Subscribe Feed (RSS)It’s starting to drive me nuts. Heck, the guy was a starter last season as a rookie and opened training camp as the starting small forward. What’s up with not starting him now?
In fact, with Brandon Roy out of the lineup, it would seem imperative to get him out there as soon as possible for as many minutes as possible, right? If you want to keep Martell Webster’s minutes consistent, you can move Webster to the off-guard right now and play the two together — as was done for a while last night.
It’s crazy to wait on this thing. Batum has the most potential of ANY of the young Trail Blazers. The kid is downright Pippen-esqe — highly skilled and magnetic to watch at both ends of the floor. You can’t take your eyes off him.
In the last three games he has defended Aaron Brooks, Dirk Nowitzki and Stephen Jackson. And done it well. On offense he’s on fire, making outside shots and finishing around the basket as well as a Trail Blazer has done in years.
I’m bewildered why he was the third guy off the bench last night, much as I’m mystified why Coach Nate McMillan continues so often to use two point guards at the same time. Man, forget about how good the “second unit” is and worry about the starters — the guys who play the most minutes. Are we worried about hurting someone’s feelings or something?
Nic Batum needs to play as many minutes as his body can handle. For the growth of the franchise, he needs to grow because this kid has the potential to be the sidekick for Brandon Roy that LaMarcus Aldridge seems reluctant to become.
And get him on the floor with Andre Miller as often as possible, too. Miller looks for the kid, who is in constant motion, and finds him at just the right time. Batum has figured out that if he gets himself free, Miller will reward him and it can be a thing of beauty. He’s going to get lobs for dunks and open three-point shots from Miller — one more reason to get Batum into that starting lineup.
Man, it’s a no-brainer. Play him and play him a lot.
Dwight, it just makes too much sense. Nate won’t do it until Nic b*tches him out in practice, Miller-style. Whether it’s stubbornness or ineptitude he is VERY slow to give new guys a real chance (ref. Jerryd, Andre, Jeff, Dante, Patty).
LOL!
Agreed!
Batum’s improvement from last season is mind boggling, and it seems almost a foregone conclusion that he’s going to be a superstar in this league. Agree – get him on the floor as early and as much as possible. It should be stressed – that’s not punishment for Webster, who’s been one of the best players on the team this year.
Side question – I’m curious – what are the chances that we’ll move LMA before the trade deadline? I think we’re seeing all we’re ever going to see out of him. He just doesn’t have the mentality to be a dominating player (although he has all of the skills). Seems like a good time to package up LMA, Fernandez and someone like Bayless for a beast inside, if you can find that player. Chris Bosh? There’s rumors that he’ll end up with the Lakers, but I’d think Portland could make a better offer.
Chances that we’ll move LMA before the trade deadline? Zero. Management isn’t irrational and fickle.
The chance is indeed zero, but not for the sentimental, slightly insulting reasons you state.
LMA is a Base Year Player, so we could only take back 6 or so million if we trade him.
Soonest we could get value is summer of ‘11.
That’s what I mean though, they just signed him to a huge contract, and then to try and trade him a half season later for having the same stats as last year makes no sense financially, or in terms of team needs. Management isn’t that short-sighted, fickle, etc., etc…
It probably makes great sense to fantasy ballers.
They won’t trade him because the can’t trade him…now that he has shown his true colors, nobody in the NBA is foolish enough to take on that giant contract for a PansyForward who won’t rebound, disappears in the 2nd half with alarming regularity, hates getting in the paint, thinks elbows are for leaning on (not for throwing and/or clearing out space)…we’re stuck with him, unfortunately.
Wrong f5 – management is irrational, that is why they signed LeMarshmallow to that huge contract. He is not a POWER forward, he is a shy, demure, terrified of the paint, PansyForward.
I’d agree about LMA. Which is why he compliments a center and a guard that need to hog the paint.
Just because you want him traded, doesn’t mean management is irrational.
Since he gets compared to Sheed anyway, why not give LMA the green light to hoist 3s? He can hit ‘em….
Get off of LA’s back. He is the new scape goat apparently. He plays the game he has always played and does it VERY WELL.
The only reason I see that Nic is not startiing right now is that he just came back from surgery and missed half the season. I would think they are trying to let him get back in to game shape before playing him heavy minutes. It should only be a matter of time. We will see once Roy is back how the rotation pans out.
I have to agree with you. You just don’t rush someone into the starting role for exactly the reasons you mention. Nobody seems to have any patience. If he was a veteran player they might move him directly into the starting lineup based on the players history with injuries and stamina. They have no experience with Batum in that regard.
Agreed.. And don’t we all? In fact, I think Jay Jensen has the final word on when Batum will start. For once its Dwight that needs some patience, not his idiot readers.
Who knows. Maybe Webster is on the block… somebody needs to move.
