Charlotte Hornets guard Nic Batum, he of the five-year, $120 million contract, would be the first to say his season has fallen short of his and everyone else’s expectations.
He also knows the past nine games have represented a turnaround for him, and the underlying reason is obvious to him: Since returning from six weeks of medical leave, Hornets coach Steve Clifford has made it a priority to get the ball into Batum’s hands early in games.
“I don’t want just plays to score. When you get me involved early in a game, I can do this ball-movement stuff,” Batum said following practice Saturday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.