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Message: [QUOTE="Matrim55, post: 1910554, member: 3376"] I'm not being patronizing -- I legitimately thought you were mixing up Batum & MKG, and after that quote I'm [I]sure[/I] of it, since Batum did not play last night and MKG guarded Carmelo every second he was on the floor. Batum missed the game with a corneal abrasion after getting slapped in the face near the end of Friday's game at MSG. Two other things: First, Batum's all-around game has been a visible on the court from day one and in the stats for five years now -- he's en route to becoming the only forward in the league besides LeBron to average 6 apg or better for each of the last five years. More than the numbers, though, is that he has multiple ways of picking up assists (primarily through the pick-and-roll w/ Zeller, but he's also got excellent timing for finding shooters coming off of screens and is good-not-great at passing out of low block doubles). His rebound rate is pretty good for a wing, and he's talented enough to score from the block when posted against a smaller player. This has all been the case since 2012, when Portland first starting using him as a point forward. Second, you don't have to take my word for it re: his defense: [URL='http://www.atthehive.com/2016/5/25/11719400/looking-back-at-nicolas-batums-up-and-down-defense']Read This[/URL] from last year Here's [URL='http://www.blazersedge.com/2013/4/17/4236272/lowe-blazers-f-nicolas-batum-is-decent-at-best-on-defense']similar stuff from Zach Lowe[/URL], going all the way back to 2012/13 And here are his advanced stats from [URL='http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/201587/stats/advanced/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Regular%20Season']NBA.com[/URL] and [URL='http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/batumni01.html']Basketball-Reference.com[/URL]. As for naming five SFs who are better defensively... 1. Kawhi 2. LeBron 3. Butler 4. Paul George 5. KD 6. Giannis 7. MKG 8. Crowder 9. Mbah a Moute 10. Roberson 11. Ariza Gordon swaps between PF & SF, so I left him off the list just because. Harrison Barnes has been better the last four years, but definitely hasn't been better this year, so I didn't list him. I personally think Bazemore is better defensively than Batum, but he also has a more obvious weakness (he's useless against big wings), so I didn't list him. Sefolosha would be top 5 on the above list but he comes off the bench and plays limited minutes, so I didn't list him. Rudy and Gordon Hayward belong in the convo as well. So yeah... somwhere between like 12th & 17th in the league. I think he's a smidge above average. Sessions is useful when he's on the court at the same time as Batum. Not saying they wouldn't upgrade him if they could (obviously they would), but having a shoot-first PG on the floor is easier if he's paired with a wing who can initiate the offense. [/QUOTE]

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