I’m not sure what difference between starting and coming off the bench is in regard to the shoulder. Playing is playing. Grabbing a rebound, getting a steal, making a bucket, etc., causes the same effect on the body regardless of where the player started the game at. He can always be taken out of the game if the minutes need to be monitored. He needs to start.
I like Batum’s play with Dante and Rudy. Dante seemed to feed off of Batum’s energy last night and the two in there together were a defensive FORCE. Also like Batum and Rudy in at the same time…so do these things happen if Batum is starting? Of course it goes without saying that Miller on the floor at the same time as these 3 is essential!
Agree with the minutes thing. Batum said ? in his post game interview about wind…hard to catch with the sexy accent.
It really doesn’t matter if Batum starts if he gets the 30 minutes he deserves. This kid is the real deal.
The real question is what do you do when you get Brandon and then Outlaw back? Bayless back to playing 12-16 mis per night? Martell playing the Batum role of last year-starting both halves, but only getting 12-15 mins per game? Rudy needs his 25 or his agent will start whining.
That Cunningham/Batum/Rudy lineup is pretty effective with Miller running them.
I still say a move needs to made to answer all the above questions…or dump Lamarcus in a package deal. He would look good in a Raptors uniform with the Turk.
McMillan will screw it up, dont worry.
Love the fact Blazers are winning without Roy too. I bet he is fuming that Andre is playing well and has a Nic Batum voodoo doll filled with pins.
BRoy Bugs
It’s great to see the Blazers winning without Roy, but not for the ridiculous and unfair reasons you imply.
Yeah, I am sure a guy who has made three straight ASGs is worried about his team winning without him. He is, after all, such a me-first guy. Never mind what the guy has done for our team and what he has contributed to the community.
Look around the league. He’s probably the most down-to-earth max-contract player you will ever find.
Ok..stop the Nate hate. I really didn’t like what Nate was doing for a good part of the season. But as of late he has made some good decisions. He seems to be going with the hot hand for one thing. And letting Miller play his game. He did NEITHER at the start of the season. I like Adelman better but Nate seems to be getting great play from his players right now. I say give him some credit!
I’d rather watch the Batum/Fernandez combination over the Webster/Roy combination. I think that they are just better, and will get even better in the next couple years.
And, I’ll stand by my Roy is the Blazer who should be traded. We don’t need a plodding guard out there when we have a lineup of racehorses. Sure, Roy is great. And that is why the Blazers could get a real good big guy for him. BATUM is the future for the Blazers, not Roy. BATUM (along with Fernandez) understand TEAM basketball. Roy, not so much.
Roy will never be traded. There are maybe seven guys currently in the NBA who are better than him. And he can single-handedly carry a team when the rest of his teammates are sucking and still get you a win — which separates him from players like Monta Ellis, Danny Granger, etc.
But I agree with you to a point…I wish he would expand his style of play. I don’t think he’s uncapable of it.
I think the coaching has more with Portland’s offensive problems than Roy, i.e., stagnant rotations, unwaivering faith in Blake/Outlaw, the Miller debacle.
Nate has some great athletic resources on this team and he rarely makes them run. How many times have you heard during the national broadcasts guys like Doug Collins or Charles Barkley say “They have a lot of tall athletes, I don’t understand why they don’t run the fast break.”
If you were the Lakers, would you trade Andrew Bynum for Roy? If there are REALLY only seven better players in the league then surely the Lakers would do this, right?
But guess what…the Lakers WOULDN’T do this trade. I wish they would because that’s what the Blazers need.
With Bynum, the Blazers would be a very hard team to beat
Just quit posting, Barry. Don’t bother next time.
agreed.
Im all for Nic and Rudy together. But trade Roy?? Get a clue pal
The team has played its best ball without Roy this year. He does not fit in and should be traded.
Like the xmas day game against Denver? Oh wait…
Agreed, Batum should be starting.
Can’t wait to see a starting line up of Miller, Batum, Lemarshmellow and Pryz/Oden on the floor.
That leaves a bench of Bayless, Blakey, martell, Rudy, Outlaw, Howard, Pendergraph and Cunningham.
One of those guards needs to go, or accept virtually no minutes and it has to be Blake.
outlaw isnt back yet
Batum should be starting, in the place of Webster, then have Webster come off the bench. I mean, he probably wouldn’t mind.
Agreed. Batum is the real deal. I just don’t think Webster will ever live up to his potential. Sure he has a great game ever now and then, but nothing consistent. Martel is a class act, but Batum needs the minutes cause he will product more with them. It really is a no-brainer.
because he’s just back from shoulder surgeory? And grimaced in practice on contact the day before playing? A shoulder surgeory that they rushed Blake back from too quickly last season and paid a price for doing so?
f5 — He played 25 minutes last night. If his shoulder is an issue, why did he play 25 minutes? By the way, he started last season and averaged only 18 minutes a game. Start him and play him as many minutes as you want, but at least you’ve set a defensive tone by starting him.
