TBH I would trade Parsons for Batum any day. Batum is just a much better basketball player. There are days where I wish that we would not have traded him and I don't even remember who we traded him for.
I don't like what Parsons said BUT I've listened to people talk about how great Batum is/will be for five or six years but I have never witnessed this supposed greatness. The guy is so overrated. He is like the French Tayshaun Prince if Prince didn't play great defense. I will take Parsons all day, every day.
And Rose is right. Batum hit big shot after big shot while Parsons couldn't do jack after a hot start. Not to mention the defensive impact of the two are like night and day.
Parsons hasn't been shooting particularly well in the series so far, but managed to post a strong performance on Sunday. He'll need to continue to ride the hot hand if the Rockets wish to take Game 5.
I know one thing, Batum is in much better shape than Parsons. He has disappeared in the last 15 minutes of every playoff game we have played, while Batum is busy rebounding, scoring, and defending.
That is kind of what I'm saying. The bottom line is, if you base the player on the production you get, for the money you pay, Chandler is obviously light years ahead of Batum (and possibly every player in the league). That is what makes him more valuable, if the contract is taking into consideration. The fact that he makes 10m less than Batum gives us the option to get a player like Asik or Lin. If they had the same contract, I would definitely take Batum. I just think he's flat out the better player of the two. I've always been a fan of Batum, so maybe that plays a role in my decision, but if you look at the numbers, I think most would agree. After all that, to answer your question....yes. Parsons may be better than Batum in a couple of categories, but overall, I definitely put Batum ahead, assuming they paid identically.
??? Parsons is being slightly more effective as a scorer, but that's about it this series. Both players are playing a ton of minutes, but even on a per minute basis, Batum is contributing about as much to his team offensively. But oh yeah, he's doing most of his damage in the second half where it matters more. Oh, and by the way, he plays really solid defense. As in guarding Harden often defense. Parsons plays really bad defense. Not sure how contract factors into the simple observation of who is the better player, more complete player at this point. It's clear...
Right now the major defensive hole is at PF. Jones is clueless and Asik can't score. Being able to score itself can be defense as it keeps the pressure on the opposition. Plug that up and we'll see Parsons improve there.
How does the hole at the PF spot correlate with Parsons inconsistencies on offense and his putrid effort on defense? He was consistently getting blown by last night at almost Harden levels. Parsons' lateral movement has been ridiculously bad on the defensive end.
