What It Means:

The Hornets have now won three in a row, and Batum doesn't want to disrupt the chemistry of the first unit. His ankle still isn't quite 100 percent, so expect him to play roughly 25 minutes. Kemba Walker, Courtney Lee, Marvin Williams, Frank Kaminsky and Al Jefferson will start.

Batum scored a career-high 14.9 points in 35.0 minutes per game in the regular season while adding 6.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. He posted a 50.6 Effective Field Goal Percentage, and his -0.5 nERD ranked 85th in the league. Batum is averaging 13.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 3 games against the Heat in the first-round series.