How Nic stacks up to other starting guards in the league. Small sample size I know, but very impressive. Where did all the Nic haters go? Where is this RoyToy guy at? Haven't seen him around here in awhile. http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/p...-game/sort/avgPoints/qualified/false/split/76
first thing i noticed is how many fewer free throws he shoots compared to everyone else near the top of that list
LA is doing his business down low, no room. The other thing you should have noticed first is his amazing shooting %. Inside and outside the 3 point line! Compare that to the others....... while putting up as many shots as almost everybody. Very efficient!
Nic is still scoring predominantly from the 3 pt line. He's started taking it to the hole more recently, but that's the only way he's going to get his FT attempts up.
Don't see a lot of problems with Nic playing that position. The big concern was handles but he seems more than capable and if he stays as aggressive as he has been he will be a tough match up for any 2 in the league, especially defensively.
That two man game with LA yesterday was a thing of beauty. We might have something there for the future. If we had a PG out there who could complement those two with good shooting and smart passing, we'd be killer. You saw what Jamal's hot shooting did yesterday to the passing lanes. I'm getting more and more interested in Kendall Marshall right now (had a 22pt, 13ast, 0 to game last night against NC State). I'm excited to see Nic in the Olympics. He's had more responsibility as a guard on his National team every year, and should share a bulk of the scoring load again with TP.
Handles have improved so much after being the primary ball handler for Nancy this fall. He's still a bit predictable and needs a left hand, but if he can make as much progress as he did this past summer again next summer, he can definitely climb into all star talks.
He's scoring a lot from other places as well. It's not that he's just taking threes, it's that he seems to say to himself, "There's a guy in front of me. Better pass it." more than almost any NBA starting SG. He considers the idea of forcing contact impolite, I guess. Must be a French thing (although Parker doesn't have that problem). Still, I'll take him over Jerryd Bayless any day.
To be the long term solution at the SG, he does need to work on his first step with the ball. Right now his first instinct is to shoot the long jumper and doesn't make the defense collapse to stop the drive. I'm hopeful but not 100% sold on him there.
I've always liked Nic at the 2. He handles the ball well enough and is a strong shooter. His role as a starter is long over due.
Anyway, I love Batum starting at SG. It opens so many things for this team. One of the best things are the mismatches he has on the low block. Also, he has more of an opportunity to rebound too.
That's how Ray Allen and Reggie Miller played, and both are borderline Hall of Famers. Both played that way for the same reason that Batum does right now: they're excellent shooters and are better equipped to use the threat of the shot to set up the drive against defenders trying to close out quickly or overplay the shot. Obviously, I'm not saying that Batum is the next Ray Allen or Reggie Miller, but it's a perfectly acceptable way to play shooting guard at a very high level.
I think Nic has a better all around game than either of them. NOt that he IS a better player, but can do more things.
Reggie Miller, I'd agree with you. Ray Allen was quite well-rounded...a great shooter, solid going to the basket and a pretty good passer. He could even defend and rebound acceptably. While Batum is a better defender than Allen was, I think Batum still needs to be able to create for others to really get to Allen's level of all-around play.
