Having him come off the bench may not be all that bad of a thing. He excels at so much that I'm sure he'll get his minutes once he's fully back (which it seems like he's pretty much there). He's definitely been phenomenal.
Rudy had another very solid game too. The guys in front of Nic and Rudy weren't quite as good but they weren't stinking up the joint either. Glad to see Cunningham got a solid chunk of minutes too, he deserved it. I don't care who starts so much as who plays more... and I'd rather the doling out of PT not be a static situation... matchups and who's playing better should factor. I know that there is a lot of cynicism about Nate's dependance on his Blakey, but SB was 9th in the rotation tonight clocking only 16 minutes. Batum has been pretty spectacular since he came back... way better then anyone could reasonably hope. His minutes have seemed to have hit a ceiling at 25 or so... maybe they are still taking a bit easy on him by doctor's orders looking forward to Roy Batum Rudy taking the floor STOMP
His reactions on the offensive end, or any time there is a loose ball anywhere on the court, are pretty amazing too.
What? IIRC, Nico's three point percentage last season (when he "couldn't shoot") was almost the same as Martell's career numbers; and since he's come back I have more confidence when Nico shoots one than Martell. We'll settle this at the end of the season.
I THINK Batum is going to play consistently well, I just want to see him fully back and playing well for more than 4-5 games before dropping him back into the starting line-up. Guessing...if he continues to play well...he'll start his 1st game 2/9 vs OKC or 2/16 vs the Clippers.
Nate seems to be obsessed with having at least one starting quality player on the "second unit." Since Nico seems to be doing well in that role, I won't be surprised if Nate just leaves him there -- unless Martell really stinks for about 10 games or so. The Rudy-Nico wing combo is pretty fun, so I'll just enjoy it if that's the case.
I love Martell, he has been one of my favorite players for years. That said, we need to trade him now before he starts sucking again. Batum is better at everything except maybe shooting three's.
Batum seems so quiet, nonchalant, and dare I say passive, but inside he's as competitive as a champion. He's just everywhere his man doesn't want him to be, he's tenacious, he's got those long arms, and he does seem to have a way of frustrating his opponent. Allez Nico!!
[video=youtube;CnhUYWbW3jQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnhUYWbW3jQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnhUYWbW3jQ[/video] edit: AKA "YOU MAAAAAAAAAAD!"
Rudy and Batum showed tonight that they can spark a fantastic unit together. Obviously, Roy will start at shooting guard when he returns, so I suspect what we may see is a second unit featuring Rudy and Batum as the wings. Ideally, I think we'd see Bayless/Rudy/Batum/Cunningham/Pendergraph - not that those guys would all be on the floor together all that much - once Roy comes back. Could sub in Blake, if Bayless can't hold down PG responsibilities, but I am convinced after tonight that two of the Blazers with the best chemistry together are Fernandez and Batum. Keep them together - and give them PT!
Rudy, Nic, Dante--that is a very smart, and very dangerous, reserve corps. Add Jerryd and Jeff to the top and bottom of that crew, and that's a SOLID second unit. I love it.
HAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAH!! No kidding. Rudy and Nico are the future! Nico isn't going anywhere -- time will tell if KP is forced to trade Rudy in a package to upgrade the post. Personally, I hope not. With Bayless, Rudy, Nico, and Dante the Blazers can have the most dynamic and exciting bench in the league.
I agree with that. Exciting bench with each bringing something different to the table. The only problem is someone is going to complain, possibly Rudy, if they don't get much playing time. Perhaps Rudy and Bayless are fine with bench roles, but it is hard to imagine since Bayless will be backing up Miller who will play a lot for as long as he is here and Rudy is backing up our superstar, so not many minutes for him.
