It is an integral part of the return to the place of the head of the Clippers, in their series of the first round of the 2021 Playoffs against the Mavs. Nicolas Batum, who has inherited a new role from his coach Tyronn Lue, is in great shape and it may well be that his efficiency inside is the result of discussions with another Frenchman.
It was not necessary to leave Saint-Cyr or Polytechnique to realize that Tyronn Lue, the coach of the Clippers, had to make strong choices to save his team from a premature elimination against the Mavs. After sending out a lunar statement on the why and how of the 0-2 that his team was going through, Tyronn Lue took a deep breath, drank some water and finally decided to trust Nicolas Batum more. The Frenchman was even started in place of Ivica Zubac last night in Game 4, in a racket he shared with Marcus Morris. Objective: to contain Luka Doncic, 38 points average over the first three games and untenable even beyond the scoring. Result: despite a MacGyver from the Mavs reduced by neck pain, Badum, As our friends across the Atlantic say, did the job well since the Slovenian got stuck at 19 points at 9/24, far from the almost 52% success rate he had shown since the start of the Playoffs. Nico made him Nico with a scoresheet of 10 points, 5 rebounds but also 4 interceptions and 2 blocks, while being the most used Clipps with 36 minutes spent on the floor. Result? The LAC pocketed a major victory and come back to 2-2, with their backs to the wall just before flying to Dallas.
There was monumental pressure on the Clippers’ shoulders moving to Dallas. Something we have no idea.
The group’s response is too clean, from the rotations to the executives to both sides of the field, there has been speaking and the actions that go with it.
– TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) May 31, 2021
But it’s no longer a secret Polytechnique Polichinelle, do not dwell on basic statistics with our oldest tricolor flag carrier still active in the Great League. This is what the journalist who covers the Clippers Justin Russo points out to us, highlighting the differences in advance or deficit in the score of the Clippers when Nicolas Batum is present on the floor. One thing is certain, LA number 33 understood the role given to him by Tyronn Lue and he learned the skills in part through watching videos of two references to that position: Boris Diaw and Draymond Green.
For the series.
Batum ON, Doncic ON: LAC +23
Batum ON, Doncic OFF: LAC +24
Batum OFF, Doncic ON: DAL +32— Justin Russian (@FlyByKnite) May 31, 2021
For the series.
Batum ON, Rondo ON: LAC +39 (67 MIN)
Batum OFF, Rondo ON: LAC +2 (22 MIN)
Batun ON, Rondo OFF: LAC +8 (46 MIN)
Batum OFF, Rondo OFF: DAL +30 (56 MIN)— Justin Russian (@FlyByKnite) May 31, 2021
Shot distribution (FGA%) for Luka Doncic in this series.
Batum ON
<8 ft | 8-24 ft | 3pt
25.9% | 39.7% | 34.5%batum OFF
<8 ft | 8-24 ft | 3pt
21.3% | 27.7% | 51.1%— Justin Russian (@FlyByKnite) May 31, 2021
“I often speak with Boris Diaw. It’s funny because just yesterday I called the guys in the video to ask them about Boris and Draymond Green, two of the best wingers of the past ten years. They are the best two for doing what I have to do, as a small interior. They can have a point forward role and are able to play all positions. This is what I did yesterday. I’ve watched videos of Boris in 2014 and Draymond for the past five years, and I’ve tried to draw inspiration from them. “
– Nicolas Batum at Sports Illustrated.
Doing the shadow job is classic with Nicolas Batum. If the Clippers can thank Kawhi Leonard and his very good shooting efficiency for three games (106 points at 72.16% in total), they can also say thank you to Batman who always wears the nickname and the cape that goes with it.
Source texte : Sports Illustrated/Justin Russo
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