Batum says he's back

[KingSpeed]

Listening to the 5th quarter. Nic says he feels great and they are taping his wrist differently and he feels better now. Says that Lopez was huge for him and the team on BOTH sides of the court. He said he really helps the offense a lot.

 

[MAS RipCity]

Batum played pretty well tonight. Having RoLo back really opens up our offense since those two really click on that end of the court. I'm still waiting for Nico to start connecting from downtown like he was last year.

 

[PDXFonz]

S2 be like

 

[Strenuus]

Con.

Sisten.

Cy.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Nico obviously learning from Swayze "pain don't hurt"

I now expect more made 3s and roundhouse kicks.

 

[WillG]

Body language and effort were much improved from Batum this game; and it translated into a much better game for him.

 

[stampedehero]

S2 be like

>This is the NBA logo for 50 percent of the league, especially noted on the side of any bridge in Portland

 

[stampedehero]

Listening to the 5th quarter. Nic says he feels great and they are taping his wrist differently and he feels better now. Says that Lopez was huge for him and the team on BOTH sides of the court. He said he really helps the offense a lot.

>For Nick, having Rolo on the court is like having Yin for Yang or the Blazers logo plastered like a Fathead on the wall.

 

[magnumpi]

I thought the whole offense was smooth flowing and looking great. The side pick and roll between Nico and Rolo was good to see again; Rebounding was better tonight
I felt confidence in the team all though the game.

Hg

 

[Kaydow]

It's nice to hear some confidence from Nic. He played pretty well last night, but I think he should have saved the "I'm back" talk for a night he shoots a little bette than 2-7.

 

[magnifier661]

I'm tired of players saying they are back or they are pissed. Just keep quiet and let their play do the talking. Talk all your shit after we are holding the Larry O'brien trophy

 

[Blazinaway]

I'm tired of players saying they are back or they are pissed. Just keep quiet and let their play do the talking. Talk all your shit after we are holding the Larry O'brien trophy

+1, glad to hear he's feeling a lot healthier, let your on court play tell us you are "really back" as opposed to stinking it up

 

[blue32]

Show me the money batum.... we showed you.

 

[HailBlazers]

Actions > Words, last night was a start.

But yea, I knew Lopez was going to have a huge impact on both ends.

 

[BBert]

Batum is pretty honest. He called it when his play was, in his words, "unacceptable". He never made excuses when his wrist was badly sprained and it clearly affected his ability to shoot or pass. He's a good guy, a team player, and he doesn't deserve the shit that gets dished out here.

He had a good game and, like Aldridge, likes having Rolo on the court. So, yeah, he was feeling good right after the game.

If Batum and Dame both get their confidence back, as we were teased last night, things could escalate quickly.

 

[magnifier661]

Batum is pretty honest. He called it when his play was, in his words, "unacceptable". He never made excuses when his wrist was badly sprained and it clearly affected his ability to shoot or pass. He's a good guy, a team player, and he doesn't deserve the shit that gets dished out here.

He had a good game and, like Aldridge, likes having Rolo on the court. So, yeah, he was feeling good right after the game.

If Batum and Dame both get their confidence back, as we were teased last night, things could escalate quickly.

I'm a fan of Batum, so please don't take my concern to heart. My frustration lies on players talking before they produce. 1 game will not end the shitty season he's had so far. I am rooting for his funk to pass because it only makes us better.

 

[blue9]

I hope his shooting returns to norm, but you gotta keep in mind that he's our 5th scoring option and shouldn't be measured by his scoring output. His defense, passing, and getting Rolo easy points is what's most important. If those are all markedly improved and his shooting is still off he'll still be a benefit to the team. But by the time the POs start we definitely need his 3-point shot to be on target.

 

[BBert]

I'm a fan of Batum, so please don't take my concern to heart. My frustration lies on players talking before they produce. 1 game will not end the shitty season he's had so far. I am rooting for his funk to pass because it only makes us better.

I totally get that. Batum doesn't do a lot of chest thumping, so I'll take his comments about feeling better than he has, as him being as relieved as the rest of us.

I think Dame is starting to get it too. In his recent quotes about missing the All Star game, he was probably only saying the same self-motivational stuff he's always said. This time it was taken differently by many. Dame is no longer that unknown, underappreciated underdog he's always seen himself as. He just needs to keep it to himself and let his actions speak louder than words.

 

[BBert]

I hope his shooting returns to norm, but you gotta keep in mind that he's our 5th scoring option and shouldn't be measured by his scoring output. His defense, passing, and getting Rolo easy points is what's most important. If those are all markedly improved and his shooting is still off he'll still be a benefit to the team. But by the time the POs start we definitely need his 3-point shot to be on target.

Exactly. We don't need Batum to shoot often. But we need him to shoot accurately. We need his wrist fully healed and his shooting "en bonne forme" for the playoffs.

 

[KingSpeed]

I'm tired of players saying they are back or they are pissed. Just keep quiet and let their play do the talking. Talk all your shit after we are holding the Larry O'brien trophy

He was asked if he felt better and if the new taping was better and he said yes.

