Andray Blatche's painful experience can teach important lessons
by CJ Hempfield on Dec 23, 2010 2:49 AM EST
in First-hand reporting
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PrintOne of the popular topics during the post-game interview sessions focused on the night that Andray Blatche had against the Chicago Bulls. In many ways this was a night that Andray will want to quickly erase from his memory banks. But can he? Andray played a little over 36 minutes tonight but he finished with 7 points on 3-14 from the field, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 personal fouls and 4 turnovers.
Andray Blatche's night seemed to get off on the wrong foot from nearly the start of the game. With about 8:30 remaining in the 1st quarter Andray picked off a pass and had what looked to be an easy two. However as he attempted to score the ball slipped from his hand, easily rebounding to Carlos Boozer who was trailing the play. The play itself was embarrassing enough, however the Verizon Center fans immediately began booing Blatche. More interestingly they continued to boo him throughout much of the game.
Following the game Flip Saunders was asked if he thought the missed layup by Andray help contribute to Andray's atypical performance. Flip responded by saying:
"I hope not. I hope as a professional that you don't miss a layup a minute into the game, or two minutes, and your done for the next 46. But he struggled tonight there is no question."
Flip was also asked why he decided to leave him in since he was struggling so much. Flip's response:
"He is one of our main guys. His a young player, part of development is getting your butt kicked. Sometimes you can learn just as much from playing bad as when you play good. And I have confidence in him that no matter how bad he has played that down the stretch, I feel that he will be able to make a couple plays for us."
This should be a great sign to Andray that Flip has faith in him that he will pull through even when he is struggling. It would have been easy for Flip to pull him from the game, particularly now that he has two veteran Forwards who on a night like this could have easily picked up his minutes. Flip also indicated that it was not just Andray who struggled. He also pointed to Nick Young. He said, "It wasn't just Andray. Nick shot about four off-balance shots that were even off-balance for him."
The opponent also contributed to Andary's struggles. For many stretches of the game Andray was matched up against one of the most savvy vets in the league, Kurt Thomas. Flip talked about the frustration that the Wizards players had with some of Kurt Thomas' tactics (and the fact that he often got away with grabbing and holding his opponent). Flip complimented Thomas by saying, "Kurt Thomas had an unbelievable game for a guy who's like 50. No, he's 37 or 38 whatever he is. He really dictated how the game was played."
What is a little disconcerting is that Andray admits that the missed layup and the boo's from the fans did have an impact on this game:
It is always refreshing to hear a honest response to a series of questions like that. However, I hope that as Andray continues to grow as a player that he is able to develop thicker skin so that the fans are not able to so easily affect his psyche.
Lastly, I asked Kurt Thomas about any special tricks that he may have used to get under Andray's skin. Here was his response:
While this is one night that Andray will want to forget, the fact is that many lessons can be taken from this type of experience. Hopefully, Andray will learn a trick or two playing against a veteran like Kurt Thomas - a player who at this stage in his career has only a fraction of Andray's athletic ability - but who relies on experience, grit, savvy and a few tricks to be effective for his team. And while it is likely easier said then done, Andray has to develop thicker skin. While a bit surprising, Andray cannot let the fans boos affect his game. No one wants to hear their home crowd turn on them, but tuning them out and focusing on the task at-hand is the only solution to that problem.
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Developing a thicker skin
comes with developing confidence and Blatche lacks that at the moment. I can tell by the way he is playing, but that does not mean that he lacks pride. I am will defend Blatche. I defended Young. Blatche is playing the best defense he has ever played. He is closing in on becoming a shutdown defender. So what if his offensive game struggles. Its not as if he came into the league as a great scoring talent to begin with. If he can begin to knock down 15’ jump shots and continue to play defense as he is beginning to, combine that with his passing talent and Blatche will be a great player for this team. Like all players on this team he will struggle and he will make mistakes, but I agree with Saunders assessments of him and I hope Saunders sticks with him
Lock down defender?
Take a look at boozers statline
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Dec 23, 2010 5:06 AM EST up reply actions
Blatche is playing the best defense he has ever played.
Sorry, I think you misunderstood. The post was about ANDRAY Blatche. Who is this other guy you’re talking about?
by MR on Dec 23, 2010 7:20 AM EST up reply actions
Struggeling, aperantly, is not part of McGee's development according to Flip
I do agree with this approach, letting guys fight through strugles, trough mistakes and let them learn from games like this. However, McGee gets benched for every little mistake even if he’s playing pretty good. This difference in treatment is getting both obvious and disturbing imo
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
Amen
The wait for 10/7 begins. This man is focused. Are you?
by souldrummer on Dec 23, 2010 10:15 AM EST up reply actions
How Do You Know He Was Pulled For His Mistakes?
