Shane is a classy classy guy. Really like him as a person and the professionalism he brings to the Rockets.
I like Battier a lot but someone should really have the cojones to ask him why does he think his game has declined so much the last few years. His stats have really declined considerably.
He's stats are pretty much the same over his Rockets career: PER: 12.0, 11.7, 10.7, 11.1. Never take too many shots, almost all of his shot attemps are assisted, rarely turn the ball over, gets about 1 steal, 1 block per game, take a good number of charges, his shooting % goes up and down depending on the quality of the opening his teammates create. He's lost some quickness and suffered to a couple of injuries, the last couple seasons, but as far as "stats" go, they haven't changed much.
It will suck to see Battier go eventually . It's part of the business, but sure would love to see him retire as a Rocket.
You are blind and utterly incorrect. Field Goal Percentage at a CAREER LOW .398, 3pt 2nd lowest in career, STL CAREER low at .8. Advanced Stats such as overall defense DRtg 108 (03,05,06 were his best) also a career low, Win Shares .095 2nd lowest in career, rebound % per possession 8.2 3rd worst in career. He has also missed 37 games in the last two seasons. Don't get me wrong I think the world of the guy as a human being but for whatever reason SB is on the decline. Maybe he can turn it around this year!
He mentioned the missed games/injuries....and no one is denying he's on the decline...but you can't look at his stats and say they have significantly dropped. did he have some career lows? Yeah, but he was only down .025 from his career 3 pt average, after matching it the year before...about the same on FTs, just barely under his avg, after posting a career high the year before. Blocks were right above avg, stls right below, but same as last year...rebounds matched career avg, and so on...you can argue his play is declining based on your observation, but his stats alone are not declining steadily over the last few years, which is what you wrote.
I am a HUGE Battier fan and feel that he is under-appreciated by many on this site. He is as important as any of the offensive weapons we have on this team. Along with Hayes and Brad ( awesome signing IMHO ) I feel that we have the best lot of intelligent and talented vets in the NBA. With well-adjusted youngsters like 2Pat and CBud soaking in all the guidance that our vets provide, we are in for a very special season this year. Don't underestimate our aging veterans!!!
06-07 Fg% .446 07-08 Fg% .428 08-09 Fg% .410 09-10 Fg% .398 Nuff Said. I'll be the first to admit there is more to SB than stats but his decline is more significant than you allude.
Yes his offensive stats seem to be on a decline the past few years but I wouldn't be surprised if he posts better overall stats this year with the entire roster being improved in every position. I expect him to shoot around .430 this season with the plethora of open looks from the corner that he'll get with Yao drawing attention in the paint and Brooks/Martin going crazy in the backcourt. And with Hayes and his new arsenal of offensive moves.... :grin:
Why in god's name would you use fg% to judge the dramatic decline of Battier? Just because it was the stat that happened to support your point? Please explain your reasoning for choosing that particular stat.
OK. If you're only using his FG%, why didnt you say that specifically, instead of saying his statS? We're just saying that his statS haven't been declining significantly over the last few years. That's what you claimed. No one said his decline itself isn't significant or non-existant....it's just not that clear in his statS alone.
