Freeman: Nicolas Batum to Start Tonight
Joe Freeman writes...
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Batum said he will start at small forward and Martell Webster will slide over to shooting guard, which means Jerryd Bayless — who had been starting in place of the injured Brandon Roy — will move to the second unit.
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Congratulations Nate McMillan.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
about 2 years ago
Ben Golliver
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and there was much rejoicing
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 2:12 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
and very little surprise.
This is the obvious move to make.
"Batum must be french for:
being at the right place at the right time"
- StudMuffin15 @ Rufus On Fire
"I don't always read blogs regarding the Trail Blazers
...but when I do... I read Blazers Edge."
- resurrect_ha28
by FiveOhThree-RipCity!! on Feb 9, 2010 2:19 PM PST up reply actions
which actually makes it somewhat a surprise
remember what the obvious move was back after 7 games? Remember we got the 2 point guard lineup instead?
"I want to be traded to a contender" is almost always code-speak for "I'm a loser."
-Dave, 2/5/2010: http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/2/5/1297509/no-amore-for-amare
Typical Nate?
I vote: Yes.
"Batum must be french for:
being at the right place at the right time"
- StudMuffin15 @ Rufus On Fire
"I don't always read blogs regarding the Trail Blazers
...but when I do... I read Blazers Edge."
- resurrect_ha28
by FiveOhThree-RipCity!! on Feb 9, 2010 3:57 PM PST up reply actions
i have been calling for this since nic was born
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 2:25 PM PST up reply actions
i actually called this when nic's parents met
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 2:27 PM PST up reply actions
quelqu'un ?
Je suis le père de Nic. Bayless n’est pas mon fils. McMillan peut être mon oncle. Tout cela dépend.
"I never give in to the temptation to be difficult just for the sake of being difficult. That would be too ridiculous"
Jacques Derrida
from??
"I never give in to the temptation to be difficult just for the sake of being difficult. That would be too ridiculous"
Jacques Derrida
when unleashed he often ends up in the stands
"I never give in to the temptation to be difficult just for the sake of being difficult. That would be too ridiculous"
Jacques Derrida
Jerryd coming off the bench>Jerryd starting.
Energy from the bench is going to help so much, and Jerryd has tons of it.
I love Bayless as much as anyone
But as much as it pains me to say it, he’s been playing like crap lately. I’m guessing he’s more banged up than he’s letting on, and it’s hurting his rhythm. I hope a couple days off did him some good, and that the all star break does him even more good.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
this team needs more RAWR
if it takes “coming off the bench” to get Rex revved up into “RAWR” mode, then so be it.
It certainly looked that way against L*A in the 4th quarter
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Technically, wouldn't it be Batum be playing the 2?
I figure he’d do more ballhandling and not sitting in the corner shooting 3’s. (That’d be Webster’s job)
Perhaps Nic would guard KD and Webster would be on Harden, but Webster did a good job on KD last time so perhaps the best defensive arrangement is Nic on Westbrook, Dre on Harden, and Webster on KD….except Webster has been horrid last several games on D.
"I think he’s been doing some good things. I think he’s been doing some good things. He’s had to play a lot of minutes lately with Blake being out. I think he’s been doing some good things." -Nate McMillan
nic guards KD
webster has been pretty bad as of late on D
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 2:36 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, I think technically Martell will play the 3 on offense and Nic the 2. They’ll reverse on defense.
#52 #10 #25 #7
it'll be interesting to see if Batum can step into that role
Bayless has been inconsistent, but shown flashes of excellence essentially doing what Brandon does in the offense: attacking the rim and scoring or passing. We’ll see if Nic can do that consistently against a set defense. Otherwise, it’s going to be a lot of Andre Miller trying to create, which I’m not thrilled about given Russell Westbrook’s known abilities.
Is there really a difference between the 2 and the 3 with this lineup?
One point, 2 wings, 2 posts.
HORRID PERSONIFIED. I agree. I sincerely hope Webster's LACK of defense isn't as STELLAR as
as it was in Utah or against L.A. It seems as though it couldn’t possibly be. If it is I say “send him back to the D league!”
I question Webster’s ball handling skills also. But he is probably stronger than Batum just bc he is bigger….Batum will work on that probably. He was more muscley before his shoulder surgery. So Webster may be able to muscle up KD….don’t know.
