Sixers' play-in win vs. Heat was the perfect Nicolas Batum game

Sixers’ play-in win vs. Heat was the perfect Nicolas Batum game

Defending any position, rebounding, hitting quick-trigger threes, moving the ball well, making incredible inbounds passes… Nicolas Batum has been doing so much at both ends of the floor for the Sixers all season. He’s been an ideal high-level, two-way role player to complement the team around Joel Embiid, and Wednesday’s play-in win was a perfect showcase of what Batum’s brought to Philadelphia.

The Sixers’ 105-104 win against win the Heat, a victory to secure their spot in the playoffs for a first-round matchup against the Knicks, became The Nico Batum Game.

Following a quiet first half as the Sixers struggled mightily in general against the Heat’s defense and zone usage, Batum exploded with 17 points in the second half to finish the game with 20 points (7-of-12 shooting), five rebounds (two offensive), and the game-sealing block.

After finishing the regular season shooting 39.9 percent from three with the Sixers, Batum picked up right where he left off. He hit six triples, relocating into space well and pulling the trigger without hesitation whenever he had breathing room. He started turning the tide in the third quarter as he heated up to beat Miami’s zone.

“He obviously knew we needed some offense and needed to crack that zone with some perimeter shooting, right?” Nick Nurse said when talking about Batum’s performance. “So he found some areas to get to and he just kept pulling the trigger. Obviously he made them. Again, you want to talk about sparks, him going bang, bang, bang — about 3 out of 4 there — that turned the game around.”

Batum made a conscious effort to increase his aggression through the game. He realized he was being given space by the Heat’s defense and that the Sixers needed him to capitalize on it, both against the zone and the extra attention being thrown at Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

“I was like, next time you touch it, just shoot it, and it’ll open up everything for the rest of the team, and that’s exactly what happened,” Batum said.

While it’ll understandably get overlooked behind all the threes and his clutch block (more on that in a moment), Batum’s tip-in late in the fourth quarter was another big, high-difficulty play that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

The Sixers have trusted Batum to cover tough defensive assignments at every position all season and he’s delivered. That continued against Miami. Whether the team wanted him to cover a shiftier shooting guard (Tyler Herro), a physical wing (Jimmy Butler), or even switch onto a big (Bam Adebayo), Batum was up to the challenge. He was sliding his feet well all over the place, anticipating his opponents’ attacks to cut off lanes to the paint or space around screens, and using his length to deter shots at the perimeter and at the rim.

It didn’t take long for Batum to realize he could guard every position once he got to the NBA.

“My rookie year,” he said when asked when he knew he was capable of guarding 1 through 5, prompting some laughs from reporters. “No, seriously. I’m not joking. Maybe my second year or third year. We played a playoff series in 2010 and I went from guarding Jason Kidd to Dirk Nowitzki in the same game. So yeah. … Very early, I think I tried to work on that.”

Batum’s impressive versatility continues to stand out to his teammates, too.

“He’s guarded from the small guys in the NBA like Trae Young to the tallest man in the NBA in Wemby,” Maxey said after the game. “Let’s really think about that. His defensive versatility is second to none. Tonight he guarded Herro, he guarded Butler, he guarded Bam Adebayo at times. What he’s done for this team, it’s been remarkable. We appreciate him.”

Batum’s switchy defense peaked when it mattered most: when Herro had the ball with 30 seconds left and a chance to tie the game.

It looked like the Heat were originally going to send Herro off a pin-down screen from Butler, but Batum was top-locking (positioning himself between the ball and Herro to make it harder for Herro to use the screen and get the ball at the arc) to throw things off. Batum denied Adebayo’s initial hand-off to Herro, slipped under the screen and fought around Adebayo, pressured Herro and allowed no space whatsoever for a pull-up three. The block sealed the game:

“You have to find ways to be desperate,” Batum said when talking about how to navigate screens. “… You have to be physical against guys like that, get through the screens. I mean, this is the NBA, this is the playoffs. You play against the best, so it’s not easy. But you just try to fight and get through the screens.”

And if Batum looked prepared for how to handle this game-deciding play, it’s because he was.

“The coaches showed me that play on video like a minute before,” he explained. “We were expecting that play — for him to go around, catch it going right. That’s exactly the play they showed me, so I was expecting it.”

The Sixers are obviously going to need bigger performances from Embiid (who didn’t really come alive until the fourth against Miami) and Maxey (who shot 6-of-16) if they want to progress far this postseason. But their improved depth and variety of players who can help swing a game — from Buddy Hield and Kyle Lowry to Kelly Oubre Jr. and Batum — gives the Sixers a new edge this season. They have their best tactical coach in Nick Nurse, the best second star Embiid’s ever had in this All-NBA-level version of Maxey, and the best supporting cast they’ve had in Embiid’s career.

Batum is a vital part of this, and he proved it yet again as the Sixers’ secured their standing in the Eastern Conference playoffs.