By my math, Nate thinks that Wes Matthews is at least 30% a better player than Nic Batum.

Which is odd, because so far this year Nic is out shooting Wes Money, out rebounding him, and out blocking him. And frankly, I don't expect Nic to outshoot Wes all year. Wes might be a more consistent defender, but Batum is a more impactful defender (arguably of course).

When you consider what Wes' role on the team is...a defender who waits for his offensive moments based on the other guys on the floor (mostly as a shooter)...really...we're saying that Nic can't do that...we (or at least they) are saying that Nic can't take 3 or 4 minutes from Wes (who would still be averaging 30 mpg) to show a level of commitment to the kid?

Heck, I'm not even arguing that Nic should start or play more than Wes...but it is a little embarrassing that our coach is so stubborn and apparently not great at (I want to say something really mean...but I won't) balancing his rotation.

Get the kid more minutes. How is it that the management of the team is not screaming at Nate. Just tonight Nate had Wes playing the 3 for a stretch...would it really hurt the team to put Nic out there?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=batumni01&y1=2012&p2=matthwe02&y2=2012

Check out positional stats Nic is top 15 in several and even top 10 in a few....not to say he is Scottie Pippen or something....but the kid has earned minutes, the team or at least the coach is screwing him and the future of the organization.