Battier for Rudy Gay/Stromile is not paying dividends

Which I'm sure they won't spend 8th pick to get (take a look at their starting 5, Bowen, Oberto etc).
See, that's two totally different concept!

 

Defense matters....but offensive liabilities surrounding 2 stars will only take you to the playoffs and get a 1st round exit. The reason being....it is balance that is the ultimate driver for WC success. And IMO, the Rockets with Hayes, Battier and Alston are too imbalanced...they create NO mismatches on the offensive end.

You can teach a lengthy player like RGay to play passing lanes much more easily than Chuck Hayes developing a money 15' J or Battier filling a lane on a fastbreak.

And I will disagree with you and everyone else that posts that the Spurs are the model to pursue. First and foremost, they have just under $40m/year tied up in Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. Manu being the lowest at $9m. IOW, the Spurs are a Manu-level expense ahead of the Rockets in expenditure and talent. No one....NO ONE is going to give you a $9m Manu...or a $7.8m Maggette or a $7.8m Artest for a role player like Battier.

Another reason I don't see the Spurs as the pattern to be emulated. Duncan is light years quicker and more agile than Yao Ming. To surround Yao with players like Battier and Hayes while the Spurs have much quicker perimeter and transition players is insane. In order to beat them, you don't emulate them...you one up them.

 

I agree that you don't want to put lumbering players around Yao Ming. That's why I was never a big fan of Juwan Howard on this team, and I was one of the people who favored Swift over Howard in 05/06. But I do think you underestimate the quickness of Chuck Hayes as a PF. For a 6'5 guy, sure he's not particularly quick. But for a PF, he's definitely above average in terms of quickness on the floor. Observe how he's able to hold his own switching onto guards at the three point line, or his ability to run down rebounds, or get deflections. I don't think Swift complemented Yao anywhere near as well as Hayes does. I have my doubts about Scola as well (who's definitely slower footed than Chuck, at least defensively). Maybe you have some other PF in mind.

As for SFs, it's not like we only have players like Battier on the team. We got athletes who, in theory, could thrive in transition like Bonzi and Snyder. You say that Adelman is stuck with JVG personnel. I would say that neither Bonzi nor Snyder are JVG-type players. So why aren't they playing more in place of Battier? I think Adelman values what Battier brings the team a lot more than you, despite his lack of speed and finishing capabilities.

 

Quickness of body is often undermined by slowness of brain. Swift probably beats Chuck in a foot race, but his reacts slowly and often incorrectly. Snyder, too, can beat much of the league in a foot race and jumping contest... but it's useless without the brains.

Battier and Chucks's have pretty quick bodies-- much quicker than folks give them credit for-- and even quicker brains. These two are not the problems for the Rockets.

The problem is the supposedly "better" "more talented" players like Wells, Francis, and James have played like crap more often than not so far.

 

I already knew Francis had slow brain when he was here the first time around. James looked somewhat like that too. Bonzi is supposed to be a smart player.

 

everyone knew this was the dumbest trade ever.. rudy gay could have easily been the number 1 pick but of course we trade him for a scrub

 

Bonzi isn't dumb.... my fear about him is that he's washed up. He's supposed to work great around the basket, but this season he's been getting his shots stuffed left and right in a lot of games. When he posts up, he often either loses the ball or take a low % turnaround J. One can only hope he'll eventually get his legs under him and be useful.

Another thing about him-- even on his best day he is not a good shooter from range. So, often when the Rockets put him in for Battier, the opposing D really packs the lane and destroys the spacing. So, even if he eventually gets into rhythm, the Rockets will find some ways to create space for him to work in the low post.

 

Gay will have another 30+ point performance tonight. Doh!

 

Gay routinely posts numbers that Battier can only dream about. Tonight he was 11/18 and 9/10 FT for 32 points.

I'd rather have tangible points than intangibles.

 

Another night of.....

Tsk Tsk

 

Gay almost posts a double double in an impressive win over the Spurs. Battier???? Maybe his big intangible is that he launders the jockstraps of the Rockets. Other than that, I don't see why people raved about him.

 

On a night when Rockets needed a 3 pointer to tie the game in closing seconds....

Rudy Gay hits a game winning 3 pointer.

But Rockets couldn't use that right? You guys would rather have intangibles of course!

 

Yes, on a night Mr. Intangible is missing wide open midrange shots. Pathetic.

 

What Battier does apparently doesn't show up on the box score. It doesn't show up on the win column either. Again, I'm convince his great intangible contribution is his washing of the Rockets jockstraps.

 

The Big Intangibles

Rocket River

 

I like him and his effort...but he's not a fit on the Rick version of this team.

 

Ryan Bowen also gave a lot of effort ....

 

rudy gay and bonzi could carry the offensive load with yao. especially now that tmac is out...

for now i agree. i'd prefer to have gay these days. we're obviously years away from title contention.

which makes the whole "win now with battier" thing aggravating as hell.

 

I yelled and cried when I heard we were taking Gay and trading him for Battier. I knew it was a mistake then and now it is so obvious that it was a HUGE mistake.

 

yeah... hearing gay hit the game winning 3 vs the spurs makes me think what could have been.