Offense hits a new low with Blatche hurting The offensively challenged Wizards desperately missed Andray Blatche during a historically poor scoring performance in Wednesday’s 78-64 loss to the Chicago Bulls, and they could be without him even longer because of a nagging right shoulder injury.
“Headin to NYC to see the shoulder doc,” Blatche tweeted Thursday morning, the day after a game in which the Wizards set a franchise record for the fewest points. It was one fewer than they scored in a 14-point loss to the New Jersey Nets on Dec. 13, 2002, when Michael Jordan was still on the roster.
Recommended Stories
| Up next |
| Wizards at 76ers |
| When » Friday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Wells Fargo Center, |
| Philadelphia |
| TV » CSN |
Blatche (11.8 points per game) was dressed for the game Wednesday but did not play. A night earlier, Blatche came off the bench for the first time this season, getting nine points and eight rebounds as Washington won its first game of the season 93-78 over the Toronto Raptors.
At one point, Blatche corralled a rebound with only his right arm, which has been plagued by shoulder trouble since March of last year. He was unable to have contact with Wizards team doctors during the lockout.
“That was pretty good, right?” Blatche said after the Raptors game, remarking on his shoulder, “It’s nagging on and off.”
After 10 games, the Wizards (1-9) are the worst-shooting team in the NBA and the only one under 40 percent (.397). At 90.6 points per 100 possessions, they’re also on pace for the worst offensive rating in NBA history, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Against the Raptors, the Wizards opted to keep both Blatche and Rashard Lewis (9.1 ppg) on the bench, replacing them with Trevor Booker and Chris Singleton, who are both more limited offensively but provide energy and defense. While a balanced offense produced the win over Toronto, more emphasis is on Nick Young (14.3 ppg) as the team’s primary scorer.
But Young is 14-for-40 (35.0 percent) from the field in his last three games, including 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) against Chicago. John Wall (13.4 ppg), who seemingly scored at will in summer league games during the lockout, is shooting just 33.8 percent.
“He’s just right now in a bad rhythm,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. “We just gotta watch film, talking to him, maybe slow things down. I think what happens when you’re out there playing and the team can’t score and you have the ball in your hands, you think, ‘I’m going to make something happen,’ and he gets himself in some bad ways.”
Wall and Young have gotten little help from Jordan Crawford (8.9 ppg), who is 12-for-34 (35.2 percent) in the last three contests.
In back-to-back games away and home against Philadelphia (7-3) on Friday and Saturday, the Wizards will face the NBA’s stingiest defense, the only one to hold teams under 40 percent (.394) from the field.
