It's really unfortunate that being candid gives so much fuel, in general, to the less-than-faithful, Blazer fan. This "nutshell" assessment of Batum is all shell and no nut. If Batum is invaluable, then why does him being candid about what it's like to be THE MAN that has to defend the best player on any given team, every GD game, and fill in where ever the team is lacking, create so much animus? It's like people don't realize this is what happens in every locker room around the NBA. We're lucky to have this much insight to what gets talked about in the locker room, and it's not a license to read into it and make silly assertions like some kind of "expert" body language PhD.
Letting Durant touch the ball is a recipe for a long night, period. Playing the 3rd game in 4 nights is a recipe for tired legs which leads to less than accurate shooting the farther one shoots from the hoop. Batum did what a lot of teams do with Durant and denied him the ball clear past the arc in the 2nd half. It's a gamble because it could back fire with some other player having more room to operate in the paint. Batum isn't able to rebound, or steal, or block, or help when he's 30 ft from the basket. It's OK if your teammates and coach tell you, that is what they need from him. It's not an indictment of Batum, or his mentality.
These questions didn't come up when Dame shot like crap time after time this season, and no doubt, his teammates and coach have had to talk to him too when he was struggling to keep doing what he's doing and even to be more aggressive.
Lest we also forget Batum is French. He's not a native speaker. When you're in an interview, and your English isn't solid, you speak in simple terms. There is less awareness for things that can be construed more than one way, and your responses are much less nuanced. If people can't identify with that, it's OK. But I can, and I'm saying get off his nut(s)shell.
