Tag: Nic Batum

Nic Batum impressed by Joel Embiid, challenges Sixers to help him

Nic Batum praises Joel Embiid for his impressive performance and challenges the other Philadelphia 76ers to help him.

CAMDEN, N.J. — With the season essentially on the line for the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday in Game 3 of their Round 1 series, Joel Embiid stepped up to the challenge.

Already trailing the series 0-2, there was no way the Sixers could drop Game 3 and fall down 0-3 in the series. No team in NBA history has ever rallied from that type of deficit and won a playoff series.

Embiid scored a playoff career-high 50 points to get the job done. It was that signature playoff moment that had been missing from his resume thus far. To do what he did while also dealing with the knee issue as well as Bell’s Palsy now, it just makes what he did that much more impressive.

“It’s impressive,” marveled Nic Batum on Saturday. “That’s impressive. He’s going through physically a lot. His face and his knee and he’s finding a way to get through that anyway, and show up anyway, and be there for the team. You know, he and I are very close, so I knew about it like a week ago already. So like knowing like, all of that and still seeing him play and trying to give everything he can for the team and have 50 last game. I was like, ‘Woah not 100% to get 50 against a tough team, a physical team.”

The Sixers have a luxury in Embiid. When things aren’t going well for them, they know they can dump the ball to the big fella and just let him go to work. Him scoring 50 in that tough situation is an impressive performance.

With that being said, Batum knows the other Sixers have to step up.

“So that’s great when your best player can do that,” he finished. “All of us has to show up and be good as well.”

The Sixers will look to even the series with a win on Sunday afternoon at home.

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Sixers expecting a fight from Knicks in pivotal Game 4 of Round 1

The Philadelphia 76ers are expecting a fight from the New York Knicks in Game 4 of this Round 1 playoff series.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks have played three close and physical games to begin this Round 1 series. Both teams have exchanged body blows like boxers in the ring and it’s a 2-1 series as the teams prepare for a pivotal Game 4 on Sunday.

The Knicks threw some punches at the Sixers in Games 1 and 2 in order to take the 2-0 series lead. Philadelphia responded in Game 3 to get on the board. One has to assume the Knicks are going to punch back in Game 4.

“Right now it’s not really tactics,” said Nic Batum on Saturday. “X and O’s? No. Both teams know each other. We’ve played each other like seven times already this year. That means we know each other. So now it’s like who wants it more? Over the next couple of games.”

One has to assume that there is a bit of a difference in preparation for a Game 4 compared to a Game 1. Especially, when considering that both teams have seen each other repeatedly and they understand how things work. For the Sixers, they just want to focus on getting the series even.

“Nothing’s changed,” Oubre said. “We’re just keeping the same mentality, same attitude, same schedule, everything is pretty much the same. I think you prepare the same way that you prepare for anything. It’s a very important game as each and every game of this series is so I don’t see much of a difference, but we’re just locked in.”

With that being said, the Sixers are expecting a fight from the Knicks and they are expecting them to throw a punch early on Sunday. New York would love to go back home up 3-1 rather than it being 2-2. That’s where the Sixers have to respond to the physicality.

“Absolutely,” Oubre added. “I mean, they’ve been physical every game. We were just physical as well last game too. So, now we’re too physical, but at the end of the day, like both teams are clashing. Both teams are trying to grit it out, play physical, play strong, play tough. They got the better of us in New York, right? So it’s only right that we come home and we do the same thing that they did to us and just compete.”

It’s the NBA Playoffs. It’s supposed to be this way. Two talented, tough-nosed teams going at it. Philadelphia and New York. It doesn’t get much better than this.

“Tomorrow’s gonna be a battle,” added Batum. “For sure. I mean, it’s gonna be a fight. Those first three games could go either way. Every time. Every time. It could go either way. We could be up 3-0. We could pick down 0-3. We could be up 2-1. I mean, whatever. So right now we’re down 2-1. So tomorrow’s gonna be a fight. We know that and they know that so it’s gonna be a big game.”

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Sixers feeling confident they can beat Knicks despite 0-2 series deficit

The Philadelphia 76ers are feeling confident they can beat the New York Knicks despite the 0-2 series deficit.

NEW YORK — After two games of this first-round playoff series, the Philadelphia 76ers trail the New York Knicks 2-0. The Sixers have given themselves a chance in both games, but they were not able to get the job done.

However, the Sixers are feeling confident. They’re down, but they’re not out. Coach Nick Nurse will make sure this team continues to fight, scratch and claw for everything. The Knicks held serve at home. Now the Sixers must do the same as the series shifts to South Philadelphia.

