Empty the Bench

By: Zachariah Blott

Andray Blatche becomes Washington’s new top gun: After the Wizards’ top four players were all traded or legally taken away, Blatche went out and scored 33 points on Wednesday in only his fifth start of the year. He hit 14 of 22 shots against the Timberwolves, and is shooting 48% for the year. If Randy Foye doesn’t start taking 20 shots a game (always a possibility), Blatche should have a very good rest of the season, possibly even averaging somewhere between 20 – 25 points per, especially if he gets a legit move or two at some point.

He’s already shown the ability to put up points, so more playing time and touches will only increase Blatche’s visibility as an emerging, young player. We saw flashes of his potential last season.

Watson and Warriors just fine without Ellis: Warrior guard C.J. Watson was again put in the starting lineup Wednesday because of Monta Ellis’ injured knee. Unlike his 11-point outing on February 10, this time the tiny speedster went off for 40 against Sacramento. He hit ‘em from everywhere: 16-23 total, 2-3 from deep, and 6-8 from the line. Just for kicks, he threw in 6 assists and 7 rebounds. Golden State is now 2-1 since Ellis’ injury, with their loss coming against the Lakers.

DeJuan Blair continues to be a monster brickhouse: Grizzly Blair completely decimated the Sophomores on the way to a huge 140-128 victory for the first-year players in the All-Star Weekend’s Rookie Challenge. The San Antonio rookie dropped 22 points and snatched a game-record 23 rebounds in the contest. The top four rebounders for the Sophomores (Beasley, Lopez, Love, Gasol) combined for 26. Beyond Blair’s continued dominance on the boards, this game illustrated a few points that need to be made.

First, the NBA automatically gives any award to whoever scores the most points for a winner. Tyreke Evans won the Challenge MVP with 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. If this guy was more valuable to the rookie win than Blair, than the moon is made of cheese. Evans had the good sense to share the award with Blair, showing a 20-year-old who’ already more intelligent than the NBA at assessing value. Boy, do I miss MVP votes like this one in Wilt’s 50 points per season, back when the league had the brains to look beyond scoring when selecting MVPs, exhibition match or otherwise.

Second, Patrick Ewing should never be a coach in the NBA. He coached the first Sophomore defeat in the Challenge since 2002, when Pau Gasol, Jason Richardson, Tony Parker, Joe Johnson, Andrei Kirilenko, Shane Battier, etc. beat Marcus Fizer, Lee Nailon, Desmond Mason, Chris Mihm, Quentin Richardson and company. Why Ewing thinks he can be a coach just because he wants to be is beyond me. He was a dominant physical presence, but he was never lauded for his intelligence. (Remember this?) He’s lucky he has a job as Dwight Howard’s mentor disguised as a real assistant coaching gig.

Zachariah Blott cannot recommend Rick Telander’s “Heaven Is A Playground” enough.

Andray Blatche Photo Credit: Icon SMI

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