It depends on the team. I could see Battier as a strong off the bench player for a successful team/a team with talent. Case in point, if we shipped Battier off to LA he would come in with the second unit, but if Artest ever got injured you could push Battier up to a starter. Battier is a clean up player. He makes shots when the team is already rolling and plays excellent defense when a team already has a strong defensive mentality. On his own, Battier can't do much.
Lakers - yes (only if Artest continues that bad display) Spurs - no (Jefferson way too important for offense) Dallas - no (Butler and Marion are way better) OKC - no (Durant is starting at SF and Green is PF, with Ibaka as backup, no way Battier would start) Celtics - No (Pierce) Orlando - no (Hedo is returnin to all-star form in their system) Bulls - no (Deng is startin, Brewer better than Battier too) Miami - No Jazz - no ( AK47 better than Bat) Other teams: Hawks - yes Bobcats - no (Jax, Wallace) Cavaliers - yes Denver - no (Melo) Detroit - no (Prince) Warriors - no (Reggie) Clippers - no (Gomes sucks, but Aminu is better) Pacers - no (Granger) Bucks - yes T-Wolves - no (Beasley) Nets - no (Outlaw better) Hornets - maybe (Ariza ain't progressin) Knicks - no (Gallo better in thier system) 76ers - no (Iggy) Suns - no (Hill) Blazers - no (Batum, Matthews) King - no (Casspi, Greene) Raptors - yes Wizards - no (Thornton) Starter on 6 teams in my opinion, not more.
He might start over Gallo in NY - granted you lose a bit in speed/athleticism/transition, but otherwise 3 pointers are 3 pointers, and Gallo's defense is atrocious.
HELLLLLLLLLLLL NO. this guy is on the decline quicker than anyone else. his defense isn't as tenacious as we make out. he used to play awesome just a couple of years ago, but towards the end of the last season and this year he hasn't proven to be ANY BETTER than other options who start for most other teams. I see him as the Derek Fisher of the rockets. someone who makes big plays now and then, hits the occasional "much needed 3" and occasionally have a emotional spurt of defense. other than that, he wouldn't and shouldn't start. most of the defensive duties of champ teams are left to the star offensive players, its just so happens that the lakers actually employ a pure defensive strategist instead of lamar.
Is that why when Battier scores over 10 Houston has a winning record and the guy is slowly piling up block after block? If that's decline then I wish I was in a decline!!
D'Antoni and Gallo's dad played ball together in the Italian pro leagues. The Knicks are patterned after an uptempo Euro League team. Unless Donnie Walsh makes an unlikely edict, the Knicks will continue to force tempo. That in itself negates Battier's diminishing skill set.
The question should be, would Battier be hated on by other fans as much as he is here? The man is helping this team as much as he can and still gets no respect.
Is that why our overall record is a losing one? Because Shane Battier can't even put up a pathetic 10ppg on a consistent basis? This indicates that having such poor offensive production from the SF slot is holding the team down.
Our overall record is a losing one because we are a bad defensive team. We dont have a problem scoring the ball.
The Adelman influence is frightening. Gone are the days where fans cared about defense. Instead, now we're trying to banish our best perimeter defender on the team because he doesn't score double digits every game. Battier doesn't "fit" our team because he's not a good enough offensive player. Nevermind the small fact that he's leading our team in blocked shots -- all we care about is how well he can take his man 1on1!!! Yikes.
This. It is disgusting how badly the fans speak of somebody who has been such a big part of this franchise this past decade. This season, the guy is averaging 4.6 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.4 BPG, 0.9 SPG and he is shooting the 3-ball at almost 38%. He is still smarter than most of the SFs in the league and his defense is quite crafty. Chicago- HELL YES. Keith Bogans is the worst starter in the game. Cleveland- Yes. Who is starting there? Jamario Moon? LOL. Dallas- Yes. Butler is out for the year. Pretty easy one. Detroit- YES. Shane>Prince. Houston- Obviously LA Clippers- Yes. Self-explanatory. LA Lakers- Yes. The way Artest has been this year? Come on. Milwaukee- EASILY over Mbah A Moute Nets- Yes Hornets- Yes OKC- MAYBE at SG Philly- Yes, ahead of Meeks Sacramento- Maybe. Who is their starting SF? Cassipi? Greene? San Antonio- YES. Isn't Poppovic still coaching? Utah- YES. Isn't Sloan still coaching? 15 teams. Half the league. He would be a starter for half the league.
The problem is that he HAS to score with this group, the offense is fine but since we can't really stop anyone on a consistent basis, we pretty much need to outscore most teams. I wouldn't want him going one on one but spot up and make your 3s, don't pass up open shots and take advantage of your mismatches. I would love for him to simply be the defensive stopper that he was with McGrady, Artest and Yao but we can't afford for him to give us only 4 or 5 points anymore, not fair but reality.
Last time I checked, All-Defensive 2nd team is an accolade. It means he's considered one of the four best perimeter defenders in the league.
Trying to outscore other teams vs. defending them is a recipe for mediocrity. You should be worried about the defense, not the offense. Battier is shooting 38% from downtown this year.. his shooting is fine. I don't understand why he HAS to score 10+ points every night when we have Kevin Martin who is a 20+ PPG scorer and Scola who can be a 20 PPG scorer. It's not like we're trotting out five Chuck Hayes and need a big scoring contribution out of the SF position. The reality is we're not a very good team.. and replacing our best defensive player with ANOTHER offensive weapon only makes us worse; scoring is not our problem, defense is. You don't "make up" for our lack of defense by subtracting from it and adding more offense.
Yep, I agree but sadly we are a medicore team. I would LOVE for Morey to add a defensive center and get back to at least respectable on defense but it's looking less and less likely. If they don't upgrade the defense then we are going to be stuck losing more and more often but that is the type of team we have. I'm not saying replace the guy, although I wouldn't mind an upgrade, but he CAN'T give us only 4 or 5 points a night. When he was on his little streak, we looked and played so much better but when he doesn't score...we lose. Battier scores more then 10 points - 10-5 Battier scores less then 10 points - 6-13
My friend you have a gift... and that gift is for making charts to help me understand what is going on. When you leave that behind, your words, well they just leave me asking "what?" Please, I'm begging you, make a graph or something, I need my fix...
NO, shane battier sucks. He is the reason why we lose every game. He has the worst offensives skills in the league. All he does is look to shoot a 3 once he has the ball or pass right away. He cannot create for his teammates and he sucks as a 3 point shooter. This guy is garbage
