How 76ers Made Nic Batum’s Debut vs. Wizards Easy With Little Prep

Not every player in the James Harden trade received a notable chance in the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation just yet. Out of the four players the Sixers landed from the Los Angeles Clippers, only Robert Covington exceeded minutes beyond garbage time heading into Monday night’s game against the Washington Wizards.

Prior to tip-off, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse confirmed that would change on Monday. Despite Nic Batum’s recent absence due to personal reasons, Nurse wanted to see the Clippers’ former key reserve in action as soon as possible.

He wasted no time making that happen.

In the first quarter, Batum checked in for nearly five minutes. To say that his “welcome to Philadelphia” moment was eventful would be an understatement.

Batum took two shots in four minutes, both from beyond the arc. He knocked them down successfully, collecting six points off the bench. At the start of the second quarter, he attempted another three, tacking on his ninth point in fewer than seven minutes of action.

“It was fun,” Batum told reporters after the game when asked about his Sixers debut.

It’s hard not to be happy with a near-perfect shooting outing, especially with little-to-no preparation beforehand. When the Sixers finalized the deal with the Clippers last Wednesday, Batum’s visit to Camden, New Jersey, was temporary as he had to take care of personal matters, which caused him to miss two games and a practice.

By the time Batum returned to the Sixers on Sunday afternoon, he only had the opportunity to participate in a morning shootaround on Monday before getting issued a 17-minute shift off the bench against the Wizards.

“They asked me yesterday, ‘How many days do I need to get back on track?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m good. I played all summer,” Batum explained. “Training camp started July 20th. I play FIBA, I play World Cup, and then actual games. So, you know, five, six days won’t hurt me. So, it was good.”

Being in the NBA since 2008, Batum’s experience helped him take care of business on the fly. Despite having just 45 minutes of on-court preparation, along with two reels of game film from the matchups against Toronto and Phoenix, Batum credited his new teammates for making the transition as easy as possible.

“I just try to go out there and play,” Batum added. “You know when you play with guys like that, Joel [Embiid], or Tyrese [Maxey], or Tobias [Harris], Pat [Beverley], guys that are very good at basketball first, very high IQ, just easy to play the game, play around those guys. Find a way, just find the good spot, and it’s just easy.”

With five shots from the field, Batum was successful on all but one of his attempts. He wrapped the game up with 11 points, two rebounds, and a steal. In a dominant all-around showing by the Sixers, Batum was a plus-30 on the court.

It’s unclear what Nick Nurse’s plan moving forward is in terms of Batum’s role, but the veteran forward surely stated a solid case to keep garnering minutes moving forward.