The recent Charlotte Hornets victories over the Portland Trailblazers and the Brooklyn Nets have a couple of things in common. Those things are big games from Nicolas Batum and Al Jefferson.
The importance of this has to do with the buzz around Batum when the Hornets traded away Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh to get him. At the time Coach Steve Clifford said that they would try to run the offense through Batum. Since the Hornets’ offense starts with getting Jefferson the ball, it meant that Batum would be the conduit to get to Jefferson.
Some games this season that has worked better than others. Batum had a single assist in a game not long ago. His game against the Nets has been more accurate as to his performance. He had eight assists in that game, and he has been around the 5-7 mark normally. This should not be a surprise from a player who is a big fan of soccer and thus ball movement.
Larry Brown once said that Stephen Jackson was capable of a triple-double every night. We are not quite there yet with Batum, but it is starting to look the same for him too. It seems that one of the categories does not quite keep up with the others. Last game it was rebounds, but this is kind of standard that Batum needs to accept. This particularly so since he is in a contract year this year.
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Batum’s performance affects the rest of the team as well since he is the one player the Hornets do not have a replacement for on the bench. He has logged the most minutes. When he plays well, like against Portland, then the team wins. When he plays poorly, as against the Knicks, then the team loses.
That black/white comparison is important to a team hovering around .500 and trying to rise above that number and not look back at it. A Hornets’ playoff season could very well be all about Batum.
The Hornets play Philadelphia tomorrow night at home.