If Battier is not converting on those open 3's then it really hampers our halfcourt offense. RA needs to limit his minutes altogether if he's hurting. Or just use him in spot duty or only in games where we need his defense for a specific matchup. This coming Friday for instance, there's really nobody he needs to guard on the Hornets (Peja's all banged up himself) so might as well sit him out. We really could have used Wafer's outside shooting and attacking the rim tonight instead of a half-effective Battier.
all I can say right now is I am disappointed in SB. His shooting is on par but his defense is just not there and being that is his main purpose man, I dont know what to say.
He had ankle surgery a long time ago. What held him from playing during the beginning of the season was inflammation, which means his body is on the decline. I'm not sure you can use that as an excuse, especially when Artest is playing relatively well with 2 torn ligaments in his foot. I've seen Artest being a much more vocal leader. I'm not sure you can make that claim regarding Battier either. His one on one defense is highly overrated. He's not a glue guy, not a good athlete, and he's lost a great deal of lateral quickness as well, but he's a good team defender. However, the Rockets were a good defensive team before he got here. He also works hard, but hard work doesn't necessarily translate into results when you don't have the accompanying talent to push it to another level. Shane Battier being the Kobe Bryant of defense is a new one that I've never heard...Lol. That would make him the reigning MVP of defense, which is not the case. Another point I can make to prove your statement false is that Battier has only had 1 good playoff game his entire career. All the rest, he was basically a no show. Also, if Battier is hurt, he should sit. He's not helping the team much by running around on the court doing very little that's actually productive. Is it too much to ask Battier to be able to dribble a basketball effectively? Is it also too much to ask him to do more consistently on the offensive end than the corner 3 (which was even off tonight)? He had a guy 7 inches shorter playing him on D, but we saw nothing. Am I asking for too much from the infallible one?
Kwame- Battier falls in the category of overblown justification on this board. People act like he came here and made the rox a good defense when actually they were already a good defense. Hell Kobe avg more point now than before he got here. I've said it a million times and people always bring up the intangibles, but what good is it having a 6'8 guy like shane if he can't score on a 6'4 guy? If he's guarding LeBron , but no one is guarding him, how does that help this team. Battier, Hayes, and Rafer are guys whom many think the rox couldn't wn without. I'm just saying Battier should be on the bench along with rafer.Chuck should even play unless its a dire emergency or situational. For the #6 draft pick, 7m plus the #8 we gave up, he's far from worth it.
i'm not gonna argue with you anymore, you don't see what he does, that's fine. i'm just saying cream of the crop professional basketball coaches feel completely different than you do. that's a simple fact.
Leebigez, I feel you. What a convenient way of getting out of addressing the points and questions I brought up.
Shane is a very good team player. He's a player you shouldn't be judging by the box score. He needs to build up his confidence on the outside shots. I see him hesitates a lot on the open looks.
Really do wish this board was around from 91 thru 95. Woulda been trading undersized ugly shooting Mario Elie, hot head chucker Vernon Maxwell, overhyped slacker Robert Horry, softey Kenny Smith.... Battier leads the team in + point differential, ahead of Yao and Artest. Not that I wouldnt be open for dealing him for the right player, but I dont care if I cant actually see what he's doing if he's helping the score board more than the other players.
I was around in 91 and there is a big differnce in those guys and shane. All had the nuts to take and make big shots. Elie was tough as nals and he would drive the ball to the hoop and dunk on your head. Maxwell was a hot head, but a super competitor and he had as many game winners as Dream. Horry was traded because he was hesitant. Horry also made big shots int the playoffs and was a versitile defender. Smith was a pg that was a deadeye from 3. Also when the rox got rebounds, he pushed the ball up and could finish on the break. Once again, all four were big shot taker and makers in the playoffs. Shane had 1 good game his entire career.
Uh, absolutely not. I've already said my piece on battier and you've chosen to ignore the facts and fall back on the "hes infallible" garbage. I don't need to argue with you anymore. Artest's defense has been piss poor since his ankle injury so I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that he's not been affected by injury. Battier was runner up defensive player of the year last season but yet you think it's more likely that a player in the age of the prime of his career would have lost a step then the ankle injury being the reason why he's struggling. Please.
just throwing this out there! Jamison for battier and head! salaries work, what does everyone think about that?
Are you kidding, Jamison has been one of the players I have wanted on the Rockets for years. I love Battier but, last night, he has got to punish the shrimps they were putting on him, invert the offense put him on the block and go to work, he stunk at that last night. DD
