Blazers F Nicolas Batum Exudes Confidence, Spawns A Generation
by Ben Golliver on Nov 18, 2011 10:40 AM PST
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Here's a quick round-up of coverage given to Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum as he competes for SLUC Nancy in France.
Brother Wendell Maxey joined John Canzano on 750 The Game to talk about catching up with Batum in France last week. Audio here. His thoughts...
He looks great. I saw him in Lithuania at EuroBasket and he was playing behind Tony Parker and kind of picking up some scraps behind Tony Parker. But seeing him in his element over in Nancy, France, playing for his team there. It's his team. I think he gets lost in the mix of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and that whole phase... and Nicolas kind of picking and choosing his spots.
But I saw Nicolas in a different light last weekend because it was his team. It was him being home, him being in his element. He had 10 members of his extended family there and that's a big part of why he wanted to come back during the lockout, to get a chance to play in front of them. I think there's a comfort level there. They put the ball in his hands more. He's running like a point forward position, he's really developed his post-up play, pick-and-roll game, and so they had the ball in his hands constantly. He's just efficient. It's not like he's taking a lot of shots. I think he finished with 19, seven and five on the night. He didn't take a ton of shots, he's just efficient, picks and chooses his spots. A certain confidence that he was oozing from talking to him in that he wants the ball in his hands and it's his team. And that's hopefully going to carry over.
I got the impression from Nicolas the other night that he's so glad and happy he made the decision to come over. I think he would say that same thing had the lockout been wrapped up last week or two weeks ago... He maybe would be a little disappointed he would have to go back knowing how well he's done, he's really excelled.
In this Google translated interview with Ouest-France.fr, Batum talks about his confidence level and mentality. Here's his translated response to a question about why he is playing better in Euroleague than in France league play.
I focused a little more Euroleague in Pro A, it was my fault. I had stats sometimes a little weird. Large numbers in Euroleague not Pro A. Now, I lose fewer balls in recent matches, the address is returned. Now I try to be consistent in both competitions.
DraftExpress.com has a nice database going of NBA players and their lockout stats. Batum is averaging 20.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists in Euroleague play. He's averaging 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in France.
This Google translated AFP report calls France's group of promising younger national team players "Generation Batum. The group's junior team coach says Batum will be "a great team leader in France" and believes that he has NBA All-Star potential. Generation Batum also includes Rodrigue Beaubois, Kevin Seraphin and Pape Sy.
Rohan Cruyff at SB Nation NBA has a great Euroleague weekly rundown column and notes that Batum had a hiccup this week after winning MVP twice in the first four weeks of play.
Portland's Nicolas Batum (Nancy) struggled for the first time this season, scoring just 9 points on 8 shots, missing 3 of 6 free throws and committing 3 turnovers. Nancy lost by 13 to Olympiacos, who played a physical style of defense on Batum.
Here's Jay Aych at The Painted Area on Batum's big game last week.
Next to Andrei Kirilenko, Nic Batum has been the best all-around player during the first four weeks. Nic paced Nancy with 21 pts, 9 rebs and 4 assts. Nancy loves to set up Batum off baseline screens, usually setting him up on the left block. Did a nice job scoring a few times or drawing fouls in the post.
Nicky Batts has also been handling the ball quite a bit for Nancy and has been sharp with his passes--Batum made a superb lob pass to Akin Akingbala. Batum is currently second in ppg (20.5), second in apg (6.5) and fifth in rpg (7.3). But is first in TOpg (5.0).
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
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Nice to hear Nic is gaining experience and confidence
I hope Nate doesn’t continue to under-utilize him in the offense and cause him to regress. Wishful thinking I suppose
by lil'stink on Nov 18, 2011 12:08 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
it's not wishful thinking
Nic averaged 31 mpg last season and averaged 15+ ppg after the Wallace trade. We talk about him like he’s 27 and not 22. Nate is no dummy, our forwards are our greatest strength.
"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'
by sammymohawk on Nov 18, 2011 1:23 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
31 is not enough
he can give you advantages at four different positions. a consistent shooter, great passer, great runner, lock down defender – the only time he shouldn’t be playing is when he’s tired. often he did not even finish games last year, even though he has played consistently well late in games.
by heybabydrinkyourmilk on Nov 18, 2011 6:31 PM PST up reply actions
again, he is 22 years old
His minutes will go up. His end of game usage will go up. Everyone take a deep breath, be glad he’s coming along like we hoped, and look forward to heavy doses of Nicolas Batum in the Blazers’ future whenever that may be. Seeing Nic do well in the Euroleague should not prompt us to retroactively trash Nate McMillan, who has delivered overachieveing W-L records in the face of unbelievably unfortunate circumstances the last few years. Nic has continuously made himself more integral to this team over time and that will never be more apparent than in the next NBA season. He is 22 years old.
