I wouldn't say that he's untouchable, but he's a cornerstone of this team and it would take a pretty talented player to get him out of town.
David West would be somewhat wasted on this team. We already have the third highest rebounding differential in the league--do we really expect West to vault us above Cleveland and Boston? And if he did, would it matter that much? In two years, after Oden has fully recovered and becomes a 35 mpg center, after we add in a decent free agent or parlay the LaFrentz contract, and after Aldridge continues to improve, is rebounding going to be that much of an issue? I don't even think West would add that much more to our scoring. Our problem isn't a lack of scoring options. It's a lack of scoring under the basket. West takes a fair amount of jumpshots, and our guards really aren't that great at looking for guys under the hoop. My biggest frustration right now is that nobody seems to want to feed our interior big men. It's not fashionable to criticize Roy, but even he has problems with it. On nearly ever pick and roll, if he isn't shooting he's kicking it to a perimeter shooter. He doesn't look to try to deliver the ball in traffic to our PF and centers, which is a shame because on most nights we have a height advantage and you really just need to get it up in the air where they can catch and dunk it. Everybody is happy with Przybilla's insane field goal percentage, but you know what? It should be lower, because our guards should be delivering more passes to him near the rim that he will occasionally miss. When you have a rotation guy with that high of a FG%, he's either an uber-talented Shaq (nope) or people just aren't trusting him to do the right thing near the hoop. Pryzbilla's play this year has earned him the right to have a few plays run for him. I'd really, really like to see Roy develop a better pick and roll game. He's got the vision to see the hoop and see the perimeter players, but he seems to miss a lot of guys in the midrange area. As for Aldridge, well, he's had some great games and some bad ones. He's clearly working harder in the post this year, and when the team remembers him he's been reasonably effective from there. He's not a great defender, but with his height, length and speed, I see no reason why a third year big man can't make huge strides in that area.
I've observed LMA playing what appears to be good team defense and perimeter defense, and I wanted to test that observation by looking at a stat that is commonly used to measure the affect a player's absence or presence on the court has on a team's points margin; it doesn't tell you anything by itself, but it is a valid way to help confirm or deny suspicions about a player's positive or negative impact on the court. Let's be clear I'm not talking about proving that LMA is a good perimeter defender and OK man defender by throwing out stats, me eyes tell me that when I watch him play; all the stats do is add a quantifiable element to a subjective observation (after all you can't easily measure footwork, proper rotations, and position without very advanced video analysis, and even then it requires a subjective judgment). Regarding 19 better defenders than Batum (in no particular oder): Bruce Bowen Trevor Ariza Ime Udoka Joel Przybilla LaMarcus Aldridge Gerald Wallace Kevin Garnett Lebron James Kobe Bryant Tim Duncan Andrie Kirilenko Tayshaun Prince Chauncey Billups Ben Wallace Ron Artest Jason Kidd Raja Bell Shane Battier Dwight Howard ... Well I could keep going, but you said you only wanted 19.
I know you're making a joke but I wish they would talk about how over the top some of this stuff gets. Someone posted some recent links to the Laker forum where people were saying fire Phil and trade Kobe after a bad game. Two first vote Hall of Famers who's team is in 2nd place in the entire NBA and this is how bad some fans freak out. I seriously felt like copying the links and e-mailing them to KP to show to Greg.
I like LMA's game. The rebounding doesn't bother me. He relies a lot on his stroke, so when he's off it can throw his whole game off. I think as he ages he'll develop a better inside game. He's shown that little running baby hook this season, and I've also seen some nice fadeaway's ala Rasheed. I think Aldridge is an All-Star talent. We're lucky to have him.
LOL Why would you even include those two players in the top 20 when they're not even in the top 40? Jason Kidd and Ben Wallace? What year do you think it is? Neither of them is very good anymore. LeBron James? Are you kidding me? Do you watch basketball? Everybody knows LeBron sucks at defense and he always has. Sure he's SLOWLY getting better, but he's certainly not top 10. Batum is far better now than LeBron in the defense department and it's not even close. It's about as far away as LeBron's offensive game is from Batum's. Gerald Wallace and Billups are both good defenders, but they both only guard their position, they can't guard the variety of players Batum can. Joel is a good defender, but only at the center position. Bruce Bowen Kevin Garnett Kobe Bryant Tim Duncan Ron Artest These are the only players you mentioned that are really in the same category as Batum is defensively. He's not as good or consistent as these vets are, but he's in the same ballpark.
C'mon, Batum is one of the Blazers best defenders, but he's not in the same category as those you list here. Not yet, he's only 19. He'll be pretty dang good in a few years though. He's got the instincts, the desire, the length, the fearless attitude, and the anticipation. He still needs the experience, the strength, and the reputation (so those jackass refs ease up on him).
I didn't say the nineteen players I listed were top twenty, it was just the first nineteen I could think of that were better than Nicolas.
Wow. It seems that YOU are the one stuck in the past. If you "watched basketball" and not just go on his past, you would realize that he has amazingly improved his defense, and i'd say is a top 10 perimeter defender in the NBA. Just to let you know.
