Battier had the worst +/- of anyone from either team tonight at a staggeringly bad -15. Wow. Maybe his play stopped shut down Kobe (5-20 from the field) but Kobe's teammates somehow really stepped it up while Battier was in the game? I was at work for the first half of the game and missed it, but in the second half, I didn't see Battier as a Kobe stopper. I'm at a loss to explain this atrocious performance by Shane (we're not on first-name basis, but if everyone* calls Brooks "Aaron", I thought I'd do the same with Battier). Meanwhile, Chase Buddingstar led all players on the floor with a +17 mark. Will we see Chase earn a starting role by 2010? Is Battier looking exhausted out there, or is it just me? *And by "everyone", I mean two people I know.
battier is a starter and the lakers went on their huge run to start the game when all the rockets could do is miss shots and turn the ball over. two quick fouls later he was out of the game and pretty was the rest of the way +/- is a poor indicator even when he had that monstrous +36 of course he will always be under the biggest spotlight the rockets gave their fans the biggest W of the year...at least enjoy this one night before starting to nitpick about the rest
You do know he got into early foul trouble right? That almost never happens, he only played 18 minutes total.
i dont think shane was the one guarding kobe most of the game...shane played only 18 mins tonight i believe, and pretty much all of them came early when houston went down big, that's why he was left at a negative and others who were also playing at the time got it up to a positive. He went out due to foul trouble before they went on a run.
i'm sorry? new account? ah, you think i'm someone else who changed accounts to try to sneak stuff in? that musta taken some planning, 'cause i've been a member since april 2009. yes, that's new compared to some of the longtime posters/readers here, but to have planned all of this seven months ago is... well, something i'm not capable of. i'm not hiding behind anything. i'm a season ticketholder in the first row behind the rox bench. you can see me in every game whenever the rox get the ball in the first half, or when the visiting team has the ball in the second half. nothing to hide: you know where to find me! if you TiVo'd the rox home game against the lakers earlier this month, you'll see me as they go to one of the first commercial breaks holding up my index finger and screaming, "rockets #1!" right behind yao's big head. (i'll hide my name/address, 'cause i don't want anyone coming after me violently. yeah, i'm chicken like that.) but come up to me at a game anytime and we'll chat. i'm a newbie on this forum, wouldn't mind meeting fellow ClutchFans at the games.
and i can't see budinger getting a starting role over shane or trevor, even if he continues to play well, he's still a rookie afterall. He's have to play extemely consistently well and the other two would have to drop their play significantly at the same time for Adelman to even consider it.
Didn't know about the early foul trouble. As I said, I missed the first half entirely. And in the second half, as I said, he wasn't the man shutting down Kobe. The reason I brought up the +/- ratio at all is that it's Battier's best friend, and tonight it betrayed him. (Either that or he just sucked. It can happen to anyone; ask Kobe!) The other stats tend to hide his contribution. We often point to his +/- as proof of his doing the little things to make his team better when he's on the floor. But maybe no stat can measure his true contribution. Just throwing it out there for those who saw both halves of the game to give their opinion.
Battier was in the game when the Lakers opened up the game 16-2 so that brought down his +/- significantly.
battier only played 18 minutes tonight. adelman knows he wouldn't be a major factor anyways. it's obvious battier's minutes are the minutes that will be lost to tmac when he returns. there is no way ariza/cbud will have their minutes decreased. battier has def. lost a step on both ends.
why didn't we have a thread after he had a 23pts night in sacto? not a much meaningful thread if you ask me. battier is who he is and does what he always does, no matter his +/- # is -21 or +36.
well, it does say that he's wildly inconsistent (which he is). he follows a 23 pt night with a ghost-like performance. and i'm glad adelman finally benched him. adelman would always keep battier on the floor b/c his defense was so great. unfortunately, battier's defense has taken a step back this year too. shane battier is no more than a bench player now. if he plays well, you give him minutes. but if he starts out bad, chances are he'll suck the entire night and it's best to minimize the damage by just benching him early.
he's in foul trouble. did you actually watch the games? most players would not have a good night if in foul trouble, especially early in the game. you said he's "no more than a bench player now". let's see how many more games battier will start for the rockets and in the nba, eh?
Battier is too perfect a player to deserve any criticism. Burn Yao/Mac as much as you wish, but never Battier.
he'll start b/c he still has a reputation, but that doesn't mean he's going to get big minutes like he has been used to. 3 of the last 4 games, shane has made ONE field goal. ONE. 1-8, 1-3, 1-6 (that's excluding the sacto game). like i said, once tmac returns, the player that will lose his minutes the most is battier.
