http://www.blazersedge.com/2008/10/14/635085/overkill-practice-breakdow is a link to the Batum entry. Ed O.
That is indeed interesting. I'm glad the team has a full week to sort out their rotation with most of their guys back and hopefully ready to go.
I think Batum is the SF that we've all coveted for the longest time. He can shoot, play D, and pass. I'm still not sure where he's at with his ball-handling, but he's got skills and the frame to be a stud.
I'm not sure about his shooting, but he could be a lock-down defender and a good rebounder. That would be extremely helpful at that position for us.
My what an easily excitable bunch we are (myself included). During Summer League we were all agog over Bayless but not much impressed with Batum. I will admit to being somewhat disappointed that the Blazers brought over Batum this year, I didn't think he was ready. Now in pre-season, Bayless looks like he needs some adjustment and Batum, with one really good game combined with the absence of Webster has really raised his profile and the excitement level around here. All good, all good. Gramps...
Batum's ball handling is quite good (European SF quality). He already better than Webster, and probably better than Outlaw in extended ball-handling (Outlaw isn't too bad on a quick drive). You should have seen him sky above the pack for an offensive rebound/put back in the Utah game. Easily a foot over the top of everyone else. He also doesn't appear to be easily trapped. I think he is the kind of guy you could put in the lineup who wouldn't make too many major mistakes, but would give you a handful of really useful plays.
I remember being impressed with Bayless' will and fearlessness in summer league moreso than I was of his point guard skills. Batum on the other hand probably looked lost because Summer League is basically, guard dominated, rat-ball. I do remember that he seemed to glide around effortlessly, and had some nice passes -- his shooting was absolutely atrocious I'll concede. Who knows maybe part of Nic's preseason success can be attributed to a natural "2nd fiddle" mentality, where he gets more comfortable playing off of other more dominant teammates, and Bayless might be struggling since he's is an alpha dog adjusting to being third on the depth chart for the first time in his life. Whatever the outcome (being a starter or a rotation player) it's still nice to see Nic apparently so far ahead of schedule.
I don't know how many of you saw him against Utah, but he was really calm and fearless going up against AK-47, even blocking one of his baseline shots. If you can go toe to toe with AK, that really says something. I'm not sure he is ready to step into Staples on opening night, but if he did, I'd be hoping for the best. It's all down hill after that.
That's good to hear about his handles. I guess the main weakness that he has left is his weakness. He doesn't have the frame to put on a lot of muscle, but he needs to gain a lot of strength if he is going to play an 82 game season. I think the reasonable target for Batum to make an impact was about 3 years, but his high BBIQ could propel him into the rotation sooner than anybody expected.
I barely care what Batum's weaknesses are right now, because they don't seem to be devastating. He should start over Outlaw, even if Outlaw is currently the "better" SF. We know Outlaw doesn't work well on the first team, and to be quite honest, I want to keep Rudy on the second team as well. We have plenty of options with Roy, Aldridge and Oden on the first team. Blake being a past first PG, and Batum playing some "D" and being opportunistic on the offensive end sounds right to me. If the starters need a shot in the arm offensively we go with Rudy at the 2 and slide Brandon over to the 3 (or 1). I really think it makes sense to start Batum in Webster's absence. If he completely implodes and proves he can't handle it, we have other options. I just think the Blazers should be experimenting with Batum "starting" for this entire week.
I'm shocked Batum is so ready right now, and it's just going to create more depth, PT problems when Martell comes back and Nicolas will have 25 games of meaningful PT under his belt. We thought Nicolas would be a guy we could wait on for a few years, but he's going to be deserving of PT.
I am really high on this guys potential, but we have to slow it down just a bit. He put up some decent numbers in a preseason game. That's it. I think he has a future, but let's not anoint this guy as the next big thing just yet. If it means anything, that is the first time I have ever used the word anoint in a sentence and spelled it right!
If Batum can continue to develop, I think that he really compliments our 1st unit well. Him and Blake as the role players on that unit with our 3 stars will work GREAT, in my opinion. I like our 2nd unit also, because we have the playmakers, defenders, shooters, etc. If Batum continues to develop though, when Webster comes back, where does this leave Travis?
It's a big "if," but frankly I think it's not only possible, but likely we'll see Travis moved in a trade either before the deadline or at the end of the season. I like Travis and he's a decent scorer, but he's possibly turning into a bad fit with this team.
