76ers Veteran Credited for Getting Cade Cunningham Out of Rhythm

Nick Nurse acknowledged Nic Batum's defense against the Pistons' young star on Friday.

For the third time this season, the Philadelphia 76ers got a look at the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. In a rematch of Wednesday night’s battle, the Sixers wanted to avoid another trap game and locked in defensively to take care of business.

Following Friday’s victory over Detroit, Nick Nurse offered some extra praise for his veteran forward, Nic Batum. 

Since the French veteran made his debut with the Sixers after getting moved by the Los Angeles Clippers, Batum has shown great flashes on the offensive end of the floor. 

In his first 14 games of the season, Batum has hit on 60 percent of his shots from the field and over 50 percent from three. His passing on the offensive end has also been an area where he received a ton of praise as well.

On Friday, it was Batum’s defense that moved the needle for Nick Nurse. As the Sixers faced a dynamic young guard in Cade Cunningham, Batum’s veteran savviness helped the Sixers limit the former first-overall pick’s ability to get anything going on offense. 

“Really good,” Nurse said of Batum’s defensive performance. “He’s a worker. He’s really good at taking that kind of player and denying them the ball.”

Being in the league for as long as he’s been, Batum is a well-known role player, who Nurse had familiarity with before he came over in the trade. As he acknowledged Batum’s Friday night showing, Nurse recalled his past battles when the Toronto Raptors would compete against the veteran forward.

“I clearly remember that from playing against him in the past that he would take our main ball handler and try to limit their touches and take the rhythm out of the game a little bit,” Nurse added. “So it’s a good addition, a nice small thing that pays a lot of dividends.”

In 24 minutes of action on Friday, Cunningham couldn’t get anything going offensively. From the field, he put up nine shots, finding success on only two of his attempts. With that, Cunningham scored four points. In the passing department, the young star dished out just two assists. He also contributed to three of Detroit’s 21 turnovers.

Once again, the Pistons didn’t have a chance against the Sixers. Collecting their 17th win of the season, the Sixers defeated Detroit 124-92 while holding Cunningham to his season-low scoring outing.