LA Clippers First Half Loves #2: The Nicolas Batum Resurgence
How can we talk about the first half of the LA Clippers’ season without talking about Nicolas Batum? The answer is we cannot, so let’s do it.
When Batum was signed on with the Clippers on a minimum deal, most (but not all) Clippers fans saw it as a move that could have some slight upside, but was really just a low-risk move that gave us another body for the regular season.
How wrong we were. Comparing Nicolas Batum’s numbers last year in Charlotte versus this year with the LA Clippers, his points have gone up from 3.6 to 9 per game, his rebounding and assist numbers stayed pretty consistent, his field goal percentage rose from 34.6% to 47% and his three point percentage rose from 28.6% to 44%.
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Nic has helped anchor a starting lineup that’s one of the best in the league, to the point that Marcus Morris volunteered to come off the bench when he came back from energy. Batum owns the left corner – he’s the second leading scorer in the whole league from that area.
Not only that, but it feels like his threes are timely. It always seems like, when it’s later in the game and the opponent is on an 8-0 run, the ball will find Batum in the corner and he’ll shift the momentum back to the LA Clippers.
On defense, he’s helped turn the LA Clippers into a switchy team when they want to be, and his versatility lets him guard four positions at a passable level. He’s not prime Scottie Pippen on that end, but check out the players he’s spent the most time guarding this year.
His 10 most guarded players are Darius Bazley, Marvin Bagley, Jayson Tatum, Draymond Green, Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Harris, Devin Booker, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving and Coby White.
That’s 4 guards, 5 forwards and a center. That kind of versatility on defense gives the LA Clippers the ability to roll out a plethora of lineups while relying on feeling fairly comfortable no matter whom Batum gets switched onto.
The return of Nic Batum the 3-and-D wing who can guard pretty much any position is something I won’t forget about this season.