Post by DiamondThief on Feb 27, 2015 0:37:43 GMT -8
Feb. 26 - Joe Freeman of Oregon Live had a nice piece today about Nicolas Batum, who spent All-Star Weekend resting and healing, both his body and mind.
Batum has struggled with his game much of the season, but has emerged as a major force since the break. He has battling a number of injuries, most notably a wrist injury on his shooting hand. Using the extended break, he spent some time in Mexico, which turned out to be invaluable.
Freeman chronicled Batum's vacation. Here are a some excerpts:
"Over the past two games, Batum has scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, against the Memphis Grizzlies and Spurs (34-23) -- the first time all season he's scored 15 or more points in consecutive games."
"'I feel like myself again,' Batum said, smiling."
"During the All-Star break, Batum did not pick up a basketball. Not once. In fact, he only watched basketball once -- when he tuned into the All-Star Three-Point Contest to watch Matthews compete."
"Instead, for six days, he and his girlfriend, Aurelie, lounged on the beaches of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, soaking up rays and savoring every possible relaxing moment they could find. Over those six days, Batum cleared his head."
"'I needed thatJust to refresh my mind. Just to go away from the stress. No disrespect for media, but all the pressure that we have around us, I just needed to do something else. Just get away. That's why I wanted to go to a different country. It's a different culture. I wanted to do something different.'"
Click for Trail Blazers' Nicolas Batum finds cure to season-long slump on beaches of Mexico.
The Blazers face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. To see our preview, click here.
- ANM
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