Nicolas Batum has been the Sixers’ most valuable acquisition in the trade with the Clippers
The 6-foot-8 forward's ability to guard bigger and All-Star-caliber players has allowed the Sixers to be more aggressive with their defensive schemes.
NEW ORLEANS — Nicolas Batum is the ultimate glue guy. As a result, he’s been the 76ers’ most valuable acquisition from the Nov. 1 trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.
How valuable is he?
The 6-foot-8 forward was assigned to guard Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards, Oklahoma City Thunder All-NBA point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a future Hall of Famer in Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, and New Orleans Pelicans All-Star forward Brandon Ingram in consecutive games.
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“It’s super valuable” said Sixers coach Nick Nurse. “It’s super valuable in a lot of ways, and he just does a lot of it by working. Like he’s up the floor picking up full court. He’s in denial a lot, so the guy doesn’t even get it. That’s the easiest way to guard somebody if they don’t have the ball.”
That’s why the Sixers (12-6) hope he’ll play Friday night against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
Batum hyperextended his right index finger for a second time during Wednesday’s 124-114 loss to the Pelicans.
Unlike on Nov. 8 against the Celtics, Batum did not return in the game against New Orleans (10-9).
“You’ve got to be smart sometimes,” Batum said.
But Batum thinks he’s going to play against the Celtics (14-4). X-rays showed no further damage to the finger on his shooting hand.
His presence will be needed against Celtics All-Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The 230-pounder’s ability to guard bigger and All-Star-caliber players has, at times, allowed the Sixers to be more aggressive with their defensive schemes.
“You can keep them from getting [the ball] and keep ... pushing them out and getting them higher on the floor,” Nurse said. “There’s a lot of that. But it’s a pretty good ripple effect on our team because it allows us to move some other pieces around defensively, too.”
But Batum’s defensive versatility is nothing new.
The 34-year-old French native has been guarding different positions, and excelling at it, since playing professionally for French club LeMans Sarthe Basket at age 16. Back then, his idol was Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen.
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“He was the master of all-around versatile defense, guarding one through five,” Batum said. “He was [ahead] of his time. We talk about people doing it now. But he was doing it in the ‘80s and ‘90s. He was really like the guy I looked up to the most when I grew up, guys like him and Andrei Kirilenko.
“So I just tried to simulate my game to those types of players.”
The Sixers actually acquired Kirilenko from the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 11, 2014, but he refused to report. As a result, the team suspended him before eventually waiving him on Feb. 21, 2015.
Unlike Kirilenko, Batum has played for the Sixers. Aside from that, Batum has a lot of similarities to both Kirilenko and Pippen.
In addition to being a defensive force, Batum plays smart and hard. He constantly makes hustle plays and utilizes his long arms.
Even though Pippen is a Hall of Famer, he didn’t fully get the accolades he deserved because he played alongside Michael Jordan. Jordan gets a lot of credit for the Bulls’ six NBA titles and being arguably the greatest to play the game.
A lot of what Batum does also goes unnoticed to the casual fan.
Batum is averaging 6.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.7 blocks and 25.4 minutes in 10 games with seven starts as a Sixer, numbers that aren’t overly impressive. But they don’t reveal how he truly impacts a game.
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“At the end of the day, if my teammates, coaching staff are OK with [my impact], I don’t care about the outside noise,” he said. “It’s pretty much been that way my whole career. Everywhere I’ve been, my teammates love my game and the coaches. And the outside, too, with some fans. It’s funny because everywhere people are like, ‘Oh, we didn’t know he could do that!’ That’s because when you play against me, I’m not a flashy guy.”
His lone focus is making sure his teammates are successful.
“I really don’t care about me,” Batum added.
But his selfless play has translated into being the Sixers’ best addition.