i'm sure morey would pull the trigger on that kind of player even if it meant trading battier, but i'm guessing morey hasnt found one available or a deal that worked out.
So battier doesn't just stand in the corner on offense, he hasn't been getting torched on defense? Numerous times Adelman has had to switch Ariza on opposing players because their scoring on battier so easy.
Correct. Nope, they switch to give the player different looks. Adelman/Ariza/Battier have said that repeatedly over the season (and last season with Ron instead of Ariza).
My thoughts on Shane -- He is being very passive on offense, moreso than the last few years. This is probably because opponents are having a much easier time locking down the corner 3. But he doesn't even really do a good job of floating the perimeter either. He used to take 3's from other spots, but not anymore. Hes ok cutting to the rim. -- His defense is definetly on the decline. I don't blame that all on Shane though. He is a great player inside of a team defense (where Ron Ron was kind of the opposite). Shane is suffering from his lack of familiarity with a lot of our rotation players and the lack of a shot blocker to funnel people to. Chuck, Shane, Scola all 3 leaders, but either Shane or Scola (because they have value) has to go. I love the little things, but we need a more creative player.
Any specific time you're thinking of? they've switched depending on who's in the game and if they need to during a quick posession, but i cant agree that Adelman himself has switched them "numerous" times because he was unhappy with battier's defense.
I've noticed when a guy starts scoring on battier in one on one situations Adelman switches and tries ariza even when battier is still on the floor, I noticed it against the knicks with chandler, jackson with bobcats, and even tonight with wade but part of it could be just to give the opponent different looks. I just feel due to his lack of offense and other inabilities, he should atleast be locking guys up on defense but that hasn't been the case.
WOEFULLY incorrect. I can't count how many times Ariza has blown defensive assignments and Battier has had to switch onto his man. In the Charlotte game Ariza started on Jackson, Shane on Wallace. Wallace was held to I believe 3 points in the first half, while SJax was lights out. Battier switched onto SJax in the second half, but also couldnt slow him down, while all of a sudden Wallace started picking up his game with Ariza defending him. Another faux pas which drives me nuts is people trying point to blocks and steals as a measurement for defensive prowess. Blocks and steals are nice, but often come at the expense of good defense. IE gambling on defense. Our friend Trevor is quite guilty of this, but not as bad as old the crazy pill himself, mr. Ron Artest, whose signature defensive play was to let his guy blow past him and try to poke the ball from behind, leading to one uncontested layup after another. But hey, atleast he got those 3 credited steals! I watch the game of basketball religiously and study many of the Rockets plays as they happen (Thank god for DVR!), often rewinding and looking for defensive breakdowns, etc. Casual fans just dont understand the difference between a shot that goes in, despite being contested vs. an uncontested miss. Ignorant fans will say the shot that missed "good defense", while the one that went in "bad". While of course you would rather have an uncontested miss ALL THE TIME, statistics will support that a contested shot will miss more often than a wide open one, thus what you can control, is making sure as many shots are contested as possible, which is where Shane excels. For whatever reason, people that need scapegoats for losses always look to the boxscore to make an argument, rather than watching the games. It really pains me as a student of the game when people generalize in this way. I absolutely love the stat that gets thrown around about how we were a good defensive team before Shane got here and completely ignore the other top notch defender we used to have but didnt when Shane got here....Tracy McGrady. Thats right sports fans! I know most of you cant remember anything past last season, but Tmac actually once was a great wing defender, atleast when he could move pain free. I think my favorite criticism of Shane is his offense. You know for a guy who is supposedly an offensive liability, he sure does make the right play an awful lot. He may not be talented offensively but, ill be damned if he doesnt get the ball to the right guy in the right position without turning it over. I'll be the first to admit its painful to watch when the offense breaks down and he is forced to tray and take his man off the dribble, but that is a rare occasion and is hardly worth crucifying him for, especially for everything else the guy brings to the table.
What you saying here only matters if the Rockets team was otherwise intact. But it wasn't. There were so much personnel turnover during these years you just can't compare them. The only thing one can conclude over the past few years is that Yao/Cato and Yao/Deke were absolutely some of the best defensive centers in the league. Another thing to note is that JVG ALWAYS prioritize defense over offense. Alston was a good defender. So were Wesley, Sura, Mike James(first stint), etc. It wasn't like Houston had the Eddie Currys and Micheal Redds of the world playing for them when posting top 5 defenses. IMO, the most you can conclude is an INC when comparing these teams.
I figure if Battier was hurting the team, Adelman would have gotten him out of there. But he's playing big minutes every year, under different coaches and for different teams. I guess all of these coaches are idiots and can't see what the internet folk can see. One good game by Wade and he's worthless? After a 50 minute, stellar defensive effort just the night before? Excellent logic and great contribution to board.
Honestly Adelman is a old school coach so he's very loyal to his veteran players no matter how bad shane plays he still get he 35 min stint, which has got to be the most unproductive starter in the league avg those types of minutes. Outside of his charge per game, he hurts the team being on the floor for so long it's so obvious especially playing next to Ariza, sometimes the best way to slow a player down is to put pressure on them and make them play defense unfortunately with shane they get to rest with him in the corner.
So is Morey an old school GM who never take risks? Someone who prefer veteran unproductive players over young guys? If the Battriza combo is among the worst in all of basketball, how in the world is this team 22-17, playing one of the toughest schedules in the NBA, while not sporting a single all-star caliber player?
I said battier not battriza, and the key reason why their 22-17 is Aaron Brooks. IMO no way would Rockets be were there at with out him, when he plays well Rockets win.
Did you watch the game or just highlights and the box score? Stephen Jackson would go on runs every time Shane sat down. He torched Budiger for about 10 points in a row and they had to bring shane back in. Battier switched off wade last night because once again Beasley was torching Bidinger. And no excuses for Shane but having Yao or Deke in the lane would even make me look like an elite perimeter defender, because no one would remember me getting beat off the dribble if the player didnt score. They would just remember me giving him no room to shoot.
It's quite simple: Battier is overpaid, over-hyped, and overrated. It would be great to have Rudy Gay.
I know I'm being tiresome, but I'm gonna say the same again. The most important players to stop that type of scorers are the big men. Wade is gonna drive, he's Wade, but you can see yesterday that the help from Scola & Hayes is practically zero. No help, no intimidation. It's really easy to score into our paint this year. Put here Yao + Garnett and we talk again about Wade/Jackson numbers and Shane's defense. I think Battier is still one of the better team and 1on1 defenders in the league, and I think without him we would be one of the worst defensive teams this year. I follow him and he does a hell of a job. Ofensively, he's a role player, it's not his fault to play on the unique team without stars. He's smart, he sets good picks, has off-the-ball movement, knows the game and the system, is a good shoter, has some post-up play... I think some of you would play with 5 scorers, and look at the Wizards. I still love Shane and I wouldn't trade him never, I trully believe it. -This time I wrote fast, excuse my english.-
