**The Official Shane Battier as a Member of the Memphis Grizzlies...Again Thread**

Where did I call you out for namecalling? It seems like you really wanted others to focus on Battier vs Tony Allen comparison, e.g.:

"As I said earlier, there are a group of people who make it their job to be an apologist for Shane Battier...a perfect example is the post right above me...a post that doesn't analyze any aspect of the comparative analysis of Allen and Battier, which discusses how much better Tony is playing now that he's been given an expanded role (something Battier has never been able to do), but instead it's a post that just recycles the same nonsense of how "Technically, Battier has helped lead the Grizz into the playoffs."

Not calling you out. Not everyone is as interested in the Allen comparison as you are, that's all.

Good for him. He's having a career year, and he's taking full advantage of his new situation in Memphis. Battier, by his own admission, is not playing so well since he joined the Grizzlies.

Is there something else you would like me to say on this?

 

Desire to to expand his game plus superior athletic talent to help him do so.

Battier is wired differently than most NBA players, and I don't know how much he works on his skills (if at all) when he's not practicing with the team. He seems satisfied with being a good team defender, a role model / teacher to the younger players on the roster, and efficient in a limited offensive role.

 

I have created another thread to discuss the merits of Shane Battier vs Tony Allen.
I would like this thread to return to its original purpose of tracking only Shane's second stint with the Grizzlies.

Please focus the Allen vs Battier ideas in the other thread. Much appreciated.

 

Tony Allen started playing good the Game after Rudy Gay got injured. And that was back on Feb 8. The Battier trade happened at the deadline, his first game with the Grizz was on Feb 26.

So the Grizzly's have a guy who's been shooting from the field at a 56.6% rate. Very good for a perimeter player.

But Battier must be playing well, because he is averaging 24 minutes a game. Battier exhibits some sort of confidence that his teammates feed off of him. Let's be honest here, the Grizzly's have arrived.

The Rockets loss to the 76's and the Heat were prime example of missing a guy like Battier. The team just fell apart at the end. Hayes missed layups, the Scola started fumbling the ball, even Lowry started turning the ball over recklessly.

It's not the Battier apologist that defend him, but people who realize that having someone on the court with a strong Basketball IQ is a benefit - Memphis gave the Rockets a 1st round pick and last years #2 overall selection (a shot blocking center) - someone values what Battier does!! However, important Battier was to the Rockets, the lack of a shot blocking presence made having him on the team a moot point.

 

LMAO. No stats in my post, only very accurate and true quotes from a teammate and their coach. Not only did they watch the game, but they were there...of course you'll still claim to know and see more than they can, despite not having access to their practices, huddles, and locker room.

Kwame at a Memphis game: "Coach, coach, Battier sucks. You should bench him. I know better than you because I watch games!!"

Oh no, i've just made it personal. Guess what? That's going to happen when you open that door by constantly claiming you know more than others because you watch games. Grow up and get some psychological help. I really hope that your walls at home aren't covered in Battier newspaper clippings and surveillance photos, but i wouldn't be surprised at this point.

Wow, just wow. i think he's losing it.

 

The fact is Battier is no longer a Rocket and therefore i don't have reason to follow him or his team that closely. Sounds like you could benefit from dealing with the facts yourself. You're basically following the Grizz just as much as you are the Rockets, probably more. All for a player you couldn't wait to get rid of and be done with.

 

It seems as if there's a role reversal in the typical "hater vs. apologist" debate. Typically, the "hater" posts strictly of opinion and when the "apologist" comes in with evidence to the contrary, the "hater" resorts to name-calling and pictures in the "U-Mad?" vein of trollpics.

In this thread, I'm seeing our "hater," Kwame, post logical, well-researched points about the player he dislikes while the "apologists" post pictures, personal attacks and the occasional vague refutation of his points, mainly based on hearsay, media releases and the oft-touted intangibles.

I've been overtly critical of tinman in his McGrady rambles, but the main difference here is that Kwame has avoided much of the immature insults and insipid, passive-aggressive pop culture references that permeated every tinman post on the subject.

I like Battier. I have a feeling that most of you do too. If you disagree with Kwame, please provide more compelling evidence than a picture of a guy in a straitjacket or cologne.

 

I dont think you really understand what's going on here. This thread was doomed from the beginning. You can't have a normal discussion about this topic with Kwame, which is why despite his continous effort to keep bumping it, it keeps slipping down the page. Posters pretty much know they can't come in here with anything positive to say or else that'll cue Kwame to always counter, even if it means using something irrelevant to put Battier down. Hence the "well Allen is better and improved" argument he's been using over and over to make Battier look bad. I guess it's convenient for him to forget Allen's been injured or behind an all-star for over half his career. Looks like he just needed a long term opportunity to shine and he finally got it, but Kwame likes giving him the "career bench player" label to imply both allen and Battier are the same, but allen worked harder to improve. Similar to how he always says Battier failed to guard Harpring, a player who "couldnt stay in the league". I guess that means Harpring wasn't NBA-material and Battier couldn't even hang, right? Wrong. Hapring is out of the league due to injury, but Kwame won't (and hasn't both times i've asked) acknowledge that because that doesn't make Battier look bad enough. Hell, he even used Randolph at some point, who doesn't even play a similar position. That's like putting down Hayes every game where you can find someone who played better (put up more stats). It would be never ending and pretty senseless. Posters would rather stay away or rarely comment in this situation.


