The Charlotte Hornets struck gold when they made the trade for Nicolas Batum, the Hornets are looking good as a team and part of their success is due to Batum’s great two-way play. Even though they’re currently 9th in the East. They can easily easily get in the Playoffs like the other 11 teams around them.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been great considering they got gutted before the start of this season, and that is thanks to CJ McCollum who’s emerged as a silky smooth guard and Damian Lillard who continues to beast out.
The Hornets and Blazers meet tonight in Portland, which means it’s Nicolas Batum’s first game back in Portland and for him, it’s weird.
“Normally, I keep driving to Lake Oswego,” he said. “Now I turn right to go downtown. We stay at The Nines (hotel) — I used to go there just to get dinner after games. Now (I’m) saying there to sleep. When you spend seven years in one city, just to come there for one day, that’s pretty weird.“
Lillard and McCollum will try to lead the Blazers to a win but not without sending Batum some love.
“He was a really good teammate,” Damian Lillard said. “I always remember my rookie year and my second year, when it would get to five minutes or less in the game, he would always come tap me on my back and be like, ‘Dame, it’s your time. Take over the game.’ Just being so young and having somebody who’s been a part of this team come to me and have that much confidence, that always meant a lot to me. He was always that type of person. He was unselfish. Just a good dude to play with.”
“He was very helpful to me as an individual,” McCollum said. “He just had a really good personality, was a good guy, good demeanor, just kind of drifted through life. He was real cool. Just always being encouraging, telling me to keep playing, to stick with it when I wasn’t playing. Telling me that when I do get a chance, I’m going to be successful.“
It should be a great game in the Moda Center tonight. Shame it’s on at 3am for me. I expect Lillard and McCollum to do work and get the W locked up.
