Is Nic the next Pippen?

Eggers takes a look at our young Frenchie

Medina said. "In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Scottie Pippen. Scottie had a lean body and worked hard and built himself up. Nic has a lot of that same athletic ability. He just doesn’t have the strength yet."

almost 3 years ago SpyderRyder 26 comments 0 recs |

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yes

" if you don't like it, you can shove it
but you don't like it, you love it!"
- Weezer (Red Album)

by halfasiansensation on Apr 2, 2009 6:37 PM PDT reply actions

yes

Oden...Aldridge...Roy.....THE REAL BIG THREE

by CroRupt on Apr 2, 2009 7:01 PM PDT reply actions

Tayshaun Prince is first. Pippen is next.

by Norsktroll on Apr 2, 2009 7:18 PM PDT reply actions

Wait. What?

Are you saying you’d like it more if he were Prince or that he’s more likely to be Prince? I’d much rather he be like Pippen. Or, were you saying, that he’s going to turn into Prince and then turn into Pippen later? I’m so confused

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on Apr 3, 2009 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions

While I'm not Nors

I definitely took that to mean that he’s gotta develop into a Prince-level talent / player before you can even compare him to Pippen. When he gets to Prince’s level maybe we can debate wether or not he’s the next-coming of Scottie

What are you impressions of Roy?
"He's just a very, very good basketball player. Very smart. Very heady. He can do a little bit of everything on the court. As coaches, when we scout Portland we kind of put him in the same category as Kobe (Bryant), LeBron (James), Dwyane Wade. We treat him the same. He's that good."

- Byron Scott

by CMCWizard on Apr 3, 2009 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions

Yeah

by Zaig on Apr 3, 2009 10:26 AM PDT up reply actions

And in 20 years we will say the following about a new up and coming SF...

Tayshaun Prince is first
Pippen is next
But he won’t reach Batum’s level.

by Zaig on Apr 2, 2009 9:35 PM PDT reply actions

On one hand...

I love to think so. His style of play certainly reminds me of Pippen. The next step would be to show some point-forward skills – I would be amazed at that.

On the other hand, one thing I really like about NBA basketball is that everyone has an individual skill set. For instance, the more I watch Joel Pryzbilla, the more I see that he plays the game in a way that only he does. And Pippen was incredibly unique (have we had a better point since he left the team?).

I’m very excited about Batum. Could be be “the next Pipp”? I don’t know, but he’s going to be real good.

by lama on Apr 2, 2009 10:18 PM PDT reply actions

I have been thinking for months that Nic was the next Tayshaun Prince, but either way, I'm happy!!!!

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by LaMarvelous on Apr 2, 2009 11:02 PM PDT reply actions

Absolutely

Even when Roy starts to get phase down, Nic will be the man then…

As much as the athleticism is crazy— one aspect of his game I have liked since the get-go—— when he shoots a three he looks like he is shooting a layup. It’s effortless. This to me means he will have great control over the ball on a 3 point shot. + He has already shown he can hit the 3. When it’s something he is known for and has to be respected, the guys will be able to drive the lane— I can’t imagine that will be easy to gaurd.

"Both Anthony Carter and Jameer Nelson were downright jubilant in the Magic locker room postgame. Carter said to no one in particular, "Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live" and Nelson was cracking on his teammates for not being able to guard Brandon. The kinds of jokes you can make when you win."

by loyal_blazer on Apr 3, 2009 12:17 AM PDT reply actions

BTW

In case you didn’t see it mentioned during one of the games on TV, MJ himself said Batum was a young Scottie Pippen.

Being as that MJ probably has an eye for the game(and dont bring up Kwame, rumor has it he didnt want to draft him after all) and played alongside Pipp for a decade+, I think he is qualified to say that. Add to that the fact that MJ’s team the Bobcats would not send Gerald Wallace to Portland unless Batum was part of the deal, I think we can be certain, this guy is gonna be BIG. even 85% of what Pippen was over that amount of time would be HUGE.

To me, the definite, part of championship starting 5 are Roy, Lamarcus and Batum. Oden’s gotta let us know if he wants to play C and PG is up in the air.

by loyal_blazer on Apr 3, 2009 12:25 AM PDT reply actions

No.

He’s the next Nicolas Batum.

draft dejuan blair

by Cablinasian on Apr 3, 2009 12:28 AM PDT reply actions 2 recs

lets see his playoff performance

and how he improves next year, then we can estimate how good he will be. For now, he’s doing good. But he doesnt look like a major impact player in my opinion. More like a great role player.

by jbm01 on Apr 3, 2009 1:25 AM PDT reply actions

Really?

Outside of the 3 amigos, Batum to me looks to have more potential than anyone on the team (possibly replacing someone as part of the big 3).

by Bskey on Apr 3, 2009 2:46 AM PDT up reply actions

Yes...

I said it at the beginning of the season, and I still feel that he can be a Pippenesque player. He has mad athletic skills, and will really be comparable to Pip when he gets stronger. What is overlooked is his basketball I.Q. You rarely see him make “rookie” mistakes. What is most impressive is that he is doing this all before he can legally enjoy a fine local brew, and is also learning in his non-native tongue.
The only downside to Batum so far is that he is quickly making Martell Webster obsolete. Martell would be better off in a system where he was expected to shoot more that he is in Portland. He would be a perfect second option, not third or fourth, which he is with Portland. Batum is very effective without necessarily needing to shoot, although I think he will develop into a 15pt plus avg. player.
I expect that Batum will be the starting 3 for a LONG time to come, and that Webster will be packaged w/ draft pick(s), and maybe Sergio for a top notch Point Guard.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix

by philly420pdxhilo on Apr 3, 2009 2:49 AM PDT reply actions

That's why MW needs to come off the bench.

by Zaig on Apr 3, 2009 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions

Webster will be packaged w/ draft pick(s), and maybe Sergio for a top notch Point Guard.

