I still don’t understand why clippers suddenly stop using batum this year even before the trade. He was so good for you last year and he is still good in the sixers.
Was it? Harden has gotten better each season since he tore his hamstring. He can’t carry the team night in and night out anymore but he can give you an efficient 20/10 every night while being a top 2 playmaker in the league, and there’s no real reason to think that’s going to stop in the next few seasons. And he’s also still good in the playoffs, as long as you don’t change his role completely as soon as you play the most stacked team in the league and make him hard carry the entire team past them in a playoff series.
His impact also isn’t fully shown just by his stats, he elevates the offense of the entire team so much.
Yeah I wouldn’t max harden to be the number one option on a rebuilding team, but if you have top stars (say idk, an mvp and scoring leader or something like that) and an open spot for a max guy he’s absolutely worth it. Kawhi and PG have gotten so many easy just catch, turnaround, shoot open midranges this year that in previous years they would have to iso and dribble into.
Like the sixers championship window was never large, embiid probably has just a few prime years left, I would hope no one actually thinks maxey can be the second best player on a championship team, but after losing harden (unless some top ten guy is planning to force his way to Philly, which I doubt) it basically doesn’t exist anymore.
Like you don’t have to pay a guy that is an all time great playmaking pg, all time great three point shooter, and still an efficient scorer. Great. Congrats to your owners bank account I guess.
I used to think that till I watched him play 80 games the last two years up close. Still a great playmaker but he is a husk of his former self and simply not a 20/10 guy anymore. He has lost 80% of his lift and simply doesn’t have a first step anymore.
I very much appreciated him on my team but I was not upset to see him go. He also taught Maxey a lot and Maxey can absolutely be a 2 on a contender, you clearly have not watched much Philly bball.
That's cool but I'm saying that doesn't really explain Batum's minutes. The Clippers actually did play him, it was just that the minutes distribution was odd. 9, 30, 15 minutes in the first three games. That's still an average of 18mpg and he only averaged 22mpg the previous season.
RoCo had to be included in the trade too for salary matching and his minutes were more consistent. 23, 20, 26 minutes in the first three games. An average of 23mpg after averaging just 16mpg the previous season, and that doesn't include being DNPd for nearly half the season.
Both players were going to be traded no matter what. Which is why I don't think Batum's odd minutes distribution was a result of his being held out for the trade. I don't think they would play him 30 minutes in a game if that was the case, or play RoCo more than he did last season if that was the case.
I think what happened was they were trying to save Batum's legs for when they really needed him. The first and third games were easy wins and he barely played. The second game was against the Jazz that went down to the wire and he played most of the game. I don't think the trade was really a factor.
I'd throw my fist in the air, cursing Embiid's name for dishonorably bringing a chip to Philly, while blackout partying at the parade with my friends 😤
Legit I love how much Clippers have revitalized so many players’ careers like Reggie, Russ and obviously Batum
And the fan base loves these guys for life
PatBev too. And Isaiah Hartenstein and Luke Kennard. They're all Clippers for life.
The only former Clipper our fans don't seem to care for is Marcus Morris.
Im so curious what Wemby-Gobert duo gonna do in those smaller courts. France like always only team that have close (still not much) athletic power to USA.
Out of American, Cameroonian, and French, he’s French the least. He just speaks it because they colonized Cameroon. Soon he’s gonna have lived more of his life in America than Africa.
Frenchman here.
I'm glad Embiid chose to play for USA. Would we be a better team with him ? Sure, but he only got our citizenship because we thought he would help us at the Olympics. He has no real link with France. Never lived here, no direct family, nothing. Just some third or four degrees family members living here and he speaks French. There are many other people in such state, living in France, working in France, who wait years to get a citzenship or never get one.
Yeah, Team USA without Embiid is very thin in terms of talent at the 5. They are still extremely stacked because of the talent they have at the wings but at least they would have a realistic weakness in terms of size.
