Links, commentary, shared items, celebrations…

  [photos via urbanpartylife.com]

After recently contemplating life, today, August 22, is Andray Blatche’s birthday. He is 25-years old, which is an entire quarter of a century of life experience. Along with Blatche, the likes of former Washington Bullets Terry Catledge and Michael Curry, former Maryland Terp Obinna Ekezie, along with, naturally, SNL’s Kristen Wig, Wu-Tang’s the GZA, singer Tori Amos, football’s Bill Parcells, and John Lee Hooker of blues legend also all celebrate birthdays today.

The celebratory festivities took place this past weekend at Dream Nightclub in Miami Beach… AND DRAY GOT A WIZARDS BIRTHDAY CAKE! (Old man Wizards logo, but new colors!)

According to Basketball-Reference.com, 48 NBA players have seen over 8,600 minutes in over 380 games, scoring over 3,800 total points and snagging over 2,000 total rebounds, in their NBA careers before the age of 25.  Of those 48 players, Blatche ranks 41st in PER. Well, here’s to the future… Read more »

Links, commentary, stuff…

Andray Blatche. You might be aware of his various exploits that seem trapped in an devolving time continuum.

Blatche, inherently, is a sympathetic figure. He literally loafed into an NBA career, to the envy of millions, by likely being just smart of enough to realize that if he worked just a little bit to enhance his natural talents, he would get there. And he did.

He’s not a bad guy, nor is he misunderstood like a lot of athletes like to claim. It is, however, true to an extent in that lay people, the “commoners” to which LeBron referred in his infamous quote, don’t know the pressure of money, exposure, expectations, high critique, and high reward, which I am assuming is widely accepted in bounties of tangible goods and women. But to say that some of these pro athletes are misunderstood is to say that they, themselves, are complicated figures. Often, we know, that is not the case. Rather, it’s their situations within the business of the game they love (or “like”) to play which provides varying complex ways to digest someone who is simply human.

Blatche is a human after all. He means well, but the means by which he gets caught up in “the life,” as some like to call it (being a highly paid professional athlete, that is) doesn’t always bode well for him. Whose fault is it? Well, according to my own sliding scale of reason, the older Blatche gets, the more he is solely to blame for his situation(s).

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[Fort Stevens Rec Center - NW Washington, DC - photo: K. Weidie]

As I get ready to take an extended summer vacation off to a location across the ocean, I can’t help how different this NBA summer feels. Yes, the lockout… But I’m also thinking about NBA players — who they are, how they are, where they are. Oh yea, and they’re also jumping across the pond lately.

NBA players are… themselves, for better or worse. Real people. I’ve known this. Covering the Wizards closely over the past couple of seasons has enforced this. It’s not breaking news.

It’s the coverage and opt-in exposure surrounding professional athletes as a whole, much less NBA players, that is vastly different now. Although, delving through the late David Halberstam’s brilliant book The Breaks Of The Game — about the world of pro basketball and the 1979-80 Portland Trailblazers — has helped me realize that while the times change fast, many principles simply get updated and don’t change much.

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Look, people sponsor/host things all the time. Jimmy Johnson of Dallas Cowboys fame, for example, once lent his name to a pill for your jimmy. And just last week, Andray Blatche sponsored a night for lapdances (also for your jimmy). 

So cheers to Andray, “of the Washington Wizards” for hosting something that would’ve been happening on a Tuesday in Miami anyway. Some have questioned why Blatche would risk the head-smacking PR hit for a meager pittance from a club night. Simple answer: the lockout is a comin’. Can’t blame 7-Day ’Dray for getting his, sadly likely as it may be that all he got in exchange for the use of his good name was free cover, drinks and company for his lap.

Now, in honor of Blatche sponsoring Tuesday as the designated night for lapdances, we here at Truth About It.net have some other nights he could sponsor…

“Misunderstanding Wednesdays”

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Tension arises from the final Washington Wizards game of the season. Many fans were content with the loss to Cleveland. The 100-93 defeat on Wednesday means they stand-alone with the fourth-worst record in the NBA, and not tied with two other teams (New Jersey and Sacramento) for the fifth worst record, which could have had major implications on the NBA Draft Lottery. Other the other hand, they lost to Cleveland and looked pretty terrible in doing so.

Here’s where the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” conflict arises. During the game, Comcast’s television play-by-play man Steve Buckhantz mentioned multiple times how Flip Saunders instructed his players before the game that he wanted them to treat it like a playoff affair. But removing John Wall, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee from the fourth quarter equation (when Washington went into the final period with a 74-71 lead), and then later taking out Jordan Crawford three and a half minutes into the period (the Cavaliers having taken an 81-76 lead), clearly swings the philosophy from treating it like a playoff atmosphere to tanking for the lottery. Worth mentioning that Wall “tweaked” something or another during the game (didn’t look major, better to be safe than sorry), Blatche and McGee were playing like they didn’t deserve to stay on the floor (we’ll get to them), and Crawford was 2-14 from the field (the lackadaisical demeanor assumed by some on the team clearly having an effect on the unit as a whole).

Flip Saunders told the Washington Post:

“I thought our first, main group played really well. I probably would like to see them play the whole game, the way they were playing. We were moving the ball, we were really active and pretty much dominating in many aspects. But it was a good opportunity for us to see a lot of the young guys.”

