This video is just another exhibit, another piece of evidence to be used in explaining Nic Batum’s sub-40% shooting from the field (okay, fair’s fair, he dragged it up to exactly 40% after last night’s game). All his made field goals, save one, were jumpshots, and many of them were very tough jumpshots. If you want to see a guy fearlessly taking shots with defenders all over him, this is the video for you. Going through the play-by-play, all his misses were jumpshots too. So, out of 21 field goals attempts, just one of them was at the basket.
Does Nic just get off on making the toughest shots possible? The pullup midrange jumpers he’s fond of are like a throwback to the glory days of the early 2000’s when every self-styled “scorer” thought those were a good idea. Nowadays we know that a better shot is usually available if there’s ball movement, but then again, the Hornets’ offense isn’t anything to write home about, so maybe there really ISN’T a better shot than Nic Batum pulling up from eighteen feet with a defender right in his face.