From Randy Hill who writes for Fox Sports.com. I don't know if its worth anything but good to see Battier get some kudos. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9454510/Handing-out-NBA-awards:-MVP-and-much-more?MSNHPHMA [rquoter]Defensive Player of the Year Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, the league leader in rebounds and blocked shots, would be a swell recipient of this honor. OK, he actually will be. But while securing the defensive board and making things less than cozy at the rim are key ingredients in any good defense, I'm here to salute a guy who almost always guards the other team's top wing player. That task includes staying in front of these hotshots off the dribble, chasing them through myriad off-ball screens and fighting through ball screens (can't go under against another team's top scorer, right?). So, for all you do, this Defensive Player of the Year bow goes to you ... Shane Battier of the Houston Rockets. With Battier spending most of the time in their grills, LeBron was 18-of-44 from the field in two games against Houston. Wade was 11-for-25, Brandon Roy 18-for-43 and Kobe 34-for-64 (OK, the last one was a bad example). [/rquoter]
No discredit to how good a defensive player Shane is but, it also helps to have Ron Artest gaurding those guys while your catching your breath on the bench.
Nice. It's amazing how much recognition you finally get from a single article in the New York Times. That being said, I agree entirely with the author. Yeah, getting rebounds and blocking a few shots at 7 feet is a challenge ( ), but chasing Kobe/LeBron/Wade/Roy around the court and "fighting through" screens takes a whole lot more effort... and then, making them work against their own team by taking bad shots (except Kobe) is icing on the cake. I can't really say if Howard's rebounding or shot blocking changes the course of a game, but Battier's defense on top wing players undoubtedly changes the face of every game he plays in.
Hollinger's picks for All-Defensive teams http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-090415 Battier - 3rd team Artest - 1st team Chuck Hayes! - honorable mention
Hollinger appears to have made a mistake in his interpretation of the info at basketballvalue. Those are not defensive adjusted +/-, merely On/Off defensive rating. Basketballvalue counts possessions a little differently than 82games, hence the difference, but they are essentially showing the same thing. What basketballvalue provides is an overall adjusted +/-, but they have not (as of yet) split it into offensive and defensive adjusted +/-.
Anybody notice Battier on CP3 Monday night??? The first time I saw it, it was a switch. The second time I saw it it looked like Battier called off the defense and just wanted him. I know Paul was tired, and we did have about an 8 point lead, but the look in Battier's eyes made me wonder if was a new defensive wrinkle. I hope not, but props to Shane!
It's about time Battier has received some recognition, but I don't think he's the DPOY. He should be at least 2nd team all defense though IMO.
Interesting how Battier is suddenly getting so much attention for his defense when a lot of Rocket fans (including me) think he looks to have lost a step defensively. I think he still deserves the recognition but he was a better defender over the last two seasons IMO.
To me, he's looked much better the last few months. He struggled a bit earlier in the year, though I don't think he was slowed down defensively nearly as much as Artest was.
Seems like Rockets get a nice combo in every positions starting Scolandry to Brookyle except center. Hopefully Dorsey can live up the expectation next season.
I am a Rockets fan, but I give my vote to Howard. You do not face all those MVP candidates(Kobe/LeBron/Wade/Roy) everyday unless you play NBA 2k9, also I still remember the pain last time Kobe handed out 37 at our home court to beat us.
Regarding Lebron: I swear that this is where half the "Lebron is DPOY" hype is coming from. I know Hollinger uses formulas and stats so I am speaking mostly of other media types although the fact that Hollinger mentions it sorta backs up my feelings. The blocks are great. They show his drive to not quit on a play as well as his beyond freakish athleticism but 8 or so highlight blocks a season don't elevate him from being a good defender to being a First Team defender.
lebron is legit. he can stay with anyone on the perimeter and has the strength to guard almost anyone on the post. he can lockdown whoever he's guarding while also anchoring a cleveland defense that is 1st in ppg defense and 2nd in fg% defense. it isn't coincidence that cleveland is such a great defensive team, despite having no real outstanding defenders (a past-his-prime ben wallace doesn't count). lebron has stepped up his game and the recognition is well deserved. the highlight blocks are just extra bullets for his resume.
i think ron gambles too much to be a first teamer, he's also been beaten really easily at times this year, not sure what they're seeing...chuck deserves to be third team even if he barely plays, he's probably the best in the league at simply taking the ball away from a post player as he's going into his move, it's like he reads minds...
I looked at that list and I can't believe Yao isn't on either teams. He doesn't get as many blocks as Howard but he alters shots and changes the strategy of the other team. Anyway look at how he dominates Howard and Pryzbilla who also got honorable mention.
When they played for the same team and same ground, it's much easier to compare. I think Shane is a better defender than Ron because of he gave more ervery time. But sure Ron is more physically gifted, but shane played harder.
Do you guys think there will be someone duplicating what Olajuwon did in 94? Winning MVP, DPOY and finals MVP in one year is just SICK.
There is one perimeter player in this league that we can't stop, and just 1, his name is Kobe. Every other player in the NBA has no where near his offensive skill set. As great as Lebron is, he puts so little fear into me knowing we have Ron and Shane ready. With Kobe, it doesn't matter who we have.
I guess I have not seen that. I've watched 10-12 Cavs games this season and I will be the first to admit that his defense has improved a lot from years past but it doesn't look elite to me. Let me put it this way, if our best player was a SF/SG and was going to be guarded by Lebron for an entire series I would not be too worried. He isn't in Battier, Artest or even Kobe's class defensively IMO. It will be interesting if the Celtics and Cavs meet again and Lebron and Pierce guard one another.
