It's time. If Nate has confidence enough in Batum to let him finish the game, why can't he take the next step and let him start? They shouldn't be splitting minutes. Batum is too good.
Dwight Jaynes nailed it tonight on 'Talkin' Ball.' You don't put any limitations on this guy. They sky is the limit for Nic.
You can't really carry a five man bench that consists of Jerryd, Blake, Rudy, Nic/Webster, Travis, with Dante and Jeff thrown into the mix too. That's too many players with a scorers mentality/specialty for them to stay happy, and simply cutting expiring contracts like Travis and Blake doesn't really solve your problems either. KP is going to have to eventually part with some of these guards and wings or all of their production is going to be watered down -- and watered down production = subpar second contract, which = unhappy, under utilized players.
Batum should start. I really like Bayless off the bench. IMO, he's so much more effective looking for his own shot and driving to the hoop at will. I think he can be that go-to guy off the bench in that Jason Terry/Travis Outlaw role.
I agree ... maybe he molds himself into something more with another year or two under his belt (since he finally has a driving point guard to learn some tricks of the trade from) but there's a pretty stark difference in mentality between a JR Smith, Terry, sixth man scorer and a team's first unit point guard -- and it's not even a question of raw physical skill or talent, it's just a mentality and a way of seeing the court and the game as much as anything. I won't pigeonhole him, but I see some pretty serious growing pains in his future if they try to shoehorn him into the starting lineup prematurely. Who knows, maybe that outside shot of his gets more consistent and he can be effective as a spot up shooter when Roy handles the ball a lot, but that sure seems to be playing him away from his strengths.
Find that quote brother! You have me mixed up with somebody else. I knew he was going to be out for awhile.
Blake played 17 minutes tonight and wasn't doing half bad. That made him the 9th man. Bayless, Rudy & Miller all played more. that Nate? STOMP
Out of that group only Bayless and Travis have a scorer's mentality IMO. The others can score, but seem happy just to play. Rudy and Martel pass us their shot probably too much, plus they can do other things. Blake, Dante and Jeff will be content with any minutes (Relatively speaking compared to anyone else you will find in the NBA) I think simply cutting Travis and Blake would be an option. But I would keep Rudy, Bayless, Martel, Dante and Jeff. A nice combo of scorers and role players to come off the bench.
Check out Nic's kicks: [video=youtube;KQvlR_bIgHQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQvlR_bIgHQ&feature=sub[/video]
I completely disagree. It's about what each of those players calling card is. Martell and Rudy (despite possessing other skills) are shooters first and foremost. Sure Martell can play a little defense, and Rudy can pass a little, but that is not what their games are primarily about.
I don't want a second unit. I want the team's five best players to play as much as possible and reserves woven in here and there, when those five need breathers at different times. When healthy, those five best, IMO, are Miller, Roy, Batum, Aldridge and Oden. Start them, let them play 35 minutes each. Bring in Bayless, Rudy and whomever is the main big reserve (hopefully, that will be Przybilla next year) for the majority of the left-over minutes. Spot minutes for everyone else.
^^This ... though I suspect Przy is not going to be exactly at 100% in time for opening tip next year. But in general I'm perfectly satisfied with Bayless, Rudy and <fill-in-the-blank-4/5> coming in to spell the starters. Just make sure you've always got a couple of shooters, a driver, and a couple of capable defenders. The whole 'white unit, black unit' thing sounds great in theory, but ultimately leads nowhere.
Quick just suggested that instead of benching Martell, perhaps the Blazers should move Aldridge to the 5 and start Nic at 4. Hmmm...is he strong enough to pull that off? I just don't see him defending the likes of Paul Milsap or Kenyon Martin with any degree of effectiveness. Am I way off here?
It would just depend on matchups, but yes, in general, Nic would struggle with the Boozers of the world.
If they had to they could I guess, but Nic is most effective on D shadowing perimeter players. It would be a waste of this skill to have him battling the brahma bulls of the league down low where he'd give up significant size/weight... size wise dude is a 3 Batum 6'7.75 w/shoes, 7'0.75 wingspan, 8'8.75 standing reach Martell 6'7.5 w/shoes, 6'11 wingspan, 8'10 standing reach as usual Quick is just throwing things out regardless of whether it makes sense STOMP
On the other hand, does Webster perhaps have the skill-set necessary to defend at the 4? He's listed at 235 lbs--right in-between Cunningham and Pendergraph--and he seems plenty strong to me. I wonder if it would take more out of him to defend on the block vs running around the perimeter.
Frankly I'm more comfortable with Rookie Dante covering 4s than I am Martell playing out of position.
