15 Man Roster: Andray Blatche

I may or may not do this for all 15 players. Note that I am very negative.

"The Blatchmanian Devil"

In the spare moments of time when he is not getting shot, picking up a prostitute, or recklessly speeding through Virginia without a drivers licence, Andray Blatche plays basketball. With Andray, every year is "the year". The year he is supposed to break out of mediocrity and into the elite class of NBA players.

While the 6'11" Blatche seems to believe he is a world class point guard capable of behind the back dribbling, spin moves in the lane, fingerrolls, and no-look passes, his coach has another idea. Coach Eddie Jordan sees Blatche as more of a center, and expects him to hit mid range jumpers, get position in the lane, make strong post moves, and slam dunk the basketball. What the Wizards end up with is a combination of the two, which sometimes is good, and sometimes is not so good.

I am 5'9". My biggest dream growing up was to be able to slam dunk a basketball. Blatche is 6'11". He could easily throw it down, probably at age 12. So his biggest dream must have been to not dunk. He is definitely living that dream. Perhaps he should watch some YouTube.

Blatche's best asset is his ability to take bigger defenders off the dribble. Big centers can't stick with him, and his ball handling allows him to get by them. When under control, he usually finishes with a sweet reverse layup or fingerroll. A lot of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" when the crowd sees a big man make those moves. The downside to not dunking is that many times the player that he goes by will foul him hard, and not allow him to get off the layup. Travels, bad passes, and dribbling out of bounds occasionally happen.

Andray's mid-range jumper has improved tremendously, and is going to really help his game. As long as he doesn't step too far out of his range like he sometimes does, his shot will be big.

On Defense, his wingspan and quickness make him a tough and exciting defender. Blocks, steals, deflections, & altered shots are common when Blatche is in the game. His post D is not great, and he needs to start fouling with a purpose. He gets in the habit of picking up a lot of fouls, and many of them are just weak reach ins or slaps on the arm.

Finally, Blatche needs to get tough. He needs to foul some people hard, and when he gets fouled he needs to stop grimacing and groaning and start looking tough. He has a tendancy to keep looking like he is in pain, even 5 minutes after a hard foul.

If Blatche plays smart & under control, he can make the Wizards better. He just needs to be consistent. I think he should get a majority of the minutes at center.

More on Blatche At Bullets Forever