Sitting on the bench of the Philadelphia Sixers, Nicolas Batum (2.03m, 34 years old) holds his head in both hands. No worries: a little more than five minutes from the end of the match against the Houston Rockets, the winger delights in a three-point action from Tyrese Maxey (27 points), one of the main architects of the success of Philly against Houston Monday evening (124-115). The other major player in the victory is well known to NBA services, the reigning regular season MVP. For his return to business, Joel Embiid found no opposition (41 points, including 16 out of 17 on free throws, 10 rebounds), and allowed his team to achieve a second success.
Among the third in the Eastern Conference (25 victories, 13 defeats), “Batman”, who admitted last November, after being sent by his Los Angeles Clippers to Pennsylvania, to having suffered “a big shock”, found a role of choice. That of a starter (20 starts in 24 matches) – who he was no longer really in California since the 2021-2022 financial year -, valuable in his reading of the game, his defensive presence, and his ability to be useful in invisible stains. Monday evening, the captain of the France team did not achieve everything (5 points on 2 out of 7 shooting), but he did everything (5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 interceptions, 1 block in 28 minutes) . During his previous match, in the absence of Embiid, he was more prolific (14 points at 4 of 4 from three points).
The Cameroonian pivot, who will play the Olympic Games for the United States this summer, noted after three weeks of playing together how much the former Le Mans player was going to help the Sixers: “He is the key,” assured the insider. . He’s a special guy. The way we play, he does everything we need. He’s a great shooter, a great defender, a great passer, he has a huge basketball IQ. » Batum himself validated this renewal a month ago. “I kept the same role, but on a different scale,” he appreciated. […] I wasn’t expecting that, but it’s cool. I like it when we win matches (16 wins for 8 losses with him on the pitch). » Which is rather good, since Philadelphia, with its Frenchie, still aims to play for the title.
2024-01-15 22:49:15
#Philadelphia #Nicolas #Batum #chemistry #total
