The last few games has forced Nic to play a different role on the team: that of a primary scorer and go-to guy. He has responded with a much more aggressive attitude. And he's expanded his game to incorporate the midrange game also. The only thing lacking now is a better driving ability so that he can draw fouls, and break down defenses. But after all that has happened this year so far, Nic is definitely a positive. He has the ability to take at least some of Brandon's responsibilities going forward. His last 6 games: -16pts, 6-14 FG, 2-7 3pt, 4 rebs, 1blk, 33mins -21pts, 8-14 FG, 2-3 3pt, 6rebs, 2asts, 32mins -17pts, 7-11 FG, 1-3 3pt, 4rebs, 1ast, 2stls, 1blk, 29mins -17pts, 7-13 FG, 3-6 3pt, 1reb, 1ast, 39mins -20pts, 7-14 FG, 3-6 3pt, 3rebs, 2asts, 3stls, 1blk, 35mins -16pts, 7-16 FG, 2-7 3pt, rebs, 2asts, 1stl, 47mins He's becoming one of our most consistent players. But can he make the necessary adjustments when defenses key in on him?
We are going to need Rudy and Mathews to step up as well. They have to make up for a lot of Roy did by committee. I was hoping Nic could step in as the #2 scorer on the team this year, but now it looks like he will be asked for much more.
It's nice that it took one of the best young coaches in the league a Brandon Roy injury to realize how good Batum is
I honestly don't think that if Roy is out we can or will have one "go to" guy this year. It's going to have to get done my committee, based on what the other teams gives us, who is hot, and I think pushing the ball a lot more. Getting our C position back to being a strength vs a weakness is going to IMO make the difference. Can't run much when the other team is scoring easy baskets and we get few stops and first shot rebounds. Pryz will help a lot and if Oden can come back we'll all of a sudden go from weak up front to possibly dominating.
The closest player we have to a "go-to" scorer should be obvious: Andre Miller. Obviously, the ways in which he can score are limited (drives, short jumpers, post-ups), but the plus is that Andre knows how to draw fouls; he has the highest draw-foul rate on the team (not surprisingly). The plus about Roy going down is that it will inevitably force the Blazers to play the type of game that all of us knew needed to be played, one with more ball movement and taking advantage of fast breaks. Brandon Roy was the anti-fast break, even when he was healthy. We've seen how our second unit can push the ball; both Andre and Armon can run a great fast break, and when you have gazelles like L.A., Rudy, and Batum, it makes it all the easier.
Roy was our "go to" player and after a few seasons teams baited him and he became ineffective as such. Maybe it's good for us to have a few players we can go to and that way teams can't defend just one player.