Flip has to manage McGee differently because of his asthma. He still played 28 minutes, roughly average for a center. Do you know for certain that McGee was pulled for screwing up and not just because he was winded?
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
Yeah, we know for certain...
Because Flip has mercilessly hammered McGee to the press all season. Imagine what Flip would’ve said if JaVale had the kind of game Blatche had.
Has He Hammered McGee to the Press More Than Blatche?
He hammered Blatche last season and this season, most recently for falling too much in love with his jump shot. Flip had that classic quote about McGee that I put in my signature, but other than that, I don’t recall him “mercilessly hammer[ing] McGee to the press all season”. Can you name a few more examples?
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
If McGee doesn't play 48 minutes people around here scream that he's being punished.
Game thread after game thread earlier in the year people were complaining every time Flip took McGee out with 4ish minutes left in the 1st quarter. Turns out that was his regular rotation. Every game. No matter how he’s playing.
Maybe it seems like Flip takes McGee out after he makes a mistake because the guy is constantly making mistakes. No matter when he comes out of the game it seems like it’s after a mistake…because it is!
by MR on Dec 23, 2010 11:31 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Bulls-Eye
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
Why not Blatche, then? Why not Gil (when he was around)? Why not Yi?
Why not everyone else? There isn’t a player on this team who doesn’t make plenty of mistakes.
Its the nature and frequency thereof
McGee’s mistakes all demonstrate where he is on the learning curve. He’s getting better but he has a long way to go still.
Nobody makes mistakes with the frequency of McGee (aside from the rookies)
Let me try to illuminate the difference between a “dumb” mistake and a “stupid” mistake:
After you make a dumb mistake you say “boy, that was dumb of me”.
After you make a stupid mistake you say “what? what did I do?”
And frankly I think the “McGee is taken out every time he makes a mistake” is way way overblown.
by MR on Dec 24, 2010 8:14 AM EST up reply actions
ur over emphasizing
Yes he makes “wtf?!” mistakes like the free-throwline dunk more than anybody else on this team but its not like every mistake he makes is in that catagory.
But think about this, if McGee álways seems to make dumb/stupid mistakes and keeps making them over and over, isn’t they way he is coached ineffective?
"If you don't shoot, you can't score"
Johan Cruijff
by Dutch Hoopfan on Dec 24, 2010 9:08 AM EST up reply actions
He's not responsible for his own actions?
Clearly Flip is trying to coach him.
What would you recommend differently?
by MR on Dec 24, 2010 9:30 AM EST up reply actions
Are you kidding? You don't remember the quotes?
We may disagree about JaVale’s effectiveness, but I don’t think anyone would disagree that he’s been singled out far more than any other player on the team.
I suspect this is because McGee is way more concerned with his public image than anyone else
I think Flip knows he’ll get Javale to listen if it’s in the press. I also suspect a lot of what’s said in practice goes in one ear and out the other.
by Elvin_is_my_Elvis on Dec 23, 2010 1:00 PM EST up reply actions
Flip treats Blatche and McGee differently because they are different players
They have different personalities, different roles, and react to different situations differently. It isnt Flip’s job to be fair, it’s his job to make the players better. If anything, the fact that he treats the two differently shows that he knows the players well enough to understand how to get through to them individually.
by Alpha_Snail on Dec 23, 2010 11:29 AM EST up reply actions
Blatche
I think Andray played decent defense against Boozer even with Boozer’s stat line. This group definitely plays better team D that the teams 2 and 3 years ago. Teams aren’t getting the wide open 3’s that used to kill us. I thought he also did ok playing help defense.
Andray looks like he’s carrying an extra 10 pounds and that its affecting his quickness. To compound that, he’s not been posting up like he does when he’s most successful. Last night, he was receiving the ball around 15 feet out which led to his turn, dribble, go behind the back, shoot a contested jumper act. He was looking like Moses Malone and Mitch Richmond (with a little bit of last year’s Caron thrown in) during their Bullets stints. Their go-to moves were no longer getting them open due to a loss of quickness.
I’m thinking that Flip needs to have him receive that ball as close to the basket as possible where he does have some decent moves.
