so only Mediocre Man is allowed to throw out ridiculous hyperbole and determine the direction of a thread? As it's been demonstrated, this linked article and it's conclusions are a joke. You agreeing with it to laugh at posters took a 180 to pie you in the face. Thats not the thread being derailed, thats just how it is Every player has a role. Some players initiate the offense, some man the paint, some remain ready on the bench. Nic's role is to start and guard the other team's best offensive threat 1-3 which he does probably better then any Blazer since PIP. On top of that he's become a very efficient shooter improving greatly from year 1 to 2. To have grabbed this major/important role and clearly trended up at the age of just 21 gives diehard fans some optimism for his future. Someone saying "meh, I don't agree" is fine, but someone laughing at others in agreement with a truly stupid article claiming it should "slap some sense into people" is going to turn the worm. That's it... STOMP
Nic's first season he was a (young) rookie. So any idea that he SHOULD have had the ball in his hand is RETARDED. As well, super-skinny, fragile looking rookie Nic in no way should have been asked to initiate a bunch of contact with the men of the NBA. Flush that idea down the toilet. On to season two - Nic gets hurt. Is out or playing injured for most of the season. Asking Nic to initiate extra contact with other players is foolish. Asking a hobbling Nic to initiate plays for the team when we have Roy and Miller who are far superior to Nic at this point, is foolish as well. As well, if we had run a bunch of plays for Nic and had him handle the ball, both Rudy and Bayless would have gone into full implosion mode. High Risk, Low Reward plan. Sorry, but I think your friend, assuming you are quoting him 100% accurately, is wrong about how Nic has been handled so far. Let's wait until we have a healthy, non-rookie Nic before we start bitching about the coaching staff and how the team is mis-handling Nic. I know it is hard for you to wait until a sensible point in time before passing negative judgement on the coaching staff - but for god's sake, please try.
I know, why does your scout friend overrate Batum so much? Saying the rookie or second-year player who missed most of the season should have been initiating offense is pretty over the top. Have you laughed at your friend and told him how stupid he is? Even Nate McMuffin wouldn't make such a basic mistake.
Holy shit Batum is better then I thought! http://www.basketball-reference.com...m=0&p1=batumni01&y1=2010&p2=pippesc01&y2=1989 If you compare Pippen and Batum, mind you Pippen was two years older in his second season, you will see that they aren't as far apart as many think. The biggest difference other then playoff performance, was in assist rate. Pippen edges Batum in some areas, but Batum is vastly more effective offensively. Their Drtg is virtually identical. Pippen is a slightly better rebounder, steals. Batum a vastly superior shooter and shot blocker. Pippen wins due to amazing playoff performance and vastly superior assist rate although that may have a lot to do with playing under Jackson's triangle and having a decent off guard to pass to.
PIP got a whole lot better after the age of 21 years old. Though they might be comparable at that age, it's pretty unlikely that Nic's career will similarly blossom. If I recall correctly Scottie was a late bloomer in more ways then one starting college as the team manager and only about 6' STOMP
We'll see. The thing I love about Batum is his toolset as in physical gifts are really amazing. He actually reminds me of a very watered down Pippen/Clyde hybrid. He moves so much like Clyde probably like almost no one I've seen since the Glide. I'm NOT talking skillset although he is getting there on some things. I think Nicolas has an awesome attitude as well and really wants to get better. I have high hopes for him actually we'll see. I think our 3 spot is gonna be better then quite a few teams out there.
Batum is definitely not close to a star player right now. He just has the grace, intelligence and flow to his game that suggests that he's a major talent. It's pure amateur scouting on my part, but I think there are signs that point to significantly more than he has, as yet, demonstrated. Ultimately, production and defense are all that matter...not aesthetics like "grace," etc. But I think his tools and athleticism (and efficiency and defense at a young age) suggest a lot of upside, but he also has the undefinable "it" factor to me. I don't think he'll be Scottie Pippen or Clyde Drexler (the odds are against almost any 21-22 year old becoming an inner circle Hall of Famer), but I think he has the upside to be a pretty special player.
Agreed. With a bit of specificity on what "it" is... at least to me. He seems like an AWARE player. Especially on defense, he tends to be in the right place at the right time. Pippen was remarkable for that, and it didn't matter if he was guarding Stockton or a small forward, he anticipated and used his length to be in position to cut quicker guys off and to play passing lanes. I know that Batum took a lot of heat for his rookie summer league appearance, but I saw what I thought (hoped) was this awareness. Something that Outlaw has always been utterly lacking and that most players have significantly less of. Of course, I didn't know that Batum could shoot from the perimeter like he's been able to, and I didn't know (don't know) that he'll continue to improve... but he's got a chance to be special, and that's a lot more than most NBA players at any age have going for them. Ed O.
Is it beat the dead horse Adam Morrison night tonight? That horse has been beaten to death. I believe MM was a staunch supporter of Morrison as well.
