The Clippers have just won five out of six games, and this good performance corresponds of course to the returns of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but also to the rise of Nicholas Batum. At 34, the Frenchman has learned to manage his physique as well as possible, and after a rather discreet month of November (4.5 points on average), he regained his best level in December: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 52% on shots and 50% at 3-pointers.
That night, he received the Hornets, a franchise that had pushed him off the bench, and he remembered the good memories of his former leaders with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Very skilful at 3-points in December, “Batman” signs a superb 7 out of 10 at 3-points!
“It looked a bit like an opening match” believes Batum. “I think people have been waiting for this for a long time. They say we have a good team, a great roster… They want to see us, know what we’re worth. I think we showed that a bit tonight.”
A real bond with Tyronn Lue
Almost complete, the Clippers largely dominated the Hornets, and Batum confirmed that he was an essential link in the Clippers where he had extended this summer. He was in high demand, but he feels so well in the Lue system that he did not hesitate to extend for two seasons. He has always thanked Lue for relaunching his career, and his coach is touched.
“Every time a player talks about you like that, it’s a great feeling” reacts Tyronn Lue on ClutchPoints. “Our role is to try to get the best out of the players, and often the players give the best out of a coach as well. It means a lot to me that Nico, who has been in this league for a long time and is a super veteran, says these words.
Yet a substitute, Batum is the player who has spent the most time on the pitch this season. This is a sign that the Clippers are dealing with a lot of injuries, but also that the Frenchman is a player who matters, and that he is in full possession of his physical means.
“We knew that once he found himself in a good situation, he would be able to be himself again,” testifies Rudy Gobert, who had wanted to bring him to Jazz. “That’s what happened here. I’m really happy for him and I think he has many more years ahead of him as a very, very good basketball player. I knew he still wanted to play, he still wanted to win, he still loved basketball… I have the feeling that in the last two seasons he had never worked so hard, and it paid off until ‘now. »
| Nicholas Batum | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | 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 | 32 | 21 | 44.1 | 40.5 | 59.1 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 5.8 |
| Total | 947 | 30 | 43.7 | 36.4 | 83.4 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 10.9 | |
