "credits" over the past 7 games -- in just 169 minutes. Since the trades and his elevation to alpha player, he's more than doubled his per minute production. That's a colossal and abrupt improvement.

Can that sudden change in form be trusted? Or are we seeing the "best player on weak team facing relatively weak competition" effect? I dunno. I look at the skills and think the Wiz finally have someone to build around. Then I look at his record over the previous years he's been with the team, and I want to wait and see. But I sure am hopeful. Especially since he's signed dirt cheap for another 2 seasons after this one.

As for McGee -- YIKES! I'm not big on counterpart stats, but McGee's are the worst I've ever seen. When he's on the floor, opposing centers have a collective PER of 29.0. Yes, opposing centers statistically resemble Shaq when McGee is on the floor. Gotta run him out there. Hopefully he'll figure out that he needs to WORK if he wants to be any good.

But man am I hopeful about Blatche.