I think he can though. He just doesn't. He is fast, has great shooting mechanics, and only needs to create some space to get his shot off.
It was fluke tonight just wait 3 or 4 more games & see how he does then I say if he still sucks or not
signs of life from battier tonight but let's be real on that last shot, Durant just flat out missed that more than Battier making him miss battier was all over him for sure, but I was almost expecting that shot to go in
He held the Scoring Champ to scoring as much as him... Thats a amazing feat if you ask me. Allbeit its only 1 game, but he definitely won this for us.
That wasnt just durant missing...other times the shooter gets enough space and just misses, but this time Battier managed to get his hand pretty close to the ball. I dont even think he was face guarding, but actually going for a block. Durant adjusted by releasing a higher shot and it came up short because of it.
Durant is used to fading and still hitting that shot, he just missed a shot that he makes many many times. The shot was in line was just short by an inch. We got lucky.
At long chance Battier played well played well for the team. Hope he can play well again before the end of the season.
The kind of player who Battier excels at guarding is the KD/Melo types of SF's who don't use speed as much as they rise up to shoot over people. Kobe is actually a good player for Battier to guard relatively speaking because Kobe relies so heavily on his mid-range game these days versus his explosiveness of old. Anyways, Battier has been struggling to guard even these guys lately, so I'm glad to see him effective tonight when we sorely needed him. The shooting is probably a fluke, but dammit I'll take it.
im sure he is, but battier came late and got high enough to interfere with his follow through at the last second, enough to change his shot slightly. If he tries to only face guard that's a bucket for KD. We got lucky Durant didnt make a better move to get separation, but not on the miss.
I disagree. Battier did a good job bumping Durant as soon as he got the ball and continuing to put his body on him. Durant is so good he still can make those shots, but Battier made it as tough as he could.
I'll agree to disagree, we got lucky, Durant makes that shot more often than not, even with the same D Battier displayed on that shot.