 

[riverman]

I'm a fan of Batum, so please don't take my concern to heart. My frustration lies on players talking before they produce. 1 game will not end the shitty season he's had so far. I am rooting for his funk to pass because it only makes us better.

Well, in fact he did produce last night. Without Nico, Rolo doesn't score double digits. After 3 road losses a home win should be a morale boost. Why be frustrated by a successful game?

 

[dviss1]

I'm a fan of Batum, so please don't take my concern to heart. My frustration lies on players talking before they produce. 1 game will not end the shitty season he's had so far. I am rooting for his funk to pass because it only makes us better.

Kingspeed screwed up the tread title. Batum NEVER said he was "back". What he said was:

"I was feeling WAY better. It's been a long time since I felt this good before."

 

[magnifier661]

He was asked if he felt better and if the new taping was better and he said yes.

Oh so your title message was just bullshit trolling then?

 

[magnifier661]

Well, in fact he did produce last night. Without Nico, Rolo doesn't score double digits. After 3 road losses a home win should be a morale boost. Why be frustrated by a successful game?

If you read the game thread, I acknowledged that he had a good game. He's had a few this season. But saying "I am back", which Kingspeed said he said doesn't mean shit after one game. You have an entire season to come back and say "Well string more than one game together and we will believe you"

 

[magnifier661]

Kingspeed screwed up the tread title. Batum NEVER said he was "back". What he said was:

"I was feeling WAY better. It's been a long time since I felt this good before."

I should have known when I saw "Mr. Hyperbole" creating the thread. Shame on me.

 

[noknobs]

I thought the whole offense was smooth flowing and looking great. The side pick and roll between Nico and Rolo was good to see again; Rebounding was better tonight
I felt confidence in the team all though the game.

Hg

Really? I thought the rebounding was awful, they gave up way too many offensive rebounds. I had no confidence in them actually winning until the game was over and we had one more point. On a night when they finally got Rolo back, had their starting five in tact, back at home after a dreadful road trip and month of January, I really expected more out of the team than I saw. Same stupid decisions and turnovers, no ball movement for stretches of the game, horrible output from the bench, outside of Rolo nobody has yet to figure out the principals of boxing out, it goes on and on. If Rolo wasn't back we'd have easily lost this game as well and we'd have 2 wins in the last 11 games. This team is not playing well and they need to figure it out soon. A 1 point win over the Utah Jazz at home doesn't solve anything.

 

[magnifier661]

Really? I thought the rebounding was awful, they gave up way too many offensive rebounds. I had no confidence in them actually winning until the game was over and we had one more point. On a night when they finally got Rolo back, had their starting five in tact, back at home after a dreadful road trip and month of January, I really expected more out of the team than I saw. Same stupid decisions and turnovers, no ball movement for stretches of the game, horrible output from the bench, outside of Rolo nobody has yet to figure out the principals of boxing out, it goes on and on. If Rolo wasn't back we'd have easily lost this game as well and we'd have 2 wins in the last 11 games. This team is not playing well and they need to figure it out soon. A 1 point win over the Utah Jazz at home doesn't solve anything.

I really blame the boxing out the most, especially from Kaman and Leonard. Aldridge had a few failed box outs, but I think that had more to do with focusing on the help defense. I really think that we've developed bad habits since Lopez and Freeland have been out. It's gonna take a few more games to relearn how important Lopez does for this team. And when Freeland comes back, we should be right up there on that rebounding category

 

[Orion Bailey]

Really? I thought the rebounding was awful, they gave up way too many offensive rebounds. I had no confidence in them actually winning until the game was over and we had one more point. On a night when they finally got Rolo back, had their starting five in tact, back at home after a dreadful road trip and month of January, I really expected more out of the team than I saw. Same stupid decisions and turnovers, no ball movement for stretches of the game, horrible output from the bench, outside of Rolo nobody has yet to figure out the principals of boxing out, it goes on and on. If Rolo wasn't back we'd have easily lost this game as well and we'd have 2 wins in the last 11 games. This team is not playing well and they need to figure it out soon. A 1 point win over the Utah Jazz at home doesn't solve anything.

AGREED!!!
Rolo made the difference and we barely pulled the victory out against (yes improving) a bottom dwelling team with almost twice as many losses as wins. I don't mean to be mister negativity, but one decent game against a lottery pick team isn't exactly something to write home about. Lets see what we do against Phoenix next. A team looking to be in the playoffs.

 

[KingSpeed]

If you read the game thread, I acknowledged that he had a good game. He's had a few this season. But saying "I am back", which Kingspeed said he said doesn't mean shit after one game. You have an entire season to come back and say "Well string more than one game together and we will believe you"

I didnt put it in quotes that he said that exactly. The summary of what he said was that he was back to how he had been playing before.

 

[KingSpeed]

AGREED!!!
Rolo made the difference and we barely pulled the victory out against (yes improving) a bottom dwelling team with almost twice as many losses as wins. I don't mean to be mister negativity, but one decent game against a lottery pick team isn't exactly something to write home about. Lets see what we do against Phoenix next. A team looking to be in the playoffs.

Utah loses by an average of 2.5 ppg. They lose but the games are close. We did what it took to win.