I see your point, I guess what I’m thinking is: he’s been back what, 3 games? Isn’t it reasonable to think they have at least a 3 game plan for easing him back in? So he’s feeling fine and they’ve been increasing his minutes while bringing him off the bench, and they see how his play is and how durable he is. I would doubt that they don’t plan to start him…soon. Am I wrong?
I just don’t get the hullabaloo about it.
I think so.
Just because Nic is the flavor of the day doesn’t mean you rush to bench a guy who has worked his butt off and has been a key contributor in keeping your playoffs hopes alive in the last 60 days. Do you all remember what Martell was dong just before Nic got back? Yeah, he was playing well. Good defense, good offense and finally he was starting to hit the outside shot consistantly. What would that say to Martell if you yanked him with all the work he is put in? He is already showing signs of pressure from Batum on the court. Sooner than later it’s going to happen because Martell lookes like he has just layed down for Nic. Which to me is red flag on the guy.
In the end though, I don’t find anything wrong with the way Nate is doing this. He has to be careful and calculated with some of his moves as well. If he looks at it like most of us as in Nic being the flavor of the day and makes his decisions based on it, he risks losing some of these guys on the court.
Nic is not the “flavor of the day”. He was showing all-star potential last year and everyone saw it, knew it and said it.
He is the flavor of the day simply if you look at what Martell has done, he has played well. And now that Nic has come in played a couple of really good games, you are ready to drop Martell. I don’t think it works that way. You let Martell play his way out of the lineup and let Nic play his way into it. Which is happening. But this Nic to the starting lineup started up from day one of his return. And I think Martell deseves better than that. From a emotional standpont, he is as fragile as it comes. And from my perspective, it would be in the organizations best interest to preserve that as long as possible. How do you do that? You give him a chance and not make any sudden rat decisions about benching him because he is not playing like he was and Nic is playing great.
we might set the defensive tone by starting him, but then we give it all back when Marty comes back in and cant play well with the 2nd unit.
Its not like Nate is shorting his minutes. This critisizm is pointless
The Blazers scout all these different teams and Nate matches personnel accordingly throughout the game. Right now, without Roy, they need to establish LA early (because you know he isn’t going to show up late in games..) or see if Martell is hot for early buckets. After that its Nate using all his options and subs per game situations….luckily with Batum, he has a guy who can play in any situation and produce on both ends consistently-Martell cannot.
Not to piggyback on you, but that’s one of the things that frustrates the crap out of me about Nate. All the good teams play THEIR game, they don’t adjust their style of play to suit the other team, they make the other team adjust. If we’re going to be a running team, be a running team. If we’re going to be a half court team, be a half court team. Just do it consistently and control the pace of the game. I don’t understand it, but then again, I’m just a fan looking in from the outside like everyone else here.
Some of you guys make me laugh. Trade Roy? Get Chris Bosh? What are some of you guys? In a fairyland?
Anyway, I like Dwight’s point on the fact that Batum is the 3rd guy off the bench. Steve Blake continues to the the 6th man on the Blazers. That leads me to believe that the wrong Blazer is going to get his minutes reduced when Roy comes back.
Then Outlaw is going to be back later this season. The two guys I hope the Blazers don’t resign is Blake and Outlaw. Personally I would trade them both for another expiring BIG and maybe a 2nd rounder or two to get the deal made to finish off the season (at least attempt to). It would help the playing time situation. But I know it’s too much to ask for. Pritchard doesn’t have the guts to do it and Nate will probably screw up playing time.
nic played more minutes than most of the starters last night. stop worrying about when he comes in. most of you guys are thinking of coaching in the most simplistic terms.
Think about chemistry. Think about matchups. Think about managing his minutes so he could be fresh for crunch time.
Dwight is clueless on this one
Derftron, what is your deal? You’re like replying to everything that you don’t like and with the case of my comment, you’re not following very closely nor what Dwight is saying.
Let’s recap?
Who was the first person off the bench?
-Steve Blake
Who did he go in for?
-Jerryd Bayless
Who was still in the game?
-Andre Miller
How many point guards were in at the moment?
-2
The point Dwight was making and what I was agreeing on was why not sub Batum in for Bayless. You have a lineup of
Miller
Batum
Webster
Aldridge
Howard
This also gives the Blazers a size advantage and creates mismatch problems for the Bobcats on the back court.
If you get it now, just remember that Dwight talked over you head in his blog. This should be a reminder of why he has his job and you don’t.
we beat them by 20 doing it Nate’s way, thats why I dont understand the griping.
And Bayless played great last night, plus he could stay with Felton on D which Im sure nate was concerned about with Miller.
