I though the same thing. Of all the players on the team that i wouldnt mind plaing heavy minutes Nic is at the top of that list. He is still so young and has a non stop motor. And out of all the times to play him heavy minutes doesnt a b2b2b makes the most sense?
Because of the schedule, McMillan has indeed decreased minutes for some guys, including Batum. He has given Wallace's decreased minutes to Rhino, not Batum, who is one of the reduced minutes guys McMillan is trying to save for later. Rhino has responded well.
[video=youtube;Qod05KuCdSg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qod05KuCdSg&feature=g-u-u&context=G2198be0FUAAAAAAAAAA[/video] That play starting @ 2:31 was sick!
Thanks for posting that. I really like the way Nic is putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket. In addition to the play at 2:31, there was also the drive and dunk at 0:50 and the drive and foul at 1:38. He's no longer just "stand-in-the-corner-and-shoot-the-3-guy". Of course, they still don't seem to run many (any?) set plays for him, but he's taking it upon himself to be more aggressive on offense. He's getting to the rim more and also getting to the line more. At 5.1 his FTA/36 are WAY, WAY up. His previous best was 2.3 FTA/36. Now, if only Nate would actually play him 36 MPG, or at least 30... BNM
[video=youtube;p0YwG2fsu90]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0YwG2fsu90&feature=g-u-u&context=G2198be0FUAAAAAAAAAA[/video]
Crawford is SO much better at point guard than Felton -- when he doesn't go one-on-five and throw up circus shots every time he touches the ball. I don't know if he reads the board or not, but it was great to see him looking to pass to Nico. Crawford has talent and ability. It just depends on how he uses it. It seems Nate and I don't see eye-to-eye on many things. I'm still incredulous Nate doesn't see how much better the team is when they don't run the Iso-Crawful offense and instead move the ball around for good shots.
seriously. Nate yelling at Jamal to shoot it when 1 pass to Nic led to a wide open 3? Confirms my preconceived notions about Nate being an idiot.
I agree with Nic, they really should start bringing the Rose Garden crowd with them on the road. Half the arenas we've played in could use another 5-8000 people to fill them anyway.
[video=youtube;k7_vjLFDvPY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7_vjLFDvPY&feature=g-u-u&context=G2198be0FUAAAAAAAAAA[/video]
BTW, Nic has been the model of consistency. Check out his last 9 games. I so badly wish he'd get over 30mins every night.
Good to see Nic FINALLY get some big minutes last night. And screw the 30MPG, this kid should be getting a solid 36MPG. He's clearly become the second best player on the team. He's second to only Aldridge in both PER and WS/48, and no one else is even close. Oh well, on the bright side, Nate's continued under usage of Batum just adds more momentum to the fire Nate movement. Maybe then we will finally get a coach who knows how to run an offense that features more than one player at a time and is smart enough to actually play his second best player significant minutes and run some plays for him. BNM
How is it that this is so obvious to everyone BUT Nate? He's freaking slow as molasses when it comes to making changes, and he has always held some double standards about his players. Annoying as hell.
Now, now, let's not be too harsh on Mr. Sonic. Give him the rest of this season, another first round playoff exit (if we even make the playoffs), a full off season, training camp and preseason and he MIGHT finally realize it's time to start playing his second best player another 8 - 10 MPG. Or, maybe not. It's not like Nic is an unknown quantity. Nate has been coaching him for four years now. Nic has gotten better, and the team has gotten worse, but Nate is playing Nic 5 MPG LESS this season that last! Sorry to be politically incorrect (and mods feel free to delete this comment if it offends anyone), but that's just fucking retarded. BNM
We are getting ready to pay this guy some serious bucks so doesnt it make sense to take a look at him as the solid second option in the offense before we do that? And to do that you have to play him more. Force him to be engaged by making running plays for him. Once he understands that role better and trusts Nate to trust him then he will get more comfortable and do it himself. But you have to put him in that position.
That could very well be but wouldnt you like know more about who he can be for this team before we decide how much we want to keep him? It would make how we handle that situation so much easier to deal with it.