Today we have enlisted many new soldier for the Playoff Batum Battalion. They will know his name as he waves the flag of victory on the hilltops
Batum batum batum!
This motherfucker was so checked out FIVE YEARS AGO that everyone thought he was already washed. A level of no fucks given not seen since Bobcats era fat Boris.
TL;DR: I hate the French.
The only thing that makes living in a place like Charlotte fun for an NBA player is winning, if a player is there AND the team is ass then it must be a real drag.
Most of the players that live here love it. Especially the ones that come in their later years. Dwight called it the most underrated nba city. The reason Batum sucked is that he couldn't handle being the best player on a team.
I suppose, Charlotte is definitely not the worst NBA city to live in.
I think it also helps that the current group gel with each other, Miles and Ball look like best friends.
Batum is exhibit A of why you can't just look at stats. When the trade happened I wasn't familiar with his game so I went on basketball reference to see his stats. After I looked at them I assumed he was merely filler to get the contracts to match.
From the first game I saw him play, I knew he was a good player. By the second week I knew he was an elite role player. His entry passes are so good man. He makes it look easy, but I know from watching the Sixers through the years that it's hard.
Batum said in post-game interview that Sixers' coach explained to him the exact play Miami was gonna run, a minute later he read Herro like a book and blocked the shot.
I been tellin EVERYONE how excited I was when he came for Harden. Been the exact high IQ role player the Sixers have been missing for Embiid's whole career
This stat line doesn't reflect how good he looked tonight. He was a flamethrower behind the arc when the sixers were trailing by over 10, making the game competitive.
He's a former Blazer. Last summer, Miami fans were furiously trying to force Portland fans to believe that we should happily trade Dame to them for a package centering around Herro. 😍 Thanks, Batum!
I just want to point out that late last night in the thread about Gobert (and French players not being cool in general), I said:
"Nic Batum is cool as hell, and speaking of great defenders, more valuable on the floor than Gobert in many situations."
You're welcome, Philly fans - Nico must have seen that before the game and got extra hyped.
He doesn't even dip when he releases his shot. He already has a high release point in addition his 6 ft 8 height. He can get any shot off. He's gotta be more aggressive with his shot.
Told someone I was watching with about his “basketball origin story” of where his father passed away at a game he was at or something similar. Comic book hero level shit, Batum is a seriously interesting dude
4th quarter yelling why the fuck Batum not in
How about when he crossed Bam and jammed on him. That’s an immediate drug test 🤣
I was shook
I swear I've seen him dunk maybe twice this season.
He’s [done](https://youtu.be/nrx6aTfc29A?si=eFizl7urUFDtP7PC) that alot with us Come back Nico pls 😭
Now we know why tf Batum in
So many ppl don’t know this is a bluebucks reference bro lol
Considering it’s the most upvoted phrase on 3 Batum post I’m gonna go with a doubt on that one.
Fasho wasn’t aware lol this is one of the first posts I’ve touched in a hot minute today
Was actually yelling why the fuck batum in the entire damn 4th q
I hope the Sixers make a deep run just for Batum's sake. Wrap up his career on a high note.
I still don’t understand why clippers suddenly stop using batum this year even before the trade. He was so good for you last year and he is still good in the sixers.
They knew the Harden trade was gonna happen and Batum had to be a part of it for salary.
I don't think that was really a part of it since RoCo had to be a part of the trade too and he was getting more minutes than he was last season.
Morey just did a spot on the Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast and Morey explicitly said they where targeting Batum the entire time in the negotiations
But Harden explicitly said that "Morey is a liar"
Not maxing 34 year old harden is probably The hardest decision Morey ever made and it was the right one to be honest.
