Blatche benched early in loss to Bobcats
The Washington Wizards marked their first game back at Verizon Center after a weeklong road trip by passing out flyers to the media touting Andray Blatche. The forward has led the team in scoring (23.2 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg) since the All-Star break, making a push for the NBA’s season-ending most improved player award.
But after Blatche didn’t grab a single rebound in seven and a half minutes on the floor in the first quarter, Wizards head coach Flip Saunders sent him to the bench, where he remained for the rest of Washington’s 95-86 overtime loss to Charlotte in front of 12,742.
“We took him out of the game, wanted to talk to him about not getting back on defense, not cross-checking, where Mike [Miller] got handled,” said Saunders. “He didn’t want to hear it. I told him, if you don’t want to come and talk, don’t want to be coached, you’re not going to play. We had coaches go up to him three different times, and he just said he didn’t want to play. In 15 years, I’ve never seen anything like it. Never.”
After Al Thornton sent the game to overtime on a 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds remaining, the Wizards were atrocious in the extra period, getting outscored, 13-4.
Without Blatche, Washington relied on the long-range prowess of Mike Miller (15 points), but the Bobcats countered with five double-figure scorers, led by Gerald Wallace (17 points, 18 rebounds), who helped outscore the Wizards in the paint, 56-26.
Boris Diaw had 17 points and Stephen Jackson added 16 for the Bobcats (36-34), who set a franchise record for victories in a season while the Wizards (21-48) dropped their 12th game in a row, one shy of the worst losing streak in team history.
The Wizards (21-48) were horribly sluggish on the boards from the outset, getting outrebounded, 12-6, in the first quarter, but making up for it with hot shooting, including eight straight points from Miller. The Bobcats still finished with a 61-42 edge on the glass, including 23 offensive rebounds.
With only a jumper and a driving dunk to his name, Blatche finished with 4 points, ending a stretch of 19 straight games in which he had scored at least 12. Even after Thornton (10 points) and JaVale McGee (14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks) fouled out in overtime, Blatche remained stationed on the bench.
“It was just coach being coach and trying to teach him,” said Nick Young. “Dray’s still a young player, and he’s going to go through things like that. I don’t know what really happened. It’s a disappointing situation from both ends because we really could’ve used Dray tonight. I told him, ‘You’re playing well. You don’t want to mess it up. It’s your opportunity. Just go out there and keep playing. Don’t worry about distractions. You’ve got to man up sometimes.'”
“I’m the most disappointed I’ve ever been in 15 years with a player, the most disappointed,” said Saunders, who was also asked if Blatche would play Wednesday at Indiana.
“I would doubt it. Right now I don’t know, but I would doubt it.”
