The French in the United States: Nicolas Batum record, Rudy Gobert questions and Killian Hayes in all the shots

Nicolas Batum, long-distance specialist, Rudy Gobert stealthily and Evan Fournier in troubled waters: third point of the season for our French expatriates in the United States.

Every week, Basket Europe offers you a complete overview of the performance of our French from abroad. Each month, we also take stock with the main expatriates in the United States (NBA, G-League, NCAA).

Nicolas Batum gets better with time! The Los Angeles winger celebrated his 34th birthday last month, an age which does not prevent him from shining on the NBA floors, quite the contrary… After a start to the season on tiptoe, the Normand quickly found its cruising speed with more regular Clippers. In his – almost exclusive – role of gunner behind the arc, the Frenchman is of career record efficiency (41.8% from three points). On December 21, Batman also passed 21 points, 7/10 from three-pointers, to his former Hornets franchise.
His rookie teammate Moussa Diabate continues his evolution process. On NBA courts, he was able to try four times in December. But it is in the G-League that Moussa Diabate exposes himself the most with already nine double-doubles in the jersey of the Ontario Clippers. This weekend, the Interior finished its game with 16 points and 22 rebounds against the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Let’s stay with the young people. Killian Hayes made notable outings, two of which ended in double-doubles. 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Pelicans and 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Clippers. The Pistons bad boy was also talked about when he landed a blow to the head of Orlando Magic’s Moritz Wagner last week. During a counterattack that ended on the sidelines, the Detroit point guard lost his temper. Directly expelled, he subsequently received a three-match suspension, which will not prevent his coming to Paris next January to face the Bulls.
His 2020 Draft compatriot Théo Maledon does not have as many great adventures in Charlotte. He has also lost playing time for ten days with the return of LaMelo Ball to the ranks of the Hornets. An arrival that had no impact on the collective record of the North Carolina franchise, the new NBA dunce.

Return of Fournier and doubts about Gobert

Since our last monthly update, Evan Fournier’s situation has not really improved. The Blues captain was benched for the Knicks for three weeks in December before returning to the court in New York’s last two games. One month before the transfer deadline of the season, Evan Fournier could already leave Manhattan and find a real place in an NBA roster. For the moment, he remains professional with the minutes randomly given to him by Tom Thibodeau. He had scored 11 points against Spurs when he returned after a month and a half without playing.

The situation of his friend Rudy Gobert is also worrying. While the interior could take advantage of the absence of Karl Anthony Towns to gain importance in the racket of Wolves, Gobert struggles to win his own. Lately, his understudy Naz Reid – a KAT profile – was even preferred to him at the end of the game. On a series of 6 defeats in progress and after a setback against the last of the NBA (Detroit), Minnesota is 11th in the West with a negative balance. “We can give up and feel sorry for ourselves or we can look forward and understand that the season is still long and we have a lot of time left. Once we understand that, it will be a completely different team.”Gobert said this weekend.

The statistics of the French in the NBA

Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves)
16 wins – 21 losses | 11th in the Western Conference
13.6 points on 67.4% on shots, 11.8 rebounds, 1.3 against, 1.7 loss of balls and 0.8 assist for 22.7 evaluation in 31 minutes (31 matches)

Evan Fournier (New York Knicks)
19 wins – 18 losses | 8th in Eastern Conference
7.3 points on 35.6% on shots, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.1 loss of balls for 6.1 evaluation in 20 minutes (15 games)

Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers)
21 wins – 17 losses | 5th in the Western Conference
6.3 points on 44.4% on shots, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.8 against and 0.7 loss of balls for 9.7 evaluation in 21 minutes ( 37 games)

Killian Hayes (Detroit Pistons)
10 wins – 29 losses | 15th in the Eastern Conference
9.1 points on 38.1% on shots, 5.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.8 loss of balls for 10.9 rating in 26 minutes (37 games)

Theo Maledon (Charlotte Hornets)
10 wins – 27 losses | 14th in the Eastern Conference
5.5 points on 40.5% on shots, 2.5 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 1.0 loss of balls and 0.8 interceptions for 7.5 rating in 16 minutes (35 games)

Frank Ntilikina (Dallas Mavericks)
21 wins – 16 losses | 4th in the Western Conference
2.9 points on 34.5% on shots, 1.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 loss of balls and 0.3 interceptions for 3.3 evaluation in 14 minutes (18 games)

Joel Embiid (Philadelphia Sixers)
21 wins – 14 losses | 5th in the Eastern Conference
33.2 points at 52.9% on shots, 9.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 3.8 loss of balls and 1.7 against for 34.9 evaluation in 36 minutes (27 matches)

The statistics of the French in the G-League

Ousmane Dieng (Oklahoma City Blue)
15.8 points on 44.9% on shots, 8.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.2 against and 3.5 loss of balls for 19.8 evaluation in 35 minutes ( 11 games)

Moussa Diabate (Ontario Clippers)
19.2 points on 61.5% shooting, 11.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.5 steals for 28.0 rating in 32 minutes (12 games)

Joel Ayayi (Lakeland Magic)
10.4 points on 58.5% on shots, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.9 loss of balls for 15.8 evaluation in 30 minutes (16 games)

Sidy Cissoko (G-League Ignite)
9.5 points on 39.8% on shots, 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.8 loss of balls for 9.2 evaluation in 29 minutes (13 games)

Rescue Doumbouya (Delaware Blue Coast)
4.2 points on 37.0% on shots, 2.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.2 steals and 1.2 loss of balls for 4.3 rating in 12 minutes (13 matches)

Adam Mokoka (Oklahoma City Blue)
10.8 points on 49.5% on shots, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.7 loss of balls for 12.7 evaluation in 28 minutes (15 games)

NCAA French stats

Joshua Mballa (Ore Miss)
4.9 points on 56.7% on shots, 3.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.1 loss of ball for 6.4 evaluation in 12 minutes (10 games)

Eddy Kayouloud (Central Arkansas)
15.0 points on 46.8% on shots, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.8 loss of balls for 15.4 rating in 29 minutes (11 games)

Yvan Ouedraogo (Gran Canyon)
4.9 points on 64.0% on shots, 5.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.0 loss of balls for 9.6 rating in 24 minutes (9 games)

Daniel Batcho (Texas Tech)
13.0 points on 65.0% on shots, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.9 loss of balls and 1.8 blocks for 19.4 rating in 28 minutes ( 8 games)