In the few games that I have been able to watch (thanks Comcast), I think if the Blazers develope a faster paced game he will be better than Tayshon. He runs tha floor so well and finishes well. He may turn out to be a lot better than we think IMO. g
Rookie Season Batum vs Pippen Per 48 Minutes Points Batum 19.3 Pippen 18.2 Rebounds Batum 3.6 + 4.3 = 7.9 Pippen 3.3 + 5.3 = 8.7 Steals Batum 2.9 Pippen 2.6 Blocks Batum 1.8 Pippen 1.5 Assists Batum 2.7 Pippen 2.9 Turn Overs Batum 2.1 Pippen 3.8 Shooting (2P%, 3P%, FG%, FT%) Batum 53.3% 42.9% 48.3% 66.7% Pippen 47.4% 17.4% 46.2% 57.6% Efficiency (Points / (FGA + 0.5 x FTA) Batum 59.0% Pippen 48.0% Simplified PER-like Rating Batum 13.8 Pippen 10.1 (followed by 11.3, 13.3, 16.8.... carreer 14.2) Notable Differences Pippen got to the free throw line 3x as often per 48 while turning it over almost 2x as often. Much more of Batum's scoring comes from the 3-point line. Batum's offensive efficiency is much higher that Pippen's was (and even higher than Pippen's carreer). Much of that is due to Batum's good 3-point shooting and the sample size is still too small there (as is the whole sample size for Batum) but if he continues to improve he is gonna be awesome.
19-year-old Pippen couldn't carry 19-year-old Nico's water bottle. Of course, Pip was a bit of a late bloomer (iirc he grew 6 inches or something in college) and it remains to be seen if Nico has anything close to Pip's drive, competitiveness and determination (had Nico even seen a weight room before he got here?). Only time will tell. Go Blazers!
I like the Augmon comparison...for now. I may revise it as Nic develops his game. If Batum ends up with an Augmon-type career, I would be thrilled, but I certainly don't cap his ceiling at that comparison.
I have no expectations of Nic being anywhere as good as Pip was - but if he does - it will be great. I do expect him to be somewhere around Prince in his prime - which is terrific.
For me, it's amazing that he's improved so much since last December. I watched Le Mans play Armani (I was over in Paris), and I knew that Batum and Gallinari were the two draft prospects in the game. I was much higher on Gallinari after that game, b/c Nico couldn't/didn't stop him. I was one who didn't want to pick him at 13, though I said after the draft that 3M and one of our 3 2nd rounders would be a decent price for the risk/reward (and for darned sure a better pick for me than Arthur). Then summer league came along, and he looked lost again. Then KP said at the M&G in October that we'd all be surprised, Batum was already starter-level on D, and just needed to show he could hang in the offensive flow. When asked about Batum going to the D-League, KP said we'd all be surprised; that Batum wasn't far behind Webs and Outlaw in terms of pushing them for minutes. Now we're talking seriously about him being Scottie Pippen. All in 11 months.
Comparing Nico to Pip as rookies is interesting, but doesn't mean a lot. Rookie Pippen shouldn't have been expected to turn into what he did...he exceeded expectations based on his rookie numbers by a ton. Thus, one can't project a Pippen-like career for someone else who has a similar or better rookie season. Pippen beat the odds; by definition, you can't predict Batum will beat the odds. Still, his excellent season at such a young age definitely gives him a great ceiling. Being a Tayshaun Prince would be immensely valuable. Batum has the chance to even exceed Prince. An 18.4 PER in a season he'll turn 20 in is awesome. Especially considering that he combines it with great defense. Here's a comparison: Age Shawn Marion: 21 Nicolas Batum: 20 Points Per 36 Minutes Shawn Marion: 14.9 Nicolas Batum: 14.5 Assists Per 36 Minutes Shawn Marion: 2.0 Nicolas Batum: 2.0 Rebounds Per 36 Minutes Shawn Marion: 9.5 Nicolas Batum: 5.9 Steals Per 36 Minutes Shawn Marion: 1.1 Nicolas Batum: 2.1 Blocks Per 36 Minutes Shawn Marion: 1.5 Nicolas Batum: 1.3 TS% (Scoring Efficiency) Shawn Marion: .511 Nicolas Batum: .594 PER Shawn Marion: 17.1 Nicolas Batum: 18.4 Extremely alike, except Marion had a huge edge in rebounding (Marion's been a historical freak through his career in rebounding) and Batum has the huge edge in scoring efficiency. And Marion was a year older as a rookie.
The only hesitation I had about Nicolas was a consistent outside shot before the season. The guy can definitely defend, rebound and do all the little things at the NBA level, but now Nicolas is showing he can hit the wide open 3, and he can cut and drive to the hoop. He can also consistently hit the mid-range jumper. I love the way Batum is playing, he's fitting in perfectly with the starters and just doing his thing. Don't know if he has the leadership type skills that Pippen had, but Tayshaun Prince definitely.
I think is safe to say we have the best set of scout/talent evaluators in the league. I am lovin Batum so far this season and his 3pt stroke is becoming better and better as each game progresses!
The Scottie Pippen comparisons seem like the least likely. Defensively? Perhaps, but Batum is not Pippen at this point on defense. Not even close. Plus, Pippen played quite a bit of "point forward" and initiated the offense on Chicago and even moreso in Portland. Batum has yet to show he can even get a shot off after a few dribbles, let alone being a primary ballhandler.
I love the comparison posts with rookie seasons.... it means that Batum has the *possibility* to be as good as a Pippen -- and it all comes down to whether he has the fire. It is a BIG if, but certainly it is within the realm of the possible. Augmon looks less and less likely as Batum's shot keeps finding its way to the basket. Augmon was a terrible shooter from any range. iWatas
