(update: looks like Andray might actually just be a bit of a trouble-maker. Surprise!)

…but should he want those? And should the team give him those touches?

After Blatche’s Washington Wizards blew a big lead and fell to the New Jersey Nets, Blatche had some venting to do.

“You can’t keep having me pick and pop and shooting jumpshots. Gimme the ball in the paint. That’s where I’m most effective at. I’ve been saying that since training camp. I need the ball in the paint. I don’t want to be the pick-and-pop guy I used to be because it’s not working for me.”

After making those comments (via The Washington Post), Blatche took to Twitter to more or less reiterate his issue.

According to Synergy Sports Technology, Dray might have a point. Last season in the half-court, he ranked in the 13th percentile of NBA players in jump shots; he ranked in the 20th percentile in post-ups. Then again, if we look at overall possessions, he was far better spotting up than going into the post. On pick-and-roll opportunities as the big, he wasn’t very good either. At this point as I research his game, I’m thinking maybe Andray just isn’t a very good offensive player, guys.

But wait! If you go back another season, the numbers do show us that Blatche is far better in the post than in spot-up/jump shot situations. If you go back a season further, we see essentially the same thing. Don’t get me wrong, Blatche is not a good offensive player even when we only isolate his strengths. But he at least has a point in regards to being more effective around the basket.

So, now let’s look at the game tape. I focused in on moments where Blatche seemed to be available to receive the ball in the post, and especially when Blatche seemed upset about not getting a touch. I planned on doing this for all 4 quarters, but after watching the full 12 minutes of the 1st and focusing only on Dray (at 1AM), I felt 1 quarter was enough.

(Blatche is #7 in the video, big guy with the headband. You’ll figure it out)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynu4Ady8H-o&w=420&h=315]

The main thing you’ll notice in this video is that Blatche does a lot of floating out on the perimeter. He didn’t dive into the lane on a single screen, and spent a lot of time hanging around the perimeter when he wasn’t involved, and…wait a minute. The rare times when Blatche did work his way towards the paint, the team did find success. And even when they didn’t find success, we can see that they did a solid job of getting the ball into Blatche’s hands when he was in the paint (he had a miss in the post and another on an off-ball cut to go with the makes).

But I’m not here to mock Blatche. He may indeed have a point. If the amount of floating and spacing he’s doing off the ball and as the roll man in the pick-and-roll is by design, then his actual complaint is actually aimed not towards his teammates, but towards the coaching staff. And so his claim that he had a bad game because he wasn’t being utilized properly is taken at face value, you could say he’s mostly right. Blatche will usually have better games if he’s being used around the basket.

The issue of his own activity and seeming propensity to float is another issue, as is the fact that it’s tough to justify putting Blatche in the post very often when the team doesn’t exactly have great floor spacers. Also, I’m not too sure the team is going to abandon using John Wall (the team’s franchise player, I think you’ve heard of him) as a key ball-handler/in space/using a pick in favor of getting Andray Blatche more touches in the post.

It might be tough sailing for Andray Blatche if he holds on to those post-touch hopes.