He’s not talking over my head, but I just try to offset the consistant anti-Nate sentiment on here, especially after we just thumped a good team.
If Nate did anything like what Dwight or the regulars on here suggest, there would be absolutely no consistancy with minutes because everybody on here wants something different every game. let the man coach and enjoy this team.
the one thing I agree with is that Blake doesnt need to be the first off the bench.
I have to say I agree as well. I can’t say what kind of player Batum will turn out to be 3 or 4 years from now, but he quickly became one of my favorite players last year with all the heady little things he does that don’t show up in the box score. That lineup of Rudy, Miller, Batum, and Dante last night was pretty effective on both ends. I think Dante is going to be a really nice glue guy off the bench for us, but that problem comes up now about playing time as guys get healthy. It’s time for KP to make a trade, and he is doing his due diligence. Brendan Haywood keeps coming up in rumors, but it seems that Washington wants too much from us. We’ve got about 2 weeks to find out what’ll happen. Hopefully things will get worked out.
In the mean time, I think McMillan needs to watch tape from last night’s game and stick to the lineups that worked the best. I’d like to see Batum’s adjusted Per 48 minute numbers if somebody could look that up. I’m sure it’s astronomical. Clearly this kid needs to play 35+ a game. Just look at his +/- from last night. He was a +21 and Dante was a +19. That speaks volumes.
BTW…Blake only played 16 minutes. Hooray for that. It’s almost where it should be. After Roy comes back, hopefully that will be down to about 10. I’m not a Blake hater, but at some point you have to try and develop Bayless as a PG, and if he really just isn’t, it’s time to package him in a deal with a couple other guys.
the lineups that worked best were the 2nd unit having NIC IN IT! So why would you all of a sudden start him and disrupt that??
So because a guy starts, he automatically isn’t allowed to play with guys from the bench for the rest of the game?
I don’t understand it either.
I expect to hear more excuses about coming back from injury. He shouldn’t be playing if he is even slightly injured. In 10 game seconds, you can re-injure the shoulder. It could also take you 48 minutes or not at all. Fact is, if not recovered he should not be playing. If he is recovered and has his wind, he should be playing a lot.
This goes back to McMillian being a very poor substitution coach.
You all can have a love affair with Bayless, fact is he is a “shoot first” SG playing as a PG. He is inconsistent and doesn’t involve the rest of the team. Why is he starting over a true SG like Rudy is beyond me.
Why is Blake the first sub off the bench?
Why has Patty Mills, with portland’s lulls over the last few games not played a single minute?
The rotations don’t make sense.
Starting lineup (without Roy) should be:
Miller
Fernandez
Batum
LaSoft
Pendagraph
The second lineup should be:
Bayless or Blake
Webster
Dante
Juwan
(Leaving one position to keep in whatever player is hot).
If things aren’t moving quickly… a lineup of Mills, Rudy, Batum, Pendagraph and Dante would be interesting. Quick, young, athletic, defensive and threats from every angle.
McMillian won’t even try anything. It seems that most of the sub problems are relate back to his inability to move Blake to the bench or let Bayless ride the pine a little bit longer until he is consistent.
Nic played more minutes than 3/5 of our starting unit last night and had great chemistry with a lot of the 2nd unit guys. It actually brought good balance to the team.
What is the problem with this?
Pendergraph is really struggling right now. When he started, they got manhandled in back to back home games. He can’t guard 1 on 1 w/o fouling. Lately, Dante has been playing better.
Howard needs to start. Pendergraph is a foul machine. Dante was better last night in limiting fouls. I think Batum and Dante together on the court with Rudy is a great combo..regardless of who is starting. I do think Batum should be off the bench before Blake. Also Rudy before Blake. I love Roy but kind of think…back to SLOW basketball…when he returns. Hope he learns how to work off the ball and get easy buckets and put less stress on his body.
No knock on Howard. He has FAR exceeded my expectations all year.
Fact is Howard, being older is terrible on weak side help. Always slow to rotate in that arena. Not his fault, he puts in effort there – but Pendagraph mans up. Much of the problems were when Pendagraph and Dante were in the game at the same time. LaMarcus is soft, you need someone to fight in there and give weak side help, which is not going to come from LA. howard is too late in many cases. If you were starting your best players at each position, Pendagraph would be it.
It might have something to do with Batum’s minutes still being capped. But I too would like to see him start again.
Nate is too loyal to guys that have been on the team longer. He needs to stop running this team with seniority and start playing the best players. Same thing happened to Bayless that is happening to Batum. Nate needs to take off the kid gloves and let these guys play basketball. I think this is his biggest weakness and the reason there is a lot of Nate hate.
Nic played more minutes than 3/5 of our starting unit last night and had great chemistry with a lot of the 2nd unit guys. It actually brought good balance to the team.
What is the problem with this?