Kwame, as for your comment about watching games in Vegas, unless you have some superhuman power that allows you to not only see, but absorb and process info from multiple screens at the same time, I really doubt Memphis is just another team you also follow around the league. Either you're not really watching most or all of their games and battier's minutes or you are choosing to focus on them and battier over everyone else. I'm pretty sure it's the latter.

 

My thing about Shane is that he's been a bench player for 3 yrs or so. The rockets havent been able to move him to the bench until the ariza-martin combo. I never thought chase should replace shane. I actually think chase is more 2 than 3. Now in memphis, shane is where he should be, 24 minutes off the bench.

 

Tony Allen, and it's not even close.

 

I thought you were too high and mighty to make things personal?

But seriously, you're telling me you can watch several NBA games simultaneously and be sure of what specific players did or didn't do during their playing time? I can ask you about any player's play last night and you'll have a complete and accurate recollection of it? Without referencing the boxscore? Or does it just apply to Memphis and Battier ?


And Allen is a better player right now. Did i not make that pretty obvious when i said he just needed a chance to break through? It's almost like you're fighting yourself with some of these arguments. No one has claimed Battier is better than Allen now. You're calling me out for backtracking from almost TWO YEARS ago when Battier was younger and Allen was unproven and still doing his role player thing in limited minutes. It just shows what your real aim here is, its not to discuss basketball, but to jump on certain posters and a certain player. It's like saying a brooks supporter can't claim Lowry is better now. If it's the truth, why can't they? It's not back tracking unless they claimed Lowry would never be better or they changed their mind soon after making the statement. Battier is now about 2 years older and further past his prime. Allen is more experienced and right in the middle of his prime, so why wouldn't I re-evaluate both players and change my opinion now?

I really surprises me that you like to talk up your talent evaluation when you've wanted guys that never worked out like Outlaw and Pietrus, Posey when he was past his better days and couldn't hold a rotation spot. you wanted Barnes during the time no one would give him more than a one year commitment. By the way, i'm sure you caught him pushing a coach last night, right? You even picked Ariza over Lee earlier this year. Face it, the only one player that you've talked about that worked out was Allen and that had more to do with probability than you knowing what you were talking about. Things lined up perfectly for you when he joined Memphis and Battier was traded.

Also, i would appreciate it if you didn't put words in my mouth. I've never claimed Battier to be "great" or expressed "outrage" over that comparison. I know it works in your favor to make it sound like i worshipped Battier and thought he was an all-star, but keep it real, for once.

 

I think with all the haters on this BBS we need to make a forum exclusively called HATERS. That way we can have the Battier, Kobe, LeBron, Tmac, Yao, etc haters all gathered together in one nice package...

Shane and Memphis are looking good. No matter how you slice it, they are in the playoffs and we're not. All other noise is worthless.

 

stop mixing me in with other posters...Allen was a guy i was never too sure of what he'd become with more playing time. Could go either way, so i never really talked about his play much, if at all, but instead about his situation. A perfect example is this thread:

http://bbs.clutchcity.net/showthread.php?t=189963

It was about raja bell, but you eventually you wanted to talk about allen. You even made this comment:

My response?

I never came close to being "outraged" because you compared Allen and Battier. I also didnt group Allen with "scrubs" like you claimed ealrier. I just grouped Allen with the others to explain he's worth less because he too was signed with the intention of being used as a back up, while Battier was paid to be a starter/captain. For some reason you can't understand that with a bigger role usually comes bigger pay. You may not like the role Battier was given, but that won't change the fact that he was in a starting role and the other guys were acquired to back up or had question marks.

Also, you wanted to claim Battier should have always made what what Bell signed for this offseason. In other words, you thought Battier's value in 2004 was the same as a 33 (now 34) yr old Bell, who was coming off major surgery that kept him out of play for almost a year and half. If that's not crazy, i don't know what is.

Finally, in this thread you also dismissed my argument that Barnes was given smaller contracts because of his attitude and teams didn't want to commit too long and too much. Let me now repeat he just pushed a coach recently, but i guess you don't consider that an attitude problem, since you were quick to defend Barnes in the Jason Terry thread. And of course, you also had to take a shot at Battier at the same time. Whatever fits your agenda, right? Pretty much everything you post revolves around taking shots at battier or talking up other guys, so that you can then take shots at Battier. I never understood the obsession, but figured it would end once he got traded. Surely there would be no point to keep it up then, right? Boy was I wrong. I don't even know what to make of it anymore, so i'll just let you continue your circus act inside this box...