The thread assumes that Batum's bland playing derives from 1) fatigue and injuries from summer games in France, but there are 3 other theories. 2) He just isn't as good of a player as we think or he thinks (he demands to play like a PG). 3) The summer season in France prevents him from working on skill improvement every summer, like an NBA player should do. 4) Stotts plays the starters to exhaustion, and Batum is the most susceptible because his game is all about running around like a rabbit all day.
There is a bit of difference of Team USA because the entire roster are starter material. On team France, their starting 5 actually plays starter minutes. In team USA, the starters play limited minutes.
This is exactly right. A couple of years ago I believe I read that Batum put more miles on the court than any other player in the league.
Honestly, other than risk of injury, this is my biggest complaint. Nic could seriously benefit from some added polish and new offensive moves.