The end of the season was hard to swallow for the Clippers, which came out in five sets against the Suns in the first round of the playoffs after losing Paul George at the end of the regular season then Kawhi Leonard in Game 2 of the series. For once, difficult to speak of failure in these conditions, but on paper, it’s still another failed season.
In the podcast “This League, Uncut”, Nicholas Batum took stock of this 2022/23 exercise during which the Clippers will never have let go, even against Phoenix.
“It’s hard, because we had great expectations, great goals, with the return of Kawhi, PG. We made a few moves at the trade deadline. We saw the roster we had, and we knew we could be good, and we were in some games.he confided, before discussing the successive injuries of the two leaders of the Clippers. “We still continued to fight. That’s the beautiful thing about Tyronn Lue, because he’s going to give us that determination no matter what, no matter who’s on the pitch. And Russell Westbrook has been great for us (…). We tried to survive, but the Suns are a good team, they rolled out. Devin Booker was amazing, Kevin Durant was KD. It was tough because we lost in five games, but it was close almost every time. Apart from Game 4 I believe, it was only undecided matches, every time.
“We know what Tyronn Lue means to us”
In the same vein as the will displayed by its president Lawrence Frank at the end of the season, Nicolas Batum expressed the wish to see Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, under contract in 2023/24, continue the adventure. “We hope we find these two guys, because we know we can do it. We will take care of what it takes to be ready for next season.”he added.
While the pressure of a lackluster new season could have brought Tyronn Lue from the door, Nicolas Batum also wanted to support his coach, the latter also being the subject of rumors sending him in particular to Phoenix.
“We know what Tyronn Lue means to us. I insist, I love this coach. He saved my career last year. We need him, we don’t want him to go anywhere else. We respect it, we want it, we love it. When I saw the teams who wanted him, I said to myself that it showed who he was, what kind of coach. A great coach. And that’s why I want him to stay! I don’t see him in Phoenix or Milwaukee.”
| Nicholas Batum | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2008-09 | ORP | 79 | 18 | 44.6 | 36.9 | 80.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 5.4 |
| 2009-10 | ORP | 37 | 25 | 51.9 | 40.9 | 84.3 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 10.1 |
| 2010-11 | ORP | 80 | 32 | 45.5 | 34.5 | 84.1 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 12.4 |
| 2011-12 | ORP | 59 | 30 | 45.1 | 39.1 | 83.6 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 13.9 |
| 2012-13 | ORP | 73 | 38 | 42.3 | 37.2 | 84.8 | 1.3 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 14.3 |
| 2013-14 | ORP | 82 | 36 | 46.5 | 36.1 | 80.3 | 1.4 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 13.1 |
| 2014-15 | ORP | 71 | 34 | 40.0 | 32.4 | 85.7 | 0.9 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 9.4 |
| 2015-16 | CHA | 70 | 35 | 42.6 | 34.8 | 84.9 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 14.9 |
| 2016-17 | CHA | 77 | 34 | 40.3 | 33.3 | 85.6 | 0.6 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 15.1 |
| 2017-18 | CHA | 64 | 31 | 41.5 | 33.6 | 83.1 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 11.6 |
| 2018-19 | CHA | 75 | 31 | 45.0 | 38.9 | 86.5 | 1.0 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 9.3 |
| 2019-20 | CHA | 22 | 23 | 34.6 | 28.6 | 90.0 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 3.6 |
| 2020-21 | LAKE | 67 | 27 | 46.4 | 40.4 | 82.8 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 8.1 |
| 2021-22 | LAKE | 59 | 25 | 46.3 | 40.0 | 65.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 8.3 |
| 2022-23 | LAKE | 78 | 22 | 42.0 | 39.1 | 70.8 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 6.1 |
| Total | 993 | 30 | 43.6 | 36.5 | 83.3 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 10.7 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
