Bobby Jones didn't score at the pro level. He became a defensive specialist. I think Batum will be as good at offense as defense.
By the way, whenever you read about the 76ers under Billy Cunningham, give all credit to Asst. Coach Chuck Daly, especially for their defense (e.g. Bobby Jones). As soon as Daly left for Detroit, Cunningham retired while his coaching reputation was still good. Quit while you're ahead. Daly went on to become one of the 5 best NBA coaches of all time. He totally changed the game, negatively, from Wooden-style fast break of the 80s to Jordan-style iso's of the 90s.
Batum, Rudy, and Bayless are proving that they are quite talented relative to their age. If they continue improving as expected of young players, then that along with our core of Roy, Oden, and LMA, that is a very bright future, assuming they all stay relatively healthy. All are within about 4 years of age, ranging from 21 to 25. Let's enjoy and appreciate that we have a chance to see young talented players develop into accomplished, skilled players. Although the results may not be pretty (Rudy shooting 2 of 8 tonight, etc) at least we are seeing these player improve and getting more well-rounded (Rudy driving more to the hoop instead of being just a spot up 3 point shooter, Batum with his slick passing and smooth slashes to the rim, etc).
trade Roy and Webster for Chris Paul. Paul, Rudy, Batum, Zach Randolph (i mean Aldridge), Oden. With Bayless, Outlaw, Przy off the bench. Champs.
Actually, the reports were that the Spurs orchestrated the heart-condition ordeal. Batum's father had died on a basketball court which was the result of a heart attack, said a Sports Illustrated article. This raised red flags throughout the NBA, which forced Batum to have some tests done on his heart in Toronto during the pre-draft workouts. However, the results were not conclusive. The results seemed to indicate that there might actually be some borderline problems if indeed Nicolas did have a family history of heart problems. However, Nic's father had actually died of an aneurysm, not a heart attack, according to his agent. All the while, Batum's draft stock was slowly slipping. Since Batum wanted to prove that his heart was fine, Batum had to re-do the tests on his heart in Cleveland where he worked out for the Cavs. The Spurs, who was the next team to work out Batum got hold of the test results on Batum's heart and all signs were that Nic's heart was completely healthy. The Spurs obviously coveted Batum, especially since he would be the perfect fit as the perimeter defensive stopper to eventually replace an aging Bruce Bowen, and to add a French buddy for their franchise point guard, Tony Parker. So the Spurs held onto the medical results and said it got lost, thus scaring off many more teams, and I think this is where Batum's stock took a big hit because if there were no tests to confirm that Batum would be a healthy player, many GMs and organizations will not risk even a mid 1st round pick. Somehow, KP found out that Batum was completely healthy and so he struck a deal with Houston for the 25th pick so that the Rockets could draft Batum, one pick before the Spurs' 26th pick, and trade Nic to us for our late 1st round pick Darrell Arthur and early 2nd round pick Joey Dorsey. It was another magnificent Pritchard draft day move, swindling and maneuvering his way to get the guy they targeted and swiping him away from teams that were waiting for him to drop to them. Or at least that's how I remember it.
Jesus, I was kidding dude. But seriously, thanks for the info. I wasn't exactly sure how all that stuff about his heart got started, or why it did. And I now remember hearing about his Dad, I had totally forgotten about that. Well I'm sure fucking glad that we got him, and not the Spurs. Dude has "it". Fuck ya, go Blazers!
My two cents. 1. As great as Batum was, I gotta list the crowd as my number one. I've never experienced anything like the booing that occurred at the end of the first into the second quarter non-stop. It was amazing, and way more fun to be a part of than it should've been. 2. Batum. No words necessary. 3. Bayless attacking the rim, Dante playing fairly well, Howard's rebounding.
I think the only positive is that Batum is closer to seizing the starting SF spot away from Martell "Fools Gold" Webster.
Batum was money. I think his struggles during the last half of the season last year must have been due to his shoulder cause that dude looks like money right now.
My positive is going to be one that I don't think many have mentioned. Last night, I saw a young team going through some growing pains from trying to run in the first half. People bitch about Nate not running. Last night they were trying to run. And they got their ass handed to them in the first half because they were not getting back on D. No big whoop. At least they are trying. They will pick it up.
positives? we are losing. there arent any. we know what we have. this is typical blazer fan saying next year.
Are you the dude that sits on the corner with the "World Ending Soon" sign? When did they get you a computer with a 3g connection so you could post?