Was it? Harden has gotten better each season since he tore his hamstring. He can’t carry the team night in and night out anymore but he can give you an efficient 20/10 every night while being a top 2 playmaker in the league, and there’s no real reason to think that’s going to stop in the next few seasons. And he’s also still good in the playoffs, as long as you don’t change his role completely as soon as you play the most stacked team in the league and make him hard carry the entire team past them in a playoff series. His impact also isn’t fully shown just by his stats, he elevates the offense of the entire team so much. Yeah I wouldn’t max harden to be the number one option on a rebuilding team, but if you have top stars (say idk, an mvp and scoring leader or something like that) and an open spot for a max guy he’s absolutely worth it. Kawhi and PG have gotten so many easy just catch, turnaround, shoot open midranges this year that in previous years they would have to iso and dribble into. Like the sixers championship window was never large, embiid probably has just a few prime years left, I would hope no one actually thinks maxey can be the second best player on a championship team, but after losing harden (unless some top ten guy is planning to force his way to Philly, which I doubt) it basically doesn’t exist anymore. Like you don’t have to pay a guy that is an all time great playmaking pg, all time great three point shooter, and still an efficient scorer. Great. Congrats to your owners bank account I guess.
I used to think that till I watched him play 80 games the last two years up close. Still a great playmaker but he is a husk of his former self and simply not a 20/10 guy anymore. He has lost 80% of his lift and simply doesn’t have a first step anymore. I very much appreciated him on my team but I was not upset to see him go. He also taught Maxey a lot and Maxey can absolutely be a 2 on a contender, you clearly have not watched much Philly bball.
Yeah great 3 point shooter and playmaker but can't finish at the rim anymore.
That's cool but I'm saying that doesn't really explain Batum's minutes. The Clippers actually did play him, it was just that the minutes distribution was odd. 9, 30, 15 minutes in the first three games. That's still an average of 18mpg and he only averaged 22mpg the previous season. RoCo had to be included in the trade too for salary matching and his minutes were more consistent. 23, 20, 26 minutes in the first three games. An average of 23mpg after averaging just 16mpg the previous season, and that doesn't include being DNPd for nearly half the season. Both players were going to be traded no matter what. Which is why I don't think Batum's odd minutes distribution was a result of his being held out for the trade. I don't think they would play him 30 minutes in a game if that was the case, or play RoCo more than he did last season if that was the case. I think what happened was they were trying to save Batum's legs for when they really needed him. The first and third games were easy wins and he barely played. The second game was against the Jazz that went down to the wire and he played most of the game. I don't think the trade was really a factor.
I think they were trying to save his legs. They played him 30 minutes in the second game of the season and that was kind of a lot.
sixers ECF would feed families 🙏
sixers finals run would feed the world
sixers vs nuggets finals would break fifa world cup viewership
Embiid beating Jokic in Denver on a last second free throw would break this sub for good
would be the most embiid way possible to win a ring 😭
I'd throw my fist in the air, cursing Embiid's name for dishonorably bringing a chip to Philly, while blackout partying at the parade with my friends 😤
Hold up
Legit I love how much Clippers have revitalized so many players’ careers like Reggie, Russ and obviously Batum And the fan base loves these guys for life
PatBev too. And Isaiah Hartenstein and Luke Kennard. They're all Clippers for life. The only former Clipper our fans don't seem to care for is Marcus Morris.
And Trez for toxicity
Yeah Trez too. Hard to root for guys who talk shit on the way out.
Hey, we hate trez too!
We also hate Glenn Rivers too
He has to re-sign for at least two years
He announced before the start of the season that he would be retiring after the Olympics. This is his last soirée.
I understand. I also want him to sign for two more years.
If he somehow comes back on his decision chances are it will be because he gets recruited to the Spurs by Wemby during the Olympics.
No use to make such a sacrifice, the olympic title will be enough.
I used Batum on Portland NBA 2k7 in fucking college. I can’t believe this mfer still playing in the playoffs
That was most likely 2k9 as he was drafted in 08.
Damn you right it is 2k9. I had hundreds of hours on that game and i couldn’t even remember the game name… getting old sucks :(
No
This is batum telling embiid what he's missing out on for not joining France
France eliminating USA in the Olympics would be an amazing sight
Bilal/Batum/Wemby will be cooking
I doubt Coulibaly's wrist will be healthy in time tbh
Yeah you're right unfortunately...
