As a rational human being, I KNOW that Batum is a mediocre player with a questionable attitude. I KNOW that his new contract is a trainwreck. Then he has a game like last night.....and the fan in me starts to think "maybe he has figured it out! Maybe he will finally reach the potential I once saw in him!" AAAAAAARGH! Dear Lord I'm pathetic.
He is not consistent. That's his number 1 problem. But if he keeps going after rebounds like he did last night it could go a long way. That NEVER happened with Nate as the coach.
I love that in his postgame interview last night, HE said that he had shot too many three-pointers in the game and needed to drive more. The reporter didn't ask about that, he brought it up on his own.
One added benefit of Batum putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket - more FTs. He as 5-7 from the line last night. Last season, he only averaged 2.7 FT/G. With a career FT% = .834 FT, if he can average 5 FT/G instead of 2.7, he will add 2 PPG to his scoring average on FTs alone. BNM
IMO it was always the number of shots that was the problem. Nic has rarely puts up high volume low percentage nights. So then whether or not it was problem of misuse or of Nic drifting around and disappearing was the quandry. He had 16 shots last night compared to an average of 10 the last 2 seasons. From what I've heard about Nic knowing he's the first or second option and him never really being one for stupid shots, I expect more of the same production especially with Dame collapsing defenses and dropping dimes. Much like we want to see Lillard turn the ball over a little bit to push his limits, I want to see Batum shoot the ball...a lot.
Yep. Everything is right back to normal. I guess the Laker game was just to show us what he *could* do......which makes what he *does* do all the more painful.
...so, should we start calling him "Houdini" or "Oziris" [after the newest roller coaster in France at Parc Asterix]?!