“We played really well, did a lot of great things,” Nurse said after Game 2. “Played better in a bunch of areas tonight. It’s obviously difficult when it’s so close and you kind of give it away at the end. It’s obviously difficult in these circumstances, right? It just makes the series a little longer.”

Joel Embiid, who had 34 points in the Game 2 loss, guaranteed the Sixers would win this series. For that to happen, Philadelphia will need to match the intensity and the physicality the Knicks play with. The Sixers did so in Game 2, but came up short.

They will have to be ready to match it again in Game 3 on Thursday.

“Keep fighting,” Nic Batum said. “We showed that in a tough arena with a big crowd, we nearly had a chance to be up by 2-0 right now. It didn’t go our way twice, but we did have a chance to win those two games so all we have to do is keep fighting. Now we go home, it’ll be another big fight. Just go out there and keep playing.”

On top of the fact that they were right there in both games, the Sixers have the two best players in this series: Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. New York has won the first two games of this series, but it’s the first to four. If the Sixers continue to get this type of production out of their star duo, they will be in great shape.

“I thought there were stretches of the game where I didn’t see him being so aggressive, but certainly the last 15 minutes, he was really chasing it down, turning on the jets, slamming on the brakes — all the things he can do time and time again,” Nurse said of Maxey. “So I thought he was great when it really mattered.”

Game 3 is on Thursday from the Wells Fargo Center.

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Nic Batum admits Sixers should have won Game 2, ready for a fight

Nic Batum admits the Philadelphia 76ers should have won Game 2, but he’s ready for a fight the rest of the way.

NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers missed a golden opportunity to win Game 2 against the New York Knicks on Monday night Tyrese Maxey gave Philadelphia a 100-96 lead with 1:09 left, but the Knicks had a miraculous comeback to win it 104-101.

Of course, there was controversy over the chaotic possession that gave the Knicks the lead. It appeared Maxey was fouled on the inbounds pass after the Jalen Brunson 3, and it also appeared that coach Nick Nurse had called timeout.

The Sixers did not receive a call in either instance, and New York ended up taking the lead off an offensive rebound — a Donte DiVincenzo triple with 13.0 seconds left.

“The shot he made was a tough shot,” Nic Batum said. “Brunson’s shot was a tough shot. Like, step aside, bounce one, get in, and out of bounds, like, I don’t know what happened. I gotta watch the replay. We called timeout, we don’t have it. I don’t really know what happened so I won’t speculate on that, but we should have won that game. We did not.”

With that being said, the Sixers are still breathing. The series now shifts to the Wells Fargo Center and Philadelphia has to be able to give a big response.

“We still got a chance,” said Batum. “We’re not down 0-4. We’re down 0-2. They did their job at home. It’s on us to do the same thing back home.”

The Knicks have proven to be a very tough and physical team through the first two games of this series. As the series shifts, that isn’t going to change. New York will still bring a fight that Philadelphia will have to match.

Being in the league as long as Batum has, he knows and understands that the Sixers will have to be ready. They have to forget about Game 2 and move on.

“You have to,” Batum finished. “Like I said, it’s a tough one. It’s a tough one, but you gotta move on. You gotta move on. We had a chance to win those two. A tough environment. A tough arena on the road. Now we go home and we get two days to rest, correct a couple stuff, and it’ll be another fight. They’re not going to give up. It should be another big game.”

Game 3 is on Thursday night in South Philadelphia.

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Sixers expecting a more aggressive Jalen Brunson in Game 2 vs. Knicks

The Philadelphia 76ers are expecting a more aggressive Jalen Brunson in Game 2 against the New York Knicks.

NEW YORK — As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for Game 2 with the New York Knicks on Monday night, they know the challenge that is presented to them. The Knicks will continue to be who they are which is an aggressive physical team and the Sixers also know what Jalen Brunson brings to the table.

The Sixers held Brunson to just 8-for-26 shooting in their Game 1 loss to the Knicks on Saturday. He still had 22 points with seven assists and seven rebounds, but overall, one has to like what Philadelphia did defensively against New York’s superstar leader.

“It’s not easy to stop that guy, but I think we did a good job,” said Nic Batum. “We expect him to be more aggressive tomorrow. I don’t think he’s going to be happy with an 8-for-26 so he’s gonna try and correct that so everybody guarding him will have to do a better job tomorrow. We’ll do it as a team as well and see what happens.”

Overall, if the Sixers can play the same type of defense in Game 2 that they brought in Game 1, then one has to like their chances. Philadelphia was terrific on that end of the floor. They held Brunson in check, but the Sixers couldn’t finish possessions with a rebound. That’s the only real flaw that Philadelphia needs to figure out.

On offense, the Sixers just need to figure out how to survive the minutes without Joel Embiid, but that comes with ball movement.