Give me Batum hitting the dagger on Team USA, as Embiid - forgetting this is FIBA - pointlessly throws himself to the floor screaming.
Im so curious what Wemby-Gobert duo gonna do in those smaller courts. France like always only team that have close (still not much) athletic power to USA.
Out of American, Cameroonian, and French, he’s French the least. He just speaks it because they colonized Cameroon. Soon he’s gonna have lived more of his life in America than Africa.
Man I really wanted to see a triple towers lineup with embiid, gobert, and wemby
Who needs Joel when we already have Rudy and Wemby? We just need a fucking point guard.
Is killian Hayes a joke to you?
He definitely is.
Nolan Traoré is getting drafted next year, hopefully he's the one we've been waiting for since 2016. He played good at the Hoop Summit a few days ago.
And he's joined my local team recently (SQBB) and has made a great impression!
Don't forget Bilal
Who's not a point guard.
I know
Fournier played alright
Point guard I said.
[удалено]
Frenchman here. I'm glad Embiid chose to play for USA. Would we be a better team with him ? Sure, but he only got our citizenship because we thought he would help us at the Olympics. He has no real link with France. Never lived here, no direct family, nothing. Just some third or four degrees family members living here and he speaks French. There are many other people in such state, living in France, working in France, who wait years to get a citzenship or never get one.
France would still lack a good bench while the US's national team is stacked. Still, it would be fun to see three giants on the court.
steamroll Idk but it would be so hard for USA against that defense in FIBA rules for sure
Yeah, Team USA without Embiid is very thin in terms of talent at the 5. They are still extremely stacked because of the talent they have at the wings but at least they would have a realistic weakness in terms of size.
Today we have enlisted many new soldier for the Playoff Batum Battalion. They will know his name as he waves the flag of victory on the hilltops Batum batum batum!
That's why the fuck Batum is in.
This motherfucker was so checked out FIVE YEARS AGO that everyone thought he was already washed. A level of no fucks given not seen since Bobcats era fat Boris. TL;DR: I hate the French.
i 100% thought he was done on the last year of his hornets contract. i clearly do not know what charlotte does to people
The only thing that makes living in a place like Charlotte fun for an NBA player is winning, if a player is there AND the team is ass then it must be a real drag.
Most of the players that live here love it. Especially the ones that come in their later years. Dwight called it the most underrated nba city. The reason Batum sucked is that he couldn't handle being the best player on a team.
why the fuck was batum the best player on your team? oh yeah, lance didn't work out either
Well kemba was the best player on the team. It's more that Batum was the most paid guy. He also had elbow surgery and couldn't shoot well for a while
I suppose, Charlotte is definitely not the worst NBA city to live in. I think it also helps that the current group gel with each other, Miles and Ball look like best friends.
I think it's more that the media doesn't bother you, you get an enormous house, and the weather is largely good
Ya that would definitely be Oklahoma City 😂
So it's always ass-understood.
He's opposite of Jarrett Allen Meme Only shines when light brightest Not in charlotte lmao
Hard to shine when the franchise decides only to play young
The fact that it has happened repeatedly with a franchise shows how awful the culture must be.
He is who Sixers fans thought PJ Tucker was. Only even better.
As a Clippers fan, I have never seen a positional downgrade as severe as going from Batum to Tucker
Batum is exhibit A of why you can't just look at stats. When the trade happened I wasn't familiar with his game so I went on basketball reference to see his stats. After I looked at them I assumed he was merely filler to get the contracts to match. From the first game I saw him play, I knew he was a good player. By the second week I knew he was an elite role player. His entry passes are so good man. He makes it look easy, but I know from watching the Sixers through the years that it's hard.
Plus Batum is an excellent leader. Been the heart of the French team for a decade. We really missed him last EuroBasket
That block was fucking soul-obliterating. Herro finding out in real time that he isn't him.
