If we are getting 18 points from Battier, then we are in trouble. It's sort of like when Juwan Howard is scoring 20 points a game- it means that your top players are either hurt or sucking.
Battier has the potential to look really good on the Rockets, whatwith the # of open shots and layups (if he cuts to the basket without the ball) he can get with a healthy T-Mac and Yao. He doesn't have to be a go-to guy to avg more than 15 ppg. I expect soemthing like 12-15 ppg and 6 boards a game. Obviously much of this will have to do with what kind of tempo the Rockets play.
I think the Rockets could be quite strong with Battier taking the same number or a few more shots than he did in Memphis. The situation that I was most concerned about (and why the loss of James was most problematic) was when McGrady doesn't play. Hopefully it doesn't happen much, but we know at some point McGrady will be out to rest his back. That is when his shots are going to skyrocket.... can he turn them into points? Also, you have those occassional games where role players get their chance to shine because of a poor shooting night from a star, or a particular game plan. Will Battier be able to hit 30 points on occassion and make defenses pay?
Didnt shane himself state that he is gonna be more aggressive offensively with us now?.. i think the rockets are expecting his offensive output to rise.
I think the Rockets front office felt Battier was undervalued/ (slightly) misused by Memphis - i'm expecting a healthly increase in production. I'd really like to see SB have increased minutes and go for 15 + a night with 7 + boards. That may be wishful thinking though -- if he goes for 6 pts a night and kills on defense then that will work as well.
Exactly. also considering he never had a guy like yao or mac in memphis who would create so many open looks for him. gasol just dosent command the same respect yao or tracy do. he will surely get more open looks now. hence the production rise. plus the rockets will try to get him to play in the low post against the smaller opposition players and on the Primeter against the bigger ones.
the real question should be: can Shane Battier be the starting PF for the entire season and postseason? cause that's what it is starting to look like.
False. People have been posting that same nonsense since this trade happened. The offense that Houston ran the 2nd half of the season when Tracy was out was exact same offense Memphis ran the entire season. The "throw it in to the bigman and play off of him" offense. Gasol touched the ball and drew double teams on every damn possession...the 4.6 assist a game shows how much the ball was in his hands and how much attention he drew. 4.6 assist for a bigman is crazy...Hakeem averaged 3.6 in 1994 by comparison.
I agree those assist numbers are off, but to compare Houston to Memphis is insulting to us. Yao is superior to Gasol in every aspect of the game, and Memphis has no one even remotely close of being called T-mac. If anything, I expect Battier to hit more 3's but take less 2's and he tries to get the ball into Yao or to T-mac. Battier is a key addition this offseason, and if we can get a starting 2, I will like our chances even more.
More important than Battier's points/rebound stats, Houston will profit from his entire game. He does everything you need to win. www.82games.com Check out the Roland ratings or plus/minus ratings here... While Battier is on the court, his team outscores it's opponent. While he's off the court, his team doesn't do nearly as well. What is the object of the game? To show pretty numbers in the points column, or to WIN? I can't believe anyone would trade Battier into their own division. Memphis will be sorry they made this trade. Houston is (barring injury) headed for at least the conference finals.
No he may not be a 18-8 guy but rather a guy who is going to help you set picks, draw fouls, get a key steal or block in crucial moments, what I rather hope to see shane is more like a 10 pt, 6 rebs, 4 assists, 1 blk, 2 stls
Shane will be a 13-8-3 type of player but his importance lies in his versatility and toughness. He's a solid perimeter defender. No longer will McGrady have to expend energy guarding the opposing team's best scorer. Plus, Battier can hit his open shots and was always on the floor in crunch time for coaches like Hubie Brown and Mike Fratello. He's also smart and will take advantage of situations. It's a great pickup for the Rockets. He'll be the perfect third wheel to Yao and TMac.
I think 11-13 PPG and 4-6 RPG is more realistic for him in the first year of this system. I also expect him to have at least 30-35 charges induced for the season (82 games).
He never scored that many points for memphis (a team with no dominant players), what makes you think he can do it here with Yao & TMAC scoring all the points. He will not have any more oppourtunities to score.
I think he will get alot more opportunites here than he did in memphis so I see 14 and 8....and he is a good defensive stopper so I'm excited on what he will bring to the table...he is a good character guy too
