Reply With Quote
How them rockets doing?
spurs could have drafted Batum on the draft night last year, but the rockets sucked worse in the season before and got a pick ahead of spurs' pick. Batum was stolen by the rockets. Scola, Batum... Rockets have fleeced the spurs time after time, otherwise the western conference's champion will still be the spurs.
How them rockets doing?
Right now for sure Hill is more productive, I didn't deny this fact but for me the potential of Batum is superior, he is taller and he is younger. So if I've had to choose I'll take Batum over Hill. By the way as I'm french I'm following a lot of games where there is french player in particular Boris / Batum / Pietrus / Noah.
Regardless of who has more potential, I don't see Batum getting the time on the floor for the Spurs that Hill does this season. Hill has become Parker's primary backup in pretty short order, replacing (thankfully) J.V. While I'd love to see a player like Batum get similar time for us, I don't see Pop playing a rookie like him over Bowen or Finley. If Hairston can't get time over Udoka, Batum might not be able to either. Pop places a lot of value on getting "the system," and I think Batum would primarily ride the pine for us this year.
Gotta keep in mind that Hill is 22 and Batum is just 18. Those extra years Hill has give him an edge in physical and mental maturity which allow him to come in and make the bigger impact immediately. I think Hill is going to be better over the next 3 or 4 years, but long term Batum has got more upside and will eventually be regarded as the better player. However, seeing as how there are only so many years of Tim Duncan that we have left, thinking short term and going with the guy who can help immediately is probably the smart thing to do.
Looking at Batum stats, you should consider he plays almost exclusively with the starting five and has less opportunities. I don't think we should make an opinion from the stats of Batum and Hill.
Statistically, Hill is not very good to say the least, shooting under 40% is not exactly impressive 5 ap48m is not great for a PG... Thus I still think he is doing fine for a rookie.
I believe the same goes for Batum, both are terrific defenders (for rookies) and can't be properly evaluated from statistics.
That being said, if you want to go with statistics:
Batum's PER: 12.21
Hill's PER: 11.91
I think They are statistically very similar.
Batum is 20
I get your point. But Batum is already a productive NBA player.
At worst he will be a good defensive SF who can knock the open 3s and run the floor.
This is not a "potential all-star" who will maybe never be a legit NBA player (like Mahinmi).
My bad.
Hill is about 2 1/2 years older than Batum.
Batum looks so young. It is sometime confusing.
In a french interview he was joking about how people can't believe he is the same age as Oden.
You mean they're not father and son???
Hill has more upside atm.... potential if you dont get the minutes to show what u can do....
HILL could start for most lottery teams atm.....
Look, I agree that Batum is a good young talent. And if he was on the Spurs, we would all be happy to have him.
I happen to be a big believer in one statistic that most fans tend to overlook - Free Throw Attempts per 48 Minutes. Give me a guy who can get himself to the line any day. There is a big difference between being able to score points, and being able to create points. The guy who gets to the line is disruptive. He's the one who can win close games by scoring with the clock stopped. And he opens the floor up for his teammates.
Batum is averaging 1.6 FTA/48 minutes. Hill is averaging 6.1 FTA/48. To put Hill's numbers into perspective, look at some of the other big name rookies:
O.J. Mayo - 4.8
Derrick Rose - 3.9
Mario Chalmers - 3.5
Michael Beasley 5.7
You can see that one of the reasons Hill doesn't finish at the rim all the time is that the other teams are hammering the out of him, and sending him to the line instead. He'll get better at finishing, and a lot of those will be opportunities for 3-point plays. He'll also learn a little more patience, and get better at using all that attention he draws to get more assists. (And if Hill were playing with the starting 5, like Batum, his assist average would be about double what it currently is, because those guys would knock down more shots.)
I'm not knocking Batum, just saying that I like Hill and I think he is just getting started.
Last edited by GSH; 02-26-2009 at 11:18 AM.
This is a tough one, but I think I agree with the sentiment that we needed someone NBA-ready now, during the Duncan window, rather than a long-term project like Batum.
currently ghill is posting better numbers that beno in his first year here....
we seen what ghill can do with starters minutes, nearly identical numbers as those top rookies in his class
The Rockets selected Batum in a prearranged draft deal with Portland. It was actually Portland who masterminded the intent on stealing him away from the Spurs. Credit that prick Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard who, having insight that the Spurs were hot after Batum, set in motion the events to steal him away from the Spurs.
Of course, the deal could've never been pulled off had the Rockets decided not to play ball with Portland.
Batum >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hill. PERIOD.
We're very happy with Batum. We almost never run plays for him. Everything he gets on offense he has to work for. We look for him to play defense and I think he does a great job. He's a surprisingly adequate shooter as well. I thought shooting would be his weak spot, but he's shown that he can knock down jumpers. Hill has done a good job for the Spurs by facilitating the offense and playing good defense. He can't shoot jumpers though.
From the games I have seen from both teams (not that many, but quite a few), I have the impression that Batum is a better defender. But he is no PG, so why compare them? With Hill, the Spurs have a better back-up PG than they have had for years.
Because i'm a Spurs fan living in Portland (and thanks to my DVR), I've watched all Spurs and Blazers games this season. IMO, based on what I've seen, Batum is by far more talented than Hill his ceiling is higher than Taysaun Prince.
I'm happy with our decision..
PGs are MUCH more valuable than swingmen of Batums type..you'll be able to find plenty of Batums in the NBA IMO..
Ordinarily I would agree. However I think it depends upon what you're looking for. For the Spurs, a swingmen that is already a superior defender, has length and can bury open jumpers, are hard to find. Let's face it, these types of players rarely fall to the bottom of the first round, where the Spurs typically draft. In fact, it took a special set of cir stances for him to fall that far.
sure, Batum is a very nice prospect..but I'm just saying, I think we'd have a better chance at finding a Batum through the draft in future years, or through free agency..
Hill is an athletic PG with huge length, and is already an above average NBA defender..it makes sense for us in the present, AND in the future..
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
