It was clear when Nic Batum played the Hornets back in March, the first time he’d faced off against his former team of five years since they waived him in the offseason, that there was some lingering resentment on Batum’s side. Batum channeled that into 11 points, a March-best plus-19 in the box score, and a convincing Clippers win.
Thursday was the first time Batum returned to Charlotte, and the fans made it clear that they had heard his comments, and they also weren’t thrilled about the transformation of Batum from a player who looked like he was washed to one who contributed meaningfully to a championship team.