Batum tonight

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Natebishop3

Natebishop3

Don't tread on me!
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I must say I am impressed. 16 points, 5-8 from the field, 4-5 from downtown... and really tough defense on Williams in the second half. I saw shades of Pippen tonight and I can't say I'm not excited.
 
It's not like we haven't seen this before from him. He just needs to get more consistent.
 
Batum sometimes struggles offensively but what I like best about Nic is not only his defense but he knows how to stick around for boards. That really opens things up for Greg and Joel when he's doing that because then the other team can't afford to put two men on them.

He's also easily one of the fast break runners and finishers we've had in years - which is really impressive not only for a forward but for a rookie.
 
I love Batum. I've always love him. And funny, because he doesn't really average much in the stats department. Doesn't do much in a BOXSCORE most of the time. But I WATCH THE GAMES so I know how well he fits with the team. He fits great with the starting unit. Will take and make open shots if they present themselves and he plays good defense. The next Tayshaun Prince but cooler!
 
The Sebastian Express said:
Batum sometimes struggles offensively but what I like best about Nic is not only his defense but he knows how to stick around for boards. That really opens things up for Greg and Joel when he's doing that because then the other team can't afford to put two men on them.

He's also easily one of the fast break runners and finishers we've had in years - which is really impressive not only for a forward but for a rookie.
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I agree.
 
KingSpeed said:
I love Batum. I've always love him. And funny, because he doesn't really average much in the stats department. Doesn't do much in a BOXSCORE most of the time. But I WATCH THE GAMES so I know how well he fits with the team. He fits great with the starting unit. Will take and make open shots if they present themselves and he plays good defense. The next Tayshaun Prince but cooler!
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You're pretty defensive.
 
By the way, speaking of boxscores, I stuffed one today in my E-League. I had two rebounds and in the second half, Brian McKnight shot me a no look pass and I knocked down a three. And we won! And I played good D but I always play good D. Nice to do something to the boxscore.
 
Batum is the man. Don't be hard on him for his inconsistency yet... let's give him a season in the league at least before we come down on a barely 20 year old for a rough game or two.

He is one of the very few above-average individual defenders we have (along with Oden and Przy, IMO).
 
He's my youngest daughter's favorite player. We were at the game tonight and she was wearing her black 88 Batum jersey. He was on the cover of the game program tonight, and of course, he played great. So, needless to say, Lil Bit had a great time at the game.

BNM
 
This was one of Nicolas' best games of the season, and probably his best since the Laker game. And it was the Batum we saw early on the season before he got into that little funk offensively.
I can't wait to see Nicolas continue to grow and grow, and if he can play like this, why need a small forward? In 2-4 years, he could be a really good one.
 
He might be our answer to defending scoring point guards.
 
i can't wait for him to have a couple down games and idiots to start saying he's holding us back. don't go jumping off the bridge folks cause he doesn't do this every night. he (and all our rooks) will become more consistant over time.
 
it certainly bodes well for us that we have been doing good without webster, i dont think anyone thought batum would be playing this much this year.
 
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drexlersdad said:
it certainly bodes well for us that we hae been doing good witut webster, i dont think anyone thought batum would be playing this much this year.
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It's hard to imagine what's going to happen when Webster gets back. I believe the term is LOGJAM.
 
Ya, it will be tough when Webster comes back. Before Fyre was going to lose his mins, but he doesn't even play any more. Where are the mins going to come from?
 
Iwatas said:
Minutes are going to come after Trout + Raef are traded.
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Mmmm, I am starting to wonder if that is going to happen. The team has gelled and seems to be too good to have a major lull in the second half. We could make a trade that would help us out this season, but most of the trades I have heard on here wouldn't really do much to address a potential SF logjam- they all include SFs. The main issue I see there is that, if Outlaw is included in the deal, we are actually trading away a 4/3, not really a 3. He has shown very consistently that he can't defend the quicker SFs in the league, but has had success against many 4s, esp finesse players.

Unless we somehow pry Butler away from WA or Deng from Chi, which seem unlikely, I am not sure that any potential upgrade at SF would be worth the salary baggage that comes attached, esp when we already have a couple good deals in Marty and Travis, and a strong developing player in Batum.
 
drexlersdad said:
it certainly bodes well for us that we have been doing good without webster, i dont think anyone thought batum would be playing this much this year.
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What's amazing is that he looked absolutely horrible in Summer League. I thought he would be getting Ha minutes -- what he has done this year has been completely unexpected.
 
I love Batum also. I love our core. Before the year all I knew for sure were we had our SG, PF and C of the future... but as the season went on, I really feel like we have our PG and SF of the future right now also. I think they can grow together and be lethal! Which is why I don't mind if we don't trade before the deadline and work on finishing out the roster with vets in the offseason...

Even though a bench of... Blake, Rudy, Webster, Outlaw and Pryz is REALLY good if we can keep them together.
 
Zybot said:
What's amazing is that he looked absolutely horrible in Summer League. I thought he would be getting Ha minutes -- what he has done this year has been completely unexpected.
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exactly! i remember being intruiged by his potential, and stating anything he could give us this year would be pure gravy.

gravy baby!!
 
Natebishop3 said:
He might be our answer to defending scoring point guards.
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Definitly. Tonight isn't the first time that Nate pulled the old Phil Jackson trick out of the bag and put Batum on a PG. You could also tell that after they made the switch in the 2nd half, that Williams wasn't quite sure how to deal with him, and became much more tentative.
 
How do you pronounce "Batum"? I've heard about 4 variations of it.
 
I, too, had very low expectations after summer league. Seemed to be a player with oodles of "potential" but no actual skills. How many have we seen come through... and amount to nothing?

It is great to be so wrong in this case!

iWatas
 
After the Cleveland game and last night's Utah game, can there be any doubt that Batum is our best perimeter defender?
 
Iwatas said:
I, too, had very low expectations after summer league. Seemed to be a player with oodles of "potential" but no actual skills. How many have we seen come through... and amount to nothing?

It is great to be so wrong in this case!

iWatas
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Isn't it usually the other way around, though, that those who do and look good in summer league (a la Quentel) turn out to be such disappointments? But I agree, it is so supremely rightous to see a young rookie kid with so much raw potential develop in front of your eyes.

Way to go Nico!
How sweet it is!

JAFO
 
JAFO said:
Isn't it usually the other way around, though, that those who do and look good in summer league (a la Quentel) turn out to be such disappointments?
JAFO
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Well, since Zach and Brandon tore up summer league, I would say no.
 
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