Battier's offensive liability can no longer be ignored

You dont think it's unfair to compare our weakest spot to the spots on the best teams? They mostly all have stars at that position. It's like making the same argument for Yao when center is a weak position in the NBA. In this case the Sf spot is a strong position for the top teams. I'm not sure if you're trying to say it proves we need a star at the spot to be contenders or that he's just not good enough to start to contend. There's no doubt it's our weakest spot because of him and Bud but it's still a team game and the surrounding players matter a lot. How many minutes would Bill wennington/Perdue/longley avg on the Rockets, Knicks, spurs, Pacers, etc back then? It's all about how the team is built, not one player.

what i gather from the most recent trasactions is that houston valued Battier enough defensively and as a leader to sort of build around him. Rather than replacing him with an offensive player they acquired offense at other positions. Of course i dont mean they built around him like you do with a superstar, but they brought in players to pick up his weakness, when they could have replaced him. Some argue there were no other options, but there was Ariza...and they decided to pass on him eventually when he was seen by many as the perfect replacement, which even i though he would be.

 

Good point HTown. One way to wear down a superstar you're guarding is to make him work on the other end of the court by making him play defense.
Either Kobe/Melo clamped down on Battier, or they got to coast on defense. My guess would sort of the the latter. Battier has never been a top 3 scoring option. Mainly gets points off of scraps.

 

It's not Battier's fault.
When other guys dont understand defendense, only Battier can do nothing.

 

In other words,

Token

 

I can see and understand this point but if that's the case, I think we could have kept Ariza instead. He is very capable of defending on the level of Battier and was also responsible for defending the other team's best players for us also. I think the Ariza trade was a money making decision that turned out to be a poor basketball decision. No other logical reason that you trade a young 3 (Ariza) with defensive intensity and questionable/decent 3pt range for an old 3 (Battier) who is on a decline, losing a step, and timid to even take a 3 or be relevant on the offensive end of the floor.

Ariza is going to burn us against the hornets...

 

Speaking of being an offensive liability (although I would say he's impotent offensively), I'll add that Battier has quite possibly the worst ball handling skills of any wing player in the entire league. It's unbelievable that as a starting sf in the NBA the guy can hardly dribble a basketball.

From what I gather it has more to do with a general lack of interest in Battier the player by other teams. Unless you believe the Hornets asked for Battier and the Rockets said no, we'll give you Ariza instead. The Ariza move was strictly a financial one, but since the Rockets were trying to dump salary, the Hornets most likely sensed that and were able to extract Ariza, who is a championship role player unlike Battier and Lee. For all intents and purposes, Shane's value now is as an expiring contract. The value of that expiring contract will rise as we get closer to the trade deadline. As I've said before, if Battier can help get the Rockets Iggy or Melo, that would be the greatest contribution he ever made to this team.

 

Hornets needed athletes or shooters around Paul. They got Ariza and Belinelli. They also needed younger players to match CP's window of opportunity. I'd hardly say it was a knock on Battier, just not what they needed. Haven't heard teams actually say they're not interested, so I doubt that's the case. Looks like Houston is only dealing him if he's part of a large deal to bring an all-star here.

So what do you have against Lee? Is he the new battier to you?

 

We got owned in the trade for Lee. Ariza is clearly the better player and adds wins. I dont see how you trade Ariza our SF for a backup guard who doesnt get minutes anyways and cant start ever with Martin here. Very stupid. First Morey mistake. I would have rather flipped Martin again for a more defensive minded guard than Ariza.

 

I echo your feelings towards the Ariza trade. He was probably a d******d, but he was a starting quality sf NBA player, who with his length played the passing lanes very well. LT money was saved on the trade. I just wonder if there were other creative ways to accomplish the same without getting rid of him.

Well, it is now water under the bridge.

 

ARIZA

WAS

TERRIBLE

 

I concur, but you have to admit Larsv8, that Battier seems to be declining and is not as effective on either side of the ball these last 2 years.

I like the guy too, but maybe it is time for the team to limit his minutes....and go a bit younger.

DD

 

You keep on saying that Lars. Meanwhile, Ariza has been deemed to be good enough to start for three NBA teams, including future hall of fame coaches in Phill Jackson and Aldeman. But hey, maybe you know more than them.

I don't even like Ariza as a person, but your hatred for one particular player borders on the irrational.

 

3-0

and speaking of "Cancer"

http://twitter.com/Klow7/statuses/29575503159

I'm not falling for your trolling Lars

go on to your 456 other NBA forums you **** in.

 

For the umpteenth time, Ariza was not a starter on the Lakers he was a 20mpg player...who got hot in the playoffs.

DD

 

From March 11, 2009, Ariza started for Lakers and never relinquish that position until he was traded. You and Lars must be drinking from the same fountain.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2009_start.html

 

A small sample size....and Phil Jackson even says that Ron Artest is a 30mpg player and Ariza isn't..but what the heck does he know he only holds the record as the coach of the most championship teams.

DD

 

We traded Ariza, because they thought CBud would/can start.

 

It is all good DD. I enjoy your videos anyway.

 

Thanks....and we don't always have to agree....lord knows I don't...lol.

It is getting real close to the time to find that out.

DD

 

Yes, I am drinking from the fountain.

The fountain of I watched every game last year, saw Ariza make poor decision after poor decision.

The fountain of I watched him chuck 15+ shots a game at a dismal performance, saw his attitude toward other players on the court.

The fountain of I saw him whine and throw punches at Derozan when things didnt go his way.

The fountain of I watched him try and dribble the basketball to the basket repeatedly even though he had ZERO ball handling skills.

The fountain of shooting 6 threes a game, despite being terrible at it.

The fountain of gambling on defense and giving up open layups REPEATEDLY.

Yes, I am drinking from that fountain. What can I say? I am a basketball purist. I appreciate the fundamentals of the game, such as dribbling and passing, not the atrocity to the game that Ariza put on last year.

And you know what the absolute worst part of it is? Having to sit here and watch people say things like "Man, Ariza was good, we lost that trade from a talent standpoint"...WTF...ARIZA IS TALENTED AT NOTHING...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. He is the Stromile Swift of small forwards.

He was athletic and fast, somehow, probably due to his sheer volume of attempts, r****ded his way to a few thunderous dunks, mesmerizing people into thinking he was a good player. He isn't, he wasn't, he never will be. There is a reason why he is gone and Shane is still here.