Post game interview with Batum; Did Nate change the strategies before the game?

[B-Roy]

http://www.blazersedge.com/2008/10/29/649356/post-match-batum-interview

This quote really had me questioning Nate:

Nicolas Batum, you played your first match in the NBA last night against Los Angeles. How did you experience this moment?

A little (hesitating)… bizarrely. A little bizarrely because the coach had told me that I was going to be in the starting five. And then the morning after practice, he changed everything! He changed the plan of attack, all the strategies, and he took me out of the starting lineup.

Nate changed all the strategies before the game? Could it be that he wasn't confident in our abilities? His changes though, obviously didn't work too well.

 

[THE HCP]

Damn Euro!

 

[KingSpeed]

Ouch. That makes sense. We looked like a team that had changed its strategy. We did not look prepared.

 

[MARIS61]

Shades of WeakCheeks!

That certainly explains why everyone looked totally lost, hesitant, and confused.

 

[PapaG]

http://www.blazersedge.com/2008/10/29/649356/post-match-batum-interview

This quote really had me questioning Nate:



Nate changed all the strategies before the game? Could it be that he wasn't confident in our abilities? His changes though, obviously didn't work too well.

Who conducted this interview? Borat?

Basketball match???

 

[Uther TheGardener]

yup they setup and practiced all preseason one only to scrap it the first game thats like learning how to drive an automatic then buying a stick shift......pretty wasteful and it showed terrible idea.

nate loosing it? why did he practice and setup all this one way only to rip it out of the ground? doesnt make sense.

 

[graybeard]

I've always supported Nate, but he shit the bed on this one.

 

[Haakzilla]

...yuck, that is unsettling to say the least [I hope he plans to practice and prepare the SAME way until Friday's game...no last minute changes please]!!!

 

[B-Roy]

Who conducted this interview? Borat?

Basketball match???

http://lequipe.fr/Basket/breves2008/20081029_172618_batum-je-n-ai-pas-trop-compris_Dev.html

It's a French site. The link was right on top of the BE page if you cared to look.

 

[Uther TheGardener]

what was up with giving sergio only 4 minutes of playing time and playing bayless instead? I didnt get his lines at all. If he does this too much more I think it will be time to get a new coach.

 

[B-Roy]

what was up with giving sergio only 4 minutes of playing time and playing bayless instead? I didnt get his lines at all. If he does this too much more I think it will be time to get a new coach.

Nate said he wanted instant offense, and wanted to see if he could get it from Bayless. At least that's what he said on WAW.

 

[Uther TheGardener]

yeah he got offense like he gets from instanoodles or cup of noodles instead of spending the time to get proper noodles.

 

[B-Roy]

yeah he got offense like he gets from instanoodles or cup of noodles instead of spending the time to get proper noodles.

Yeah, well "instant noodles" Bayless still looked better than some of the other players on our team. I don't think Nate had a clue what he was doing last night.

 

[number 10]

http://sportstwo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1759735&postcount=31

errr.... should I just start a new thread every time there's a new interview then?

 

[maxiep]

http://www.blazersedge.com/2008/10/29/649356/post-match-batum-interview

This quote really had me questioning Nate:



Nate changed all the strategies before the game? Could it be that he wasn't confident in our abilities? His changes though, obviously didn't work too well.

What happened was more serious. It turns out that we had worked Nico over 35 hours this past week. We wanted to play him, but we had to respect French employment law to avoid an international incident.

 

[barfo]

What happened was more serious. It turns out that we had worked Nico over 35 hours this past week. We wanted to play him, but we had to respect French employment law to avoid an international incident.

I think Nate panicked. Maybe the assistant coaches had convinced him that Batum was the right starter, or maybe it was his idea, but in the end he just didn't have confidence in his own decision.

At this stage of his career, he should have known better than to change it at the last minute, no matter what reservations he had.

Nate takes the early lead for 2008 scapegoat!

barfo

 

[Stepping Razor]

I think Nate panicked. Maybe the assistant coaches had convinced him that Batum was the right starter, or maybe it was his idea, but in the end he just didn't have confidence in his own decision.

At this stage of his career, he should have known better than to change it at the last minute, no matter what reservations he had.

Nate takes the early lead for 2008 scapegoat!

barfo

Yep, correct on all counts. It was a complete panic move and one that, I think, destroyed our whole team's confidence before the game. It would have been *much* better to start Batum and then yank him if he looked in over his head.

The moment I heard his brilliant decision in the afternoon before the game, I knew we would lose.

 

[gatorpops]

Yep, correct on all counts. It was a complete panic move and one that, I think, destroyed our whole team's confidence before the game. It would have been *much* better to start Batum and then yank him if he looked in over his head.

The moment I heard his brilliant decision in the afternoon before the game, I knew we would lose.

I agree with you both completely. What was so surprising was that the whole team did not know what to do and that change completely destroyed the whole offense and effected the whole defense. So much so that it was amazing. On top of that decision Nate did not play Sergio very much and and did not get Batum in the game until much too late?????

g

 

[tlongII]

I posted in here that I thought it was bad idea to change the lineup when I heard about it before the game. Nate better get his head on straight.

