Batum Might Start Against Utah!!

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ABM

ABM

Happily Married In Music City, USA!
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:smiley-pray: Please, let it be so, Nate!

From: Quick's BBB Report

Debate at the three? Rookie Nicolas Batum and Travis Outlaw split time with the first unit during Monday's practice, and McMillan -- who has started Outlaw in each of the Blazers' first three games -- did not rule out making a change at small forward against Utah on Wednesday.

"I don't know, I might," he said.
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I'm really not attempting to slam Outlaw here, but honestly Batum deserves the start. He's just a better complimentary player then Outlaw, and a far better defender. I really had my doubts about Nic, but his basketball IQ and athletic ability make me a believer. I think Travis will fit better in that up and down tempo that the second unit plays anyways, and will be a good safety valve for them when the offense breaks down.
 
I'd give Nicolas a shot and see what he can do. He's shown already that he's far from nervous, and maybe Travis will look more comfortable on the floor with the second unit.
 
You guys have gotten such a small sample size from Batum so there still is the possibility of a rude surprise...but I see no harm in giving him the chance to try to build off of what he has already done
 
DaRizzle said:
You guys have gotten such a small sample size from Batum so there still is the possibility of a rude surprise...but I see no harm in giving him the chance to try to build off of what he has already done
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If what has us so excited were some hot shooting streak, or him lighting up the scoreboard for 20+ a game then you'd have a very legitimate point. The thing is, Batum has us excited more because of his very good D, excellent passing, and a nose for being in the right place at the right time.
 
^^very very true...there are no "off defense" nights like there are "off-shooting" nights
 
It's only a matter of time before he's starting...Why wait? Give him a shot now.
 
On Courtside, McMillan sounded more sure that Batum would start.

All I've got to say is it's about time!
 
I was at the Utah preseason game when Batum started, scored 16 and had 3 BLKs. He looked VERY comfortable in that game - his first NBA start. But, it was just preseason, and Oden, Roy and Aldridge all sat out.

In any case, he seems like he matches up well against the Utah starters and top rotation players (Sloan went with his regular starters and played his top rotation guys significant minutes in that game - Batum spent most of that game matched up against Miles and Kirilenko). Given his previous success against Utah, I think this is the perfect opportunity to start Batum. He knows he can hang with the Utah players. The game isn't on national TV (I don't think it's even on locally). So, he shouldn't be too nervous or intimidated.

Worst case, he starts and stinks it up. Fine, just bring Outlaw in at the 6 minute mark and play him the majority of the minutes. Seems pretty low risk to me.

BNM
 
You can't really compare the 2 players. They bring 2 totally different things to the team. Trav is a spark plug offensively. Batum seems to do all the little things. Blks, steals, hustle. I think, like a lot of people on here, that Batum's game fits better with the starters. While Trav is nice coming off the bench. With that said, I liked how the team played in PHX when Rudy and Batum played on the court together. I say start him. WHo does he have to guard,Brewer?
 
What I love about Nic is how he finishes. That dunk in the SA game was sweet. That was the SA game, right?
 
DaRizzle said:
You guys have gotten such a small sample size from Batum so there still is the possibility of a rude surprise...but I see no harm in giving him the chance to try to build off of what he has already done
Click to expand...

Is that similar to the rude surprise that Laker fans are learning about Bynum this season? 8 ppg, 7 rpg? Ouch. OVERRATED! CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP! OVERRATED! CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!

Oden's averaging 5 rpg and he didn't even play a full half of a game.

Also- is Will Bynum of the Pistons related to Andrew?
 
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Are there any Democrats in Salt Lake City?
 
It'll be interesting to see how long it takes before the opponent's announcers transition from "Bate-um" to "Ba-toom."

You knew Travis finally arrived when they stopped calling him Bo.
 
I'm in favour of Batum starting a few games. I want to see lots of lineup configurations this season. The team has so many interesting, moveable parts, I think it will be impossible to figure out what works best without some tinkering and experimenting.

It may not lead to the most wins this season, but working to hone this roster of myriad talents into a keen blade for next year should be the main obective.
 
KingSpeed said:
What I love about Nic is how he finishes. That dunk in the SA game was sweet. That was the SA game, right?
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No kidding! I love it too. Maybe our best coast-coast finisher since Patterson? And I think he can top Ruben. On a few of those breakaways he made the impossible possible in a way Drexler and Kersey used to. Throwing down in the narrowest of gaps in all sorts of contestion. The guy is fearless. Definitely a good antidote for the this team.
 
mook said:
It'll be interesting to see how long it takes before the opponent's announcers transition from "Bate-um" to "Ba-toom."

You knew Travis finally arrived when they stopped calling him Bo.
Click to expand...

What's really annoying is the play-by-play crew on NBA 2K9. I've had Batum in my starting line-up so far the entire season, and I cringe every time I hear BATE-um's name called out. It was beginning to bug me so much that I almost pulled him from the starting line-up, but I didn't. I haven't lost a game yet too.
 
I know several people have suggested this lineup but I really like the lineup of Roy, Rudy, Batum, LMA and GO (Pryz until GO gets back). Roy can do no worse than Blake guarding the opposing PG's and Rudy or Roy can bring up the ball. Rudy needs as much playing time as possible and something that honestly concerns me. He needs PT if Roy can play PG this allows Rudy to start and then allows Bayless to get some back up minutes. Gets your 3 best guards on the floor as much as possible. Also as seen in the SA game Batum can guard the 1,2, or 3 for short periods. Roy runs 90% of our sets so what is the point of having Blake out there?
 
HispanicCausinPanic said:
You can't really compare the 2 players. They bring 2 totally different things to the team. Trav is a spark plug offensively. Batum seems to do all the little things. Blks, steals, hustle. I think, like a lot of people on here, that Batum's game fits better with the starters. While Trav is nice coming off the bench. With that said, I liked how the team played in PHX when Rudy and Batum played on the court together. I say start him. WHo does he have to guard,Brewer?
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That would be Kirilenko he would be guarding.
 
HispanicCausinPanic said:
You can't really compare the 2 players. They bring 2 totally different things to the team. Trav is a spark plug offensively. Batum seems to do all the little things. Blks, steals, hustle. I think, like a lot of people on here, that Batum's game fits better with the starters. While Trav is nice coming off the bench. With that said, I liked how the team played in PHX when Rudy and Batum played on the court together. I say start him. WHo does he have to guard,Brewer?
Click to expand...

I hope he guards both Brewer and Kirilenko. Brewer only hit one shot last night. I'm sure he's going to play better. I want Batum to take him out of the game first thing and then limit the amount of damage Kiri can do on us on the hustle board.
 
Batum Might Start Against Utah!!
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Watch out Celtics and Lakers, this is the move that puts the Blazers over the top! :dunno:
 
1 Eye Jack said:
Also as seen in the SA game Batum can guard the 1,2, or 3 for short periods. Roy runs 90% of our sets so what is the point of having Blake out there?
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Pippen nearly always guarded the oppositions best perimeter player. If it was a smaller guard, so be it. I'm really hoping that Batum can have that same affect on the court. We'll see soon. I'm guessing Nate will only try Batum on Williams situationally, but I'm thinking he can hang for long periods of time on Williams.
 
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