Artest in....Keep Battier or trade to upgrade pg position?

I thought game 6 versus Boston (not to mention every other playoff series he has been in post-Shaq) has pretty much showed Kobe is far from the toughest nut to crack in the NBA. Get him frustated with himself or his teammates--Lakers fall apart. Lebron and a healthy Wade, different story.

I agree on keeping Battier, but not specifically for Kobe. There is no need to build a team on stopping Kobe.

 

Battier is useful against all the wings in the league-- Kobe, Ray Allen, Pierce, Lebron, Carmelo, Peja, etc. Kobe probably gives Battier the most trouble out of that group because of his combination of athleticism and ability to hit heavily contested shots. I've seen Battier just flat out making life miserable for Carmelo and Lebron (more streaky with their J) and Peja (not enough speed to blow by Battier).

There is only one guy that I've seen Battier simply have NO solution for: Ron Artest. Ron is flat out too strong for Battier to handle. Good thing that Shane will guard Ron exactly 0 times during games this season.

 

There is one trade I really like and that's Mo Williams and a future 1st for Battier and filler. The only way it works out is if Artest keeps his head on straight so Battier could go on the block.

Williams
T-Mac
Artest
Scola
Yao

Bench: Francis, Barry, Landry, Alston, Mutombo

Looks good to me!

 

Nice observations. As a matter of fact, what teams in the west do you see that has a player on the wing that can give Arteest any trouble in stopping him?

Another question, how do you compare Ron's individual and team defense verses Shane's? (Would be a decent thread if you care to post it)

 

He's not a wing but Battier also seemed to have a problem guarding Kirilenko last playoffs, which IIRC he did a bit of. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that Battier had to play quite a bit of help defense, but I can see Kirilenko not being such a great matchup for Battier.

With Artest in the lineup, however, there will be more flexibility in the frontcourt matchups vs. Utah this time around. Artest is probably a good bet to take on Boozer at some point but when should it happen?

A Battier-Artest-Yao frontcourt will allow Artest on Boozer and Battier Kirilenko, but then Yao has to go out to the perimeter and guard Okur. If Scola subs in for Yao, then the Rockets give up some size for the sake of more mobility.

A long way away, I know, but it's going to be interesting.

 

As long as Yao Ming is in the game he will guard boozer. It's interesting. The rockets might be better off against Utah playing our version of small ball, with Yao on the bench.

 

I tend to remember Melo having alot of success against Battier in the post, something that will definitely be tougher to do against Ron Ron. Honestly I don't see anyone giving us the type of upgrade we would need to get Shane, and having him gives us a unique advantage at the wing position the only drawback being what to do with him against teams like Utah that don't rely on their wings to do much more then play D and chip in the odd basket.


and, hey rocketsanalyst, how about reducing the font size on your season predictions. For me its not that they're bad and completely unrealistic but that they take up a huge amount of space especially when you post 6-7 times in a thread.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3706/splits;_ylt=AvrWSuh4GkeZ_OCqA20GjhKkvLYF

Carmelo Anthony's FG% against the Rockets last season: 37.4%. Averaged 21 points a game on 20.8 FG attempts and 7.5 FT attempts. He jacked up a lot of shots, but not much success in terms of efficiency.

 

totally need to keep him, our defense might be #1 next year with this trade. Alston doesn't need to be the 3rd scorer anymore so it's all good.

 

Rocketanalyist, it's Shane Battier, there's a reason why he's coveted by so many teams. Battier is a glue guy and an anchor for our defense. Francis is washed up and going nowhere fast. You didn't exactly calculate minutes for Tmac playing at the PG, nor Barry for that matter. Artest will also share time at the PF position when the Rockets play small, which would also move Scola to the Center position. It's also possible to have Tmac, Artest, and Battier on the floor at the same time; imagine the defensive pressure against the other team....

 

i also thought Ron is a rental,what will happen next year?
just wait&see

 

I would not trade Battier. It is becoming clearer and clearer how valuable he is to a team.

 

Actually I think Battier is not a great matchup versus Lebron. Lebron is too strong and quick. Doesn't mean if Lebron has an off game Battier won't look fine (probably a different story over a series, look how Lebron started versus Boston, and then how he ended). I think Wade is another guy he couldn't cover (too quick). Not that I think any player can guard these two by themselves. I like Ron's chances versus Lebron better because at least the strength would be about even. Battier and Ron are both excellent guys versus Kobe, he will settle for more jumpers than Lebron or Wade will.

I don't like Williams much, definetly not for Battier + a pick. Mo W is the same career 3% shooter as Alston (shade under 36%) and less of a set up man and less on the defensive side. For the upgrade in 2FG % and FT% not worth Battier (let alone another pick). Mo W in addition to a high volume low to medicore shooting efficiency player also has a poor value contract.

Hinrich, Gordon, Barbosa--all either much better defensive players and/or more efficient offensive players than Mo W.

 

I don't ever recall Shane Battier being an All Star. He is a glue guy, top defender, and a decent three point shooter with a good BB IQ. That said, I haven't heard of all the teams that were calling the Rockets trying to trade for him this off season. I recall most on these boards still making posts and being upset that we traded Rudy Gay for him, and Rudy isn't an All Star either, at least not yet.

I gave reasons in some of my other posts why I didn't calculate minutes for Tmac or Barry at PG, but just to sum it up, although I think they may see an occasional moment or two there each, it will not be enough in my opinion in order to calculate to a number of minutes over an 82 game season. I also gave my reasons why I don't think Scola should play backup C (only did so out of necessity last year), or Artest at back up PF, except in very few unique circumstances where the other team has a smaller PF or back up PF on the floor, i.e. one that isn't an All Star caliber player like so many teams have.

I disagree with you about Steve, but we will have to just wait and see how that plays out. And I think us playing Shane, Tmac and Artest on the floor at the same time will be great for us, but will only occur at the end of some very close games, assuming that they have a point guard or smaller PF on the floor that one of them can guard.

You are welcome to disagree with me of course. Those are just my thoughts and opinions.

 

I would keep Battier unless someone knocks our socks off with a pg or combo pg/sg, but I am curious who are the "so many teams" that covet him. He sure doesn't seem to pop up in many rumors.

 

It'd be nice if we could trade Battier for Josh Smith straight up. Memphis sucks by the way.

 

Maybe it's not other teams coveting Battier's talent, but rather other teams just understanding why Battier's intangibles are so important. He's a stand-up citizen and a hard-nose player who does the little things to help his team succeed.

And I personally don't think Steve Francis is fit to run a team from the PG position; he's just a turnover machine who makes terrible decisions with the ball.

 

The rockets will have the right to match offers

 

Time to GET Shaun Livingston... I think he would be a good project along with AB. He has size talent, can create his own shot. Would be nice to keep him on the roster. Don't know how though. But would be nice.

 

I don't know how either because he's suppose to be out another few months at the least.