Can Nicolas Batum Be The Portland Trail Blazers’ Most Important Player?

It seems like on every championship team, there is that one player in the starting lineup that is the “glue guy”.

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He’s the one that holds everything together; the unselfish player that looks to make plays for others rather than himself.

He’s the guy that will put his body on the line and take the charges that no one else will take. He’ll go out and guard the opposing team’s best player and not complain about it at all.

And when his name is called to go out there and hit a big shot, he’ll put it in without hesitation.

The Portland Trail Blazers, a team that many think can contend in the Western Conference, have someone who fits that mold perfectly, and his name is Nicolas Batum.

Batum is one of Portland’s forwards that really gets overlooked. In fact, it’s really easy to not appreciate him when his teammates are Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews.

Most of the time, it’s going to be one of those three players getting the credit for wins with the other two not far behind because they are the big names that are going out there and putting the most points on the board. When Portland’s highlights come on, those are the three guys that are gonna show up the most.

However, the argument can be made that without Batum, a lot of what they do and get to do wouldn’t be possible.

If all three of those players are all great scorers who are able to create their own shots, then how can that be true? Well, Batum does all of the dirty work to set up other teammates’ success.

A lot of what Batum does is on defense, whether it’s locking up the other team’s most impactful player or forcing turnovers and making plays that can lead to offense on the fast break. In fact, Batum handles the ball a lot of the time in transition and sets up guys like Lillard or Aldridge for easy points.

Even in the half court, Batum can leave his mark passing the ball and playing point forward for a team that likes to have players that can move and share the ball effectively.

In the Trail Blazers’ win Wednesday night over the Los Angeles Clippers, it was Batum who made the biggest plays in overtime without really being the best scorer on the floor. All of Aldridge’s buckets in the overtime period came off of Batum’s dishes, and Lillard got his first basket in the game off of a Batum lob to the rim.

When his teammates are struggling, Batum is that player that can get everyone going again, and can really drive the team forward without scoring a single point himself.

While it did help that Batum hit the three-point shot that sealed the win for Portland, his court vision and defensive prowess are really undervalued by a lot of casual observers of the NBA. Batum isn’t the only player of his kind to really be under appreciated, as this is a star’s league.

A lot of role players don’t really get the same kind of face time, but Batum embraces his role and devotes his time on the floor to making those around him better, even if that means not getting any of the fancy plays or best looking shots.

Batum himself is an athlete that can run the floor well and handle the ball in any given situation. His three-point shot has improved year after year, meaning that he can be a floor spacer for Portland head coach Terry Stotts, who loves to implement as much three-point shooting as possible into his lineups.

Having a player like Batum who is a jack-of-all-trades is something for any NBA team to really be thankful for. Teams full of guys who demand to have the ball and shoot 20 times a game really don’t end up being contenders in the end because there’s only so many shots that can be taken in a single game.

Batum takes what is given to him, and plays with an unselfishness that is respected by many around the league.

If Batum can continue to play within himself and focus on making the plays that help his teammates around him instead of just focusing on his own numbers, then the sky is the limit for the Trail Blazers. Batum may be Portland’s most important player when it’s all said and done.

Next: Why Wesley Matthews Is Key To Blazers' Second Half Run

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