I like his game, but he is what 19? Nate likes him and that's all I need, but he's played 2 decent games. I don't know how many of you guys saw him play in Vegas, but it was UGLY!! He is lucky to have played well and then had a week off for everybody on here to label him the next Pip or Grant Hill. Sounds like everybody is playing Monday except Martell. I'm scared to see what the reaction will be on here when he doesn't score and gets 2 rebounds and a turnover. I wish him luck, but I know how quickly people on here turn on a player. Remember it was just 2 months ago that Bayless might be an All-Star this season.
If he were from the NEP, that'd make all the difference right? I kid I kid.. He's showed better defensive instincts and basketball smarts than Travis or Martell has ever shown. He's worthy of all this hype. He was atrocious in Vegas and he even admits to that. He worked every day and calmed down allowing him to think more clearly on the court and it has shown.
if batum can contribute this year AT ALL, he will have grossly exceeded my original expectations. as far as bayless goes, i only require him to be a marginal improvement over jack. anything else is gravy.
Same. If he can play good defense and look like he has a clue as to what to do on offense, this year, that's well above my expectations for this year.
Both! I like his game and hope he helps our team now and in the future. But I just want guys to realize he is going to struggle and when he does, not to throw him under the bus. That goes for our whole team in general. We are so young and inexperienced it's ridiculous! When we struggle the first 24 games (and we will) not to start stupid threads like "Trade so-n-so" or "Fire Nate"! I'm asking for patience and a reality check.
I absolutely agree with these sentiments, but unfortunately this is the "In-tar-webs" and there's a pretty broad cross-section of ages, maturity levels, and overall intelligence in the people that frequent message boards, so I have no doubt that there will be little factions that emerge who freak out and overreact to setbacks. The funny thing is, that if you watched Batum play in summer league and disregarded his god awful shooting (which was easily the worst on that team) you still saw him flowing around the court getting boards, blocks, and steals and making some pretty good passes, so it's not like he was a complete disaster, he just looked like a long term project. The bar is raised higher for him now, and he does need to perform, but it's not like he's going to be expected to do much besides get a few offensive boards, play good D (which seems to be his forte' anyway) and blend in with the guys around him ... I think he can probably do that, it remains to be seen if he can hit the occasional jump shot as needed. As for my expectations, I won't bat an eye if they start off 8-16 and go 0-5 out of the gate -- it's a brutal fucking schedule.
QFT! Some folks have their expectations pumped up to the point that the team is almost certain to "fail". Come January 1st, I expect plenty of empty seats on the bandwagon.
I'm in the "immature, wanting to trade people" camp, I guess. Look, I know I'm relatively unknown to a lot of you, so I understand if you think this is a recent development, but I think you have to separate team style from overall talent. Last year, I was calling for Jack to be traded not because he sucked, but because HE thought he was a point guard, but didn't show enough skill to be our starter in that position. Nate somehow thought Jack merited a lot more minutes than most thought, and watching Jarrett from up close during a couple of games -- he would hang his head, sulk if he messed up, know (probably) that he should probably be subbed out, even just to catch his breath and get his composure; but Nate usually didn't. (Tangent: When my wife asks me "is Jarrett about to cry? I feel badly for him..." it's probably not a good sign). Anyway, I thought Jack should be traded to open up time AT PG for Sergio, rather than playing "combo guard" to Jack's PG when his shot was broken. Again, not because he sucked or had a bad game, but b/c his skillset and mindset weren't compatible with our team. I also thought that Travis-vs.-Martell debate was ridiculously one-sided Martell's way, and still do. Aside from the "loyalty" issue, which I can't discount, Travis should not be on this team at the end of this season. He has a valuable skillset, just not to us. I won't debate here the difference, which many of you know better than me. But just because someone wants to trade Travis doesn't mean they're an immature, what-have-you-done-for me-lately fan.
The problem is that for all of Jack's gaffes, and shortcomings he was still a much better option than Sergio, who was an absolute wreck last year ... and I still don't think putting him on the court for longer stretches would have mitigated his atrocious "ole" defense and one of the ugliest shots I've ever seen from a guard -- the guy was simply not beating Jack out for those minutes. As for Travis he definitely filled a void on the second unit that no one else could and that's being able to instantly create your own shot, and he may very well not be needed to fill that role in the coming year(s), we just have to wait and see. In any case I think the "Trade so-and-so" threads become so tiresome because they almost always seem to get posted on the heels of a single bad game, as if no player is ever allowed to lay down a turd. Hell I even remember people bitching about Roy "loafing" it in the final game of the season against Phoenix, claiming that he should have been trying his hardest to win, so the team could finish 42-40 ... it's that kind of knee-jerk, myopia HCP and others object to, not the kinds of discussions that are based on a large sample of performances.
In SL everyone's eyes were on Bayless and not on Batum. I wached Batum's game several times after the team signed him and began to see what they had seen in him. You are right, he was a better basketball player than Bayless IMO. All Bayless did was drive with the ball and was terible at PG responsibilities. Bayless has a lot of talent but is not yet a team player. Batum was learning both the NBA game and the language and was at a great disadvantage to Bayless. Most observers were looking for offense and not the other traits needed to be a good player. Batum may very well be the ideal SF for this team. Kudos to KP. If he can just not have very many negatives in his game he is a positive for the team with Martel down. g
He may or may not have an immediate impact this year, but all I could do was laugh when people were upset we dealt Arthur for him. Batum is just the latest foreign steal late in the draft.
Totally ridiculous, even if it is just an opinion. What about Batum's flailing in Vegas told you he was a better basketball player than Bayless?
