it happens alot and that why artest or brooks seem to be in situations where they have to force a bad shot. How many times have you seen shane shoot a ball with the clock winding down? Not many, right?
First of all, coaches are always suppose to speak positive about their players even when they're not performing well and i didn't say shane was or wasnt. "engaging in the game offensively" has nothing to do with systems or shots. It doesn matter if shaq was on this team or hakeem was here, you have to engage just like you do defensively. You remember why the rox traded horry for elliot? Rudy T said he was looking at the goal and taking open shots. I dont have the archive, but maybe someone can bring it back up. He wasnt engaging in the offense and it was hurting the team. he wasnt looking at the goal, he wasn't triple threating his man, he was using the ball as a hot potatoe becaue he didnt want to be responsible for making or missing a shot. When the trade fell through, horry said next time he's get traded for being to aggressive. I've never said Shane isnt a good player or a player that could contribute on a championship team. You bring up what i said about adelman and battier big minutes. Adelman really doesnt have a choice in a tight spot. Wafer is a wildcard right now and over the games, he just dont fell comfortable with wafer out there. Hell, it looks like sasha has gotten into wafer a little. So really it just shane or nothing right now. Barry cant defend anyone, especially not kobe and the other options are to small. In a perfect world, shane would be off the bench for 20 mins a night like posey,bowen and guys like that. The rockets dont have that luxury because tracy got hurt and is out for the yr. It helps also that brooks is more ofeensive than rafer, so the threat of brooks going off really helps. Regardless of what people think,as long as the rockets win, i dont care who gets the credit. Shane is better offensively than people think or that he leads them on, he just rather reside in the no offensive reponsibility role far too often. When he makes kobe honr him, that takes energy from kobe offensively. Thats one of the main reason kobe didn't play well vs boston and if they beat houston, he wont play well vs denver. On denver, he's going to have to spend energy defending either smith or carmello. That takes energy away from your offensive game when you have to play defense and be a primary scorer.
If Battier has an open look and he's not taking it, that's a bad decision regardless of the system. To that extent, I agree with you. Beyond that, when he should cut and where he's supposed to be on the floor is very much determined by the coach's game plan. Battier is not a free-lancer out there. He'll stays in the corner instead of running in and out of the lane on some possessions because the Rockets want to keep extra defenders away from Yao Ming and because an open, corner 3-point shot is the most efficient shot you can take other than a layup/dunk. The thing about Battier is he understands his limitations and he plays to his strengths. On both ends. He has far more limitations on the offensive end, so his activity-level there seems more passive. When limited role players try to overextend themselves, that's not necessarily the best thing for an offense.
What about the 3 point output against them in Game 2 on the road? What about 4 points against them in Portland in Game 5? The point is he isn't the same player on the road as compared to being at home. Defense isn't enough.
Shane has hear and a great player to have on the team, he is one of the main reasons we are in game 7 in the playoffs! If anything we should be praising Battier, this is insane!
Shane "gets a free pass" because he's the glue that keeps the team together. He makes the extra pass that needs to be made. He's willing to put his ego aside to give Yao the ball (I'm looking at you Ron). He's not afraid to take the open shot when it's there. He is a solid help defender, and an even better one-on-one defender. Box score readers don't see Shane's impact. In face, many people that watch the game probably don't notice his impact... but believe me, he makes a big one. When you have two or more guys that are so ball dominating (aka, Brooks/Ron... Yao/Tracy... Ron/Tracy/Yao, etc) you need a guy like Shane to bring it all together. That's why Shane started over Ron when them and Tracy were healthy. He just does everything it takes to win ball games, and you HAVE to have somebody like that on your team if you want any shot at being successful.
