This is answer that RR7 contributed to weekly Running The Break feature on the Blazers website. Since not all of his answer could be posted there I'm including it in it's entirety here. An offensive minded Batum works the same way that ANY other threat on the floor hitting shots makes for a better team. Especially one willing to share the ball. Issues seem to arise, I'd think, when Nic begins to stray slightly from what his role is as a glue player on the team. He needs to play with more aggression, while at the same time harnessing that aggression, if that makes any sense at all. Looking through win/loss splits, the stats that seems to differ the most for Nic are his 3 point shooting, where he drops from a 38% shooter to a 25% shooter in losses, his FT attempts, which go up in losses by about 1 attempt per game, oddly, and his turnovers, which also go up by about 1 per game. I keep bouncing around with my conclusions on it, but my thinking is that Nic relies more on other players playing well than the reverse is true, that other players excel more when Nic is playing well. If our other guys are on, it makes Nic's role as a glue guy that much easier, because his passes will find their mark more often, guys will be in the right positions, he won't be forcing passes(turnovers), and forcing poor 3 point attempts that drop his % considerably. He is assisted on a higher percentage of shots when we win as well. As for why he doesn't shoot more, I'd say it's by design. Matthews, Aldridge and Lillard are all better options to be shooting the ball. What we need is more energy out of the possessions he does use, and a greater focus on the defensive end of the ball. I think he occasionally seems unsure of what he's going to do game to game, and seems to choose ok, today I focus on passing, today defense, whatever. When giving greater effort towards the little things would make us a better team.[FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT]
Nic shoots well enough that he shouldn't be passing up a wide open shot which I see him do frequently. Just like any perimeter player if he is a threat to shoot he is a threat to score, which means the other team needs to defend closer which in turn spreads the floor more efficiently. Nic is ranked 10th of 15 on this roster for FGA per minute ahead of only Lopez, Freeland, Leonard, Claver and Watson.
It sometimes seems like Nic fades too much when he shoots. Has anyone else noticed that his balance seems to be off when he shoots threes?
for real. last night was a exactly how I'd like to see him play. He made some nifty plays and even though he had the flu and the finger thing he was quite aggressive and still played within himself.
Perhaps when he is tapping into his potential, he is giving his team something. It's interesting how that translates. But there are a lot of parallels between he and Sheed. When Sheed tapped into his potential he had the same effect on his team. Same with Nic. Neither player wants to be selfish enough to give their relative team the edge they potentially could have. Its almost being too selfish to be selfish for the good of team. And at times, that's what the team needs.
Funny, Sheed and Nico are two of my favorite Blazers of all time. Sheed got less love from the refs than any player in history, eventually it frustrated him. I feel Nico has been getting an unfair shake from some very vocal fans since he was a free agent. Those things don't elevate a player. Sheed finally got that respect in Detroit. The results were great!
Eh. Lets see him do this for a few games in a row. Aside from the 2 triple doubles in a week, he's been as hit or miss as any other.
According to Lopez, he's been a huge factor in Robin's double double record..credit where credit is due. Glad his teammates don't doubt him.
Interesting comparison. Yes, I see it. Both had pliant bodies; neither stood up straight much. Imagine if Sheed had been allowed to dribble more, looking for players to help. He defended guards man to man better than any big man I've seen.
He made one of those fading 3s leaning sideways to hit a game winner this season, forget which game but it was amazing. Nic often has to take shot clock pressure shots as well which tend to be lower percentage shots
