I don't know how. But I do know that for those of us who have longed for Bobby Sura's heart to be transplanted into someone... ANYONE, it is emerging in more than just one player. Lowry inspires teammates. Hayes inspires teammates. Scola inspires teammates. I'm not sure if they are "inspirees," or "inspirers," but Budinger and Patterson are part of the mix, too. It's bittersweet for me. I lost my best buddy, my wife of 37 years, recently to cancer. She was a big Rockets fan. It's hard to watch the games now.
If you knew anything about basketball, you'd realize that Battier was not the problem. Fact is, the Rockets starters with Battier were a very productive group, averaging +10 points per 48 mins. That hasn't changed much with the addition of Chase, which is fairly amazing given how Chase had been playing much of the year so props to him. Please go read up on the basics of basketball before you insult a great player like Shane.
Excellent point; our bench was killing us there for a while, but now it's more solid - there's not such a drop off in play now when the starters rest. The whole team really feels like you can plug and substitute players as needed a little more evenly too, like everyone is just more energized and playing with zest and determination. Of course, Chuck and Lowry still seem to be exceptions to the rule; their particular toughness and defensive ability seems to be very missed when they're off of the court most times. I liked this week's combo with Lee starting; not sure what was causing that slump he's had lately, but he came out of it with a bang. Nice to see that; I'd almost forgotten what a producing Lee looked like. Love what I'm seeing with Patterson; if he learns some of those post moves from Scola he'll be a very very welcome addition to the team (which he is already, but adding some post moves would be wicked).
to those who don't appreciate shane's value, please read this article and see what chuck said at the end of the article. http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/03/24/the-magic-of-chuck-hayes/
i am extremely sorry. hope you can overcome the loss. think about in this way. she will be extremely happy if you keep loving and watching rox. you have my pray.
Its not that we dont appreciate Shane's value, He is a very valuable player to anyteam, even Memphis now. Its just that Shane changes the Dynamic of our game. Your Sf is considered a wing position. A wing player should be able to Shoot and Slash. Battier could shoot, but not create. He can slash, but he rarely gets or wants the ball when he does. With Battier out of the equation, replaced with Players that can shoot and slash (Chase and Courtney) it elevates your team dynamic, Martin becomes more lethal, because if you play him too tightly the lane will open up, and are wing players know how to fill it Chuck will start to have more 5 or 6 assist games because when he plays high post, the cutter has explosiveness and can actually dunk the ball instead of rolling hooks Scola will have finally have someone to pass to if the Tangle gets him nowhere I can go on....but its not that Battier is a bad player, he just would of been better with less mins. He changes our style of play, why do you think the games have been so much more exciting and uptempo since the trade. We love you Shane but you actually play more of Memphis style basketball then Houston anyway
The lame excuses period for Shane supporters is over. It is what it is now. Results speak plainly as clear as day for themselves as it needs to possibly be. There is zero angles to refute that so far. I wont even gesture to comment on the next Shane Battier defense force comment its so obvious now for everyone to see. The fact they can stick anyone in his psot and have the same results or better is proof enough how valueless he was to the franchise. if not outright completely useless on defense and offense since his defense was vastly overrated and below such players as Lowry, Patterson the rookie, Chuck Hayes, and Courtney Lee who all get more playing time now that he is gone. In fact his defense was so non game effecting that Budingers lack of defense is almost on par with how much defense Battier often played. We certainly know Battier had no offense so Budinger also makes it better for the team in that regard also. So Battier average defense offset by Budingers much better offense and slightly below average defense. Courtney Lee getting more time=better better defender than Battier and scorer for both Budinger and Lee getting more time on court than Battier was waisting. Very simple. Plain as day.
Why is our defense better? Shane Battier is replaced by better defenders Courtney Lee with minutes and Patterson. Why our offense is better? Replaced by Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, and Patterson. Brooks gone also improves defense.
Scola is tough. He doesn't play good defense because he is physically limited. But he hustles. He doesn't back down or give up even when the situation looks hopeless. That's toughness in my book. The toughest guys on this team: Hayes, Lowry, Scola, Lee, Patterson Dragic looks pretty tough too, though I haven't seen enough of him to make a judgment.
do you watch all recent games? we won coz we played much better defense. we defended our basket better. everyone on rox now played better defense. in the past they relied on shane and hayes too much and expected good defense with two of them playing defense only. now shanes' gone, they knew everyone has to step in otherwise they have no opportunity to win games.
