Game Thread GAME# 24: BLAZERS @ GRIZZLIES - DECEMBER 8, 2016 - THURSDAY, 5:00 PM (PDT), CSNNW

I take offence to that. I have mad respect for @magnifier661 . Don't insult him like that!!!! No like for you!

With that said. I showed numbers. Show me where i'm delusional? I did say Nic is a better shooter, no doubt, but look at the rest of the stats. They are almost identical for their career but Aminu averages almost 10 minutes less per game.
Rebounds are just hustle plays. If your a hustler the more minutes you play the more you will get. So I don not see it ill conceived at all to think that Aminu's stats ( aside from shooting) would eclipse Nic if played the same amount of minutes per game.
Sorry, but the numbers are in black and white. I posted them they should be legit as the came from the espn website. Now if my source is wrong and my numbers are wrong, ill gladly eat my words and toss them back at ESPN, but if the numbers are correct... then they are correct.

 

sure we do...but he's played very little so far

 

2015-2016 Aminu was better than Batum when he played for the Blazers.
Henderson was better than Batum.
Harkless is also better than Batum.

So that's the bottom line guys.

 

He foul him on the arm before he had his hand on the ball. It was correct but Dame was right though you just don't make that call to give them a chance to win the game. Any other team playing Memphis the whistle wouldn't been blown.

 

Lmao, Batum was a 13/7/5 guy who defended as well as Aminu did and could shoot from anywhere. Y'all hated Batum when he was here because you guys felt he should be scoring almost 20 a game. When Batum was in his worst slumps, he shot like Aminu has been this year, and he still did everything else better.

 

I have watch alot of NBA games in my life and the whole time watching I might have seen no more than 5 times so it not that far of a reach.

 

I know it's been a long time since the frenchman played at Moda, so maybe it's time to refresh our collective memory, watch some games and re-experience Batum missing a million open threes, being a soft all around player and a bad playoff player. He even admitted not going for blocks like when he was younger in order to preserve his body.

I don't give a shit about stats or what Batum "could" have done with his abilities or his potential.
Henderson and Aminu made more open shots than Batum last year and played harder than him.

Harkless (who is our current starting SF) moves better without the ball than Batum, shots about the same if not better, moves better without the ball and is much more aggressive on both ends.

In light of all this, i only miss Batum as a trading chip, nothing more.

 

A million threes? If he missed a million threes, then A minus missed a billion. Were talking Batum and Aminu comparisons... How can you have a problem with Nico's 3pt shooting and not Aminus?

So you don't care about good rebounders and playmakers?

And we were comparing Aminu, not Harkless. But you say Harkless shoots the same on more aggression (which makes no sense because they score at the same rate) and moves better without the ball (x2).

 

I watched both Aminu and Batum play 82 games+playoffs. Aminu made the shots Batum missed, especially in the playoffs.
I can't even imagine Nico making the open threes Aminu made during the Clippers series.

Nico played lazy, you didn't see that? he couldn't even play PF for us. He was weak and ineffectual.

You already have Plumlee,Lillard and CJ in the starting lineup why do you need another soft playmaker? our starting 5 is not balanced enough as it is.

Just to clarify: It's a fact that Aminu is ASS on offense so far this year. His shooting form is disgusting to me, but i'm not going to lament over a past player who i find to be a non legit-starter and a bad fit as well.

 

Compare Batum's and Aminus career 3pt %.

Batum was a SF, who had 5 times the talent Aminu does. Just because Batum doesnt play as hard doesn't mean he's not better.

You can never have enough playmakers.

Plumlee isn't a playmaker. He can pass, but I don't see him running pick n rolls.

So his 5 assists a game was worthless, his better shooting wasn't enough and his 7 rebounds were useless too? Okay. I guess Lillards 28 a games is useless too.

 

Bones, I posted their career three point shots. They aren't all that far off. 31.5% for Aminu and 37.7% for Nic I think it was? Too lazy to scroll up. lol.