The reason there is a lot of Nate hate is because simpletons like Dwight look at basketball like a 4th grade girls coach and so do many “fans”. Nic doesnt get a gold star for starting and it probably doesnt matter to him.
Dwight is not a simpleton first of all. He likes Batum and thinks he should get his “dues” through starting. I’m not a bball expert like some are so feel that whatever is working is fine. It was NOT working to have Blake start over Miller for SOOOOO many reasons. UGHHH…I hate to even think about that piece of Blazer history. I do think that right now Batum is playing more minutes coming off the bench than he played last year as a starter. It might be nice to set the defensive tone with him as a starter. I agree with this. It was also nice to see him in there with Dante and Rudy and Miller…so maybe when he gets his wind completely back start him and play him with all of the above…including the 2nd unit. Batum is fresh right now…wonder how the summer play will affect his game next year? Will it improve his game with experience or beat him up like it did Rudy? Or was Rudy’s problem at the beginning of the year just that he was playing with back spasms? Rambling here….
I’m tired of seeing Webster and Outlaw on this team. They are both one dimensional chuckers and do nothing else but shoot jumpers. It is refreshing to see total ballplayers like Batum and Rudy out on the floor.
The part I disagree with is that Webster hustles and plays solid defense. Outlaw is another issue.
Silly. Martell is great on the break, makes hustle plays, gets big rebounds, and is one of the best shot-blocking 1-3’s in the NBA.
His defense is good, too. His ball-handling is competent but timid, and is improving.
If he could just do it consistently. That’s my biggest beef with Martell. I’d like to see him string together 10 good games.
Love Martell, really nice guy. I think that is part of hte problem with Portland fans. They care about “nice guy” first, “hustle” second and what he “brings to the team” 3rd and “overall contribution/consistency” 4th.
Martell is a great guy, nto just nice. He does hustle …. but not consistently. His lack of consistency hurts the team, because you can never expect from him and many times he disappears quarters at a time. You need someone consistent in that position.
Sorry Martell, but Rudy/Batum are better than you, more consistent than you and have more upside. We have seen most of the cap on Martell IMO.
If they start Batman that kills Webster’s trade value. Right now I bet they are shopping him hard around the league.
I sure hope that’s the case.
Martel just had a really solid January, I think it’s perfect timing.
I say keep ‘em both. Martell’s really showed an ability to defend this year. If anything, deal Rudy or Blake, two guys that struggle defensively.
Once Outlaw comes back, where are his minutes, let alone his touches going to come from? Also Cunningham is just as good, if not a better defender than Webster. The writing is on the wall for Martell…
Rudy is small..thin…but is all OVER THE PLACE on the court…he keeps his man VERY BUSY…he has GREAT BBIQ and works VERY well with Batum, Milller and Dante..at least this is what I saw last night while at the game. He was “clogging” up the lanes BIG TIME last night. I think his effective defense is underrated.
I’d like to deal Blake and Travis. Love both as people but there are too many at these positions. Think Webster plays well at times…reminds me of a non-clutch Travis in his defense at times…off and on. Like his mind is elsewhere or something.
You don’t think teams around the league know that Batum is the better player? You’re not going to hide that fact by starting Webster.
uh … it’s because he’s back from an injury. Why rush it?
Batum will end up starting sooner than later. But what is with you guys who think 5 games into the year, for him, he should start now. This is his pre season and there is no doubt that he is opening eyes. But let the coach coach. He ain’t doin a bad job.
yes!
totally loved the way Batum got under Jackson’s skin. It looked like Jackson was pouting and whining through most of the fourth corner.
Jackson was afraid of Batum.
Assuming his stamina is good, I agree. Nick is by far the better overall player.
Webster only plays decent when nobody is putting any pressure on him. I’ve frankly had enough of babying him so we can get something out of him.
If you can trade Blake, Webster, and change for a veteran back-up to Nick – go for it.
Didn’t Nate say that a player shouldn’t loose their starting job due to injury last season?
Batum should have been the starter from Day 1 of his return. Every game Nate waits is a day Nate fails.
Oh, vous faites me rire. Se rappeler que Martell a perdu son travail à cause de la blessure. S’il devrait être le démarreur. Le fait est, le meilleur homme pour la situation fera previal. Quand il est 100% sain, il sera de retour dans la file commençant.
Oh, you made laugh me. To remember that Martell lost its work because of the wound. If it should be the starter. The fact is, the best man for the situation will make previal. When it is 100% healthy, it will be of starting return in the file. (The above post translated by Yahoo! Babel Fish
No, Outlaw was the starter at the beginning of the regular season last year, then Batum took over 5 games in.
Batum was pegged as the starter in preseason until he got hurt. Since he was both the starter at the end of last year and the preseason this year I think it might be safe to say the job was his before he got hurt.
