Pritchslap No. 63.

but that one might actually work…

Here’s an incredibly raw 20 year old kid who managed to start for a 54 win team and, most of the time, look like he belonged. I don’t forsee him becoming an all-star, but I don’t think those of us who envision a future Tayshaun Prince are off base.

I don’t necessarily see him starting though once we get Webster back. I know some people have forgotten, but as long as the foot injury isn’t nagging then Webster can and will be a monster SF.

He’s like Durant, but can play defense and knows how to pass out of a double team. I just hope he can recover from the injury…

He’s smart, and has a high basketball IQ. He’s extremely hard working, competitive and has remarkable genes. All of the above spell ALL STAR.

I just have a feeling that he is going to come back from the off-season a lot stronger and ready to take on more of a scoring role on the first unit. He will be the reason that Trout or Martell will be wearing a different team’s jersey next year. Batum’s instincts and maturity were way beyond what I would have ever expect from a just-turned 20 athlete. Hell, my bet is that 99 % of us were focused on finding someone to buy our beer for us at his age, and he’s holding his own among the greatest athletes in the world.
I would not be suprised if Nic averages 30 mins plus, and double digits in points next year. I still think that Nic’s ceiling is extremely high, and he eventually will be posting double-doubles with regularity.

I didn’t expect that good defense from him, so I didn’t thought he’d play much in his first two years. I’m glad he proved me wrong.

The next step is getting some muscle to make life easier for him in the NBA. As an offensive weapon, his 3pt% will raise, but I’d also like him to drive more. His quickness can make some easy baskets off cuts, and that would force the other team’s defense to put more attention on him, something I felt we missed and would make life easier for Brandon and LaMarcus.

Congratulations, me.

I figured he was just another rookie fans would champion while tearing down the vets in front of him. I was right for one game and then things cooled off once he got to start and be the first guy replaced in the lineup. I’m just really proud of him for increasing his trade value.

for the Blazers in the near future. Offensively, his ceiling is probably about 12 ppg here (partly a function of his game, partly because he will either be the 4th/5th option as a starter), but as they say, defense wins championships. Having someone who can do a good job with some of the elite wings in the league/keep Brandon fresh for the offensive end is a huge asset. Batum still has a ways to go, but seeing him this year has me impressed and hopeful about his future.

is “Comme larrons en Foire”, Like thieves at a fair. Finally! my slim knowledge of the french can be useful outside of le metro and La cinema!

he is gonna work a lot on his offensive skills this summer, (training for the french team)

just think of it..
French Team – Batum
Spain – Rudy
USA – Aldridge, Roy, Oden

whewwwww…..

is that his defense is already NBA-level.

What I’m really curious to see is how his offense develops. If he can model his game after Tayshaun Prince, he’ll be incredible. Look at the comparison of their rookies years Prince didn’t play much, but the stats are still pretty similar per 36.

If he can have a Travis-like evolution on offense, he’ll be a star role player

the first is how great his brains are, he has smarts and great instincts. That will help him be a good passer once he becomes more involved in the offense.

the second is that he is a Cold Blooded Killer! It might sound crazy, but at times I thought I saw this killer instinct. He seems unflappable, tough, and more intense than anyone thought. I really hope that Batum dunks become a mainstay of the Blazers for years to come!

He needs some meet on his body. With that, I strongly believe the kid can be an all star.

He’s quick, athletic, a hard worker, dedicated to defense, intelligent with a great B-Ball IQ. I agree his shot needs some work and he needs to become more aggressive at attacking the basket.

I don’t like how Nate tends to use the SF. We need people camping the three, but it just feels that the likes of Webster and Batum are wasted there. Dave, you made a good point that it is up to the SF to not just take the open shot, but create something as well. Here’s hoping Webster and Batum can do that next year.

The highs: Athletic, quick, graceful and in control, intelligent, defensive focus, confidence

The lows: Shooting, creating own shot, strength

Batum doesn’t assert himself all the time yet, but the kid is confident. Strength can be built, even if he’s never a bulky guy. his shot can be worked on, and creating his own shot will happen when he has more strength to power through, a little better shot, and the mindset to do so. I felt he played within himself this year, and i’m hoping he’ll push himself next year.

First off, I love Nic’s game this year, even with the offensive limitations. No biggie. I worry more about rookies who come out shooting on fire and play no D than the other way around.

