After back-to-back losses to the Pelicans and Spurs, the Clippers finally won today. 139-133, a high-scoring game, the Clippers beat the visiting Pacers at home, and 139 points was the Clippers' season-high score.
It's not easy to score 139 points without George and Jr. and the Clippers, and this time the Clippers side is 33-year-old veteran Batum.
When Batum didn't score 0-of-3 in the first half, it is estimated that he himself would not have imagined that he could suddenly burst out in the second half and slash 32 points.
In the next two quarters, Batum shot 11 of 13, 7 of 9 from three-point range, 3 of 3 from the free throw line, and had 32 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, plus or minus +18.
After George was also injured, Batum has led the Clippers to win such games more than once, bringing some light to the Clippers' tough days. After some news from the Clippers that they will give up this season, at least today, neither Batum nor the Clippers gave up.
Batum tweeted after the match: "It was a very interesting game (or at least the second half was #Laugh Cry) And I hope you guys enjoy it! "Whether the fans like this kind of performance or not, I don't know, Jordan definitely doesn't like it.
Because it was Jordan who cut Batum a year ago in order to sign Hayward, the remaining 27 million salary will be paid in 3 years, 9 million per year, which means that Batum now receives both clippers and Hornets salaries.
Most Hornets fans cheered at the decision, as Batum hadn't played well for more than a year. In the Hornets' final season, Batum played just 22 games.
He averaged less than four points per game and shot just 35 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range. Batum seemed to be on the verge of retirement in the eyes of fans and the team, even though he was on the 44th highest salary in the league at the time.
So Jordan had to pay for a wrong decision for himself, and now this decision to pay the bill, Jordan seems to have made a mistake.
Batum's second game for the Clippers recorded 13 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, showing his strong presence on the court.
Batum played in 67 of 72 regular-season games and averaged 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, and although the numbers were mediocre, he shot nearly 70 percent from the basket and 40 percent, the second-highest career three-point shooting rate, and his highest three-point shooting rate in a year was only 39 percent.
The data shows that he is one of the league's most versatile defenders during the regular season, and Batum has indeed been known for his defensive integrity, but the Hornets are far from meeting the team's expectations.
In the playoffs, he has the highest plus-minus +135 of any Clippers player. In fact, the Clippers are 23.3 points higher per 100-game game than their opponents when he's on the floor, but 9.4 points lower than their opponents per 100 rounds when he's not on the floor.
Batum reached the Western Conference Finals in his first season with the Clippers, and his three-point shooting rate in the bottom corner of the playoffs was as high as 45.8%, becoming an important tactical breakthrough point for the Clippers and an important reliance on the Clippers to resolutely play the five small lineups.
At the Summer Olympics, Batum once again played an important role in the French team. He scored a lot of points, but he contributed a lot on the defensive end, contributing four blocks in the semi-finals and finally winning an Olympic hardcore.
So the Clippers gave Batum a $6.3 million contract in the offseason, a player option for the second year. His initial low experience in the Wasp allowed him to grow up and has been heading upward ever since.
Just so-called: ignoring the human layer of the tiger, Nicholas Batum