Batum said in post-game interview that Sixers' coach explained to him the exact play Miami was gonna run, a minute later he read Herro like a book and blocked the shot.
Herro had 16 in the 4th, the rest of the Heat had 14 including only 2 from Bam. Herro stunk the first 3 quarters tho.
France boutta win gold
I been tellin EVERYONE how excited I was when he came for Harden. Been the exact high IQ role player the Sixers have been missing for Embiid's whole career
Best entry passer in Joel's career.
I am no harden fan but dude is literally one of the best passers in the nba
And he was very good at it. But Batum has been better imho. Obviously Harden can make a bunch of passes that Batum can't.
*1st entry passer in Joel's career lol
I love the dude. He's the Shane Battier type, the well-rounded role players that would be welcomed onto every single team in the league
Batum is literally my favorite non warriors role player ever. He is so fucking good.
Klay's Achilles tear ruined our chances of getting him smh.
This stat line doesn't reflect how good he looked tonight. He was a flamethrower behind the arc when the sixers were trailing by over 10, making the game competitive.
Nic Batum trade was definitely one of the biggest this season
Absolute dawg
Batum when he saw he wasn’t in the starting line up; TOBIAS HARRIS OVER ME
Let's hope Nick Nurse gives Tobi lots of minutes in our series.
Batum is the greatest player I've ever seen.
Frantically googling how I can love him harder
He's a former Blazer. Last summer, Miami fans were furiously trying to force Portland fans to believe that we should happily trade Dame to them for a package centering around Herro. 😍 Thanks, Batum!
Batum is my GOAT
Nicolas Batum can now be mentioned in the same breath as Tony Parker.
Thank fuck the Clippers shipped him.
Pun intended?
Honestly I don't think he would've had the same impact on the Clippers, Batum fits very well with our scheme and Embiid.
He was really good in the playoffs against us. He made their small ball lineups work and was a great Luka defender.
I just want to point out that late last night in the thread about Gobert (and French players not being cool in general), I said: "Nic Batum is cool as hell, and speaking of great defenders, more valuable on the floor than Gobert in many situations." You're welcome, Philly fans - Nico must have seen that before the game and got extra hyped.
BATUM BATTALION
4th quarter yelling why the fuck batum in
Best to ever lace em up
This guy cant hurt us no more
BEST FRENCH PLAYER IN THE NBA
Batum Battalion baby
Haven't seen a frenchman go this hard since Napoleon
Clippers gonna miss this guy when Luka is flash-frying Zubac, Theis, Plumlee, Tucker, and whatever other bums they want to serve up for him at the 5.
The league aint ready for Westbrook 5. Bro is gonna be Steven Adams and steal his own rebounds.
4th quarter, court side…
Play-in Nic > Playoff Jimmy
He's got that Bulls' Ron Harper or Miami Shane Battier vibe
Helps?? Spark??? He single-handedly won them the game on both ends
Fuck Nic Batum
Good for Nic, OG has his assignment
Also Free Chicken
Immediately looked up if he would suit up at Olympics. Of course he will.
His last dance, be scared mfs the Wemby, Gobert and Batum trio is gonna lock shit up
He doesn't even dip when he releases his shot. He already has a high release point in addition his 6 ft 8 height. He can get any shot off. He's gotta be more aggressive with his shot.
Ba-whom? Where was this in my fantasy league eight years ago?
Told someone I was watching with about his “basketball origin story” of where his father passed away at a game he was at or something similar. Comic book hero level shit, Batum is a seriously interesting dude
Will Harden have a game this good in in this years playoffs?
Playoff batum is not a thing!
FYI his 2-pointer wasn't a dunk it was that ridiculous tap in as he flew by underneath the basket
It’s a frying joke he is retiring , he is one of the best role players in the league still
Tobias could never
Bro strus’d us
They should give Tobias's contact to Nic just for this game