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Clippers 2023-2024 Season Preview: Nicolas Batum
Our player preview series for the 2024 Clippers season continues with Nicolas Batum, who is going into what is reportedly his final season in the NBA.
Basic Information
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 230 pounds
Position: Power Forward
Age: 34
Years in NBA: 14
Key Clippers Stats: 6.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 21.9 minutes per game across 56 games on 42.0/39.1/70.8 shooting splits in the regular season.
Contract Status: $11.7M this year; unrestricted free agent next summer (2024).
Expectations
The “Power Forward” (in quotes because we are no longer in the era of the Elton Brand style big man) position is the most controversial spot on the Clippers’ roster. Nico Batum, however, is the least controversial piece in that puzzle: Clippers Nation can reasonably expect Nico to play solid defense against a range of offenders, shoot well on catch-and-shoot attempts, and make few, if any, mistakes in his role.
How much we can expect Nico to play, though, will need to be reset. Over the last three seasons (his time with the Clippers), Batum’s minutes per game have gone from 27.4 to 24.8 to 21.9. Along with Marcus Morris, Sr. and Russell Westbrook, Batum is 34 years old, so it is not surprising that the Clippers’ have managed his minutes. What’s more, Nico has taken on a big load for the French national team and is still, despite the drop in minutes per game, one of the leaders in minutes played for the Clippers over the last few years. Therefore, it is likely that we see Batum’s playing time take another hit—maybe as low as 18-19 minutes per game, even if he ends up being the starter on paper. This is especially likely given that Kenyon Martin, Sr. and Mason Plumlee are expected to be key parts of the Clippers’ rotation at small forward and center respectively.
Strengths
On the offensive end, Batum’s primary strength is his three-point shooting. Although he is liable to have games-long shooting slumps, he still made 39.1% of his threes over 78 games. He only took 4.1 three point attempts per game last year, so it would nice to see that number go up, especially if we get a full season of Westbrook, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard.
On defense, Batum can (reasonably, though not expertly) guard one-through-five and is a smart help defender. His counting stats (3.8 rebounds, 0.6 blocks, and 0.7 steals per game) do not jump off the page, but he has a knack of making key blocks and steals at important points of games.
Weaknesses
Nico’s weaknesses are not really weaknesses; instead, 1) he does not play as much as one would like for their third-best forward and 2) there is “slippage” in his skill. Regarding the latter point, for example, Batum had about 30 games in which he shot 25% or worse from three. Sure, some of those are 0/1 games, but he also had quite a few 1/5s and was a liability on offense in the playoffs until Game 5, when the series was already over. This season, the challenge for Batum will be to play consistently—that is, avoid long shooting slumps—even if his overall production or efficiency slips.
Summary
In sum, Nico Batum has solved more problems than he has caused during his time with the Clippers. He is still an extremely useful role player for the Clippers, but he is in a race against Father Time. If he can continue to shoot well from three and contribute on the defensive end, he can retire at the end of the season with his head held high and Clippers Nation will continue to love him.
Clippers 2023-2024 Season Preview: Nicolas Batum
Kenneth Armstrong