This is his time to show if he can be an above average starter. Can he be a player that shoots ridiculous percentages from all over the court or will he stand at the three point line being effectively guarded by Steve Nash or Luke Ridnour? Can he have a few offensive sets ran through him or will he only contribute as the 3rd or 4th offensive option. There has been a lot of fan talk here and elsewhere about giving Flynn or Patty Mills big minutes at PG, or giving Thabeet and Craig Smith extended minutes in the front court, but those players are virtually insignificant to this franchise beyond the next 40 days. Batum could be one of the core pieces of the franchise, and effect what type of complementary player we try to add around him. He’s talked about how he needs a bigger role and he plays better when he starts. Well go out and prove it buddy! Rudy said a ton of the same things but then when Roy went down he played like shit as a starter. Is Batum going to make a big production jump like LaMarcus or will he fall on his face like Rudy?
I don't know what's going to happen, but I suspect that if they increase his role and his responsibility he'll respond well (like he did earlier in the year when he briefly started having more stuff run through him and his minutes went from 20-ish to 35-ish a night.
I think Batum explodes on the court now. He now has the opportunity to play, and management has given him the green light. He doesn't have to look over his shoulder and worry that he will be taken out if he makes a mistake like he did in the past with Nate. He's gonna be very special and given a ton of minutes. I think Crawford and Batum are the true winners from Nate's firing and the deadline trades.
Yeah but I got so sick of the other teams PG effectively guarding Batum. It's been an issue ever since Phoenix did it about 2 years ago. If he is at the 3 or even the 4 it seems like he can create a mismatch with a big man having to leave the interior, but if the opponent puts a tiny guard on Batum he can't take any advantage of them inside.
I agree with most in this thread. Batum will explode for the rest of the year. As long as Canales isn't an idiot like Nate... Batum was playing like a mad-man out of the gate against the Heat...until our retarded Coach took him out of the game. I expect him to be capable of this.
I hope you guys are right. Batum's half-hearted performance lately has been a huge disappointment. If he doesn't get his head straight, he will be just another Rudy.
He is what he is. If you think having no real coach will make him a better player you are delusional.