Battier vs Gay, that is what a lot of people like to compare so let's go 1-10 on offense and defense. Rudy Gay Off - 8 Def - 3 Shane Off - 5 Def - 10 Battier is so much better on the defensive end, and is so smart....he is just a better fit for this team. Shane has never been the problem, he could do MORE on offense by moving his body, but he puts so much effort on D, I think he rests a bit on offense by standing in the corner....which still poses a legitimate threat. DD
With the exception of Game 5, Battier has been making the 3 point shot, that's all the rockets need him to do on offense. Battier's threes must go down if the Rockets are going to win Game 7.
I just have to say one word, DEFENSE. Whether people believe it or not Kobe is affected by Battier's defense and you can see that on the court. If this was anyone else then Kobe they would have been completely shutdown. Also, not to mention the intangibles no one else wants to do on the court like rebound and flat out hustle. Keep in mind he is suppose to play around T-Mac and Yao and simply hit the outside shot when he's open on offense which he is more than capable of.
No, guys, the Battier bashers know more about Shane's contributions to the team than people like, say, Morey, who says he is one of the most important players we have. I mean, DM doesn't have the ability to crunch the numbers and stats like these posters do...
You still don't get it, do you? You advocated trading Shane because he had a few bad months (maybe not even), when he's been solid all around and done exactly what he's supposed to do and more COMMENSURATE WITH WHAT HE IS PAID, and you still act like you were correct in your assessment that Shane should have been traded, even though there is mounds of evidence to the contrary. Geez, how hard is it to admit for some people that they are wrong? I was completely wrong on my assessment of Aaron Brooks in the early going, and I fully, fully admit I was way off- thank God I'm not a GM. Sad that others can't do the same.
Half of our payroll is wearing street clothes, so we're instead criticizing a hard-nosed, blue collar role player for not being a better value than his contract? Think about it. If this Shane Battier also had a great offensive game and was quicker, we wouldn't be able to get him just by trading Gay and Swift.
This thread should be locked to prevent anymore stupidity. Every non-Rocket fan in the country is coming up with fantasy trades to get Shane on their team. The media is finally recognizing how great he is at his job. He was a huge part of a team that almost made it to the WCF with half the roster in street clothes. Oh, and he guarded the best offensive player in the game and did a better job than anyone has. Despite all of that there are still people wanting to get rid of him or complaining about him? Wow.
+Rep. The Gay/Battier trade has been one of the most controversial moves in the last five years. There's still a lot of bitterness towards the deal, which hasn't gone away at all. For many folks, the Gay/Battier trade is like debating politics or religion - the views are so fixed that it becomes futile to have a discussion about it, because it devolves into name calling and (virtual) fingerpointing.
Nobody is above criticism. Look at all the Artest hate even flowing throughout this message board even before the game was over. You don't necessarily have to trade Battier, but if his value is at an all-time high, why not at least see what we can get for him. The problem with Battier is that he needs to produce some tangible offensive production for this team to be successful. 1-6 for 3 pts in over 30 mins in the biggest game of your career is unacceptable. He might give you some 20 pt outbursts one or twice a season, but for the Rockets to excel he needs to consistently produce on the offensive end (like 10-12 ppg) due to the large amounts of mpg he plays. Apparently for some of you that's too much to ask. It does not look like he can do this. Battier gets complacent and content with standing in the corner when everybody is healthy, which creates a whole host of problems for the Rockets. So there are a few options: When T-Mac is traded for a play making wing, Battier becomes a 15-20 mpg player. Battier is traded. The Rockets continue with the status quo. I think the best option would be to reduce his mpg and make his role more situational and dependent upon the opposition. I still can't believe this is a guy who had more fta attempts in one season for the Grizzlies than his entire career as a Houston Rocket.
Who said anything about gay? I brought up the point that it was the 8th pick. I wanted Brewer, not gay, but i know when a guy is projected as a top 3-5 pick and he falls to 8, then maybe they knew something. Battier isnt the only hardworking guy in basketball. Prince, not that he couldve een traded for the 8th pick, has been getting better every year. He's smart, long, great defender also. Brewer, the guy i wanted is having the **** coached out of him and he produces offensively and is a really good defender. Don't make it seem like you cant be good defensively and weak offensively.