Andray can't post up because there's no space inside
JaVale and Hilton don’t shoot well enough from outside to space the floor and give him room to operate. When he’s paired up with one of them, he should mostly just resign himself to playing like Rashard. Just an outside shooter, but the big difference is that he needs to move the ball quicker. No more ball stopping. He needs to decide what he wants to do with the ball before it even comes to him.
Playing with Rashard as the other “big” on the floor gives Andray space, but then he’s usually matched up with a center, and he doesn’t have the advantage in the low post. Using his outside shot and driving ability is the right choice.
Andray should save his low post game for when Yi gets back. He can match up with PFs and have the space to operate down low. Good chance to abuse PFs like Antawn, Hakim Warrick, or Josh Smith.
Finally, there are some starting PFs that Andray just doesn’t match up well against. I think Boozer is one of those. Boozer is just better than Andray all around. Add the restrictions caused by JaVale and Hilton’s limitations, and he was pretty much screwed before the game even started. That’s one of the reasons, I think Andray should ultimately come off the bench, filling the same role as Odom with the Lakers. Andray can be ineffective against some starters, but he can abuse almost any backup.
Seriously...
Call him Blitche. He deserves it.
by Oldbuckwilder on Dec 23, 2010 8:29 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I hate that the booing distracted him, but that's how fans let out their frustration.
I think he’s a good talent, and will get better still. But Blatche was terrible this game. It’s not like he just had a bad game. It was one of those games where most of the Wizards were clicking, but everything Dray was involved in was a negative somehow. I’ve mentioned before how I went to a game earlier this year and he got booed a few times. He was bad then, but I still like him in general. This game was worse because he sucked all 36 1/2 minutes he played. It was one of those rare games where you literally felt like one guy lost the game for them. It was really that bad. I think he’ll turn it around, but this might have been one of the worst games of his career and he pretty much said the same thing afterward. I will say this, he took it about as well as I think anyone could. He didn’t flip off the fans, or yell at his teammates or anything. He just had a look of complete disappointment in himself.
I take offensive at making light Kurt Thomas' "few tricks"
Those “few tricks” are fouls that went uncalled and contributed to this lost. I really really appreciate BF at least writing that Thomas “often got away with grabbing and holding his opponent” because I know that will not show up in the Washington Post’s recap of the game. But we also should be discussing how these non calls effected the game.
All the non calls and bad calls took the Wizards out of their game. On two occasions Wizards were thrown to the floor which led to missed defensive rebounds, we gave them two points on McGee and Flip’s technical fouls and I think the bad calls contributed to the Wizards taking quick shots for fear of getting foul with no call forthcoming.
This is the only part I hate about the NBA. Did Kirk get fouled Saturday night. YES! I heard the folks on NBA TV (I think Chris Webber) say that you’re not going to get that call at the end of the game. I screamed at the TV Bull S…. Last year the refers had no problem calling a foul BH on an inbounds play with only .03 seconds left in the game. We gave them two points just to get them to call the game correctly, however, by the time Flip got his “T” it was too little to late.
Blatche had a bad game and I’m waiting to see how he responses, but the bad refereeing played a big part in this lost.
I hear you. However, vets – particularly those later in age and with limited athletic ability – have often used these types of “tricks.” That is in part how they remain productive, at least for portions of the game. Think about Charles Oakley late in his career. And to your point, yes these are often fouls – the refs have to call it though. But, I agree they are fouls. A player though has to quickly realize when the refs are letting those things go and adjust their game accordingly (often easier said then done with younger players).
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 23, 2010 4:48 PM EST up reply actions
Andray has to develop thicker skin. While a bit surprising, Andray cannot let the fans boos affect his game. No one wants to hear their home crowd turn on them, but tuning them out and focusing on the task at-hand is the only solution to that problem.
Not sure I agree with this totally…
I want the players to hear the boos… I want them to be affected by them. They should know when we fans think they are playing like crap, or not putting forth enough effort. And conversely, they should appreciate the cheers.
The last thing I want is “thick skinned” players – that don’t give a damn whether I boo or cheer. Booing and Cheering are the only direct communication fans have with the players.
You don’t want to be booed? PLAY BETTER.
