I haven't seen an lot of people mention the fact that Nate finally used what I call a "tweaked big" lineup. He put his two best defenders out there with Miller, and locked down on San Antonio down the stretch. San Antonio locked down. The Blazers locked down. The Blazers won. The 4th quarter both teams played exceptional defense, but it was the effort and young legs of the Blazers that pulled them through. I was pretty surprised Nate went with Batum and Webster on the floor at the same time, but maybe he is learning. It appears to me that Batum is capable of playing 4 positions. I had once hoped he could play 3 (SG, SF, some PF), but now he has shown me he can man the point as well. Has anybody ever thought about a Roy/Batum starting guard lineup? Batum can guard any point in the league. He can pass over any point guard in the league because he can see right over the top of them. He played PG when Tony Parker was out this summer for the french team, and they thrived why he manned the point. We may just have a freak mutant on our hands.
I keep thinking that if he can hone his dribble skills better he could become a cross between Majic and Scottie and maybe even Ice. Use him along side Miller when Roy is subed out and next to Miller or Bayless. With Oden he could get entry passes in the post with ease. Now that would be something! He is only 20.
To keep the premature Pippen comparisons alive, that vaguely reminds me of a quote Phil Jackson had about Pippen after the 2000 WCF: "I said that Pippen couldn't guard our whole team and I was right. Just Kobe, Shaq and Fox."