From your lips to KP’s ears

(too bad it couldn’t have been Devin Harris in 3/08…)

by two4larue on Apr 3, 2009 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions

The problems with that

are that 1) we just signed Webster to a long long deal (5 years, I believe) and 2) Webster hasn’t exactly helped his trade value by sitting on the bench for a season.

Meanwhile, Travis’s trade value has skyrocketed during this season as one of the best 6th men in the league.

If we really want a money PG through trades (ie…not Bayless) I think that Travis is the trading chip, not Martell.

Rudy, Rudy, Rudy,
Roy, Roy, Roy!

by joelor on Apr 3, 2009 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions

probably, but it depends

I agree that Webster’s trade value is low due to his injury, but…

Rival GMs know his game, he has put enough of his skills “on tape” as they say

And though Outlaw also has a certain skillset, I think it doesn’t “translate” to other teams as well as Martell’s would

(i.e., Trout is “more valuable” to Portland that he would be to other teams)

But again, it only takes one GM who really likes Travis/Sergio to offer a deal that KP can’t refuse

by two4larue on Apr 3, 2009 4:59 PM PDT up reply actions

just and interestong tidbit to add in

People laud the fact that Martell is a 3pt specialist and has a great stroke and is great at hitting 3s, all of this for someone who has never been over 40% in his career which I do not get.

During his rookie year Martell shot .357 from 3 in about 20 mpg. Nic who is more known for his D is now shooting .357 from 3.

"Damn the Blazers. Damn them to hell. They are working the rest of the league like a speed bag." - Bill Simmons 6/26/08

by SpyderRyder on Apr 3, 2009 5:39 AM PDT reply actions

Been over this before

Martell was required to shoot the 3 ball a ton.

Blake has a better 3pt % than Rudy. Would you say Blake is the better 3 point shooter? Not a chance. Blake just has the luxury of shooting 90% of his 3s while wide open. Rudy has (and chooses) to shoot a lot more contested/tougher 3s.

Batum is in Blake’s boat right now. He just gets to fire away when he wants. If he’s guarded, no biggy.

by Zaig on Apr 3, 2009 10:31 AM PDT up reply actions

What is really interesting is that Batum is already a better 3-point shooter than Pippen ever was

If you take out the years when they moved the 3-point line (94-95,95-96,96-97), in Pippen’s best 3-point shooting year he only shot 34.4% . Additionally the number of 3’s attempted and made per minute is higher for Batum than it was for Pippen in any of his non-moved 3-point line years.

Pippen also only had 1 year with a higher FT% than Batum has right now.

Rather than saying Batum’s ceiling is Scottie Pippen, it might be more accurate to say that Batum’s ceiling is Pippen + better shooting.

by trk on Apr 3, 2009 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions

No -- through no one's fault he will not get the opportunity

It’s not that Nic doesn’t possess the athleticism — he does. It’s not that he doesn’t have the so-called basketball IQ — he’s got that, too. And it’s not that he doesn’t have the time to develop — he obviously has lots of that. The problem is that none of these matter in terms of becoming the next Pippen — an extraordinarily well-rounded player — if he doesn’t get the opportunity to develop the entire skill set that goes with this benchmark.

It is said, and well documented, that in just about any endeavor, athletics and otherwise, a person needs at least 10,000 hours of deliberate and purposeful “practice” to reach the pinacle of greatness (see, for example, Gladwell’s “Outliers” or Colvin’s “Talent is Overrated”). Scottie put in those hours and more on developing his multiplicity of skills. Nic is developing skills at an amazing rate, to be sure, but at nowhere near the diversity level that our “role model” developed his.

And there are related issues that will further impact the answer. For example, will Nic continue to get preferred minutes next year when Martel returns? Perhaps, but even here, Nate defines relatively limited roles for his small forwards on a team with 3 stars, and who knows what point player may come down the pike to control even more aspects of the game.

The point here is that Nic has all the elements save the most important one — the space to become a dominant multi-talented player on a team where space is at a premium, and where the head coach has just reached the point with his team where taking chances on major player development will risk championships.

Sorry to say.

by blazerwizard on Apr 3, 2009 5:54 AM PDT reply actions

I can agree with some of that.

I don’t agree that Nic hasn’t or won’t put in the same or greater amount of time in working on his game that Scottie did. Nic is a very hard worker, insanly hard by more accounts. His desire to be great is there, no question.

What i can see happening to the Blazers is this; if Nic develops into this type of player, he will have to be given more responsibilities on the team than just defending the top scorer on the opponent. If his offensive game develops to that point then he makes Outlaw expendable, because he would duplicate everything Travis does, yet add lock down defense to it. In this situation, I see the Blazers trading Outlaw while keeping Batum and Martel, and Martel can be far more effective than Travis is shorter minutes off the bench.

Hard to think of this team without needing Travis’s scoring, but if Nic develops that part of his game, then it is possible. Rudy becomes the primary scorer off the bench, with Martel, Blake and Joel providing the solid Vet experience. Not a bad team really, but that is alot of “ifs”.

by usmcr3049 on Apr 3, 2009 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions

Bobby Gross

I mentioned this yesterday, the way Batum compliments Roy and LMA reminds me of Gross’ role with the ’77 champs. (Keeps the ball moving, plays defense, runs the court, not a scorer (yet) but he can hit the open shot and will drive and finish if you leave him unguarded.)

Batum will likely pass Gross’ contibutions in a year or two, but right now, for this team, their roles are pretty similar

by two4larue on Apr 3, 2009 10:16 AM PDT reply actions