HOWEVER, I fear Batum may have a little trouble next year. the scouting report will no longer read “SF Batum: some French kid.” It will look more like: “Monster defender, watch yo’ back.” Seriously, how many times will you have an easy breakaway layup or poster-dunk swatted away from behind by “some french kid” before you stop loping down the court and start casting one eye back for old Boom-boom.

I’m not saying teams are going to start keying him. I’m just saying that element of surprise is surely gone. Kinda like Ime. All-Star? no. someone to watch out for? yes.

If that Offense comes together and he not only starts drilling the 3, but also figures out how to drive on down to Monster Jam Town, well … my oh my … we are in for a treat that lasts a decade or more.

Goodie Goodie Goodie!
(don’t call it a man-crush.)

Nicolas Batum has been that for us this season (along with our centers). He’s one of my favorite players on the team. But there is still plenty of room to grow, particularly when the ball does come his direction. An improved 3 pt shot would help (it’s not bad, but hardly any of his attempts were contested from what I could tell). A better move to the basket would be a bonus (though he was starting to use the baseline drive more effectively towards the end of the season, especially against Pau Gasol). Maybe more confidence handling the ball? Other than that, Just want him to get more experience. I think at this point playing for France will be better for him than a summer spent in an empty gym, or playing pick-up ball. More experience. More confidence. I’m looking forward to next year.

Batum’s calling card this year was his defense. As the year progressed he became the designated defender of the team’s best small scorer. This took pressure off of Brandon Roy, allowing him to conserve his energy in the first stages of the game and taking away much of the potential for early foul trouble against our main guy. I’m not sure about physical durability per se, but Brandon can attribute at least some of his ability to stay on the court consistently this year to Nicolas Batum.

-Sophia

(The world is his oyster.)

bq.He is far, far too good on the drive with his speed (and on the finish with his leaping ability) to become a stand-still shooter alone. He needs to be dunking as well as bombing. The way the system is set up he has to make enough threes to make him a credible threat. . . .

Are you saying he didn’t play a more all-around game because of his level of development? I assumed it was a coaching decision. “All right, Nico, on this play you stand way out here and don’t move. On this next play, you stand way out here and don’t move.”

At times he looked Michael Cooper-esque in his ability to chase down the enemy and block the layup at the last second. It got to the point where you could call it before it happened. That’s downright amazing.

I hope someone shows film of Cooper to Batum. To me, that’s a better role model for him than Pippen or Prince (though both of those guys are fine, too). – Elgin

BATUM THIS SEASON

Watching Nic Batum was one of the biggest joys of the season for me. I love his game. I love his attitude. I love when players embrace a role, striving to play that role to the best of their ability rather than wishing the team gave them some other role. Nic is not one of those players that tells the media that they don’t mind having more defensive responsibilities than offensive responsibilities because it is a good PR move. He genuinely likes it that way. The Blazers are tremendously lucky to have stumbled upon such an athletically gifted guy that his obsessed with being a great defender at a young age. How rare is that?

Additional aspects of Nic’s game that I really appreciate:

-His low turnover rate. I know that he does not get a lot of touches in the offense, but I rarely felt nervous when the ball was in Nic’s hands. He’s a good passer who sees the floor quite well. It wasn’t just that he played it safe; he usually made the right play. Again, for a 20 year old rookie SF, that is really impressive. He struggled a bit with turnovers in the series against Houston, but my guess is that will prove to be an anomaly.

-The Nic Batum one man fast break. He was really great in the open floor. I wish there were a metric for each player’s success rate when they are the lead player on a fast break. I am pretty sure Nic’s would have great fast break conversion rate. He is so long and quick that he’s very difficult to stop when he has the momentum provided by the break. Frankly, I would love if Nate McMillan spent a few weeks in the off-season trying to figure out how to start more fast breaks with Batum. Down the road, this could be a lethal weapon. I know that fastbreaks are harder to come by in the play-offs, but even a couple of cheap buckets on the break can be the difference in a close game.

-His 3 point shooting percentage. Perhaps this one is obvious, but I think it’s a little under-appreciated. I know he only takes open threes. Still, 37% from distance is a great number, especially for some one that did not come out of college or Europe shooting a lot of threes. It is not at all unrealistic to think that Batum could be a deadly weapon from distance in a couple of season.