And as far as the best man starting, how would you explain Blake over Miller for the first 30 games or so? Claiming that Nate will play the best players in his starting 5 ignores Nate’s entire history with the team.
Webster a perdu l’année dernière sa position à Batum. Il est seulement exact qu’il fasse ceci encore. Mai la meilleure victoire d’homme !
Nic played more minutes than 3/5 of our starting unit last night and had great chemistry with a lot of the 2nd unit guys. It actually brought good balance to the team.
What is the problem with this?
uh, didn’t Martell lose HIS starting job due to injury? So shouldn’t HE be starting on day one? Lol.
First, I agree with Dwight from past posts where he said that all the injuries may have hidden some problems Nate was having coaching this team.
However, why does everyone keep saying Nate waits too long to play the young guys? Didn’t Roy play right away? Didn’t LMA play big minutes late in his rookie year? Didn’t Batum start as a rookie? Didn’t Rudy play big bench minutes as a rookie? Aren’t Dante and Pendergraph playing minutes already as 2nd round picks? Isn’t Bayless playing good minutes in his second season after being the backup PG at times as a rookie? Wasn’t Oden playing as long as he could stay healthy and out of foul trouble?
I know some of these things were out of necessity, but please. The youngest guys on the team have played a great deal for a team that has been in the thick of playoff races the last two years.
And now some people are already complaining about Patty Mills not getting time? Really?
Too many people are all about the Flavor of the Day. Batum just got back from shoulder surgery, has played 5 games, and is ramping up his minutes. I’m sure he will start at some point but I rather have those limited minutes right now come at the end of games guarding other teams’ star players than at the beginning of the game.
Bottom line, no matter what Nate decides to do with playing time, there will always be a bunch of people that assume the 14th man on the roster is getting screwed over.
Good point. It’s worth noting that even though Batum started last year, he often didn’t play at all after that, especially down the stretch where his D would be useful.
KneeJerk,
That is true. Batum played limited in games after starting but it was a complete longshot for him to even make the roster last year and surprised many that he did. For anyone to cite Batum as an example of a guy having to wait too long to get a chance is laughable. He’s developing into an exceptional player for his age and much of the credit should be going to the Blazer coaching staff.
Nate is not perfect by any means, but his handling of Batum these last two years is not one of his negatives. There is going to be games coming up where Batum looks lost, gets in foul trouble, and doesn’t contribute and many of these same people will be complaining all of a sudden that Webster or Rudy should be playing more than Batum.
I’m mystified why you keep calling out Nate when what he is doing is working GREAT.
Nic will start soon enough, good god, he has only been back from his 1st surgery for 3 games.
because Dwight is a simpleton.
Nic played more minutes than over half of the starters last night and we beat one of the hottest teams in the league by 20.
Yet Nic not “starting” is ANGERING the GODFATHER…ooooooohhhh, Im sure Nate gives a rip.
You guys need to open your eyes.
When you have a set of guys, regardless of rotation…
Nate was TERRIBLE this year in utilizing Oden to his potential. We all saw the improvements, but he never got the ball. The Blazers were playing worse with Pryzbilla and Oden on the floor. Blake was starting over Miller.
Nate was FORCED to make changes when those guys went out. He was FORCED to play Dante and Pendagraph, those guys would of never seen the light of day otherwise. (ALA Patty Mills).
The players put out a lot of production based on talent. It’s not like when we had 8 players and were winning games that Nate had much rotation choices…. please, giving credit based on record is BS.
Look at Avery Johnson… 55+ wins or 60 wins whatever it was and he was still canned.
I like BlazerMVP’s line up. What I would like to see instead of LAM in the starting line-up, is to start Dante, so the starters had someone they could run with right out of the gate.
I can hear all the “what the hell is wrong with this blogger” right now. Whats wrong? We need a guy with good hands who can catch and hang on to the ball. Someone with speed, a good foot moving defender, someone who doesn’t open up the paint for everyone. Have you ever heard another team say, ” we have to put a game together tonight, because we have to play that paint monster, LAM” The more he’s seen for what he is, the less chance we have of moving him with the HUGE dollar burden he is.
Batum is amazing to watch. The energy he, Rudy and Dante had last night was the catalyst for a win. He may just be a good enough player that it won’t matter how crappy Nate’s offense is.
Batum’s ability to defend multiple positions makes Rudy much more valuable to the team. I always cringed when people said RUdy should get 10 minutes at (each) 1, 2, and 3. With Nic’s defensive and ball handling ability, I finally see a chance for Rudy/Roy to play together extended minutes. With any luck at all, Blake will not be re-signed (or traded for a 5), and Ptld will have Miller for just 1 more year. Then, as Rudy is due a new contract he will be getting the minutes needed to convince him to stay with the Blazers.
Funny that Dwight cant understand this, and neither can many of you.
