Nicolas Batum : " La NBA, c'est exactement comme je l'avais imaginée " (12/9) The NBA is exactly how I imagined it. Everything is out of proportion. On road trips, we stay in unbelievable hotels, crazy stuff. And it's not a private jet for the team, but a private Boeing! At the time of the game in Los Angeles, we had a day off so, with Rudy Fernandez, we took advantage to go to Hollywood. We just did the tour but we saw actors in costumes everywhere, disguised as Spider-Man or Elvis Presley. Concerning my performances on the court, I had a bit of trouble during the first games. It went better afterwards. I had two great performances out of 16 games, played in 24 days I think (30 in reality). Which gives you an idea of the rhythm. Now, I know that Martell Webster is going to come back. If he hadn't have gotten injured, I probably wouldn't be playing as much. I'm aware of it. Martell is a great player and he's going to bring a lot to the team. I'm not worried, I think first of all of the team and his return will inevitably help us. Whereas Greg Oden's absence at the start of the season had nothing to do with what happened last season. He simply twisted his ankle. Every basketball player has experienced that in his career. It just happened at a bad time for him, during the first game of the season. But he's coming back well. The first month, I think that the team is at the level it should be at (10 wins, 6 losses as of November 28th). There were a few games we lost when we could impose ourselves, like against Phoenix or New Orelans, but globally, we're in rhythm. The fact that we have four rookies allows us to share the burden of hazing. Jerryd Bayless is the biggest target. He's in charge of breakfast. Oden, as he was already here last year and was drafted first, is mostly left alone. And for me and Rudy, we play on the language barrier, pretending to not understand. I often say: "oh that's what you wanted me to bring? Sorry, I didn't understand." I watched online live the game between Le Mans and Olympiakos. There was a curse, it's not possible! Losing so many close games... That was already the case when I was there last year. And it had happened the previous year. It could go either way, that's why I still think they can qualify for the Top 16 (ed. - advance past the first "round" of Euroleague games). But there's something! Somebody cursed the city, there's a sorcerer somewhere! Nicolas Batum : « La NBA est un business » (12/17) The frantic rhythm of the NBA continues. I just had three days without a game. It's very rare. The last three weeks, we had games without ever having more than one day of rest. Since the start of the season, we're the team that's played the most often on the road. Result: we got beat three times in a row because we were on our last legs. We were dead in practice, tongue hanging out. This mini-respite happened during my birthday (he was born December 14th). Sunday, my 20th birthday, I wanted to go to practice to take some shots. But there was a snow storm in Portland. Leaving was impossible, I was stuck. So I partied at my house. But it was cool to have a partie with my family. I never would have thought of celebrating my 20th birthday while in the NBA, especially as a starter! Personally, I was pooped during the last two weeks. There were five or six games, it really wasn't that, completely rotten performances (???). I started to ask questions of myself. I was annoyed with myself. I understood that my body had problems keeping up. Since mid-august, I've had four days off. So Channing Frye told me: "For your rookie season, you have to hit the rookie wall, it's not possible any other way." Steve Blake and Joel Przybilla told me the same thing. Fortunately, the game against Sacramento (December 16th) reassured me. I scored points at important moments (12 points and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes). I did a good job on defense, The coach was really happy with me. After half time, he asked me to defend John Salmons. He had scored 21 points in the first half. And he didn't score any afterwards. I hope that that will relaunch me because when Martell Webster came back, my performances were really average. I told myself "there it is, he's back. He's going to take advantage of my poor form for playing time. It's dead, my season is over." And then, he got hurt again. Already, if I was a starter at the beginning of the season, it's surely because of his absence. Then he's out again for a month. I'm seeing it more and more as a sign. The last days were marked by the trade of Boris Diaw to Charlotte. It must be hard to leave a solid team to go to a club that's rebuilding, that doesn't win much. When I talked about it with Alexis (Ajinça), he told me: "We're a good team, I promise you." We must not watch the same games... Boris didn't have anything to say about his trade, that's the law of the NBA. I experienced that a bit in the draft. I almost went to San Antonio, then, in the end, Houston took me, and a quarter hour later, I was traded to Portland. I was really mad. But that showed me the way things are. Now, I know what's to come. In the NBA, there's no remorse. A director can hold your hand then can get rid of you as he please. Basketball is a business where you even play on Christmas day.
Yes. He's been pretty clear he really really wanted to go to SA, and Portland was a disappointment. Nevertheless, I forgive him. barfo
I think that for him (Rudy and Sergio probably too), coming through the academy in his hometown, spending 5+ years there, their club is like a family, whereas the NBA, you're more of a commodity. Hopefully he's only pissed about what happened on draft night and not about how thing's are going in Portland.
Nico may understand that Martell is going to take his starting job away, and he says the right things, but it's clear he doesn't like it. Good for him. Nico is going to be a player in this league. What a steal.