“I think the defense was pretty good, though,” Batum added. “I think the defense was pretty good so we just gotta keep playing the same defense. We gotta finish plays now. We gotta finish plays. They got a lot of offensive rebounds. They missed a lot of shots. Mostly because of our defense sometimes so we got to play the same defense and maybe better finish the plays. On offense, just keep sharing the ball. Joel and Tyrese (Maxey) had a great game and guys around them gotta be better.”

The Sixers will make their adjustments. The Knicks will make adjustments of their own. That’s what happens in these playoff series.

“It’s something about the playoffs that’s different,” Batum added. “Sometimes you have to do something different and maybe we will tomorrow (Game 2).”

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Nic Batum explains how he had such a big game to lead Sixers over Heat

Nic Batum explains how he was able to have such success to lead the Philadelphia 76ers over the Miami Heat in the play-in game.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers needed to figure something out against the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Sixers trailed by 14 and couldn’t for the life of them figure out how to attack the zone defense.

The Sixers shot 33.3% from the floor in the first half and trailed, 51-39, at the half. Philadelphia needed an answer.

That answer was Nic Batum. The veteran had 17 points after halftime and hit five 3 to rally the Sixers to a 105-104 win over the Heat in the play-in tournament. The win gave the No. 7 seed to Philadelphia, which will face the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.

“I talked to Buddy (Hield) a little bit like we’re trying to get Joel (Embiid) a little bit too much and it was like, pretty much all around him. I said ‘You and I, like, when we come in, we got to shoot.’” Batum said. “I mean we were wide-open.”

Hield, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. were passing up wide-open looks from deep. The Sixers struggled to find any rhythm because they weren’t giving themselves a chance. They were force-feeding Embiid a bit.

“We were trying to play the game like their way so we were just like ‘OK, try to find other ways to take the pressure off Joel and Tyrese.’” Batum added. “I think we came in, we scored like five 3s combined in five minutes. I think that opened up everything for Tyrese and Joel at the end in the fourth quarter and KO as well. So we were more aggressive and I think on defense as well.”

There was also an impressive defensive play on Heat guard Tyler Herro. With Philadelphia leading 99-96 with 36 seconds left, Batum stuck with Herro and came up with a huge rejection to help seal the win.

“I mean, they showed me that play, like coaches showed me that play in the video like a minute before so we were expecting that play like for them to go around and catch it and go right and shoot it right away,” Batum said of the block. “That’s exactly the play they showed me like a minute before. So I expected it.”

The Sixers probably don’t win that game without Batum. Now, they head to New York to take on a very physical Knicks team.

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Nic Batum gives thoughts on how Sixers can defeat Heat in the play-in

Nic Batum gives his thoughts on how the Philadelphia 76ers can defeat the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers have high expectations for themselves as they take on the Miami Heat in the play-in game. The Sixers have dealt with a great deal of injury adversity. Now that they’re healthy and Joel Embiid is back in the picture, Philadelphia is confident it can make a run.

However, the Sixers have to get past the Miami Heat in the play-in game first. Miami is a proven team that has made at least the Eastern Conference finals in three of the past four seasons and has made the conference finals twice. In fact, the Heat went from the play-in to the finals in 2023.

Nic Batum, who has play-in experience while with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2022, will be looking to send a message to his younger teammates to come away with a win over the Heat.

“It’s like a Game 7,” Batum said. “We don’t think about ‘Yes, if we lose, we have a second chance.’ No. We have to win tomorrow. You want to win tomorrow. You want to move in. You want to be in. We feel like we’re a good team. We’re gonna play a great team as well that wants the same thing as well so it’s gonna be a great fight tomorrow.”

Led by Jimmy Butler, who always takes his game to another level in the playoffs, the Heat will be a tough team to defeat. The Sixers will have to prepare for what he brings to the table. Batum will be a part of the group that will attempt to slow him down.

“He proved it,” Batum said of Butler. “A couple times — since he’s signed with the Heat, especially. He made two finals in four years. He’s shown that he rises up for those moments. We gotta be ready for him tomorrow.”

The Sixers will have to slow the other pieces on this roster. Besides Butler, the Heat have Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson and others who can all put the ball in the basket.

“They have a lot of guys that can score for sure,” Batum finished. “Besides Jimmy, they’ve got Herro, Robinson, (Terry) Rozier, Bam, they’ve got a lot of weapons. They’ve played together for a while and they know how to win. They were in the play-in last year and they showed they can be a play-in team and go all the way. They have so many stuff to be a great team. You just have to contain them.”

The Sixers and the Heat will tip off at 7 p.m. EDT on Wednesday.

