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LOS ANGELES — Paul George was out, Brandon Boston Jr. was on, and Nicolas Batum was successful the lineup for the archetypal clip successful astir 3 weeks.
The 32-year-old guardant had been sidelined with a bout with COVID-19, an acquisition helium elaborate Wednesday nighttime aft the Clippers’ 114-11 triumph implicit the Boston Celtics.
“Interesting day,” surmised Batum, with a motion to his stat line: 0 for 1, 1 rebound, assist, steal, block, turnover. And different one: “This is the archetypal clip I did media with zero points.”
In fact, it has been an altogether atypical fewer weeks for the versatile Frenchman, who missed 9 games aft helium was a precocious scratch up of the Clippers’ matinee matchup against the Dallas Mavericks connected Nov. 21.
“I didn’t consciousness bully that game, that Sunday against the Mavs,” Batum recalled Wednesday successful his archetypal media quality since helium spoke aft the Clippers’ nonaccomplishment Nov. 19 successful New Orleans.
“Didn’t consciousness beauteous good the nighttime before. I didn’t deliberation astir COVID. When I came in, I was inactive sick, did a speedy trial conscionable to beryllium definite and I trial affirmative and I find retired astir 45 minutes earlier the game. And past I did different 1 and past I went backmost to the signifier installation to get different trial and I got 3 positives successful 1 day. And the adjacent time was 3 positives.”
“And past the adjacent four, 5 days, I was beauteous sick. I was stuck successful my room, didn’t determination for similar 10-12 days. And past I got cleared. After I got 2 antagonistic tests, I got cleared to permission my house.
“Friday, erstwhile we played the Lakers, I came into the signifier installation successful the morning, that was the archetypal clip I truly near my location that day. Then I conscionable had 2 35-minute workouts connected Saturday and Sunday, signifier successful the G-League connected Monday and that’s it.”
Coach Tyronn Lue said earlier the play started that each of the Clippers were vaccinated. Moreover, Batum served arsenic a spokesperson erstwhile the squad partnered with Cedars Sinai Medical Center for a nationalist work announcement video promoting vaccines successful May.
Having to ticker the Clippers play – and conflict – without him was tough, helium said.
They went 4-5 successful his absence, slipping offensively arsenic they averaged 104.1 points per crippled successful his lack – 2.5 less than they had with him connected the floor. And without Batum’s calming on-court presence, the Clippers’ turnovers ticked up, from 14.4 per crippled to 15.9.
“No, we’ve been struggling,” said Batum, who offered a typically gracious caveat. “We person a mates games wherever we didn’t people a batch and I was playing too. The past crippled I played, we scored 27 points successful the 2nd fractional successful New Orleans – that was brutal.”
Still, helium said, “that’s interesting, to beryllium astatine location connected your sofa for similar 9 games. You spot the crippled successful antithetic ways. It’s chill to beryllium backmost with the guys due to the fact that a mates games, similar Sacramento and New Orleans, I was kinda similar ‘OK, erstwhile I travel back, I cognize what I person to do.’”
Last season, Batum logged a team-high 1,835 regular-season minutes – and past 555 much successful the Clippers’ playoff tally to the Western Conference finals earlier playing 178 further minutes of Olympic hoops arsenic helium helped pb France to the gold-medal crippled successful Tokyo.
Now, including Wednesday’s 15-minute outing, helium has started each but 1 of his 15 games this play and is averaging 26.7 minutes per crippled and 9.1 points connected 51.5% shooting, including 43.2% from 3-point range.
Although helium started successful spot of George – retired with a bruised close elbow – connected Wednesday, Batum said with Marcus Morris Sr. successful the lineup again aft taking clip to fortify his ailing knee, helium expects to beryllium utilized successful reserve going forward.
“We got Mook backmost now, truthful my role’s gonna beryllium antithetic than the archetypal 20 games, ’cause I gotta travel disconnected the seat now, truthful my defence gonna beryllium different, my discourtesy gonna beryllium different, truthful I’m gonna person to adjust,” said Batum, who rolled his ankle aft blocking a Dennis Schröder thrust during Wednesday’s game, but helium was capable to instrumentality aft getting it re-wrapped and expects it won’t impact his presumption up of Saturday’s crippled against the Orlando Magic.
“I cognize from present on, my role’s gonna alteration coming disconnected the bench,” Batum added. “But I’m chill with that, I don’t care. Just gonna beryllium antithetic for me, but I cognize what I person to do, particularly with the 2nd unit. It won’t beryllium the aforesaid players astir me, but I’m chill with that.
“You cognize me, I’m gonna travel successful and play my role, play defence 1 done five, and defender the large antheral 1 time and the constituent defender the adjacent day. Go retired determination and bash my job.”
And that makes the Clippers consciousness better, too.
“We don’t expect him to travel backmost and acceptable the satellite connected fire,” Lue said earlier tipoff Wednesday. “But conscionable having him connected the level … different IQ guy, a feline who tin support aggregate positions, marque a shot, play the close way, it’s conscionable bully to person him back.”
Nico Batum — “cool with” conscionable astir everything — connected missing clip and however helium expects to acceptable successful going forward: pic.twitter.com/K4D703oSdw
— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) December 9, 2021
English (US) ·