We won the game last night almost exclusively because of the 2nd unit. The chemistry between Rudy, Nic, DC and whoever else is on the floor is great.
Why would you disrupt something that just gave us a 20 pt win over one of the hottest teams in the league? If Martell goes to the 2nd unit and Nic starts, it could actually have a negative impact.
Dwight, try and think outside of “he needs to start” & “he needs to be benched” mentality. You sound like a 8th grade blogger that has no clue
Derftron, you want I find funny? A person who thinks they know all when they’re not even close. As I pointed out earlier to your reply to my original post on here that Dwight talked way over your head as you already have proved with your many replies to other people’s comments. If Dwight sounds like an “8th Grade blogger”, then what does that make you?
Some of you posters are delusional.
So let me get this logic straight.
Batum has all-world potential and there is no denying this… but just because this is now evident all of a sudden…every other Blazer player is now expendable and all of a sudden is a bum and trade bait.
I am not saying we shouldn’t question Nate’s stubbornness from time to time but I mean come on.
Sit back and enjoy these guys. The team is finally getting healthy, let’s kick back with a cold one and watch this unfold and ENJOY!
Here’s a great way to look at it….
What if George Karl was the coach?
You mean Nate’s mentor?
Nate can’t start Batum until he gets approval from Roy. Isn’t that the precedent that’s been set?
Now THAT is funny! Good one!
We play the Lakers again pretty soon….who do we want covering Kobe?
>>>”Martell Webster was terrific on Kobe Bryant and is playing with great energy.”<<<
—Dwight Jaynes, less than 25 days ago—
What was the point of that? You do realize that despite Webster’s play on Kobe Bryant for one game doesn’t make him better than Batum now.
Dwight thought Martell could start at the two anyway. So the proper comparison would be between Nic and Bayless, not Martell.
Fair enough.
I agree that Nic Batum deserves to start. He IS amazing. He’s been my favorite player since last year. However…I like him in with Rudy, Dante..VERY MUCH…he and Dante together…massive defense…and Dante’s game seemed to feed off of Batum. And love Rudy in there with Batum…of course I like all of the above in there with Miller. Batum said he doesn’t care if he starts..just wants to be in at the end of games…which he obviously will be. He will chip away at Webster’s minutes regardless…My question is this..if Batum starts will he be able to play as many minutes with Dante and Rudy on the floor? Please answer! Thanks.
Agree completely. This just speaks to McMillan’s limitations as a coach.
Dwight, cmon. How can anything Nate does at this point be so surprising to you?? We have all seen how absolutely limitless the man’s short sightedness can be. I fully expect next season, or God willing sometime maybe even this post season, we will see Oden starting and playing limited minutes behind Howard. I mean cmon Dwight Nates system is so complex and layered you can’t just throw a guy back into it. Gotta bring em along slooowly …. don’t want to overwhelm them with all the complexities.
He’ll play even less when Travis Outlaw gets back to contribute his befuddled mess to the lineup.
Jack Bog, sad but true. Nate’s coaching is not from this planet.
To all those with short attention spans, Nic EARNED a starting spot last season, and is 10 fold the player Webster is. I like Webster, but there is not enough consistancy in his game, off. or def.
Nic shows up each night and gives you a game at both ends. He would be my pick to play on Kobe. Nic moves his feet on def. and can make the fast adjustments needed to be a good defender. It was Nic in the Dallas game, that kept Dirk from drawing the lean in foul at the end of the fourth. He watched tape of Dirk, and watched his body on the lean, and was able to make the adjustment, to cause Dirk to miss the shot and not get to the line. I wish they would give him 35 plus a night.
Outlaw is personally a great guy who trys really hard, but is also inconsistant. Nic will produce more, night after night. That is if Roy says its ok. Roys world doesn’t allow him to be out shined.
Apparently the only “no-brainer” on this team is the coach.
Does this guy ever have anything positive to write? I usually read Dwight over Canzano and Quick for blazer stuff but as of late after every game he just finds something new to complain about! Why not leave it as is? It is not like Martell hasn’t been playing well starting! How about just having Nic close the games?
“The kid [Nicolas Batum] is downright Pippen-esqe,” wrote Dwight Jaynes.
There’s only one player in the NBA today who’s even close to being somewhat to the legendary Scottie Pippen, with that being Andre Iguodala.
Even then, Iguodala is just a poor man’s version of Pippen.
Aside from that, though, Batum should definitely start over the wildly inconsistent Martell Webster, who’s got nothing on the 21-year-old Frenchman regarding defense, dribbling, moving without the basketball, et cetera.
Hell, Batum is also more efficient than Webster as a three-point shooter over at the weakside corner.
It’s too bad that the Portland Trail Blazers don’t have a coach who’ll implement an offense wherein the 3 is more of a slasher and cutter — both with and without the ball — rather than a spot-up shooting weakside cornerman.
