It doesn't take a sabermetrician to amortize the projected development/decline of a 32 year old player with limited athleticism. Battier is who he is. He is not suddenly going to develop a new move that is more efficient than dumping the ball into Yao, passing to a cutting Scola, or swinging it to Brooks or Martin for them to create a shot. It is no secret that the Rockets' weakest position is at the 3--which is why Morey has looked into picking up Iggy or Melo. Battier ain't gonna develop anything new any time soon. Hoping he does is a fantasy and assuming he hasn't thought of trying to improve his offensive repertoire is ridiculous. It's one thing to advise a 13 year old to develop his left hand so he'll be able to make the leap to the next level, it's another to tell a 32 year-old NBA player who approaches his craft as seriously and professionally as Battier does to think about picking up another move when it's obvious that he's reached his potential.
Battier's shot from last year to this preseason, just isn't falling at the rate when he first came here. His defense isn't what it used to be and he not drawing charges at all no more. Unless he signs on the cheap I don't see him being a Rocket next year. But no worries, we didn't give up much to get him. In Morey we trust. Link "Morey had to find ways to improve the Rockets without spending money. Sifting the population of midlevel N.B.A. players, he came up with a list of 15, near the top of which was the Memphis Grizzlies’ forward Shane Battier. This perplexed even the man who hired Morey to rethink basketball. “All I knew was Shane’s stats,” Alexander says, “and obviously they weren’t great. He had to sell me. It was hard for me to see it.” For all the people that still think it was CD that made the move. They only did that so Morey wouldn't take so much heat on the move.
Battier isn't overrated. He excels on one side of the floor and is serviceable on the other side. He was probably the best wing defender in his prime, and tailor made to stop LeBron. Battier's offense is often overlooked as he only settles for 3 point shots which he hits at a decent rate, but it's safe to say his arsenal of offense might be worse than Chuck Hayes.
Lol! Have you seen Shane try to do anything but shoot a three point shot recently? It usually ends awkwardly.
So weird about how bad shane had supposedly gotten, yet adelman keeps playing him for whatever reason. It's almost as if most of you don't understand how team building and synergy works.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how steadily Battier is declining. Who else is Adelman gonna play at SF? Budinger is the only legit guy. We have no depth at SF as opposed to other positions. Battier is what he is. Can't do anything about it unfortunately. Will see how he does against Kobe on a bad knee.
I agree he's declining...but they did just trade away Ariza, who was suppose to have been handpicked to be his replacement according to some here...So many assumed this was the end of battier and he'd be gone this past summer, and what happened? They have had plenty of time to get rid of him. Other players have gone, even come and gone, but he's still here. He's passed every deadline fans have given for him to be traded, yet they still claim hes on his way out. I suppose he will be eventually, since he can't play forever. This is his expiring year...will he be traded? benched? doesnt seem like it, but i guess we'll see. If he's here by season's end that should shut all these guys up. You can argue he's stuck around becuase no one wanted to take on his contract, but who wouldn't take it now? Well see what happens...
Doubt he gets traded, but who knows. It seems like we are stuck with him currently. Gotta look at the positives though, Battier is still in the top half in perimeter defenders. I'd trade him to the Thunder for Thabo though. OKC won't do that obviously. I have a feeling that if we do trade him, it will bite us in the ass later on. I mean who is gonna guard Kobe, Roy, LeBron, Carmelo, Durant or Pierce? Budinger? LMAO!
It's a brave soul whose first thread is about Battier. I love the guy and I'm fond of his contract . But I'm not happy with him as a starting 3 on the team I live and die with. Having said that he's looked great this preseason, but he's an ankle tweak away from being a guy that had better guess right in order to be effective. There are so many guys in this league that can do so many things that they can be effective at around 80% health. Shane is no longer one of them. I'd love to see him get a ring though, one way or the other.
Battier has the limited-role player complex. While other players want to soar through the skies like an eagle, he want to burrow in the ground like an earthworm. Even worse, Battier seems to have fallen in love with his "no stats all star" title and is now allergic to do anything that results in tangible production. Honestly he isn't washed-up, inept offensively, or a step slow at all. He's just too passive on the court.
Battier is doing just fine so far. He is healthier and is bound to impact the game more this season. Just watch him play on both ends of the court and you will understand why coaches and his team mates love him.
