What the Stats Don't Show: Play-In Game vs. Miami

On the 14th of December in the year of the lord 1988, an unsung hero was born in Lisieux, a small city in northwest France that hosted the wedding of King Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152 and serves as the birthplace to Philly's newest postseason hero, Nicolas Batum.

Nick Foles's Super Bowl, Matt Stairs Sends One Into the Night, Nico Batum Becomes the Anti-Herro. You can usually set your watch to 30 points from Joel Embiid and another 25 from Tyrese Maxey but last night the Sixers' all-stars were held in check so someone else needed to rise from the ashes and put their stamp on this game. 

Was it going to be the 40 Million Dollar Man Tobias Harris? Nope, he stayed up all of the previous night playing Chess and debating APA vs MLA citations at a dive speakeasy in Fishtown and wasn't even on the court at the close of the game.

In steps Nico Batum, prince des trois et D, to give the Sixers 20 points off the bench, make the most threes (6) in a postseason performance, and send the fellas into a first round matchup with the Nova Knicks.

Philadelphia sports fans are suckers for players that most fanbases overlook. The backup quarterback who didn't get a fair shake, the undersized catcher who's heart is bigger than the strike zone, the goalie who comes back for a second chance and stands on his head for a run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Philadelphia Loves An Underdog.

So when it came to finding a DAWG to take on our former friend Jimmy, to put the clamps on Tyler Herro, to have no fear when it came to catch-and-shoots down the stretch, why wouldn't it be Nico Batum? *FOURTH QUARTER YELLING WHY THE FUCK BATUM INNNNN*

Quite simple. Batum's a Hungry Dog, an Underdog, a guy who got pushed to a bench role by the 23-42 Hornets in 2019-20, someone considered "salary filler" in a trade for a selfish prick with a beard and no morals, a man who witnessed his father collapse and die at the free throw line from an aneurysm while sitting in the crowd with his mother at 2 and a half years old.

That's what the box score doesn't show you. Resilience and fortitude in battling the mental warfare of life. In an October 2022 interview, Batum mentioned crying before most games, feeling anxious that the same was going to happen to him and asking his wife not to attend his games out of the fear that she'd play witness to his own collapse. There's no way to imagine the feeling. But for three hours a night, he's able to push that aside and play balls-to-the-wall in front of a fanbase that often doesn't realize what they're even asking of their athletes.

Years down the line we'll still talk about Nick Foles and Carlos Ruiz and Michael Leighton while sitting at McCrossen's slugging Guinnesses. Was the Batum Game really a Top 5 Philly postseason moment? Probably not even Top 10. And technically the stats from last night will just fall into a black hole, not applicable to regular season or playoff stats. But Nicolas Batum stepped up without fear or hesitation despite having a justified built-in excuse. For the final 10 minutes, the man who is 4 years older than his father was when he died on the court chased around a 24 year old budding star and blocked his three-point attempt with 26 seconds left.

And that should not go under-appreciated.

*Honorable Mention*

Brickin' for Chicken

The Frosty Freezeout walked so Brickin' for Chicken could run.

With 7 minutes left in the third quarter, Caleb Martin stepped up to the line and gave the people what they wanted. Chicken Nuggets Jackie, Chicken Nuggets for allllllll these people. The second missed free throw sent the Wells Fargo faithful into a frenzy which would only grow with the ensuing Batum 3-pointer on the offensive end.

The Sixers were 0-13 this season when trailing by 12 or more at halftime. They were down 11 at the time of the Brickin. And they won by 1. Did the Brickin put up 20 points and 10 rebounds or hit a clutch 3-pointer? No. But the Brickin provided momentum, a wave that the Sixers rode all the way down the stretch and closed out on South Broad.

Kyle Lowry's Hustle

There's a reason Norf Philly Kyle was brought back home. The Cardinal Dougherty product gave his hometown squad 30 intense minutes on defense. It's not easy to keep up with some of the cats in this league at 38 years old but Caked Up Kyle just did not stop. It's like someone put a fresh pair of batteries in the Energizer Bunny...and a 30 mg adderall in his coffee.

Lowry's stat line isn't going to turn any heads but his defensive rotations were pivotal in limiting the Heat's open three-point looks in the second half. He also pressured the shit out of Miami's guards in the half court which led to a massive backcourt violation turnover with less than a minute left.

Lowry also provided the final key play for the Sixers on a sideline inbounds with 19 seconds on the clock. After falling to the hardwood, he was able to get up and find an open spot to receive a bounce pass from Batum. Lowry hit the hardwood again in an attempt to make a diving bounce pass under the basket like something you might see in a Spikeball National Championship game. Somehow he was able to find Kelly Oubre with the pass who iced the game with 2 free throws.

Welcome home Kyle, lets go on a run.