Not saying I want this to happen or I think it's going to happen; but if you were an assistant coach and wanted Batum to become a SG; how or what things would you want to work on to mold Batum into a SG? My guess is: #1: Definitely work on his handles. He needs to be more confident taking the ball to the paint. He needs control of the ball. #2: He's gotta get more strength. Not necessarily "bulk up", but have enough "core strength" to take a hit and still toss up a shot. #3: Work on creating his own shot. He needs to be able to get the ball on the wing and know how to create spacing enough to make a shot.
You need more strength at SF then SG... his strength is fine. Handles would be the only thing he needs to work on, Wallace can help bring the ball up the floor so its not a deal breaker. The biggest problem with Batum at SG is we played Wes, Roy, Rudy there last season, so there just arn't minutes available. If Roy is cut from amnesty I could see Batum at SG. He is a great defender but more so against guards and not the big forwards. But if all of Roy, Wes, and Rudy are on the roster then Batum won't be playing any SG.
It's all about who he can defend and what kind of complimentary skills he'd offer on offense. Assuming his shooting returns a little bit to form and he continues to improve his handle (if even only incrementally) then I think it's reasonable to assume he could be an OK starting shooting guard opposite guys like LMA and Wallace, but a lot depends on what kind of point guard we end up with -- preferably a good pick and roll operator with a very strong handle and the ability to shoot from distance (as much to compliment LMA's budding inside game and Wallace's slashing game) with Nic mostly functioning as a catch and shoot type 2 guard.
Assuming the Blazers waive Roy and move Rudy, I could see a three-man rotation of Wallace, Batum & Matthews working at the 2 & 3 spots. We'd still have Babbitt & Williams as bench backups in case of injuries. Like Nik said, I think Batum would function best as a catch & shoot guy, but if you have Wallace at the 3 spot and Miller at PG for penetration, that's not a problem. It's worth a shot.
His handles would be my only concern, but since there aren't a ton of plays drawn up to attack the defense, he should be fine.
If Kevin Durant couldn't handle being a SG, something tells me that moving Batum there is a bad idea.
Nicely done, as usual. Your ability to turn any thread into a negative comment on Nate's coaching is unparalleled.
Great Question MAGS! Not sure about SG, but no doubt he needs to develop his offensive game, he's got the tools. He could/should be avg 15-20ppg easily. This I know, I'd love to see him post up some smaller guards on a consistent basis.
Not at all negative. You just took it there. Nate's offense is designed to get open jump shots. Those aren't my words, those are Nate's and the teams words. Portland shot 22.4 FT's per game, which was 3rd to last in the league in FTA per game. It's not a crack at Nate, it's how the offense is designed.
Durant actually could handle it. He just wasn't brilliant at it like he is at SF. When you've got a superstar working at only 70% of capacity, it's a really big deal. If Batum is only able to operate at 70% of capacity at SG, that may still be our best option. Especially with a much better SF on the roster in Gerald Wallace. Durant is the kind of guy you structure a roster around. Batum ain't.
Yeah I would love to see him develop more back to the basket post moves. His size, quickness and length would be impossible to guard if he's a SG.
Durant is a much more talented player than Batum, can create his own shots consistently, and he still underperformed at SG to the point people at BBF were saying he may be a bust. Seems like a bad idea to me to waste time making Nic learn a new position 4 years into his career. But, this being S2, I'm sure mine is a minority opinion.
Actually e_blazer, I agree with Mediocre on this one. And I do know he does knock Nate down on every opportunity. In this case he is 100% accurate.
So you much rather have him be a forever back-up to Wallace? In my opinion, Wallace is definitely the better SF out of the two. I made this post in a effort to work Batum into the starting rotation. If he can't be a SG, then there is 0 chance that's gonna happen unless Wallace goes down.
What, you don't think Nate would add the Batum ISO to the playbook if Batum was playing the 2? I do find it interesting that Aldridge played, by far, the best ball of his career when Matthews and Batum, two guys with weak handles, were starting at the 2 and 3. Once we added Wallace and Roy, two guys with better handles, Aldridge seemed to regress. I'm not sure how much of it was Aldridge versus how much of it was play calling. With your SG and SF basically being spot up jump shooters who can't create their own shots, dumping the ball into Aldridge on the low block and letting him work for a good, high percentage shot, and kick out to the open shooters when the double team comes, was very effective. Once Wallace and Roy, two guys not known as spot up shooters were added to the rotation, we saw a lot less of LaMarcus in beast mode. Roy is no longer the player he was. No sense building the roster and designing the offense around him. Time to add players who compliment Aldridge and go back to making him THE number 1 option on offense. BNM
Yes, Good post. I think often the problem is guards dribbling. It uses up time on the shot clock. When LA was in beast mode the team was passing more often, quicker, and crisper than any time in the history of the McMillian era. I generally really like how Andre runs the team, but even he at times can start picking up a bad habit of over dribbling. When we move people, move the ball, then dump it into the post early and often we are more pleasant to watch and increasingly effective. I'd love to see a return to that mid season offense but with less minutes for Aldridge so he doesn't get worn out by February. LA needs to have a slow gradual peak instead of a sprint of greatness for 6 weeks followed with a regression to career average norms.
