[Chron]Feigan: Looks like Battier will play, lots.

Battier was brought in last year to take defensive pressure off from T-Mac. Management realized that he was not a 3rd scorer. That's why they went after Bonzi who abandoned the team. This year Battier should have an easier time scoring with Scola,James,and a rejuvenated Bonzi.He will still have to take on the toughest defensive assignment at the 3 or the 2. Bonzi isn't looking good on the defensive end which worries me,that's why I hope Snyder can show some improvement there which unfortunately seems unlikely. Harris can also take some of the defensive duties hopefully at the 3 too.

 

Everyone knew Battier is penciled in for the starter. Those that don't understand basketball speak otherwise.

 

People that underestimate Shane show how much they don't know. There is a reason he's averaged 33 mins/game for his career playing for several coaches. Adelman is just the next in line.

 

man gater got the beat down from carl herrera and durvasa. i love random blanket accusations that get beat down.

 

LOL seriously, Carl Herrera that was great.

On another note, this shouldn't be surprising at all. Batter is a great defensive player and is one of the smartest players in the league, so the system change shouldn't bother him one bit.

 

Battier will be the same Battier from the last season, no more, no less.
people move away, nothing to see here.

 

Moneyball just means using competitive advantage in player evaluation to help acquire players that other teams undervalue.

 

yeah, that was funny.... i was gonna post a response to that (awful) post, but they did it better than i ever could.

 

Ok, and why would anyone look at that as a negative? There has to be more to it than that.

 

GATER is one of the best posters in the forum, and you should listen to him. Battier is nothing special.

If we had a top level two-guard, TMac would go to the 3. We don't. Battier is more dependable help with Tmac, so he plays with him. Our other options are not dependable. That is all.

Battier didn't hang the moon. He's an average talent. Trade him if you can get something better in a package. He is replaceable.

Some deals for very good players will shake out. A lot of our players are not in the ranks of the very good. We have 2 very good players, and a lot of ok players. If Battier can be moved for an upgrade, we need to do that.

It would not be a bad idea to think about replacing Tmac now. His contract will come up in a few years. He is a declining asset. We might move Battier plus other assets for another, younger 3. Maybe someone like Rudy Gay - j/k.

 

Well Battier was more suited to the JVG Game more so than to the Coach'A' Game. With so many scorers on the team it is difficult to see Battier being an effective offensive player along side of Yao & Tracy, especially having him Alston and Chuck starting sort of drags the offensive wepons to a two man effort. I must say that his play in the last game improved my image of him and I am warming up to the idea!

 

man that was one of the biggest burns i have ever seen in my 6 years reading this message board.

thats all

 

No sorry. He is a one dimensional offensive player, who plays solid D, and Rebounds poorly.

Hubie, Fratello both did wonderful jobs of career coaching the Grizz to such playoff success of 0 playoff victories also. Coach K...omg.

Yeah your right. Except if you almost doubled Varjaeo's mins he would of scored at about the same clip as Battier, Rebounded at 3 times Battiers rate, got more blocks, more steals...ect ect. He will get more time...in time, but his stas are very similar to Battiers minus the minutes.


Im not going to Dog on Battier. He definately has a place on this team. We need defensive precence out there. But Battiers lack of anykind of O thats not standing in the corner waiting for a kick out three, and no rebounding does hurt this team alot more then what people may think. Having him, chuck, and Alston on the offensive side is forcing TMac and Yao to play 2 on 5. Chuck aint getting anything (as testimony to his 1 made field goal not under the basket for the whole year) not under the bucket, Rafer cant make a shot to save his life, leaving Battier to circle around the three point line waiting for the corner three. Battier is a big 3 small 4 who in 36 mins per game got a whopping 4 rebounds per game. Its just not enough to overcome his shortcomings on O, all the D he plays. I dont Mind Battier getting 20-25 mins a night, but he is not needed anymore then that.

 

he *was* one of the better ones.

now, his biases are coloring his posts.

he hates moneyball, and by extension the current management of the Rockets, and he wanted Rudy Gay....so he hates Battier.

riiiight.....a shame the evidence on tape doesnt support that claim.



I shouldnt do this, cause I know you are just gonna attack me


but Dreamshake, you need to get up with the times.
Battier is showing what he can do on O these last couple of games when he is told to shoot, instead of shying away from shooting like he had previous to now.

It was NEVER that he *couldnt* put the ball in other than threes, its that he didnt want to.

 

No way am I going to attack you. Im not saying that Battier is a bad player, or even an average player. He is a solid player. He is Bruce Bowen Light. If you are willing to call Bowen a great player then Battier is a very good player. If Battier is going to go against all his years of standing around only chucking threes, and not crashing the boards this year then so be it. I HOPE he can. But he has a career he is going against, and even under Fratello, and Brown, his game didnt evolve offensively. Again, I want Battier on our team, not at the clip of 36 mpg, and 4 boards, and no offense. Sorry, he is one of the reasons the Rox failed in the playoffs.

 

Funny how people say I'm hung up on stats, and many of them criticize Battier for not getting big rebound numbers. That's a pretty good example of drawing a bad conclusion by looking at the box score and not considering role. On offense, Battier was mostly on the perimeter. On defense, he was our key perimeter defender (oh, and we happened to be the best defensive rebounding team in the league last year, especially when Battier was on the court).

And if Battier was one-dimensional on offense, as you say, then he'd be struggling in the current offense. Steve Novak is an example of a one-dimensional offensive player. Battier is not.

So you think you understand Battier's strengths and weaknesses better than them? ... omg

I wasn't talking about per-game stats, anyways. The stats aren't the same because they have different roles on their respective teams. Varejao was a front court player, and so he gets more rebounds and hangs out in the lane looking to draw charges. Battier played out on the perimeter, so he his shots were different -- a splendid outside shooter, and hence a much higher eFG%.

You can't just look at the stat line for players who play very different positions and say, "Hey, they're basically the same". That's silly.

You may be right. It depends on what we get from Bonzi. I know what Battier is capable of, and I think he'll be successful in the new system. If Bonzi can also excel, I don't have any problem with Battier getting less than 30 minutes.

 

Bingo. It's a shame too.

 

Oh, and after he's done putting up 35 minutes a night for us, I want him as our coach.

 

I was going to respond, but Durvasa and R2K took everything I was going to say. Edit: and I agree with Will, but only if Battier doesn't go into politics!

Battier stays, Battier plays.

Coaches like players who listen to what they say and then make it happen on the court.