Here is the key though. Nic was always thought of as more of a two way player. and can be an offensive player with a good three point shot.
Aminu was brought in for defensive purposes to help shore up the weakness of the guards. Any offense we get from Aminu is a bonus. I think Aminu needs to have better decision making and have a better feel for his own shot. When he is off, he needs to stop shooting and look to pass.

The key is, when the three point shots mattered? Key shots in playoff games, Aminu hit his and Nic wiffed.
Yes. Nic is a better shooter, but when it counts and the game is on the line or your back is against the wall, Aminu came through and Nic didn't. That has to amount for something no?

I dont think Nic was ever a playmaker with us. He had the potential to be, but he camped out too much and didn't slash into the paint off the ball.

You can say that he was passive because he was our fourth option, but when dame came onto the team not having played a game, he never deferred. He took the bull by the horns and said, look at me!!! Im the man.

I truly believe Nic has a that type of skill, but he lacks the heart.
He could have taken over many games if he just had that same type of killer instinct.
Trust me. At one point Nic was my fav player. Even during Dames rookie year. He had soooo much potential to become our next Grant Hill or Tracy Mcgrady.... and to me he is a partial bust because he isnt getting the most out of himself.

 

Career stats are irrelevant to the discussion.
I'm not arguing Batum isn't WAY more talented than Aminu because he obviously is , I am arguing his talent didn't add much to a team if he couldn't back it up with effort and balls.

Everyone want more playmakers, especially in today's NBA. Unfortunatly "playmakers" are often soft on D so you need some lumberjacks on the roster as well.

Batum was the only playmaker with Dame on that 2013-2015 starting lineup, it's only natural his assists numbers will be relatively high.
Trust me, CJ could easily have those assists to LMA mid-range jumpshot or to an automatic Matthews three or in a Lopez pick and roll.

About his rebounds: How often did you see him take the rebound below the basket and then try to put it in hard like Harkless does?

 

That is great and absolutely your right and I respect that.
It is awesome to have a salary that allows for spending in such a fashion you can purchase the luxury comfort at any cost without thought to a budget.

Unfortunately the NBA is not run that way and there IS a budget with a cap.

In your analogy, you would be happiest if the Blazers then wiped the roster clean and signed only 4 max players. LBJ, Curry, Durant, Westbrook, AD. Basically one of the best starting fives you could assemble from the league. But then you have no bench and no work horses.

When working within a budget you have to be practical and thrifty and purchasing luxury items for comfort is not an option.
You are on the inside. You do know this right? Or are you messing with me?

 

I liked Nic. I kind of like Aminu. But if you find yourself arguing X over Y as having any measurable impact on this team's prospects for an NBA title, then it's a little like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic -- neither of these two really gets us any closer to being able to hang with the Warriors in a series (or maybe any of the Western Confernence "elite" teams).

 

And you're a grown ass man that doesn't know the difference between your and you're. We can't all be perfect.

 

And your... yes...your a guy who cant seem to get that I do understand, but am simply too lazy to type the extra letters simply to appease your anal retentiveness with regards to grammar.
And your right. You are far from perfect.
Next?
Keep going. This is fun.

Edit: Oh yeah. And remember. YOUR the one telling ME I take this shit too seriously. LMAO!!!!!

 

Those percentages arent that different??? That amounts to an 18 point difference per 100 possessions.

He never had that kind of potential. A lotta people thought he did and got mad when he didn't fulfill it, but he never had Grant Hill/Tracy McGrady potential.

I just don't know how this argument supports Aminu being better than Batum.

 

Just want to throw in that I think Nic would have fit well with this team built around Dame and a lot of motion and pick and rolls. His inconsistency was of course maddening, but we could have really used his ballhandling and playmaking in the playoffs when Dame got continuously doubled. Why did we go and get Evan Turner? We recognized the need for another ballhandling playmaker on the wing. I think other than Vonleh, Harkless is the player we would be without if we had kept Nic. Or Turner. Or both. Aminu fills another role. He's a 3/4 while Nic is a 3/2.

 

Neil basically made a 50$ bet, thinking he could net 150$ if he's lucky and now you people wonder how good those 50$ would have felt in our pocket right now.


Get over it, it's only Batum lol.