update - as it's sort of a dull interview, I decided it didn't deserve a new thread, but... NBA - Nicolas Batum: "Un début de saison au-dela de mes attentes" The young Frenchmen Nicolas Batum, 20 years old, who fought his way into the Blazers’ starting 5 in his first NBA season, assured to AFP that his start to the season has been above his expectations and he declared himself “very satisfied.” Q: Has your start to the season reached your expectations? A: It’s even been beyond my expectations because I didn’t think I’d be starting every game. I’m very satisfied. I didn’t see it like that: I just thought about playing three or four minutes a game, not being a starter and playing between 15 and 20 minutes. Q: What does Portland coach Nate McMillan ask of you? A: He already asks me to defend the opponents best player. Sunday in Los Angeles, I got stuck with Kobe… I have to play my game, box out for rebounds, take open shots when they’re there. He (McMillan) wants me to rebound, get a couple steals and especially that I maintain a good shooting percentage, that I take good shots, that I don’t force them. Q: Does your status as a starter put you under more pressure on top of being a rookie? A: Contrary to the start of the year, I know now that I have something to bring each night, I have to be consistent. There’s a bit of pressure in that regard, which I didn’t have in the beginning. And with the fatigue which comes, after already 30 games played, I’ll have to manage. But you’re in the NBA for that. It’s another world, another universe but it’s magnificent. Q: What exactly are the differences that you are experiencing? A: It's more physical, faster, more brutal, bigger, stronger, it's more everything. The NBA in general, it's a real circus, it's always moving, it's business everywhere, it's money everywhere... It really is unbelievable. You can easily lose your head in here. I'm only 20, I'm at the beginning of my career, the financial aspect, that will be for later. Q: Have you spoken with the other French players in the NBA? A: I've seen them all, they're cool with me and give me a lot of advice. Q: And your teammates in Portland, how are they with the "Frenchie" ? A: They're really nice, they tease me a bit because for them, basketball doesn't exist outside of the United States. We tease each other, nothing really mean, I manage to respond to them. They're curious, asking me lots of questions about France, they say two or three words in french to me. Q: Do you think that you have succeeded in winning their respect? A: I think so, I think that it's apparent in their behavior. Q: Are you apprehensive about Martell Webster's next comeback? A: At the start, I wasn't supposed to play and I'm playing now in part because he's injured. If he comes back, he will maybe take his place back because he's normally the starter. But I'll do everything I can to keep my playing time.
Nice call about adding this to the thread v. making a new thread. Three great insights into the world of Batum. Although after reading that, I wonder if he likes Ptd? Why did he want to go to SA so badly? And if we want to keep him, we are going to have to pay him big when the time comes . . .
updated again Basket-ball - Nicolas Batum : « Je remonte la pente » I played my best game of the season against the Lakers. In all aspects: scoring (17 points), minutes (34)... The dunk on Pau Gasol was the only thing people talked to me about for a few days. I have the impression that my exhausting December is over. I'm cautious but I think that the hardest is over. I'm back on my feet. We had to play four games without Brandon Roy. On the court we have good chemistry. But my role didn't change much in his absence. We got out of it with two wins and two losses. Beating two big teams like Boston and Detroit proves that we're there. Soon we'll have reached the halfway point of the regular season. Boston, who started well, are sort of treading water (4 consecutive losses recently). The euphoria is starting to fall. Watch out though, maybe they'll catch on fire during the playoffs! But, I don't know why, I'm just not really feeling them. For the moment, the two teams that I find the most solid are the Lakers and New Orleans. The Hornets have Chris Paul, the best point guard in the world. Period. Los Angeles have very good players at each position. And there's Kobe Bryant. He's not like the others. I generally defend the other team's best player. He's the one who has impressed me the most. You even know what he's going to do and he still manages to score. I don't know how he does it. Dwyane Wade is also very good. What speed and control! On the other hand, I was a little disappointed with Tracy McGrady. I was expecting better. Apart from the game, winter is harsh in Portland. There were 40 centimeters (ed. ~1.3 feet) of snow. They haven't seen that for 50 years. The snow... they barely even know what it looks like. Result: impossible to get around, we haven't had practice for two days. We were supposed to go to Denver, and instead of taking off at noon, we left at 6. The highways weren't even cleared. When it started to melt, there was flooding... Basically, they weren't ready for it at all and it was a total mess!
Thanks for the translation, buddy. Interesting that Nic was not impressed with T-Mac, but I guess McGrady wasn't fully healthy when we played the Rockets.
Seems like a really sharp kid. I think we're lucky to have him. I'm hoping Rudy and Batum end up for us like Stojakovic did for the Kings and Parker did for the Spurs. KP's scouting ability makes me think they will.
sort of an odd, short interview (in english) with Batum. More worrying is the fact that Canzano is teaching english to thousands of unsuspecting foreigners... if you weren't afraid of the Chinese before, just imagine them with the power of a John Canzano tug-at-your-heartstrings sob story or his loose grip on the facts. Frightening.
update - Feb 4th The Chroni(what?)cle of Nicolas Batum The short All-Star break is coming. I will be in Phoenix to watch the events, with Canal + [French TV station] who will follow me for the show “Intérieur Sport.” The starting five chosen seems pretty logical to me. For the East, I just would have replaced Allen Iverson with Devin Harris. Concerning Portland, we're in a good rhythm, there's a good mentality in the group. Our month of January was rather good (9 wins, 5 losses). We found ourselves 4th in the Western Conference. We're the best rebounding team. That's no small thing. It proves our seriousness and our will to reach our objectives. We proved that we can be consistent defensively and efficient on offense, with plays that we're executing better and better. We even put up 47-19 on New Orleans [talking about the comeback]! We can be dangerous. We have 35 games left, it's up to us to keep our rhythm. For my part, I'm starting to have more offensive responsibilities. I've played several games where I took six or seven shots in twenty minutes. Against Utah, they went in and I was able to score 16 points. As there are four rookies on the team, there's always one of us who shines. In the airplane taking us from New Orleans to Portland, we discovered that Kobe Bryant had scored 61 points. I told myself: “Ah, about time.” This year, he's been a team player with the Lakers. We were expecting the scoring machine to start up again.
That's a great entry. I'm glad to see he doesn't think that they suck, his teammates need to get traded, or his GM should be looking to replace his coach. I especially love the part where he talks about the seriousness of the team and wanting to meet the objectives they set out.
