Charlotte Hornets Offense Stagnant Without Nicolas Batum

Without Nicolas Batum in the starting lineup, as he was held out to rest, the Charlotte Hornets offense cratered Saturday afternoon, resulting in 86 points on 38.3 percent shooting from the field and the team shot just 1-for-19 from 3-point range.

Any questions about the Charlotte Hornets decision to retain forward Nicolas Batum with a five-year, $120 million contract extension this summer were answered Saturday afternoon.

The Hornets were playing the Boston Celtics in their third preseason game of the year, the team opted to rest Batum.

Essentially, the rest of the team sat out with him.

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Charlotte managed just 86 points on 38.3 percent shooting and converted just 1-of-19 attempts from 3-point range.

The Celtics built an early lead and were never really challenged the rest of the game. The lead changed hands just three times during Boston’s 104-86 victory.

Without Batum in the lineup, the ball movement was far from fluid and the Celtics routinely managed to force turnovers.

Six different players registered two or more turnovers, as the team finished the game with more turnovers (19) than assists (18).

Maintaining ball control was perhaps the biggest contributor to Charlotte’s 48-win season a year ago, as the team committed just 11.8 turnovers a game, the fewest in the league.

Efficient offense had been an issue for the franchise ever since the team came played as the Bobcats during the 2004-05 season.

The team has ranked 27th or below in offensive rating six times in the past 11 seasons and never finished higher than 24th.

To remedy the situation, the team pulled a risky trade for Batum, landing him with just one-year remaining on his contract.

The tactic worked perfectly, as he became the primary facilitator of the team, allowing point guard Kemba Walker to thrive as a scorer, surpassing 20 points per game for the first time in his five-year career.

The rest of the offense experienced a similar increase, as the Hornets poured in 103.4 points per game, 9.2 additional points from the previous season, and posted the ninth highest offensive rating in the league.

Batum dished out 5.8 assists a game last season, the fourth most among non-point guards last season and became a nightly triple-double threat.

Charlotte generated 14 points per game off the passing of Batum, the second most of any player averaging less than 50 passes per game last season.

The 6-foot-8 forward was one of just five players in the league to average more than 14 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Batum was the only player on the list never to appear in an All-Star game.

The versatility of Batum was on display seemingly each night in Charlotte, as he recorded a pair of 30-point performances, collected 10 or more rebounds on nine occasions and registered six double digit assist totals in 70 appearances.

Batum ranked first on the team in steals and assists, second in 3-point field goals, third in rebounds and blocks and fourth in free throw attempts.

Th presence of Batum allowed Charlotte to become a formidable 3-point shooting team, as 2.2 of his assists led to 3-point field goals each night.

The duo of Batum and Walker was especially potent. Over 31 percent of Batum’s passes managed to land in Walker’s hands, leading to 56 made 3-point field goals.

The Hornets ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-point field goals made, averaging 10.6 a night. The figure was up from 6.1 made 3-pointers during the 2014-15 season.

Charlotte’s accuracy of 36.2 percent from beyond the arc tied Cleveland for the seventh highest in the NBA last season.

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Batum excels at driving to the lane, drawing defenders and finding the open man on the perimeter.

Without him Saturday afternoon, Boston’s defense began to drop back into to the paint and essentially dared the Hornets to shoot from long range.

The result was 18 missed shots, as the Hornets remained winless in preseason play after falling to the Celtics for the second time in three days.

Eight different players attempted a 3-pointer on Saturday afternoon, with Jeremy Lamb serving as the only player to connect.

Lamb finished the game 1-for-5 from 3-point range and his 44.4 percent shooting from the field was the highest among the starters to attempt more than one shot from the field.

The Hornets are hoping their lackluster play in the preseason is just an aberration. Only the team confirmed it can’t afford to rest Batum much once the regular season begins.

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