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Batum as the backup PG
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  1. Crim
    Crim
    Posts: 398

    Posted 06/13/2011 10:40 PM

    Assuming we keep andre for at least another year, why doesn't Batum come off the bench at PG more, think we'll see it in the future? We want him guarding the other teams fast point guards, why not give him minutes as point guard, or at least against the other teams backup point guard. This team's worst enemy is going to be a healthy roster if we keep loading it with budding star talent, so Batum needs to get out of these trade rumors because he could become the most versatile player off the bench, ever, Nate could figure out the best matchup possible for Batum to take advantage of, instead of playing him as a rotation backup for gerald, a controllable x factor every night.
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  1. D_pickett
    D_pickett
    Posts: 608

    Posted 06/14/2011 12:15 AM

    Oh... wow.

    Ok, Batum can score at the rim pretty well, he can knock down threes, he's quick coming off picks, and he can defend perimeter players. That makes him a 3/2 combo role player. He can't box out or defend the post well enough to play 4 like we've tried to make him do.

    But BATUM AT POINT?! He can't handle the ball or pass well enough, and he doesn't have the IQ to run the offense. The only way I can see Batum playing point is if he were in the backcourt with Roy and Roy were doing 99% of the dribbling/playmaking.

    If you don't see Batum fitting in as the backup 3, maybe a trade is exactly what should happen. Not necessarily my opinion, but I think this idea is more indicative of desperation to find Batum a role on this team than anything else.
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  1. Tray203
    Tray203
    Posts: 3

    Posted 06/14/2011 7:26 AM

    Posted By D_pickett on 06/14/2011 12:15 AM
    Oh... wow.

    Ok, Batum can score at the rim pretty well, he can knock down threes, he's quick coming off picks, and he can defend perimeter players. That makes him a 3/2 combo role player. He can't box out or defend the post well enough to play 4 like we've tried to make him do.

    But BATUM AT POINT?! He can't handle the ball or pass well enough, and he doesn't have the IQ to run the offense. The only way I can see Batum playing point is if he were in the backcourt with Roy and Roy were doing 99% of the dribbling/playmaking.

    If you don't see Batum fitting in as the backup 3, maybe a trade is exactly what should happen. Not necessarily my opinion, but I think this idea is more indicative of desperation to find Batum a role on this team than anything else.

    I agree 100%. Batum is a backup 2/3 and occasionally a  4. Solid defender, and can  play the 4 only against small lineups. He can shoot the 3 well, but is ball handling is way to suspect to let him have a backup PG role.
  1. mbmurr1
    mbmurr1
    Posts: 530

    Posted 06/14/2011 10:36 AM

    Batum at PG, that's like Crack being called a vitamin. 
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  1. Crim
    Crim
    Posts: 398

    Posted 06/14/2011 11:50 AM

    He plays the point forward for his national team, and while his ball handling skills aren't (yet) exceptional, it's not something he couldn't focus on and become better at. There isn't a traditional 1 if you had a backcourt of Batum and Roy or Batum and Wesley or Wesley and Roy in at the same time, but that doesn't mean they couldn't be successful doing bringing the ball up court by committee.They ran rudy at the point last year to try and find him minutes, and his decision making ability and dribbling aren't way better than Batum's.
    It's not that I don't see Batum fitting at the 3, it's that we are logjammed at the 2, and neither Batum or Wallace seem to thrive at the 4. I don't think Batum has found his identity in this league yet because he doesn't have the ball enough early enough to gain confidence. With him playing the back court alongside Wesley or Roy they could bring it up by committee, I understand this wouldn't be a simple fix, but I don't think Batum needs to be traded, he just needs to find more ways to fill holes to plug when our ship is sinking.
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  1. ClydeFrog
    ClydeFrog
    Posts: 975

    Posted 06/14/2011 2:20 PM

    Posted By D_pickett on 06/14/2011 12:15 AM
    Oh... wow.

    Ok, Batum can score at the rim pretty well, he can knock down threes, he's quick coming off picks, and he can defend perimeter players. That makes him a 3/2 combo role player. He can't box out or defend the post well enough to play 4 like we've tried to make him do.

    But BATUM AT POINT?! He can't handle the ball or pass well enough, and he doesn't have the IQ to run the offense. The only way I can see Batum playing point is if he were in the backcourt with Roy and Roy were doing 99% of the dribbling/playmaking.

    I have to agree. batum's skill set at handling the ball isn't where it needs to be for him to be a backup point guard. I hope he works out with Crash this offseason and learns how to handle the ball the way he does.
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  1. D_pickett
    D_pickett
    Posts: 608

    Posted 06/14/2011 3:32 PM

    Ok, ok. IF (and this is a gargantuan IF) Batum were to improve his handling and decision-making enough to play point, that still doesn't really solve our problems, because now we have no backup 3 for the second unit, thus forcing our best players to play 40+ minutes.

    I'm not even saying that we should trade Nic; I like him at backup 3/2. But the point is that either we train one of our current players to fill the PG role and trade for a new backup SF--then deal with filling the starting point when Andre retires--or we trade for a PGOTF. I'm more in favor of the the second option.

    And just to clarify a couple things about basketball. First, a point forward and a point guard are two very different roles, even if they look similar superficially. Second, you don't want to depend on bringing the ball up by committee often. This is really only something that should be done when facing a full-court press/trap. Committees provide the outs and passing options for a player who is in danger of losing his dribble or the ball. Normally, and ideally, you want to have the other 4 players getting in position, setting off-ball picks, and cutting AS the point brings it past half-court.
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