WASHINGTON — The boo birds have been on Andray Blatche since the Wizards forward returned from a calf injury on Saturday, and Monday night vs. the Warriors was not different.
Blatche has already admitted this season that boos from the home crowd have affected his game and Monday was no different. Blatche said he is "letting the crowd get into my head," and his teammates -- old and new -- agreed.
I'm just going to let Dray run here:
It is difficult to play through it. It's tough when you're at home and people that are supposed to have your back don't have your back. Instead of encouraging you to get better, they actually push you down and make you worse. In the long run, it's not only hurting me, it's hurting my teammates. That's what I feel most upset about because I can't help out and perform for my teammates because I'm letting the crowd get into my head and making me second-guess, not let me be the player that I am. It's very frustrating. Hopefully, I'm just trying to fight to overcome it.
Any time I'm touching the ball, I'm second-guessing. I'm trying to avoid the boos, just trying to play a perfect game so I don't have to hear it and help my team win.
Trevor Booker, who has replaced Blatche in the starting lineup, heard the boos, too.
"I feel bad for him," Booker said. "The fans need to realize he's a part of the team. If he's out there on the court, he's trying to help us win, so they should cheer him on instead of booing him. Booing him, it's hard for him to concentrate and play his game."
The booing is not new this season. But it caught former Wizard Dominic McGuire -- visiting with his current Warriors outfit -- by surprise.
To hear them boo Andray, that was crazy," McGuire said. "You could tell it's affecting his game. He wasn't taking the shots he normally takes. He wasn't himself. When I tried to talk to him it was just like, 'Just keep playing. Keep your head up.' That's all you can do in that type of situation."
"It got to the point now when I came to sub in, the boos are coming," Blatche said. "They won't even give me a chance. So I don't know, I'm going to continue to try to work. Hopefully, something will happen for me. I don't know."
For more on the game, visit our Wizards blog, Bullets Forever.