He's "delightfully cranky"
by Rook6980 on Dec 23, 2010 10:12 AM EST reply actions 3 recs
My Thoughts Exactly, Rook
Thank you for that explanation. I was beginning to think I was on an island, as usual, and that I wasn’t a “real” fan. For the record, I’m ready to move on with Blatche. I think he deserved to get boo’d for the missed layup, but I wouldn’t have boo’d him non-stop throughout the game. Blatche should take heart that Flip still has faith in him, and that he is very capable of turning boos into cheers when he plays focused.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
That's what surprised a number of us the most
That he was boo’d early and often. One of the other reporters in the locker room had asked Al Thornton what he thought about the fans booing the team. I believe that he missed the point, the fans (IMHO) were not booing the Wizards, but focused their displeasure on Blatche.
Follow me on twitter - @CJ_202SB
by CJ Hempfield on Dec 23, 2010 4:53 PM EST up reply actions
Yes
Boos are part of the game, Andray. The millions of dollars you are making are made up of the dollars I spend going to see you stink up the joint. That being said I don’t generally boo any of our players because I want to see them play well and with confidence knowing the crowd is going to be behind them. But Blatche really puts up some ugly shots.
You changed my mind...
But am I the only one who sees more effort from Dray the last few games? He’s actually playing hard…
And the ball movement has been better since Gil left.
Fight or Flight
You’re talking about the NBA as if its high school. The NBA season is too long and arduous to operate with thin skin. You want thick-skinned players who are self-motivated to execute regardless of what building they are in. Having the crowd effect you, other than a nice home court bump, is for immature kids, like Blatche. Thin-skinned, emotionally volatile players will produce inconsistent results, like Andray Blatche.
Andray wilted like cardboard in the rain. Thats a problem. Its a bigger problem because it hits at who he is as a person. Soft.
There it is
We’ll see if Blatche can recover from this. He seems like he would be susceptible to a downward efficacy spiral. If he is, we’ll probably see it now (or he may already be in it).
Thick skinned players are definitely preferred. When does being thin skinned help you in sports? I can’t think of a single example.
"Be patient or be a Heat fan" - MR
i'm with you unc fan but
i don’t care if a player is emotional or sensitive – gil was emotional and sensitive but he was great. you could make a case dirk is soft – i’d take him. i care that the player stops making the same stupid mistakes over and over and over and plays with focus and intensity. blatche has been a sloppy careless player his entire 6 year career here. satchmore making that point about the behind the back move is a good one
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 24, 2010 11:47 AM EST up reply actions
Thicker skin...
In the sense that you do not go into a shell because you hear boos. That you can ignore the boos and continue to perform at a high level – not that you don’t care. There is a fine line between being too sensitive to the boos and not caring.
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 23, 2010 4:50 PM EST up reply actions
Dray didn't go into a shell....
He continued to play, continued to put up shots… – although he played poorly… and put up poor shots….
A thick-skinned player would ignore the boos…. He wouldn’t give a damn – and would continue, game after game to do the same things….
A player hears those boos and takes them to heart – that’s the one I want. Especially if he “gets it” that he was being booed because he played poorly (as Andray seems to understand from last night’s game)… Now he understands that if he plays poorly, or lacks effort – the fans will let him know their displeasure….. AND I HOPE it hurts a bit…
Sure, some players it will hurt their performance – Kwame Brown is a great example. But those are NOT the kind of players I want on my team… I don’t want crybaby’s – that shut down and stop trying because they got booed… I want players that care they’re being booed, and try their utmost to get better…..
He's "delightfully cranky"
In general I agree with you. I wonder if he let him affect him too much.
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 23, 2010 7:12 PM EST up reply actions
Why is player improvement dependent on crowd reaction? You’re suggesting there is only one motivation for players, based on boos versus cheers. A player wouldn’t improve because “he wouldn’t give a damn” otherwise? Way too broad a brush.
Blatche is what you’re asking for. Mentally he showed a glass jaw last night.
Last night is a pretty small sample size.
He had a particularly bad game and got booed. I don’t think we can infer too much until we see how he bounces back.
When I say
that Blatche is weak mentally, I’m not basing it on last night alone. I’ve been consistent about that for awhile.
Well that is a problem with a few Wizards
I think both AB and Young have fragile psyches. The talk of Young being a developing Kobe is hilarious to me. Reaching the heights of a Kobe, Jordan, Bird, Isiah etc is mental and I’m afraid that Young doesn’t have that mentality.
by MR on Dec 24, 2010 8:17 AM EST up reply actions
Of course those are not the ONLY attributes I want in players...
I would want athletic talent….