"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'
by sammymohawk on Nov 18, 2011 7:38 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
'retroactively' trash ?
I think we have had plenty of ‘pro-active’ trashing. :-)
I recall lists of players after Nate not any better…. so this is a nice case in point.
We shall see.
Wake me when the game is on.
IMO, Nick has been too passive
He more or less let the game come to him and as said picks his spots. To be the top scorer he needs to be more aggressive. and hopefully that is where confidence in playing so well in France may come in to play.
He does accept the fact that a BB player can’t be up and at his best in every 82 games, therefore when he is off he passes the torch to other players, but I feel he does it to quickly and takes himself out of the game. But Hey, that was last year, whenever we get to play is a brand new year, him and Nate both need to adjust to the whole team that is coming, hopefully, up
hg
This is awesome. His stats look promising compared to Deron Williams
20.5 PPG vs Deron’s 21.4
9.5 free throw attempts per game VS Deron’s 2.8?!?!?
6.5 assists per game VS Deron’s 6.6?!?!?!?(Though batum has 5 T/O per vs Deron’s 2.4, but still)
also 7 rebounds per game for Batum.
and if I’m not mistaken, the Euroleague is more competitive then the Turkish league?
Some other things I’m noticing from that database:
Von Wafer’s stock is rising, as the 3rd leading scorer behind DWill & Batum, also averging 2 steals per game- though he is still a terrible passer.
The Suns have to be happy with the way Gani Lawal is playing, averaging 16ppg/11rpg.
Jeff Adrian is showing he deserves an NBA contract once the lockout ends, also averaging 16ppg/11rpg.
Big men Kevin Seraphin, Nikola Pekovic & Timofey Mozgov have been putting up some solid numbers as well.
Get it done... Paul.
No one questions Von Wafers ability to score points
The questions are whether he can do it efficiently in the NBA and play within the system his team runs while also not getting into fights with his teammates or sulking.
Here's the fly in the ointment:
Portland’s Nicolas Batum (Nancy) struggled for the first time this season, scoring just 9 points on 8 shots, missing 3 of 6 free throws and committing 3 turnovers. Nancy lost by 13 to Olympiacos, who played a physical style of defense on Batum
This is at the heart of all criticism about Euro play and Euro players. As much as American fans will whine about how many NBA players slack on defense, there is way more physical, man-to-man, make-ak1984-sigh-contentedly defense here in comparison to the zone-heavy approach in Europe. As much as I’ve enjoyed watching Batum’s highlight reels, I’ve seen a number of And1 drives of his in France that would have been two FTs and a hard landing on his butt here.
I do think that once we get Nic back over here and playing that we’re going to see a new air of confidence and maturity out of his game. I do expect Nate to give Nic a chance to show off his expanded arsenal. But I don’t expect his numbers to translate when he gets back. The biggest thing I hope for is that his ability to draw fouls will carry over. Last year’s Nic plus two more fouls drawn a game would be a win all by itself.
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
all the more reason to play Batum at the 2
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
by blacknoiseNW on Nov 18, 2011 2:59 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
That's a sure fired way to cause standing around on O
The way I see it is we are in big trouble cause we don’t have nearly enough players that can handle the ball, our second best ball-handler is Gerald Wallace as much as i love we$ he cannot dribble neither can Batum.
by GreenRiddler on Nov 18, 2011 5:15 PM PST up reply actions
Batum's alleged lack of ball handling is a peristent myth
Batum, for instance, is a far better ball handler (hands rating) than Mathews, and is typically in the range of combo guards such as Crawford.
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
by blacknoiseNW on Nov 18, 2011 10:37 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
At 82games.com, "hands rating" is a garbage stat.
Besides, Batum’s “hands rating” is inflated due to his lack of turnovers.
Domestically, Batum’s lack of turnovers are caused by excessive passiveness coupled with his inability to break down strong opposing defenses.
Anyhow, it’s Batum’s weak assist ratio, assist percentage, and assists per 36 minutes — which are stats that Wesley Matthews bettered Nico in last season — that make him a poor playmaker.
"I Am Mine"
AK1984 has declared a stat to be a "garbage" stat, therefore it must be so
Silly rabbit, declarations are for kids.
