Few months ago, Nicolas Batum seemed to be quietly heading towards retirement, with the Paris Olympics as a jubilee. After the last World Cup, the captain of the Blues thought in any case that it was probably time for him to leave his place in the starting five of the French team, to be content with a role coming off the bench. But during the preparation, and especially during the first match of the 2024 Olympics against Brazil, “Batman” reminded us why he remains, at 35 years old, indispensable to Vincent Collet and this group.
“When we analyze the seven games we played in preparation, if we count the scrimmage against Canada, he was often among the five who performed the best.” explains the coach. “He's our player who brings the bond together, who is a facilitator. Tonight, he also scored points, but that's not systematic, even if I ask him to be more aggressive than he can be in the NBA. But hey, I don't expect Nico to score as much every time he plays. On the other hand, we know that he also plays a lot of role in the passing relationship.”
Vincent Collet regretted some balloons “sent into the scenery” by the Clippers player who, like his team, was able to get carried away at times by trying things that were too complicated, like this impossible alley-oop for Isaïa Cordinier. But with his 19 points at 6/13 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, for a +/- of +15 in 35 minutes on the court, he still had a great game.
Better serve Victor Wembanyama, to better use him
Above all, it was his defensive placement on Marcelinho Huertas in the second quarter that turned the match around for the Blues, with the leader no longer able to outplay the French defense after that.
“It was a thing” confirms Vincent Collet. “But beyond that, it's also the fact of changing a lot (on screens). So we put Nico on the point guard because since we knew we were going to “switch”, it allowed them not to even use the “mismatch” (advantageous duel), because Nico didn't suffer on these low post duels. And we knew that our bigs could also bother Huertas and Yago on the one-on-one.”
For Victor Wembanyama, Nicolas Batum played a role “foundation” for the Blues during this first match.
As for the player concerned, who intercepted and touched a lot of passes, especially in the second and third quarters, he especially emphasized the importance of serving “Wemby” in a good position, to be able to “play around” and take advantage of the attention that the NBA Rookie of the Year provokes from opposing defenses.
Should he be particularly aggressive in this version of the Blues? “The great enigma Nicolas Batum for fifteen years” he smiled as he walked away, into the corridors of the Pierre-Mauroy stadium. ” Maybe, maybe not… “
Interview conducted in Villeneuve d'Ascq
