Nicolas Batum had something to prove. He claimed he didn’t, following his 33-point, six-assist, five-rebound performance against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, but whether it’s true or not that he felt no extra motivation against his former team, one thing is blatantly clear.
Batum thoroughly outperformed his de facto replacement, Al-Farouq Aminu.
Luckily for fans in Portland, Aminu’s struggle comes from one game and isn’t emblematic of what The Chief has meant to Rip City throughout the early part of the 2015-16 NBA season.
Important to note about Portland’s first half defense, and Batum’s scoring: Aminu, team’s best defender, played only 5 minutes b/c fouls
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) November 15, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsWhen the Blazers traded Batum to the Charlotte Hornets, it was a sign of much bigger things to come. The move to bring back Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson ensured depth at two positions that could become vulnerable via free agency. The obvious question, however, became: What does the future hold at small forward?
As it turned out, Neil Olshey—in true Olshey fashion—had a plan all along. Following the departure of one of Portland’s longest-tenured players, the architect made one of the league’s first significant signings, bringing in Al-Farouq Aminu (a player Olshey drafted when with the Los Angeles Clippers) on a four-year, $30 million deal.
Headed to Portland with my guy Neil Olshey, who believed in me since day one. Much love Rip city here I come — Al-Farouq Aminu (@farouq1) July 1, 2015
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Aminu, coming off his fifth season, has drawn comparisons to the man he replaced in the Trail Blazers’ lineup. Ball handling, defense and length have been his defining characteristics up to this point, not unlike Batum. The question was whether or not the newcomer could make us forget about someone who had spent the past seven seasons in Portland.
So far, Aminu has answered that with a resounding yes. He’s also been recognized by one national media member as the most impactful signing from this past offseason. Howard Beck, formerly of The New York Times and currently with Bleacher Report, recently stated, “Here’s a guy who was known primarily for defense up until now, but he’s now become their third leading scorer through five games.”
Beck goes on to question whether or not Aminu’s numbers and impact are sustainable throughout the course of the season, but his sentiment is a common one around the city hosting the Northwest’s only squad from the Association: Aminu replaced a player who, in the eyes of many, had yet to hit his true potential, and he’s doing so in a fashion that is exceeding the expectations of many.
I don’t really know if this will keep up but Aminu has looked like the Batum Blazers fans always wanted (and sometimes got).
— Patrick Truby (@PatrickTruby) November 3, 2015
The big concern with Aminu’s game, and specifically how it would translate to Portland’s system, was the perimeter shot. Coming into this season, the 6’9” forward had never shot better than 31.5 percent from the three-point line, and his average year saw him in the sub-30 percent range.
Batum has struggled to hit from downtown consistently over the course of his career as well (especially looking at 2014-15), but you never felt he was a liability when it came to firing away in Stotts’ system.
As it turns out, Aminu has upped his game in that department. Admittedly, his numbers have dropped since the fifth game of the season when Beck offered such high praise (he was shooting better than 47 percent at that juncture), but he’s still considered a reliable source in this current system.
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Meanwhile in Charlotte, Batum has stepped up his game, especially over the past three contests. In those tilts, the 26-year-old has gone for 33, 28 and 24 points, and on the year he’s established himself as the team’s leader in terms of minutes and points per game.
But for Portland fans, it’s important to remember that we’re not looking at these statistics in a vacuum; we’re looking at them in a very different situation than we’re used to looking at Batum’s lines. Never before have we viewed Batum as a true No. 1 option, or a true conductor of an offense. In Portland, No. 88 played third fiddle and often failed to live up to the challenge of stepping up when needed.
Aminu, on the other hand, has stepped up when virtually nothing is expected of a soul on the roster aside from Damian Lillard. Batum stuffed stat sheets, and Aminu has proven he can do the same to an extent, and he’s proven he’s a better shooter from distance than most were led to believe upon his arrival.
Considering what Batum did the past few seasons, Portland’s summer acquisition has lived up to the fact that he’s currently Portland’s highest paid player. Batum is playing at a high level, but looking at what the Blazers got from the inconsistent swingman over the past seven years, a change of pace was necessary.
Aminu is doing what’s necessary to keep this squad competitive, and that’s hit open shots and make the plays nobody records on the stat sheets. This team isn’t going to compete for anything significant this season, but it’s going to be as entertaining as any franchise in the league, and a guy like Aminu who can do a little bit of everything is a monumental reason why.
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