Andray Blatche to be target of unforgiving Washington Wizards fans

Andray Blatche is not LeBron James, nor is he Vince Carter, but his return to the nation's capital Friday may become a homecoming to rival those of LBJ and VC. According to one report out of Washington, the Wizards may even hire extra security to protect the Nets bench!! And one of Blatche's last remaining friends on the Wizards' roster, Trevor Booker, joked,"I hope he makes it out alive."

Thursday night, Mike Mazzeo reported the Wizards denied they had any such plans, that Booker's comments were "tongue in cheek."

Blatche has become the scapegoat for Wizards fans who recall his poor conditioning last season and classic knucklhead moments in years prior. But in light of the franchise's poor record --four wins and counting-- and shockingly bad draft picks, lousy trades and cheap ownership, etc., is Blatche really worthy of fan anger on the scale of James and Carter? It is fun to note that both of whom won their homecomings, James leading the Heat in a rout of the Cavaliers and Carter silencing an entire Canadian city on a classic buzzer beater.

So be it. Blatche has played well for the Nets and has been in an out of the NBA top 10 in Player Efficiency Ratings. His new coach, P..J. Carlesimo on Thursday called him, "a very very good addition" that was "on the money."

The Wiz, as noted, is the latest NBA team to vie for the worst record ever., following the Nets in 2009-10 and the Bobcats last season. Their ineptitude is staggering. They rank 30th and dead last in the following categories (besides record at 4-26): points per game; points in the paint; opponent rebounds; effective field goal percentage; two-point field goal percentage; shooting percentage; shooting efficiency; field goals made per game; first and fourth quarter points. Their defense is not horrid. They've lost three straight and are 3-12 at home.

No word on whether Kris Humphries will play after he sprained an ankle at game's end in OKC. If so, Blatche will get minutes, giving Wizards fans more opportunities to boo Blatche ... and give Blatche more opportunities to silence them.

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Washington Wizards Game Notes - Washington Wizards
• Nets at Wizards - January 4, 2013 - STATS
  
• Wizards ready for Andray Blatche’s return to Washington - Michael Lee - Washington Post
• The return of Seven-Day Dray - Carla Peay - Washington Times
  
• Booker on Blatche’s return to D.C.: 'I hope he gets out alive' - Craig Stouffer - Washington Examiner
  
• Andray Blatche doing nicely in backup center role with Nets - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Gerald Wallace doing whatever it takes to help Nets - Rod Boone - Newsday
  
• Three Pointers: Storming the Thunder - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Blatche set for face off with ex-team - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• CourtVision: Attack Guards and the Slow Retreat of Deron Williams - Kirk Goldsberry - Grantland