I think that's the polite way to not hurt Outlaw's feelings while keeping his trade value up. If Nate wants the second unit to be a fast paced team, Batum would fit in perfectly there as well.
What does that have to do with keeping the second unit intact, as I advocated and Nate is on record with supporting? You are insinuating that Nate is lying in order to not hurt Outlaw's feelings. What is your foundation for this?
Nate's public comments don't always mean much. Take the Green remark, all the stories about the new fast paced Blazers, Sergio being behind Green at the start of last season and then Green not playing at all. My foundation is the fact that at the start of training camp, Outlaw was said to have a shot at starting. He had a poor pre-season and is now on the bench. Are we supposed to believe that it's not a demotion? Besides, it's not lying, maybe keeping the second unit together is a part of the reason Outlaw's not starting. About 1%, but that's all it takes.
So the second unit isn't being kept together, exactly as I said it would be? I'm having a hard time figuring out what your point is other than to "neg" me on factually being correct.
My point is that the "second unit being kept together" is almost entirely a load of crap. The real reason Outlaw isn't starting is because he's a one dimensional black hole of a player who doesn't fit in well with other players. Better he's taking away shots from Pryzbilla and Sergio than Roy, Aldridge, or Oden.
Times have changed. Last year if Roy got two quick fouls, our turnover-prone backup PG had to come in and Blake would have to slide over to defend Kobe. If Blake got tired or got in foul trouble, we'd have to go with Sergio and Jack. This year, we have a very talented backup SG. I guess we will see tomorrow who is right, and who is wrong. I'll be surprised if Roy doesn't pick up Kobe the majority of the time in the 1st quarter.
Some things never change. If putting Batum in instantly makes our team have no chance, we have no business competing with the Lakers in the first place. However, if Batum struggles we have Travis on the bench who, while being lethargic in preseason, should turn it on at some point, and it may as well be tomorrow. I'm not too worried. I give it a 35-65 we win. With Webster I would have given it a 40-60.
It doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong. I think it is a huge mistake to put your most valuable player on a player (Kobe) who draws more fouls then almost any other player in the league.
Its the right move. Nate said they are looking for a good 14ish minutes from him at the start of the 1st and 3rd QTRs. I think he can do it. They said rebounding and D and then on offense just play off what everyone does... cut and get in transition w/ the team. I think this is the best option. As good as Rudy is, I just don't think starting him and Roy is the right thing to do. Rudy will be a great 6th man for us, but his game is very similar to Roys. Plus, I think someone said that Roy said that he would prefer not to play the SF... and starting him at PG isn't the best option because it will tire him out. With Rudy and Roy in different units, we have a playmaker on the court at all times. I think that will help our team alot. Similar (kind of) to how nice it will be to have Greg and Joel on the court at all (or at least most of) the time.
I think Batum will be OK; he can defend the Laker's SFs just fine, although I won't be surprised if he proves to be a liability on offense. Either way, I am happy that Outlaw isn't going to be out there taking ugly 40% jump shots instead of passing to Roy, Aldridge or Oden.
OK, I'll go ahead and mention it - the second to last preseason game. The Roy-Rudy combo starts the 2nd half and the other team promptly goes on a 12 (13?) to ZERO run. Batum is inserted back into the game, and the team stabilizes, and goes on to win. I'm not say Batum is superman. What I am saying is that superstars need role players - good defenders, good 3 point shooters, smart players, good rebounders, players that don't try to do more than they should, players that don't make a lot of turnovers, ... (e.g. Bowen, Camby, Najera, Pryz). What superstars who come in threes (like Oden-Roy-LMA) don't need is someone to come in and take a lot of shots without providing the role-player skills. Batum is a good role player. In years to come, he has the chance to be a very, very good role player. Travis Outlaw is a good "star"-type player, but a poor role player. It doesn't make sense to start him along side our big 3.
Good post. I agree I also think Batum gives you a hustle player that possibly gives you a couple of extra possesions that can make the difference in a game (similar to Jerome Kersey).
