So there have been 3 games (Utah, Chicago and OKC) this season that Battier missed and all three have been absolutely embarrassing losses. Not only did we lose all three, but they were all blowout losses. We looked like a D-League team out there playing. Utah dropped 133 on us, with D-will, looking like Michael Jordan. In the Chicago game our offense was a train wreck, arguably the worst second half of the season. No motion, movement, running, effort or effectiveness. Tonight, the Thunder, a team we have beaten three times this season, made us look like a YMCA team. Durant, with Ariza on him, went to the line the same number of times tonight than the previous three games combined vs. Battier. Ariza is a nice player, but he doesn't replace Shane. Can I explain it? No. Can I give you some stats or some advanced metric to justify him being on the court? No, I can’t. Without Battier we are flat out terrible defensively, our play is awkward and out of sync. The bottom line is, without Shane, we are not a significantly worse basketball team. Our guys play harder and smarter when he is on the floor directing. I scoff at all the haters who are so eager to trade him for anything and laugh at their ignorance. I’d love to be wrong, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we play .500 ball the rest of the way despite a cupcake schedule.
This team is soft. Brooks and Martin is one of the softest duos in the backcourt in the league. We need really good and tall powerforwards and centers who can play DEFENSE and we will be fine.
So i guess we haven't ever been un off the court with battier on the court? What about the 2 miami games? What about the utah game earlier this season.
When you are playing Chuck Hayes(Albuquerque Thunderbirds), Aaron Brooks(Rio Grande Valley Vipers), Jermaine Taylor(Rio Grande Valley Vipers), Mike Harris(Rio Grande Valley Vipers), it's to look like a D-league team. :grin:
when we lose lowry. OMG WE NEED LOWRY! when we lose chase. OMG WE NEED C-BUD! when we lose ariza. OMG WE NEED ARIZA! now we lose battier and the cycle continues. bottom line we need EVERYBODY to be effective.
AB/Martin/Scola starting together will make the team inconsistent defensively no matter who the big man is. You might be able to hide two weak defenders, but not three.
I agree with OP. Battier is severely under rated by those who just like ESPN slams. They see Ariza can run and dunk and it automatically means he is the best player. I disagree, both have strengths and weaknesses. Battier is the cerebral assassin, he will do the right thing 99% of the time and the numbers say he will get it right more times than not. But that's not flashy so they dog him. People need to appreciate Battier for what he brings to the team. He is valuable in ways that don't show on ESPN or the box score but that are crucial to a successful team's success. Now, if you can get a Bosh/Lebron/Wade/Kobe for him you trade him in a split second but once you start getting lower you really need to evaluate what he brings to the table before you get rid of him. Appreciate the man. Don't hate the lack of flash, instead appreciate.
several said the samething when we were missing Lowry/Ariza and lost games... people need to realize that almost every player on this team.. per design.. is indispensable.. the only two rotational players I can think of that I could see us doing well enough without are Chuck Hayes and David Andersen..
Weren't injured against Utah and Chicago (well, most of Chicago.) No one's saying you'll win 73 games with Battier or you won't get blown out. It's just without Shane in all the games, we've been playing at the level of the Nets.
DING DING DING! We have a winner! This year was a team where chemistry was the star. The pattern has actually been that every time we've done something to damage the team's chemistry--injuries, trades, rotation changes--we've gone into a downward spiral.
The margin of error for this team is very,very slim. When you take 3 players out at once, especially 2 big guys on a team void of size, it hurts. I didn't see any thread like this coming from the battier lovers when he was playing, lowry and ariza was out and the team was losing. All we read was how we need lowry and he's the reason we're losing, but ariza was out also. OK City is a better team in every way have a franchise player something the rockets don't have.
Hill and Jeffries weren't here the last three times we played the Thunder. And what has Andersen to do with defense? For those who still think Ariza is as good a defender as Battier, think again.
Since when was 3 games a good sample size? Try half a season. Also all 3 games had injuries besides Battier.