Skill
The mental capacity to learn quickly
good work ethic
a strong desire to get better individually and with a team
So – NO…. there’s not only ONE motivation… but we were talking about booing…. I just assumed you didn’t want a 500 word dissertation with all the caveats, what if’s, different scenarios, exceptions, various and sundry nuances, etc….
Plus – I don’t think I ever said that a player couldn’t improve because he doesn’t care about being booed…. Sure there are probably lots of players that could care less whether they are cheered or booed….. And they probably do improve…. But those are NOT the ones I want on my team.
As a fan – I want to cheer for my team… and probably just as important, I want my voice (cheers or boos) to be heard and understood… Otherwise – why the hell would I even make the effort to open my mouth?
I want players that care…. and want to get better…. Those were not exclusive statements… or implying that those are the only attributes I think are important.
He's "delightfully cranky"
Interesting comment from the Bulls locker room
This was from an article on TAI:
But the strongest indictment of the Blatche’s play on this night did not come from any writer, blogger or coach, but from the other locker room. As Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau finished his postgame comments and the media filtered into the visiting quarters, there was a conversation between two Bulls players about the play of Blatche. One player observed that he played with "no feeling" during the game, and the other player said, matter-of-fact, that Blatche has always played that way throughout his career. One player involved in that conversation left the locker room before I could follow up with him, the other declined to elaborate any further on the record. Still, their feelings about Blatche’s lack of effort in defeat were crystal clear.
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by CJ Hempfield on Dec 23, 2010 10:59 PM EST up reply actions
I guess he received a technical
for having no feelings
by hambonejackson on Dec 24, 2010 7:05 PM EST up reply actions
I would have booed that missed breakaway
If there’s one thing I know, it’s that when you get a steal and breakaway in a full court game, you have to make sure of two things: One, that you don’t waste ANY time getting down court and thereby losing your advantage, and two, that you finish the play by making the layup/dunk.
Biatche didn’t conduct himself in a professional manner on that play. Instead of just hurrying downcourt and laying the ball in for the two points his team needed, he hesitated, checked behind him, tried to measure up some overly fancy finish, and then, whatever it was, he totally blew it.
Yeah, dude had an awful game. It was an embarrassment to watch him, it really was.
"Jesus got a sweet jumper!"
Should have put the Grown Ass Man in
I’m sure he wouldn’t have been pushed around so easily.
And yes I’m done with Blatche. If he loves the face up game so much go watch some Dirk tapes.
by gilsix on Dec 23, 2010 10:15 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Grown Ass Man Should Have Definitely Played More
I think Flip wanted Shard (I refuse to call him Shart, yet) to get minutes in so that he can get accustomed to the team, otherwise I think he would have definitely put “Booker, T. – Washington” in to give Kurt Thomas a taste of his own medicine.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
"JaVale has five highlight plays a game. Unfortunately, there's about 200 plays in a game. He's got to get more substance than style." -- Flip Saunders summing up Javale McGee perfectly
I think watching Dirk is a good idea.
He’s the most efficient player in the league…
by Alpha_Snail on Dec 23, 2010 11:31 AM EST up reply actions
It seemed like every time Dray got the ball he immediately pump faked or jab stepped
It was really weird. Hopefully he’ll start being more decisive and either catching and shooting a la Jamison or trying to back people down. I’d compare his current season to Antoine Walker, but at least Walker played defense.
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by pantslessyoda1 on Dec 23, 2010 10:49 AM EST reply actions
I’d compare his current season to Antoine Walker, but at least Walker played defense.
I see no ’Toine in Dray except for maybe their chubby appearance. please explain?
Blatche reminds me of Pech
With no 3-point range and a headband.
by gilsix on Dec 23, 2010 12:30 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I was at the game last night, and Blatche looked awful.
He didn’t seem very focused at all, and wasnt setting his feet or following through on his jumpers. After the boos started coming in the second quarter, he really seemed to buckle down, especially on the defensive end. Boozer had a good stat line, but most of his layups actually came agains’t McGee. Andray did a really good job of forcing Boozer into some tough fadeaways that he ended up making.
I think it’s important to not overreact here. Everybody has bad nights offensively, and we should wait and see how he comes back from last night before we draw anything from his performance.
by Alpha_Snail on Dec 23, 2010 11:39 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Without Playing Pop-Psychologist
After reading that Mike Wise piece on Gil in BF (before it was taken down), you realize how all too human these players are. Blatche’s performance last night (um, most of this season) was horrible, and I’m not looking to excuse it, however he’s playing like his mind is elsewhere. Who knows what else is going on in his personal life- to create such a drop off in performance from the second half of last season. It’s easy to say who cares- he should be playing better if he doesn’t want to be booed- but sometimes it goes deeper than that.