Batum is not a poor playmaker, else he would not be a leader in Europe in “playmaking” stats…
Furthermore, Batum is a better ball handler than Mathews, which is the discussion point…
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
by blacknoiseNW on Nov 19, 2011 10:32 AM PST up reply actions
based on what I saw LAST YEAR...
Matthews was working on his dribbling this off season right? Batum can dribble the ball way better than Matthews.
Also, hands rating is a turnover-based stat.
That’s why James Jones, who’s got no handles whatsoever, had an outstanding hands rating last season.
At 82games.com, the assist-based stat is passing rating.
Neither stat is worth a damn, though, so there’s no point in citing them.
"I Am Mine"
"Batum is not a poor playmaker, else he would not be a leader in Europe in "playmaking" stats…"
Were Nicolas Batum truly a good playmaker, he wouldn’t be a turnover monster when the offense is run through him. Due to Batum still having a high dribble, sloppy handles, and fuzzy court vision, he’s got a terrible assist-to-turnover ratio overseas — as noted here — that’s barely over 1.
In Europe, Batum’s turnover numbers are wretched!
Reading all of this rubbish makes me want to throw my hands in the air, call it a day, and walk away.
"I Am Mine"
I think I agree with you on all of the above except
court vision…maybe in the point guard sense Batum has poor court vision. This may be due to his knowing he has a high dribble and sloppy handles…so doesn’t execute his vision as well as he’d like.
However, if you take the meaning to be overall court vision..I disagree.
Sometimes I am amazed at how Batum manages to be in the right place at the right time. And to me this has something to do with court vision.
It may be that I am mistaken in my interpretation of what court vision means.
I'll take Nat and disagree on more than one point
First, A/TO ratio does not define “playmaker” – we aren’t talking about PG skills, silly.
Second, Batum’s A/TO ratio in the NBA last year was better than average for SF’s – but I am much happier seeing his ratio drop down to Carmelo Anthony territory in Euro – because his other efficiency stats are climbing accordingly.
Anthony is a “playmaker” at the SF position – with an NBA A/TO ratio of 1.2 and change (to Batum’s current 1.2). But playmakers aren’t by definition PG’s, and you want players like Anthony and Batum creating scoring opportunities – which they do by drawing fouls. Batum is turning the ball over – but no more so than you would expect from an elite SF through whom the offense is being run (at least, if you use Anthony as an example).
Batum’s FTA/FGA is in elite territory and his A/TO ratio is better than average for a SF (complicated by one particularly bad game) – regardless of league. Last year, Batum’s Pts/Poss was better than Anthony’s and Iguodala’s, to cite two examples – despite a much lower time per possession.
Also, considering that my argument is that Batum should be playing SG over Mathews, his A/TO ratio was MUCH better than Mathew’s last year (1.48 vs. 1.19). Batum was also better in Pts/Poss; Ast/Poss; TO/Poss, etc. etc. etc.
Batum is actually down in Pts/Poss in Euro right now – largely a function of one bad game (and the sample size complications that go along with)…
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
by blacknoiseNW on Nov 20, 2011 11:57 AM PST up reply actions
In Portland, Nicolas Batum's per possession stats were fine due in large part ...
to his low usage. If Portland raises Batum’s usage rate next season to his current levels overseas, then his per possession stats will drop accordingly.
It’s as simple as that.
"I Am Mine"
Another thing about the assists
Assists are also much harder to come by in Euro ball. Of course I haven’t seen any full games of his, so I can’t speak to how many assists he would get here, but there would be a difference.
by Batumshakalaka on Nov 21, 2011 11:01 AM PST up reply actions
Oh, but they are young and learning
At there age they surely should be able to dribble better, but they are still young enough to get better, and we don’t know that they haven’t. Batum does OK in open court dribbling and now that he handles the rock more he probably improved taking it to the basket. We$ was hampered by a bad ankle last year which could have hampered his dribble. It has been said that he has improved his dribbling and taking the rock to the hole.Therefore we can’t judge them solely on what they were last year. but with hopes of improvement. So lets wait and see.
hg
Moving picks, however, benefit the pick-'n'-roll ball handler, which gives Nicolas Batum a boost on ...
offense overseas. If anything, moving picks would hurt Batum defensively.
"I Am Mine"
Yup, some are better suited for the NBA style of play and others are better suited for the international ...
style of play. Examples of the former are Dwight Howard and DeJuan Blair, while examples of the latter are Nicolas Batum and Vassilis Spanoulis.
