Skillful in the final moments of the collective training which the press was able to attend, Nicolas Batum helped his team (the light blues) to win. But, he, like the others, still committed many lost balls, with the good intention of sharing the ball as required by the staff but with automatisms still to be perfected.
Before the match against Serbia this Friday, the veteran of the Blues, who re-signed with the Clippers to free his mind before the Olympic deadline, spoke about the work carried out by the French team since its defeat against Germany in Montpellier.
Nicolas, you will face Serbia's Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic at the LDLC Arena in Lyon this Friday, how are you approaching this new preparation match, knowing that the level is still rising?
The goal is to increase the intensity, whether in training or in matches. This is the case for all the teams and I think that now, everyone is at the same level. The first two matches, we were trying to get into shape. Now, we are entering a second phase, the selections are known to everyone. We will have a real preparation match. The result will be what it will be but it will allow us to know where we are in terms of intensity, in terms of set-up, and where we need to improve.
Having faced him several times, what is your opinion of Nikola Jokic and his incredible versatility in the low post?
What are the lessons, in the cold, of the defeat suffered in Montpellier against Germany?
It's special to play these two matches, against an opponent that we will meet in a match that will count soon. I don't think they showed all their cards. There were four more players at home with the Wagner brothers, we didn't have Victor. They didn't show everything, we didn't show everything… We did what we could. We had just finished a big phase of work so we didn't have all our legs either. We saw some good things and others less so.
“We know what we did wrong and we know why”
Did this defeat (70-65) give you a little boost, to redouble your efforts and be even more aggressive in this second phase of your Olympic preparation, in Lyon this week?
It's in the continuation of things. We know what we did wrong and we know why. We know we can do better. But we are in the middle of a process. We only lost by five points in the end, shooting 7/18 on free throws and shooting 3-pointers at only 30%. The outside noise shouldn't affect us in any case. Last year, people said that our prep was too easy and they weren't happy. And now that we have a tough prep, it's not good either…
Was it ultimately a good test, or a blessing in disguise, to face Germany without Victor Wembanyama?
Yes, but in any case, he won't play the forty minutes. There will inevitably be sequences where he won't be on the field. Afterwards, we had problems at position 4 with Guerschon, Victor and me who couldn't play at 2e quarter. We've achieved things without him but he's definitely a big asset to our team and we want him to be on the field as long as possible.
Finally, a quick word about Tony Parker, your former teammate, who will be honored tomorrow with the retirement of his French jersey at the end of the evening?
It was him and his generation who launched French basketball to where it is now. Since 2010 almost. He did so much for French basketball by winning in the NBA, and then bringing that to the French team. He was the spearhead. He made basketball grow in France and what will happen to him tomorrow is totally normal and deserved.
Comments collected in Décines Charpieu