Whatever the situation- here’s hoping he makes a recovery and gets his mind back in the game.
He's a loser
The Wizards will never win with Blatche as their power forward. He plays dumb & sloppy. He appears to be unmotivated, lazy & out of shape. He’s 6-11 and plays like he’s 5-11. He’s a fraidy cat just like Kuame Brown. If he has any trade value, the Wizards should dump him.
I think he's just not as athletic as people think he is.
He’s got a quick first step and that’s about it, and he’s managed to craft a damn good offensive game and some mediocre defense out of it. I personally think people way overestimate his athletic ability. Maybe he looks out of shape and lazy is because he doesn’t play like you’d expect an athletic player to play.
He does still look out of shape but that has improved and probably will continue to.
it is the coaches job
to pull the plug on a player(Blatche)
Flip deserves the Boos.
by g zeller on Dec 23, 2010 11:44 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Just want to make sure everyone keeps in mind
Blatche is our leading scorer. #2 rebounds. #3 steals. #3 assists.
So while we all may have problems with him, he has also been doing something right and if you advocate trading or benching him you should prepare for many more blowout losses.
this logic escapes me
those numbers are hollow. where’s he rank in minutes played and usage? didn’t we just acquire another power forward who can play? god forbid we trade him or bench him because then we might go winless on the road and 7-20 or whatever we are. someone on this board made a serious comparison of blatche to dirk nowitzki. that about says it all.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 24, 2010 11:43 AM EST up reply actions
agreed
but that’s the talk of a hardened wizard fan. it could get a lot better too.
i appreciate you sticking up for pollin btw. can’t stand that argument that he should have sold the team. after he built verizon center. there have been plenty of awful nba teams the last two/three decades. those bucks/hornets/hawks/warriors/raptors/bobcats/kings/sonics/cavs/nets/pacers/twolves/etc fans are really loving all those titles and all that success we were missing out on.
by DarrellWalkerFan on Dec 24, 2010 3:48 PM EST up reply actions
Blatche needs to realize
That some nights he’s just going to be outclassed. When he’s facing someone better than him, like Carlos Boozer, Blatche needs to play like a role player. Play hard D, set some picks, take the shot if it’s open, otherwise keep the rock moving. Disappear into the background for one night. Especially since the rest of the team was playing at such a high level.
It’s been six years, and he still hasn’t learned. He needs to be moved to the bench. As a sixth man, matched up against backups, he can play like he wants and still help our team.
I don't want Blatche do what he wants
I want Blatche to keep improving his defense and to start hitting those open jumpers and if he needs a coach get him one and make him stand alone in a gym and just shoot jumpers until he gets it down. If he can get a reliable 15’ jumper down then he doesn’t need to create a shot for himself. and that is what he is trying to do lately because he can’t make a jumper. The 2nd half of the Bulls game should be watched over and over by the team. This is how you shouldn’t play. Now watch the 1st half of the Bulls game. This is how you should play. I think Saunders has put so much emphasis on defense that they are a vastly improved defensive team. I think he needs to work on the offense. I think Hinrich is a nice player to have on the team, but his mentality seems to flip flop between point guard and shooting guard. I don’t mind him driving to the basket if there is a lane. i don’t mind him shooting if he’s got a good look, but when he starts dribbling the ball in big circles around the court he is eating up the clock and he is not getting the team any closer to scoring. Either drive with it, shoot it or pass it. Stop looking to create something. Usually they create a bad shot or a turnover. So I hope the next game they move the ball aroung the court to look for the opportunity to score rather than trying to create it themselves
by hambonejackson on Dec 24, 2010 6:15 PM EST up reply actions
At least someone likes Blatche
The Painted Area thinks Blatche’s potential would have been worth trading for in the Arenas deal. It seems clear that they haven’t gotten as good a look at him as we have.
I’m not ready to say Blatche has no chance to fulfill his potential, but every game he dogs it on defense and jacks up lazy jumpers on offense, and every workout he misses between games and in the offseason, is just one more brick in the wall keeping him from ever doing so.
"Now, obviously individual production does not unilaterally equal better team production, but there's a high level of causation."
by Vanilla Gorilla on Dec 24, 2010 8:54 PM EST reply actions
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