Anyway…I think Batum is better at handling the ball than Webster.
As you can see, after watching the games against Utah and L.A. I am disappointed in Webster.
He did very well against San Antonio. But so did Juwan. And Juwann is 14 years older.
with the addition of Batum the Blazers finally have options
and when a switch happens the Blazers end up favorable.
I thought someone said Batum was going to guard Westbrook?
then Miller could guard Harden, and LMA would defend Green
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Meh
I love Nic Batum and certainly see a benefit to him defending Durant, but I am not wild about how it will affect the rotation at SG and SF. I would think they would want Martell or Batum to be the SF the entire game and starting them together just makes it more awkward to do so. But, meh, what do I know? Not much.
Right, so he plays 40 minutes a game
Wouldn’t you want both Webster and Batum to be fresh whenever they were defending him rather than just as tired? Honestly, I know it probably wouldn’t make a big difference either way, but it still seems a bit goofy to me.
but they are not guarding him the whole game
The Blazers switch almost every time – annoying – by having both in the game you can end up with more favorable match ups
Wouldn’t you want both Webster and Batum to be fresh whenever they were defending him rather than just as tired?
Right. Like I said last night, if Webster starts out guarding Durant and picks up a couple of fouls, it might be nice to be able to bring Batum fresh off the bench and play for as long as Kevin is on the court. That could be harder to do when they’re both starting…but oh well…Dante Cunningham stands ready to get burnt to a crisp if Nic and Martell are both on the bench and #35 is on the warpath
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I agree
unless Nic and Marty get into simultaneous foul trouble in the first quarter
then it will be a long night
but let’s hope they frustrate the heck out of Durant and Westbrook, instead
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
my theory will be tested tonight
I always thought that Rudy is most explosive with Batum (and Batum is better with Rudy) on both sides of the ball. Hopefully more minutes of this pairing will happen tonight
if by lose, you mean win
and by 20, you mean 40
and by might only, you mean will
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 3:10 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
then yes
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 3:10 PM PST up reply actions
thank you
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 4:25 PM PST up reply actions
i like it
id be curious to see how bayless would do in that starting lineup unitl roy gets back but this is probably the best group. batman!
cash rules everything around me CREAM get tha money dolla dolla bill yaaaaallll
by staceyaugmon4HOF on Feb 9, 2010 3:08 PM PST reply actions
"congratz Nate McMillian"
that just comes off as arogant and a bit ignorant. Like we didn’t all know Nic was destined to be the starter. Now you’re acting like Nate just now figured out what YOU always knew.
Maybe I’m overreaching, it just rubbed me wrong.
Batum will guard westbrook to start, with Martell on KD
which I like, because it should send the right message to martell, as in “we trust you to D up durant, now go do it”. obviously, batum will get plenty of time on Durant as well, but we need both guys to defend him well.
my guess is that Martell comes out first, with Bayless coming in for him around the 6 minute mark, at which point batum will swap to KD and bayless will take Russell. webster will then come back for batum around the quarter mark, or maybe when KD goes to the bench.
"I want to be traded to a contender" is almost always code-speak for "I'm a loser."
-Dave, 2/5/2010: http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/2/5/1297509/no-amore-for-amare
For some reason I think the Blazers will win tonight. I thought they'd lose to LA also so
I think I should go with my gut.
It's about time coach...
but I would have taken martell out of the line up and kept bayless
I would be on the phone...
with the Wizards, convincing them that Martell is a much better fit for them than Travis ;-)
Small ball does not win championships.....
Go Blazers !!
This is twice now that I've heard about Travis being traded. Is this true? One post actually
posted “had” in there…like it was a done deal. Just curious.
where else have you heard this?
i must know, my trade rumor addiction that i kicked after the deadline last year is back, i’m off the wagon, or is it on the wagon?
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 4:36 PM PST up reply actions
if it had really happened
BE would be blowing up
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
The Oregonian....
but I see weather in there that isn’t always accurate too :)
Whatever the braintrust is up to , we will all know in a week.
Small ball does not win championships.....
Go Blazers !!
thanks for stating the obvious
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
by thomasikehara on Feb 9, 2010 4:56 PM PST up reply actions
I dunno...
I still remember opening day at LA in 2008.
I won’t believe Batum is really, truly starting until he steps on to the court. Nate still has lots and lots of time to change his mind…
Buck Williams for the hall of fame
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