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So I mistakenly published a post before last night’s game that I’d already prepared about Andray Blatche versus Kevin Garnett without first finding out that Garnett was to sit out against the Wizards. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Shaquille O’Neal also joined Andray’s sort-of rival in not taking the court, a rivalry which Andray now gladly plays down.

But the game without Boston’s stars and Washington’s “veterans” (Nick Young, Rashard Lewis and Josh Howard) wasn’t exactly meaningless. Combined with a Miami Heat win over the Atlanta Hawks, Boston’s 95-94 overtime loss to the Wizards means they will finish third in the East with a match-up against the New York Knicks awaiting in the playoffs. Miami will face the seven-seed Philadelphia 76ers. On the other hand, all of the teams Washington’s draft lottery combination odds needed to win last night ended up losing. At 23-58 with one game left Wednesday at Cleveland, the Wizards now sit softy with the fourth worst record in the NBA, a game better than the Toronto Raptors and a game worse than each the Sacramento Kings and the New Jersey Nets, who both sit tied for the fifth worst record at 24-57.

“You always have people saying, ‘you’re winning games, you’re losing lottery balls,’ but I guess last year we showed it really didn’t matter where you are,” said Flip Saunders last night after the game. The coach relayed that he’d rather see his team learn the lesson of making a six-point comeback with less than a minute left in regulation than worry about down-the-road chances. And with that, I’d have to agree, especially if it means a disappointing departure for the Celtics fans that infiltrated the Verizon Center.

Waiting for Saunders at his post-game press conference, many members of the media scoffed at the idea of Washington’s win being entertaining. Flip himself called it a “grinder.” But if you like big missed dunks (thanks to Von Wafer), rookie No. 1 overall draft picks knocking down three crucial free-throws in a row (thanks to John Wall’s calmness that brought the Wizards within 83-82 with 21 seconds left in regulation), and a lottery-bound team making a six point comeback on playoff-bound reserves, amongst other notable occurrences, then the game was for you. If you like the nuance of a physical affair, played more like a meaningful game rather than with completely careless unfamiliarity, then you might be a basketball fan. All the stars need not be aligned, or around, to form a basketball game worthy of enjoyment in the season’s home finale. Wall and his team came through for the D.C. fans.

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[UPDATE: So yea, Garnett is not playing tonight, so there's that with publishing a pre-prepared post without checking.]

A match-up between the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics always brings a bit of intrigue, regardless of win-loss records. This can usually be attributed to the presence of two players: Andray Blatche and Kevin Garnett.

The spat is like big brother, little brother, with Blatche once looking up to Garnett as an upcoming player. Many experts also long ago aptly compared the style of both. Well, a comparison in terms of their ability as lengthy big men who can stretch the floor. But that’s pretty much where it ends. Blatche has always lacked something intangibly significant that Garnett has. If you know anything about the game of basketball, you know what I’m talking about. And that’s seemingly what angers the old Celtic most in his face-offs against Blatche, that Andray is not what he should be. The treatment of little brother never ends in a friendly manner.

Watch during the game. Garnett will attempt to instigate Blatche out of his mental comfort zone with poking, prodding, talking, and everything in between. Last season, Blatche responded to Garnett’s “wolfing” (or woffing) to the point where it caused some strife between Blatche and his own coach, Flip Saunders.

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[Blatche celebrates a close win over the Pistons.]

Andray Blatche. Yes, that Andray Blatche … Party All Dray. He’s been a little bit different lately, hasn’t he? Sure has. Averaging 25.6 points and 13.7 rebounds per 36 minutes in the last four games (up from his 17.4 and 8.7 respective averages per 36 for the season), since his return from injury is certainly a strong indication that things could be different for Blatche.

Straight and to the point, he’s been attacking the rim. Living in the paint. Doing the dirty work down low. All the good stuff the team has always needed Andray Blatche to do, but has never quite been satisfied.

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Links, commentary and video…

I’m not sure if anyone has a formula for jumpers, but I’ll make one up: one part mechanics, one part muscle memory, two parts confidence. Confidence can wane between quarters, games and possessions, it’s all about building a history of it. And that’s what John Wall is working on. He put on a glimpse of jump shot confidence in a takeover display versus the New Jersey Nets last Sunday. Let’s watch…

The knock on Wall’s jumper will continue to be the most prevalent of knocks against him, but at least he’d never pull what Rajon Rondo did recently.

LINKS.

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Entitlement. It’s a word Flip Saunders has used before when referring to his “starters”, i.e., JaVale McGee and especially Andray Blatche (I’m assuming).

“Do some of our starters — and I don’t know that — do they feel right now that they’re entitled as far as to play 30 or 35 [minutes] no matter how they’re playing?,” said Saunders after his team embarrassingly lost to the Indiana Pacers at home in their first contest after the All-Star break. His inference was on minutes instead of starting versus coming off the bench, but does it make a difference?

Evidently not, as Saunders seemingly still hasn’t found the answer he’s been looking for from his team. And as McGee and Blatche are still trotted out on the floor night in and night out, pretty much no matter what they or the team do. Including the Indiana game, Washington has lost six in a row since the festivities in Los Angeles (seven overall); the only games in which the Wiz Kids were competitive? The matches against Dallas and Miami when Blatche didn’t play, supposedly due to a hip injury. (And no, trying to mount a furious comeback against a mediocre Golden State team at home doesn’t fully count as competitive.)

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