What It Means:

Batum started in place of an inactive Marcus Morris (illness) on Monday and scored 24 points on 8-10 3-pointers, with 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 31 minutes. Morris has struggled mightily since the break, and Batum's performance was apparently enough to make a permanent change down the stretch. Robert Covington is expected to take over Batum's role off the bench as a backup four.

Batum is averaging 20.6 FanDuel points in 28.1 minutes per game across 13 starts this season, with 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 2.4 3-pointers on a 44.3 field goal percentage and 43.1 3-point percentage. He averages 15.6 FanDuel points in 20.4 minutes over 59 games off the bench.