Nico Batum back on his blog and talks about his come back

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Hi everyone, it's been a while. Last time, I stopped because of my shoulder and I had to have surgery. The operation went really well. I went to Los Angeles to have it. I started rehabilitation on the second day after surgery. At first it was small arm movements. My triceps were practically glued to the body, I could not move the arm laterally at first, just get a little ahead of me. Little by little we went further and further, and after three weeks I could lift the arms horizontally in front of me. Laterally, I could get up to 40-45 degrees. After a month, half a month, everything was almost back.

In early december, I had the right to reshoot, but just in the paint for two weeks. And actually it was a good thing, it makes you work. You don't realize, but it's good for the fundamentals, it makes you work on the gesture. I think it's had an heavy influence on the fact that I've been shooting well since I came back. For two weeks, only my wrist has been working, you can not force. Usually you don't think much about doing it, you just do a series of shots. But just being sat on a chair and working only the gesture for half an hour, it makes you work. Then I was able to move back gradually. I've done that for a month and a half because I was not allowed any contact.

At first I could only do legs and abs musculation but apart from that it was hard. I had my arm in a big brace and I couldn't do anything. I was feeling useless. You can't do anything, you can not participate in the game, you can not even eat on your own. At first, I wasn't able to cut food. Even sleeping is annoying. I could only sleep on the left side or on the back, it was tough. Getting dressed too. I couldn't move my right arm, I couldn't detach it. So initially, I had to buy t-shirts, 6XL and 7XL to have them over the arm.

Initially, I was thinking as the others were traveling I was going to be all alone at practice. But actually no because every week someone would join me in the infirmary. After a week and a half, Travis was hurt, then there was Greg, there was Rudy, there was the coach. I was not alone.

I went to see my doctor January 4 in Los Angeles. He told me I could not return until three weeks and we scheduled my return for January 25. Meanwhile I was able to play with contacts, but I only did 1 on 1s and 2 on 2s. My first 5-5 was the game I came back ! I had many one on ones with Monty Williams. And at 37 years believe me he is still very well preserved. Oh is he hard ! We were doing 1 on 1s on the whole court, for the cardio, because cardio is hard to get back. You had put three baskets and it was the first to have 4 wins. And at first I had no condition, I was dead, he scored me some 4-0s : I was getting pretty yelled at and I had to do it again because I had no right to lose 4-0 against a 37 year old guy. And he was right. It was tough, but that's what made me come back.

After practice, I was staying an hour for extra runnings, for exercise. One of them is called the superman. On the court, there are marks that indicate the area that coaches are not allowed to cross, on the sidelines. You have to touch it and make a layup, then touch the same point on the other half court and lay up, and you have to do that 25 times. And I had to do it twice, with a one minute rest in the minwhile with free throws. There is another exercise where I had to do the same thing 15 times, but only with dunks. After ten, I had no legs anymore ! So in fact the worst with this injury was the cardio, and getting your physical condition back.

Back to competition

The first 5 on 5 was New Orleans. I had some apprehensions because I had only done 2 on 2. My expected playing time was 5 minutes per half. In the first game that's what I did. In the second game, against Utah, I played 15 minutes in the 1st half. I wanted to play, I was fed up. But it is true that in the first four games, I was a bit scared. After that it went well.

Utah, they were aiming at my shoulder. Boozer said it on the field : "Aim at his shoulder. " At one point on a screen, he came, he put his elbow well forward. Brewer blatantly took my arm and he pulled it back. It hurt me, I asked to leave. These guys did it on purpose, but I confess that I can do the same thing. When you see a guy with a splint or a protection, you'll play on it.

I didn't really have moments of doubt since I came back. Since the second game I've started playing 25 minutes and since then I've almost always played more than 20 minutes per game. I've started to feel well after the All-Star Break (also I'll have to tell you the All-Star Weekend a next time), I've removed my splint. I wasn't afraid any more and I was fed up. It was bothering me, I had to put it back on all the time. But since then I'm feeling really good. And then there was the game against Minnesota.

TO BE CONTINUED...