Hornets' Nicolas Batum: Cleared to play Friday vs. Magic

Batum (ankle) will play Friday against the Magic.

Analysis:

Batum sprained his right ankle during the Hornets' previous game Wednesday against the Heat, but was able to return to the contest after suffering the injury and was labeled as probable heading into Friday. With the Frenchman experiencing no serious swelling in the last couple of days, it's not expected that he'll face any limitations Friday. Batum is still producing well across the board with averages of 17.5 points, 4.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 three-pointers and 1.8 steals in 33.8 minutes per game over four appearances in March, but he's shooting a meager 37.3 percent from the floor during that stretch.