BATUM IN THE FUTURE

I think a good deal of Batum’s improvement will be on the coaching staff. I am sure Batum will put on muscle. I am sure his shooting will improve. I am sure he will become a better defender. I am less certain how far he will grow offensively. It’s difficult to develop a well rounded offensive game in the NBA without getting a significant number of opportunities in NBA games. Dave is right that players bear responsibility for making the most of the opportunities afforded to the SF in the offense. On the other hand, there is no law that says the Blazers have to keep running the offense that they have been running. Have the Blazers been successful offensively? Of course. Does that mean there aren’t gains to be had by adjusting offensive sets to help develop the talent on the roster? No. In my view, the coaches have as much of a responsibility for designing sets that develop players, as players have a responsibility for using those opportunities wisely.

Moreover, given Batum’s personality, he may benefit from being given a specific play or set where he has greater offensive responsibility. Again, Batum could improve simply by making more of the opportunities given to him in the offense that the team already uses. But, the relevant question is whether or not the status quo offense will maximize the long term talent and success of the team. I don’t think it will. I think the Batum and the team would see more growth if Batum were force-fed a few plays a game. Yes, the coaching staff would gain confidence in Nic if he took it upon himself to drive and dunk, but Nic would also gain confidence if he were given some plays where that was the number one option.

Similarly, as I hinted at above, the easiest way to improve Batum’s overall offensive production would be for the Blazers to make a more concerted effort to feed Batum in the open court on outlet passes. This one is even more on the coaching staff and teammates than Batum’s production in the half-court. An emphasis on advancing the ball up the court on the wings is a matter of coaching philosophy. The most obvious example is what happened to the Phoenix Suns in the transition between Porter and Gentry. The players did not change at all, and suddenly the ball was being advanced up the wings repeatedly. It was not enough to push Phoenix in the playoffs, but it certainly improved the Sun’s performance. I am not advocating that the Blazers adopted the Phoenix offense (and lack of defense), but I believe they should push the ball with outlet passes to the wings more often. Batum can be a key part of this strategy. (Note, in addition, that most of the teams remaining in the playoffs (all but Orlando) make a greater effort at doing this than the Blazers do).

Just passed my 888 comment… Wanted to dedicate to the young and PROMISING BATUUUMMMMMM

He means so much to our team already at such a young age, imo he is one of the untouchables, already. I want to see him bulk up to 220-230 by the time he hits his prime, closer to where Scottie Pippen was. It would help him a lot in terms of hanging with Artest, LeBron, Carmello, Joe Johnson… All the players who as of now can dominate him due to size.

when I look back on a players season. I seam to picture one play in my head were they stood out. For Nic it was the last home game against the l@kers. in the first quarter and was stuck to Kobe like glue frustrating the hell out of him. It got tho the point were kobe was throwing body shots at him to try and back Nic up. that was just awesome.

Batum is trade bait and his trade value may never be greater than it is right now. Please don’t tell me he is one of the untouchables or part of the core group. If we are going to move up in the playoffs next year we need to improve our point guard play. We need to go after Deron Williams or CP3, nobody less talented than these two. Blake can come off the bench. If we need to trade off multiple players to get a top tier point guard in a Blazer uniform so be it.

Besides running the floor and shooting 3 pointers, will Nate allow him to be anything more than that? I know Batum can do much more with the ball. I hope he’ll have an opportunity to develop other parts of his game.

Because of defensive matchups but I can see Rudy’s passing skills working very well with a catch and shoot guy like Martell

that having had a Nic,Travis type build all my life it took me a vast amount of chinups,bar dips and pasta to gain just a few pounds when I was that age.Also since I was ever so right about Nic since before the draft I am predicting Freeland to be next year’s most pleasant suprise

most others have now seen Batum’s consistent benefit to the team. A few are still saying that Martell was straight out of HS and give him a couple years. Which rookies have just come out of HS from Europe (speaking a different language), started most of the games, and produced as well as Batum?

That defense of Kobie should have shut down the critics. You can bet that KP didn’t slough it off. Dave picked up on the other reason that Batum will play more minutes at SF next year than any other player. Batum makes other players around him better. As long as KP is here and building a better TEAM, role players who can defend and consistently demonstrate “Team-ball” abilities will get the minutes.