+> In my opinion, best player can also be the guy that delivers a steal,assist,block,rebound or shot when the Team needs it the most. Take for instance Batum and his work against Dallas in the 4th Q last week. So Batum could be the best player for the game, especially if the contest counts down to the last few minutes. That ranking idea is a favorite media trick because they want a pecking order.
To even extrapolate it more, society feels like it needs a pecking order for everything. But that's an entire different issue. lol. That said, I believe Batums' game against the Clippers is also very telling. That 4th Q and OT were sensational.
Yeah, he's not like offensively bad on defense anymore. I mean we all love Wes, but we were just saying AAA was just as good as him, is AAA as good as Lillard now too?
These bozos said the same thing about the Pistons when they won a championship...no stand out MVP guy on the roster. I still think our chances are really good this season, even sans Wes
The frustrating thing is, Olshey actually made a move that showed some faith in the team (as opposed to dragging in another Blake/Kaman type) - and now pure bad luck has moved us from underdog to under the wheels of a passing bus.
Let's face it - for this team to advance in the playoffs and be a contender, Batum has to play like he has the past two weeks. When Batum is playing like that, he is MUCH better than Wesley. LMA, Lillard and Batum are all better players than Matthews. Not to discount the work that Matthews puts in, but Portland's big three is still in tact.
The sad thing is CJ finally has that shot he wanted and he's failing (so far). He had finally put together a good streak of games before the AS break, and we got Afflalo to replace him on the bench. He was visibly sulking more after that. But he has his shot again and needs to produce. Perfect opportunity, and he's not grasping it.
He's had one game since Wes went down. I think it's a bit unfair to offer any evaluations on his performance yet.
CJ has been disappointing this whole season, PT or no PT. His revolving door defense combined with his shaky handles aren't gonna get him anywhere until he works on it.
If he were starting rather than coming off the bench, I don't think he would need to. Gee as a defensive slasher alongside multiple talented perimeter shooters with Afflalo playing 30+ reserve minutes would likely be a much better fit than AAA starting and using CJ as an undersized 2 off the bench.
