Portland Trail Blazers lanky 6′9″ small forward Nicolas Batum started for a reason in his rookie season. He played 15 minutes a game, and made the most of every second doing the intangibles–grabbing rebounds, playing extraordinary lock-down defense, blocking shots, and nailing the occasional three-pointer. He was the reason why statistics are considered overrated; they don’t tell the whole story. He averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds, but it was his tenacity and energy on defense that made him their best defender and a fan favorite. Rarely did he make a bad decision on either side of the ball, possessing maturity of someone far older than 20.

The Frenchman was a vital piece of the their contending puzzle, but now he will be the missing piece. He injured his right shoulder last season, and then again while playing for the French National team this summer. Then, he re-injured two more times: once early in training camp, and then this past Sunday during practice. That’s four injuries to the same shoulder in the span of six months, and reason for the Blazers to take precaution and advise him to have surgery. Batum, being the player that he is, wanted to play through the pain, but Portland’s higher-ups ruled that too risky for such an important part of their future, and feel they have players who can fill his void in the starting lineup.

Early this summer, head coach Nate McMillan said that he would like to run more plays through Rudy Fernandez, their 6′6″ flamboyant Spaniard guard; use him in the pick-and-roll, handle the ball more in halfcourt sets, and as McMillan said “use him as a point guard.” They have plenty of those–four on their current roster, and that’s not including Brandon Roy, who handles the ball most of the time–but they could use him as their small forward to give the Blazers a jolt that Batum didn’t bring offensively.

Portland could also replace Batum in the starting lineup with Travis Outlaw, a true small forward and the longest tenured member of the team. He finished the preseason on a high note, and though he, like Fernandez, wouldn’t be able to replace Batum’s defensive prowess, he would surely give the Blazers another option on offense. He fits the bill, considering he possesses the length of Batum with other dimensions.

But, Portland is apparently leaning towards keeping both Fernandez and Outlaw on the bench and instead start 6′6″ guard Martell Webster as their small forward. Webster missed the better part of the last season, and is currently fully recovered and healthy. The 22-year old entering his fifth year is the prototypical shooting guard. He has a great stroke from outside and isn’t shy. He’s explosive and aggressive, is very enthusiastic and fiery, and, though its a developing part of his game, he’s committed defensively.

All three realistically could fit. Only one will. The other two, most likely Fernandez and Outlaw, should not be too disappointed about the snub. With the way the Blazers are set up, they will get their minutes.

Portland, as of now, is believed trot out this starting lineup in Tuesday’s opener: Steve “Savvy” Blake at point guard, Roy at shooting guard, Webster at small forward, LaMarcus Aldridge, fresh off inking a 5-year, $65 million deal, at power forward, and Greg “I want that starting spot” Oden at center. This is an incredible lineup, a starting five any team would love to possess. This unit is lacking defensively (aside from Oden, everyone has their ups and downs), but what they lack on defense they will make up for with offense.

This same sentiment goes for the presumptive second unit, which will feature Andre “I didn’t come here to make friends” Miller at point guard, Rudy “El Mago” Fernandez at shooting guard, Travis “Mr. Fourth Quarter” Outlaw at small forward, Juwan Howard at power forward, and Joel “Tha Thrilla” Przybilla at center. Half the teams in the NBA would take this second unit as their starting lineup.

Portland will certainly miss Batum and his contributions, but considering their two lineups worth of talent left, I don’t expect a team like the Blazers, a team ready rank among the elite, to miss a beat.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 8:13 pm and is filed under Most Recommended, NBA, News Headlines, Portland Trail Blazers, Right Column, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.