 

[MrJayremmie]

Batum should have started, but Outlaw was solid.

Hopefully Batum starts from now on... If Batum continues to improve, I think that makes Travis EXTREMELY expendable once Webster comes back, since we got Rudy as our main player off the bench.

 

[mook]

Very insightful interview. Always amazes me how candid foreign players are to their own press, and how often they get away with it. If I were McMillan and I'd read this interview, I'd first be disappointed in myself that I'd needlessly built some hard feelings, and then I'd be pissed off that Batum is openly questioning him in the media (even if it is foreign media). Batum's almost certain to get a lecture from somebody within the organization that the surest way to stunt your career as a rookie is to give media statements that undermine the coach. Even if it's true.

Anyway, this was a low point in Nate's coaching career. Not only that he made such a drastic change at the last minute, but that he really didn't give the team a lot of time to gel in the pre-season because he held out Aldridge, Roy and Oden so much.

Everybody makes mistakes, though. Hopefully Nate learns from this and moves on.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Yes absolutely. Not starting the second worst offensive player on the team disrupted our offensive and confidence. Even though Batum was MIA in his last game at Utah we all know better. (even though none of us were at the practice this week) Roy, LA , Channing and Blake were so shaken up by it they couldn't hit the side of the basket. And even though Travis had a good shooting night, he would have done much better coming off the bench. Rudy would also have played much better if Travis would have been playing with him. Nate cost us the game.

 

[BenDavis503x]

What happened was more serious. It turns out that we had worked Nico over 35 hours this past week. We wanted to play him, but we had to respect French employment law to avoid an international incident.

LMFAO repped

 

[Crimson the Cat]

This is just so troubling to me. What we've seen so far during Preseason and this first game is a lack of confidence in his own convictions. He's got to get back to his original game plan. Batum was put in the starting unit for a very good reason. Sergio was first point guard off the bench for a good reason.

Nate's better than this. I know he'll do the right thing.

 

[alex42083]

This is just so troubling to me. What we've seen so far during Preseason and this first game is a lack of confidence in his own convictions. He's got to get back to his original game plan. Batum was put in the starting unit for a very good reason. Sergio was first point guard off the bench for a good reason.

Nate's better than this. I know he'll do the right thing.

Agreed. Looks like right at the last minute, we completely ignored what we learned the entire past month.
We talk about players buckling under the pressure, but I think coaches can too, and Nate sort of did here in the opener.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Personally I could do without Batum's whiny ass comments. "he told me I was going to be in the starting five . . . blah balh balh . . . then he took me out of the starting line up". Me, me me.

Batum, and the decision not to start him, did not cause the Blazers to lose. I'm glad Nate has the nads to make a change when he realized he made the wrong call. He is secure enough to do what he thinks is the right thing to win the game instead of worrying what people think about the fact he changed his mind.

Nate's trying to win games and doesn't seem afraid to step on toes doing it. Get this squad down to a 9 man rotation Nate . . . we need the best nine to take us to the playoffs.

 

[jwhoops11]

what was up with giving sergio only 4 minutes of playing time and playing bayless instead? I didnt get his lines at all. If he does this too much more I think it will be time to get a new coach.

This was a little confusing for me also, since Nate had come out and named Sergio the back-up PG. In naming Sergio the back-up, he said he wanted to go away from the situation he had with Jarret and Sergio last year, where there was no difinitive rotation. Then game one he scraps that idea half way through?

I think it shows that although Nate "trusts" this years team more than the last few, it's still hard for him to change his ways of thinking...

 

[Crimson the Cat]

Personally I could do without Batum's whiny ass comments. "he told me I was going to be in the starting five . . . blah balh balh . . . then he took me out of the starting line up". Me, me me.

He was asked directly what happened to him in the starting line-up, right? Why wouldn't he discuss that by talking about himself?

Batum, and the decision not to start him, did not cause the Blazers to lose. I'm glad Nate has the nads to make a change when he realized he made the wrong call. He is secure enough to do what he thinks is the right thing to win the game instead of worrying what people think about the fact he changed his mind.

No, but it caused them to lose badly IMO. So your take is that Nate made the right call by starting Outlaw on a whim. It's one thing to be secure and another to be reckless.

 

[Nikolokolus]

No, but it caused them to lose badly IMO. So your take is that Nate made the right call by starting Outlaw on a whim. It's one thing to be secure and another to be reckless.

IMO, you are badly misusing the concept of causal relationship. It may have contributed in part to the discombobulation on offense, but the fact that we lost GO after 10 minutes of play, and the Lakers are fucking retarded good probably had a whole lot more to do with the L than anything else.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Reckless? Isn't that a bit much? I can not believe our Fans in the last 24 hours. I realize we are all a little nuts but the hyperbole has gone to another level.
As far as the Sergio move in the second half....we were getting our asses kicked! So he tried something different. I have seen Hall of Fame coaches bench their entire first team to try to mix things up under those circumstances. That doesn't mean he has lost confidence and has scrapped his long term plan.