Yeah, Spanoulis.
"I Am Mine"
I kinda like it...
….“Crash Walllace and Nicky Batts the best SF tandem in the N.B.A..”
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
I like Nickybats
And I credit Natsthecat with bringing that to my attention as long ago as early last season
"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'
by sammymohawk on Nov 19, 2011 9:36 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
This
Generation Batum also includes Rodrigue Beaubois, Kevin Seraphin and Pape Sy.
Okay so, Mavs won a title & barely played Beaubois… Seraphin didn’t play much for the Wizards either with Blatche & Trevor Booker. Now with Chris Singleton + Jan Vesely? Both Frenchies could be on the market, both have huge potential & both would make Batum feel more comfortable, making Portland a permanent home for all of them perhaps. Not to mention once a new CBA is ratified, it will be more geared towards allowing teams to keep their own players(after we snag em’ up of course :P )
Get it done... Paul.
The way I see it is
Batum is still gonna get thrown around on defense by other sf’s I mean com-on Durant backed him down like it was nothing, its a know thing in the league now to just back Batum down if you weigh 200 lb or just stick a pg on him cause he is just going to be a slasher three pointer shooter who hustle and nothing more, the thought that this guy would hold Batum to all star potential is about as funny as when people said that about Martell just slightly less so. No the best thing we can hope is that this stint shakes Batum out of apathy and gives him some much needed confidence.
Yeah it's funny all this renewed interest
in Batum. At the end of the season I was reading bloggers saying we missed trading Batum when he still had high value. I guess when the only game in town is being presented and he is a star the perception of value rises.
Bashing Batum for not being able to guard Durant?
Really??
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
by blacknoiseNW on Nov 18, 2011 10:39 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
If you were actually able to comprehended my statment above
you would notice I am bashing Batum for the fact he lets skinny Sf’s like Durant back him down showing how he has a gaping hole on D, and not the fact he can’t guard Durant.
by GreenRiddler on Nov 19, 2011 4:27 PM PST up reply actions
You are bashing Batum for letting the leading scorer in the NBA back him down?
Really?
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
by blacknoiseNW on Nov 20, 2011 11:59 AM PST up reply actions
Durant is taller than the NBA states.
I think he must be the tallest 6’ 9" EVER. He doesn’t need to back most down because he can shoot OVER them.
Dwight is also not nearly as tall as people think he is
But I didn’t realize that so much until you see him and Durant together. It may have been a trick of angles, but I could swear Durant was taller.
by Batumshakalaka on Nov 21, 2011 11:07 AM PST up reply actions
Great to hear about Nic
I say throw those physical defenses against him. When he can up his game against that style, it will be one more tool in his arsenal for NBA playoffs. Great to hear he’s doing well.
In Europe, Nicolas Batum's turnovers have gone through the roof.
With increased ball handling responsibilities, Batum becomes a turnover machine.
That’s no surprise, either.
"I Am Mine"
He won't ever be a 1/2 over here
so it doesn’t matter a whole lot.
"He's just efficient, picks and chooses his spots..."
I love that Batum is displaying an all-around game (7 rebs, 7 asts per game) and getting the opportunity to make plays for himself and others during his stint in Europe, but other stats suggest that he has been one of the most inefficient players over there. He’s averaging 5 turnovers and shooting 41% from the field — not so efficient.
I’m sure he’ll improve on those numbers, but folks seem to be over-stating how good he has been over there. You can’t be successful for long running your offense through someone who bricks shots and coughs up the ball so frequently.
One thing that I haven't seen commented on
is how often he gets fouled (they keep track of that in their boxscores, which is great). He gets fouled A LOT. So he’s the focus of the other team’s defensive efforts. Something to remember in making the comparison – he’s seeing much more defensive attention than he would on the Blazers, which also might help explain the TOs.
I also like his improved post game. Remember that series against Phoenix in the first round a couple of years ago when they kept putting Nash on Batum and Batum couldn’t exploit it? I don’t think they’d try that for long any more.
Good points -- the post game and fouls drawn.
I’ve seen highlights of him in the post—looks pretty comfortable. He’s also making his teammates better, I’m sure, via his assists as well as drawing the focus of the defense.
Batum has a good game
in a narrow loss. 9 rebounds is particularly impressive. But he is playing every single minute of every single game…
good. Then he will be in great shape come season time and will run circles around
all the NBA players who won’t be in game shape…IF there is a season this year!
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