Yes, we've talked about Battier v. Gay many times now. One point people brought up against Battier was that his lack of ability to create own shots was a bad fit for a team that needed someone other than Tracy to create shots-- and Gay, certainly, can create his own shots better. Myself and other still consider Battier's overall contribution-- high IQ bball, top defender-- outweight lack of ability to create shots. Now that the Rockets acquired Artest, who is a creat shots for himself (and others, too-- though not as well as Tracy), has that equation changed? Which one of Battier and Gay is a better fit with the current Rockets roster, with the core of Tracy, Yao, and Ron? I think Battier's weakness is greatly masked by the addition of another perimeter creator while his strength (defense) is amplified by the addition of another top defender (can relieve each other or play together to amplify degree fo good defense). A potential contribution of a high scorer who plays no D (on a team with 3 guys who score 20+ last season), is diminished since his number of attempts would be reduced compared to what it is on a team where he's the top option.
I thought the title of the thread said "Battier vs Gay Ron Artest" and I was really scared to open it.
battier is and always was a better fit. he's the ultimate team and role player. gay may be better athletically and at creating his own shot, but he's a young player and a star (no superstar) in the making. he needs room to grow and an environment which is created especially for him and where he can make his mistakes and learn from them. we're in a total different situation and that's why battier is clearly a better option for us.
i'd like to add something. it was never about gay or battier, if anything, it was always about gay AND battier. we would go nowhere without battier but we would have gone nowhere with battier only. this team needed a 3rd option on offense, but it also needs shane battier's defense and his intangibles.
Battier is a much better fit for this current team than Gay. Battier was a luxury that this team could not afford. With Artest, they now can afford that luxury.
I think the point people missed with Gay is that he can't defend. If we didn't have Battier and had Gay and T-mac at the SG and SF slots our defence would be horrible beyond imagination. Every shot he creates he will lose it on the other end by missing a defensive assignment. If we had Gay Artest it wouldn't be as bad but I think Battier is a better fit for the current team.
If it wasn't for the addition of Artest,Battier's weaknesses on offense could not be completely offset by his defense. Artest will make things easier for him and Tracy and too. In his 1st year with the Rockets, Battier lacked the confidence to take open shots on many occasions which hurt the team despite his defense. Last season that was not so because of the addition of scorers like Luis and Landry.With the addition of Ron Artest,Battier's job will get easier.
I think what really helped Battier's case is the acquisition of Scola and Landry, rather than Artest. Gay can't play the SF position, period. He's a tweener who needs to play the PF. And right now Scola is manning that position quite well.
Going beyond that, the Rockets needed a wing player who was versatile enough defensively to guard multiple positions. With Tracy and Gay as our starting SG/SF ... who would guard the opposing team's premier offensive player? Too often, that seems to be lost in the discussion. You can put all the athletic, talented offensive players you like on the floor, but without the IQ and effort needed to play team defense effectively you're destined to be not much better than the Denver Nuggets.
I'd like to note that we would have never drafted Gay...we chose Gay for Memphis. Its completely pointless to compare Battier vs. Gay. We may as well do threads entitled, "Better fit for Rockets: Luis Scola or Tayshaun Prince".
CH, u know we've beat this thing to death, but I like conversation, so here it goes. If the Rox drafted gay, artest wouldn't be here, gay would be on a rookie deal,we wouldn't be on the lt threshold, and we would have 2 expirings in swift and howard worth 13m. Gay would have progressed just as fast, if not faster because he wouldn't have the focus on him . Would he avg 20? Probably not, but 17 would be pretty easy. Its easier to score when u have other guys drawing the attention. Pierce, Allen, and KG scored the easiest points of their careers this past yr. When guys score on a bad team, those are hard points.
Ron is a great fit for this team. He has offense like Gay and defense like Battier. In other words, Ron is the Gay Battier.
Rudy Gay is a very good player with tremendous upside, but Shane Battier was/is the player that we needed. I know that we've all heard the intangibles argument many times over, but it almost bears repeating each time with Battier. A couple years ago when both McGrady and Yao were hurt much of the season, it was Battier that kept the team together and got us into the playoffs. Rudy Gay couldn't have done that at that point in his career. The addition of Artest should put the nail in the "Battier/Gay" coffin, as he more than makes up for all of the deficiencies Battier had offensively when compared to Gay. I just can't wait to see Battier and Artest on the floor at the same time shutting down offenses.
Plus if we kept Gay, Swift and Howard and stayed away from the LT threshold as you describe, we would have been a sure fire lottery team the last couple years. So we'd have those high draft picks going for us.
Battier could not hold the team in his 1st year without Deke and Juwan. There is no doubt that Artest can do more than Rudy Gay could have ever done for us.
