The Charlotte Hornets had an extremely good season this year and made the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. This Hornets team took a massive leap this year, and a big reason why was because of the acquisition of Nicolas Batum.
Batum was acquired in a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers before the season and put together a very nice year in his first with Charlotte. The Hornets got a tough first round matchup against the Miami Heat, and while nobody expected a sweep, most people were picking the Heat to win the series. The Hornets are now down 0-2 in the series as they head back to their home court, but they may not have Batum for the rest of the series.
Batum rolled his ankle pretty badly in the fourth quarter of game two and was unable to return. After that game was over, head coach Steve Clifford said he was "very concerned" about Batum's ankle despite the fact that they thought it was just a sprain. Batum got an X-Ray on the ankle, which showed no fracture, but he is still expected to miss the rest of the series against the Heat.
The 27-year-old forward has already been ruled out for game three, and at this point, it seems like the series would have to go very long for Batum to be able to return. The Hornets have not ruled Batum out for the series quite yet, but without him, it will be tough for the Hornets to prolong the series to the point that he feels good enough to play again.
Despite having to leave game two early, Batum still played 37.5 minutes per game through the first two and was averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. The Frenchman is possibly the most important player on the Hornets because of his versatility and his ability to be an impact player on both ends of the floor. Without Batum available, it will be all hands on deck for the Hornets, and you can expect Jeremy Lin to see more time while Marvin Williams, who went 0-10 in game two, could see more time at small forward.
The fact that Batum didn't suffer a fracture means that this injury likely won't affect him beyond this season, but he will be a free agent this summer. Batum has said that he likes it in Charlotte, but he should be highly coveted and due a major pay raise, so it is at least possible that he has played his final game in a Hornets uniform.