As it stands, Nate McMillan’s high-low zone offense doesn’t use Batum’s skill set to its fullest. That’ll always be the case, too, which is one of many reasons as to why McMillan’s use of such a simplistic offense is crap.
Dammit, as far as I’m concerned, any zone offense variation shouldn’t be used at a level higher than the NCAA, for there guys like Coach K at Duke can be successful against inferior competition with that elementary nonsense.
On the other hand, though, a well-rounded offensive player like Batum could thrive in something like the Hawk offense, which is why I’d be cool with the Portland Trail Blazers someday firing McMillan and hiring Mike Fratello as head coach and Eric Musselman as his lead assistant.
Yet, I’m sure countless folks would dislike the “Czar” due to his love of coaching at a pace slower and more plodding than even that which is currently installed by “Sarge.” I, however, have always been fond of low-tempo, efficient basketball, albeit one with more ball movement and pro-style sets (e.g., pick-and-roll plays) versus the junk that’s presently played by the Trail Blazers
don’t know if you saw this or not, but Ric Bucher made allusions to Portland being in the race for Iguodala. I don’t know that I buy it, considering it’s Ric Bucher mentioning it, but even still. I don’t know what Iggy would be like playing with Roy. He likes having the ball in his hands too.
Anyway, your mention of him made remember that I had seen that.
made *me* remember…it’s early…
Andre Iguodala can play off the ball at the 3 effectively — even if paired on the wing alongside a ball-dominant 2 such as Brandon Roy — however, he’s not a long-distance threat like Nate McMillan usually employs at the that position.
According to http://www.82games.com, 47% of Iguodala’s field-goal attempts are assisted and 37% of Roy’s field-goal attempts are assisted. So, as it concerns those two guys, Iguodala doesn’t need the ball in his hands as much as Roy.
Regarding Iguodala, acquiring him to play the 3 — which is a highly, highly unlikely proposition, even though I’d be down with it — would necessitate firing McMillan and, in turn, replacing him with someone who emphasizes ball movement.
Indeed, Iguodala would be miused in McMillan’s high-low zone offense as a spot-up shooter; rather, the man known as AI2 works best as a slasher with the rock in his hands and a cutter when playing off the ball.
Suffice it to say, I don’t see Iguodala donning a Trail Blazer uniform in the near future. I’d be happy if that were the case, though, as well as ecstatic if McMillan also got the axe.
I think Batum could be the second best option behind Roy on the offensive side of the ball. Problem is, how many plays are actually called for him? He is poised, incredibly athletic, difficult to intimidate, and has the ever cliched ‘court sense’.
I like Martell, but he still doesn’t show an interest in taking the ball to the rim. And his jumper is way off if he doesn’t have his feet perfectly set. Either guy has great value coming off the bench, but I think Nic could do more as a starter. Put Nic on their best perimeter player to start the game so they don’t get off to a hot start. I would like to see Nic on Williams tomorrow night, just to see if he could keep Williams in front of him. If he could do that, the whole Jazz offense could struggle.
To those that mentioned LMA in earlier posts – what we see now is all we are going to get. He isn’t going to be a banger. He will never score like Dirk. And he can’t play the point forward position like Hedo or Odom. His contract is now an albatross, we are stuck with him.
If KP had any balls he would package LMA, Rudy, Outlaw, and Blake + filler (Mills or Joel) to NO for West and Okafor. With Paul down NO might be desperate enough to try it.
I’m late to this, but the answer to Dwight’s question is answered in three little words:
Martell Webster’s ego
I love Batum and his potential but I wonder if people are over reacting a little to his play as of late. Do I think he should be the starter? Probably, but opposing teams will adjust, as they always do for players that start making a name for themselves in the league.
Batum may turn into the pippen-esque player so many people assume he will turn into. But it seems at times we are always expecting players will turn into huge stars when a player is hot. Dont mean to be a part pooper or anything but i for one want to see how Batum fares when the opposition focuses more on him.
Here is the real question that nobody seems to ever mention. If the Blazers don’t draft Webster or Outlaw, would they even be playing in the NBA? The Blazer brass has overvalued these guys so I think the answer is no.
Ok, I’m 110% behind Dwight on this one. Bayless just hurt himself against Utah and somehow Dante (enjoy his game) and Blake (cant stand the guy) end up in the game, while Batum sits on the bench. And meanwhile Martell has made a couple of high school mistakes. I’m fed up with Nate!!!!!! Win or lose.
Well look what LaMarcus did against Utah. It took a long time I’ll agree but he’s turning inside instead of just settling for the fade away. He was trading elbows with Okur all night. And he got 15 free throws and 12 boards. He can play tough and I think eventually he’ll do it regularly. Some guys come into the leagur and it takes them a few years to get an outside jumper (like Jordan). LaMarcus just needs the time to develop toughness.