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Sixers understand matchup with Magic is biggest game of the year

The Philadelphia 76ers understand that their matchup with the Orlando Magic on Friday is the biggest game of the season.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers have new life. After looking like they would most certainly be playing in the play-in tournament at the beginning of April, the return of Joel Embiid has coincided with a 6-game winning streak that has positioned themselves to move into the top 6 and earn a playoff spot.

A matchup with the Orlando Magic on Friday now has a lot of playoff implications. The Sixers are just a game back of the Magic now and they own the tiebreaker as they have won the season series.

A win on Friday would move Philadelphia ahead of Orlando in the standings barring a win by the Indiana Pacers which would trigger a 3-way tie and the Magic would win that due to them leading their division.

“It’s maybe the biggest game of the year right now for us tomorrow,” said Nic Batum at practice on Thursday. “So we’re at home. I mean, we kind of have everybody back right now. We had a great practice today. You know the crowd’s gonna be into it tomorrow so it can be a good night for everybody.”

Just a few weeks ago, none of this seemed possible. The Sixers looked a bit out of it. It didn’t look possible that they would be able to move out of the play-in, but they have new life and they understand that heading into this battle with the Magic.

“This is the NBA,” Batum added. “Everything changes. Like, tomorrow’s gonna be different. So sometimes you just gotta keep working like I told you a couple weeks ago. You can’t give up, you gotta keep working. We never know. This thing might turn around and it’s kind of turning around right now. So I think the momentum right before the playoffs is great.”

For the Sixers, it would be best to get into the top 6 and climb into a playoff berth. That would give Embiid and others more time to rest and prepare for the rigors of the playoffs and get ready for everything they want to accomplish.

That’s why a win over the Magic is imperative on Friday.

“We need a big win tomorrow,” Batum finished. “It’s gonna be a tough game for sure because they just lost three in a row (note: Orlando has actually lost two in a row) and they need that game as well so they won’t give it to us, but hopefully, we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

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Nic Batum impressed with how Joel Embiid looks as Sixers move forward

Nic Batum has been impressed with how Joel Embiid looks in his return from injury as the Philadelphia 76ers move forward.

PHILADELPHIA — In four games since he returned from a two-month absence due to a meniscus issue in his left knee, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid looks like himself.

After scoring 37 points with 11 rebounds and eight assists in a 120-102 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, Embiid is averaging 30.0 points on 51.4% shooting. He has been fantastic and it gives the Sixers hope for a playoff run.

Nic Batum, a veteran who has seen it all in the NBA, isn’t concerned with Embiid’s numbers. He’s more focused on how he’s moving and the big fella has impressed him.

“I was like, ’I don’t really care about your numbers.’,” Batum said after the win. “I was like, ‘You look great,’ the way he moves. I think the first three games he played, he was trying to get back in shape, but still got his mental back, especially for his knee, but the way he moved today (Tuesday), you could see him doing back-to-back Eurosteps like he’s been doing the first three months.”

The Sixers still have work to do if they want to make the playoffs. They have to win these final two games against the Orlando Magic and the Brooklyn Nets while also receiving help from other teams in order to climb out of the play-in tournament.

With Embiid getting back to the level he was playing at before, Philadelphia has a terrific chance to do so.

“It depends on us,” Batum said of moving up. “We have to win games and can’t worry about the other guys. The only thing we can control is to win games.”

The Sixers will host the Magic in a big matchup on Friday night.

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Sixers impressed with Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama

The Philadelphia 76ers are impressed with San Antonio Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama.

The Philadelphia 76ers walked away with a 133-126 win over the San Antonio Spurs in double overtime thanks to the heroics of Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia’s All-Star scored a career-high 52 points while playing nearly 54 minutes.

For the Spurs, rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama continues to impress. He had 33 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and seven blocks while shooting 11-for-20 from the floor and 5-for-10 from deep. A big blemish was nine turnovers, but Wembanyama was terrific.

“I’ve known that kid for a long time,” Nic Batum told reporters after the win. “Nobody’s shocked. The only thing is, I didn’t think he would do all that in Year 1. He’s a special man. There was a quote from (Gregg Popovich) that said something like this is his worst season. That is the scary part. This may be the worst Wemby we’re going to see for the next 15 or so years. So, I’m glad I won that one tonight. I don’t know how easy it will be to win again in the future.”

Wembanyama has a special blend of skill and size and he is looking to help San Antonio eventually turn things around and head back toward contention. He certainly has the size and skills and will look to continue to grow and improve.

He already has an understanding of how to succeed at the NBA level.

“Up there (pointing to his head), he knows,” Batum added. “He knows who he is, he knows what he can become, and he knows how to do it. He’s in the perfect spot for that. The entities, his entourage around him, he’s got everything around him set up to be great. Everything is set up for him to be who we think he can become, and now it’s just up to him.”

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