Averaging 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per 36 minutes. There's been arguments about who's the best small forward on the team. Wallace wowed us with his first two games, but Batum is quietly producing some of the best stats of his career. His defense (to me) also looks much better than it was last year. He's still playing good man D, but it's his help defense which I think has improved massively. As good as Wallace is, Batum is MUCH more likely to be the long term solution. I think the team should seriously consider starting Batum, the sooner the better; for Batum to gain cohesiveness with Aldridge.
No need to start him and create issues with Gerald being benched. Just play him more minutes. Wallace is playing 34. Wes is playing 34 Aldridge is playing 40. Nic is playing 24. It's criminal what Nate is doing to the guy. Just take away 2-3 mins from each of the others and give them to Nic.
Let Batum play with Wallace and ask Wallace to play PF for 4 minutes a night. LMA gets a little more rest, and Batum gets 28 minutes a game. He can also steal 2 minutes directly from Wes at the 2, giving him 30.
Of course I expect those numbers to go down. (I didn't mention his turnovers are also more than double they were last year) But it legitimately looks like Batum is a better player this year, and he should be put in a position to be a franchise cornerstone.
This season is nuts. We haven't even had our back-to-back-to-back games yet. Nic is young and ready to go all the time. He will get big minutes games during a few stretches this season and I'm sure the vets would like as much rest time as possible. As long as those 8 are all on the same page and playing basketball together, starting and total amount of minutes shouldn't matter.
I think Batum will eventually get 30+ minutes a game. I think Nate is working him into the rotation. Basically Crawford, Wallace and Matthew's minutes going down and Batum increasing.
And even LMA loves Wallace... That type of play is contagious. I love Batum, but Wallace brings energy every night. I like watching Wallace and Batum on the floor together. It seems Wallace drives Batum to hustle more.
As much as I appreciate GW's toughness, motor and hustle ... and the attitude he's helped instill in this team, the best possible thing that could happen for this team in the long run is Nic playing so well that GW becomes a luxury and not a necessity. I hope he can keep it up (and get even better).
Batum might be his worst enemy: he's proving that he can play really well in a reserve role. Nate might believe that his all-out hustle and improved rebounding are as a result of being fresh from fewer minutes...
It seems to me that LMA can play center--effectively--against at least half the teams in the league. I love seeing Wallace and Nic on the floor together. I think it made a difference last night.
Per 36 minute stats mean nothing. A player doesn't score points at the same rate if you leave him in longer. Has Aldridge been scoring in the second half the same amount of points as he did in the first? No. What we have is what we get from Batum. A solid bench player. Wallace is better than him and since we're trying to win games, he is the guy who should start.
These last few games are some of the best stretches of Batum's career; maybe he is better off the bench then starting? Or maybe he's just improving as a player and starting or coming off the bench ultimately makes no difference in his play. Batum used to start because we had no good options on the team, he was a starter by default. As a rookie our other option was Outlaw, so Batum got that gig without truly earning it, and even though he often start he'd disappear for long stretches and not even play 20 mpg. Who cares if you start if you stand timidly in the corner, have little impact, and sit out completely for the second and fourth quarter. I love having Batum as a luxury on our bench. We are going to have to rest our starters more in the upcoming season and I expect one of our top 8 will unfortunetly miss a few games here or there. If any of Wallace, Aldridge, Camby is hurt then Batum would start in their place.
Since we've rarely ever seen Nic in a featured role since he's been in a Blazers uniform how do we "know" this?
Why is it the team's job to cut everyone's minutes to help one player? When the season-ending injuries kick in, he'll get his chance, unless they happen to him again.
