Andray Blatche discusses his new haircut, inadvertently reveals his state of mind

WASHINGTON, D.C.

We now have answers to the mysterious engravings in the side of Andray Blatche's hair.  In the process, we may also have an answer about his current mental state.  Let's just say Blatche does not seem like a very confident person right now.

What do those engravings mean?  According to Blatche, they represent a rollercoaster, which is kind of what his life has become. 

"It signifies my life," he said. "My life is a rollercoaster. Up and down, round and round. Everything that's going on in my life is right here right now."

"When everything goes back to normal, I'll have a straight haircut," he continued. "[But] If it keeps going the way it's going, more of my head is going to be like this, and I won't have any more room yet. Hopefully my life will get in order and I'll have a straight regular cut."

Indeed, Blatche has carved more of a maze into his hair since Wednesday.  He said he'll add more to it if he has a bad game, though it was really tough to tell how serious he was.  He also pointed to his eyebrow, which he apparently has shaved some hair off as well.  It was a surreal few minutes, that's for sure.

Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier, Blatche's coach, Flip Saunders, addressed Blatche's recent radio interview with 106.7 The Fan, acting as reflective as I've heard him in a while.  I wouldn't say Saunders defended Blatche, but I also wouldn't say he lit into him either.  

"He's got the ability to do that," Saunders said, when asked about Blatche's "finesse" comments.  "But there's no question that for us, we need him to be down on the block."

Saunders mentioned that all the great power forwards can do multiple things, referencing Karl Malone and, of course, his favorite, Kevin Garnett.  He then said that Blatche has the capability to be a low-post player, but with him, it's a matter of figuring out what's working at a certain time.

"Your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness if you can't control it," Saunders said. "One of his strengths is his ability to shoot it perimeter wise, but at 6'11'' 275, you also have the strength to go inside.  You want to be able to do that too."

"A lot of times, his perception is when he pops out to that left wing, his efficiency there is about 15 percent," he continued. "That's not good. You want to go with statistics and what they give you."

Saunders defended Blatche's defensive effort, noting solid performances against Luis Scola and David West and saying that the entire team, not just Blatche, suffered a breakdown against the 76ers.  Then, he summed up the whole issue succinctly. 

"We're asking him to do a lot, but when you sign up to be the main guy, you're asked to do a lot.  You're asked to perform defensively, and you're asked to perform offensively.  That's what goes with being a go-to type player, and that's what we envision him being.  That's why we did the things that we did."

A few minutes later, Blatche was in the locker room cracking jokes and speaking up.  He kept repeating the phrase "story of my life, man" when asked more about his haircut, and joked that JaVale McGee should bite a hot dog out of the net instead of a piece of paper, like he did the other day.  

But he also had one last message, one that felt like he was trying to pump himself up and boost his own confidence rather than project that confidence on me and everyone else there.

"I think today is going to be the last day.  I really believe so," he said.  "I've been coming in early getting some shots up, so I think today is going to be my coming out game.  I think I'll be really good today."

"I think you might catch me doing a dunk or two," he joked. "Then, maybe we'll put Dray in the dunk contest."