"Nicolas Batum should start in front of Gerald Wallace." whaatt?

Batum shouldn’t start over Wallace and that Aldridge is the best player. Although to be fair to your uncle, Crash didn’t prove to be much of an impact from the playoffs and he may have remembered that recent play. Anyway, it’s also possible that if Wallace keeps up this insane amount of motivation for the season he may very well knock off Aldridge for the “best”, or at the very least an equal. As for Nate, I’m not as sanguine as you are. I think he’s OK, good even. Sometimes he can be iffy on how he defines roles and he hasn’t led this team out of a playoff series yet. This year will be defining.

Everybody else nationwide seems to think he’s a good coach, some even call him a defensive genius.

Personally, I haven’t seen much I’ve liked in Nate’s D, or Nate’s O. I wanted him canned, right up until Roy went down last year, and our offense started to show some movement.

Personally, I think he should have used the talent KP assembled to run years ago (hi Sergio and Rudy), but at least it seems like he is finally warming up to the idea of maximizing the value of the assets you have on your team, which in this case means get out there and play hard D and RUN.

The earlier reported statement that he “unleashed the Crash” also gives me hope that the old dog is learning a few new tricks. Letting Crash play with reckless abandon not only improves his play, but encourages everybody else to scramble and dive for every loose ball, and play as hard as you can for the time you are out there.

Nate also has this team working together as a unit and I know (from not having any) that takes skill. I think kudos also have to go to Chad et al for getting good guys, too. Good guys that hustle and play hard, and maybe even have a little fun. That’s all we as fans can ask for, isn’t it?

So I am encouraged that Nate may be growing along with his team and the front office. As he’s not going anywhere with Paul and Seattlites running the show, I’m hoping these good changes continue.

somebody mentioned how I am a huge NBA fan and he responded with “All the NBA is are a bunch of black guys trying to stay out of jail”………similar to you, I responded with yelling.

I still think our best lineup is Felton/Crawford, Wes, Batum, Gerald, and LA. I can see why Nate doesnt start this group, but I would like to see more of it throughout the game. Especially in the 4th quarter when its time to lock up the game.

Batum deserves at least 30 minutes per game. His confidence is flowing right now and I will be mighty upset if Nate ruins another young and blossoming players swag with his sketchy rotation habits. Batum playing 19 minutes that first game was a joke. 28 minutes against the kings was much better, but probably still not enough considering how well he was playing. Yes, his jumper has been off, but it will come around. Nic is our 3rd best player IMO, he deserves starter minutes. I dont care how Nate does it, just get the guy on the floor!

but give batum a good amount of time on the court with Wallace. It is a good rotation and can force the other team to adjust from how they were previously playing which can effect the game flow on their end and in the end help the Blazers.

losing Camby to injury would be most detrimental to the Blazers in the 1st half of our season. The game simply falls apart when he’s out of the lineup. I need to see Nic play with more heart to consider starting him. As long as he’s content w/ being the 3rd or 4th option, then cool. We should all be happy to have his versatility and 12-18pts a night.

Is the better option. Gerald has to be in the starting 5 no matter what.

If Batum had the competitive spirit, ferocity, and confidence of an all star, I think he would be like MJ. However he doesn’t and Wallace’s hustle game is just to amazing to put him on the bench.