Part 2 of Top 100: #89 Felton, #88 Matthews, #81 Batum

[SlyPokerDog]

89. Raymond Felton
PG, Portland Trail Blazers
Age: 27
2010-11 Stats: 15.5 PPG, 42.5 FG%, 35.3 3PT%, 8.3 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.7 SPG

Felton’s a tough guy to figure, since the Carmelo Anthony trade midway through last season took him out of his role as an entrenched heavy-minutes starter on a very good offensive team in New York and turned him into Ty Lawson’s backup in Denver. But if Felton can sustain the improved three-point shooting he has shown over the last two seasons, he can work as a league-average starting point guard — and when you list the point guards in the NBA, you realize pretty quickly that a league-average starter is a nice asset.


Felton’s a good pick-and-roll distributor in the right situation, even if he can be a bit trigger-happy with his shot and likes to toss high-risk passes that too often result in turnovers. His ability to push the pace should help a Portland offense in need of an occasional jolt.


Felton is also a rugged defender who works hard on that end.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

88. Wesley Matthews
SG, Portland Trail Blazers
Age: 24
2010-11 Stats: 15.9 PPG, 44.9 FG%, 40.7 3PT%, 2.0 APG, 3.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG

Matthews’ story — undrafted free agent to big-money signing — and obvious hyperactivity are endearing and have resulted in his becoming perhaps a tad overrated. That hyperactivity comes from a good place, though. Matthews works hard and loves to fly around the court.


That tendency gets him in trouble on defense, however, as opponents shot 45 percent from deep against Matthews in spot-up situations — one of the worst marks in the league. But he’s a stout guy, and when he learns the right balance between helping and patrolling his man, Matthews should emerge as (at worst) a neutral defender.


On offense is where Matthews is already a strong asset. He’s a jack-of-all-trades who proved he can score in isolation, off cuts (and boy, can he cut), as a spot-up guy and coming off screens. He handled the ball on pick-and-rolls, too, and though he took a lot of bad, ultra-tough floaters in that role, he has a knack for using hesitation dribbles and other moves to get space. As he improves his finishing and passing, Matthews should work as a nice secondary pick-and-roll option.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

81. Nicolas Batum
SF, Portland Trail Blazers
Age: 22
2010-11 Stats: 12.4 PPG, 45.5 FG%, 34.5 3PT%, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG

The Nic Batum Explosion hasn’t happened yet, forcing his many devotees who are seduced by his length and unique skill set to continue to wait for his breakout season. His minutes jumped again last season, to 31.5 per game, but his numbers didn’t. His passivity on offense annoyed Portland coach Nate McMillan, who is waiting (along with the rest of us) for Batum to develop an attacking streak. He barely worked in isolation or on pick-and-rolls, relying instead on spot-up looks, cuts and screens to get his points.


Fortunately, he’s quite good at those things, making him yet another Trail Blazer (along with Matthews) who could fit seamlessly in any offense without getting in the way. The fact that Batum maintained a league-average mark on three-pointers while attempting nearly 200 more than he had in either of his previous seasons is encouraging.


Batum has a chance to be one of the league’s great wing defenders. Portland had him defend everyone from point guards to power forwards, and he struggled against some of the elites at those positions. But he’s a useful two-way player who should get better, soon. Right?


http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2011/08/02/top-100-nba-players-pt-ii-nos-81-90/

 

[BrianFromWA]

so wait a minute...

Felton's a shot-happy PG who "likes to toss high-risk passes that too often result in turnovers." That'll be a great fit.

Matthews can end up being a "neutral at worst" defender if he "learns the right balance between helping and patrolling his man". I thought his defensive skills were his calling card?

As for Batum's offense?

His passivity on offense annoyed Portland coach Nate McMillan, who is waiting (along with the rest of us) for Batum to develop an attacking streak. He barely worked in isolation or on pick-and-rolls, relying instead on spot-up looks, cuts and screens to get his points.

At the risk of going all Mediocre Man, either Nate was running a bunch of isos and p&r's for Nic and Nic wasn't attacking (against Nate's orders), or Nate wasn't putting Batum in anything other than spot-ops and cuts to get his looks, which seems like an odd thing to get "annoyed" about as a coach implementing your own offense.

 

[Further]

Nic often caught the ball in position for an iso but would usually just pass it instead of attacking. As far as the pick and rolls, I agree that Nate did not set him up for many of those.

 

[HailBlazers]

Well I guess I'm glad Felton is ranked above Ty Lawson

This year's draft is still a big ?