I was checking out the power rankings for early March and Reina compared him to an interesting player.....
I don't see it. Sprewell was a slasher and a bit reckless in his play, whereas Nic is always smooth and under control. I think the Scottie Pippen comparison is more apt.
Comparing him to Scottie Pippen doesn't make any sense. Yea he's good on defense and they jump similar but Pippen is ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN NBA HISTORY.........Spree was solid on defense (made all nba defensive team) and was a solid shooter. He made 4 All-Star teams too....I love Batum but he is going to be a long shot to make one ASG.
People always take comparisons way too literally. When people say they remind him of Scottie Pippen, it doesn't mean he's going to be as good as Pippen. They are just saying his style of play, long arms, instinctive defense, ability to effortlessly glide to the hoop all resemble the way Pippen played. It doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be as good as Pippen. But, I will say this, I think that as a solid starter in the NBA at the age of 21, he's better than Pippen was at Central Arkansas at the same age.
You're comparing Batum as a 2nd year player (like 20 games into his 2nd season), to what Pippen ended up being in his prime. Pippen was 23 by the time his 2nd season started. Batum is 22 just now. Their stats (albeit, Batum's are limited for his 2nd year) are not significantly different. And that was with Pippen being the 2nd leading scorer on the Bulls that year.
His game is almost identical to Prince's really no need to compare him to anyone else. If he turns out to be as good as Prince I would be estatic. Prince played great shut down defense, created extra opportunities, hit big shots, and was a glue type player. He'll never demand shots but is fully capable of having the offense ran through him at times. If Oden can stay healthy for a couple of years we have the making of a 5-7 year championship run.
The problem with comparing them at the same age is that Pippen of 22 or 23 didn't project to become the player he did. It was an unexpected and massive jump in development that got Pippen to Hall of Fame caliber. Lots of players will equal or better what Pippen did at an early age, but almost none will have that anomalous development path after age 23. I think Pippen works as a stylistic comp, though. They're very similar types of players, even if Batum is hugely unlikely to ever be that good. Prince is a realistic comparison in terms of talent, IMO. Pietrus is a worst-case scenario (and to "reach" that worst-case, Batum would have to regress from where he is now).
I always liked Augmon. He was a highly regarded talent early in his career, he played on team USA. Just never developed like people thought he might, he scored well on Atlanta but was more of a niche defensive specialist after that. Batum can shoot the 3, Augmon was worthless that far out. They're great defenders. Hopefully Batum capitalizes on more of his potential, whereas Augmon never quite did.
It's not a weird comparison on defense and body type...but Augmon had no real ball-handling skills and shooting skills, while Batum does. I did love Augmon, though.
LOL!!! Sprewell was a great player. But I do not see this comparison at all. Totally different games. He never was really a good blocker or stealer. More offensive game. Nic has a great defensive game.
Batum is a better shooter than augman for sure, especially from distance, but Stacey did have a nice mid-range shot if I remember correctly. But I was mostly thinking of how they moved, especially on defense. But even on offense, the other night, when Batum moved from high wing down to the baseline and to the hole, that looked a lot like Augman except much prettier. But on D, they both have that natural gift, long arms, smooth but quick feet. As I said, I think Batum will be better than Augman, he probably already is, but their games seem similar. Batum will be better than Augman and worse than Pippen, but has a style somewhere in between.
