Batum: I'm working on my offense; want to be another Tayshaun Prince

Well that is because you don't see the one thing that obviously separates those players. The drive to play at that level. A lot of folks on this board marvel about Batum and what he might become. The one thing I don't see him having, is the drive to make that level. He seems much more like the "I am really enjoying the ride, and I can't believe they pay me this much to play basketball." You will note that when talking about playing against great players this year, he didn't talk about going at them. He just talked about how there was no pressure because he wasn't supposed to succeed against them. That IMO, shows the difference between a Pippen type and a Batum type. Pippen would compete emotionally, even when he was losing the battle.

 

This seems way too pop-psychology to me. What a player says to reporters is not the same as how he actually feels and what drive he has. It's interesting that you mention Pippen, since he was criticized in his first few years about not being competitive enough, not being competitive like Jordan. People claimed that Detroit's "bad boys" got into his head. Of course, as he got older and better, it was clear he had massive drive and will to win/dominate.

We really don't know anywhere near enough about Batum to know how much drive he has. Wanting to dunk on Gasol, dominate him, showed a lot of competitive fire, IMO.

 

You know if he does, then he should back it up with his play. Amazingly enough I think I saw him show up offensivly in about 3 or 4 games out of 82 last year. Maybe when he actually shows up to half of them in a season, I will start to give him some credit. I think that in itself says a lot about his determination. He seems more to me like a defensive minded "Luol Deng"(raw but athletically gifted) than an NBA great.

 

Agreed. Batum has a competitive side. Nate told him he had to work on his jump shot to bring his offense up to his defense. Batum has been working on it and evidently Monte was impressed with the results (according to Batum).

I just wish they would give him more ball handling opportunities. I loved his decision making on the break when he would bring the ball up--not pass off to Blake, and then downshift and blow by the defender for a dunk. Batum needs to be more aggressive on his drives (drive more often) and on offense in general. I think he will be more confident this year and may really take control of that SF spot.

 

You're confusing "raw offensive game" with "no drive." By "drive" I thought you meant "will to succeed" not slashing ability.

He was 19-20 years old last year. He wasn't a particularly good player last year, merely decent. That's very different from having little drive to get better.