http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/features/petes_perspective-battier-051125.html Pete’s Perspective: Write In Your All-Star Vote for Shane Battier Somebody get this guy on the All Star Ballot – stat! Shane Battier is quietly having one of the best, if not THE best, seasons of his career. He’s averaging just a shade less than 14 points per game and is among the league leaders in field goal percentage, a rarefied stratum usually inhabited only by those who play above the rim and score their points off dunks and layups. Battier scores on a dunk every once in a (great) while and even he admits his aerial skills are beginning to decline ever so slightly, but the other skills? Man oh man. I defy anyone to show me another player who is as versatile and who is as willing to forego the limelight in order to get a win. And I should also point out that this is no hungry second-rounder/undrafted free agent from a tiny college doing all this, it’s a former collegiate player of the year who played for one of the nation’s most celebrated basketball programs and the greatest college coach of his generation. Shane Battier Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images After the Houston victory on Friday night, Grizzlies head coach Mike Fratello summed it up thusly, “Shane just refused to let us lose.” A succinct and accurate portrayal of Battier’s 20-point, seven-rebound, three-block effort which the Grizzlies dearly needed to avoid a three-game losing streak heading into Dallas where the Mavericks have won a sick 14 straight at home dating back to last season. In fact, Avery Johnson, who took over for Don Nelson, is a perfect 13-0 at the American Airlines Center. But, back to Battier. He’s every bit as good as advertised: durable, coachable, talented and smart. And I don’t just mean just basketball smart (hey, he did graduate from Duke, didn’t he?). Shane is gifted with great insight into people and personalities and his inquisitive mind is a tremendous benefit to the Grizzlies. He is every bit as detail-oriented as Fratello and Shane is the first to ask detailed questions during game-day walkthroughs, so much the better to re-enforce the information so that it doesn’t slip through the cracks of memory in the heat of a close game. Another sign of Battier’s detail-work? He always makes sure that he knows each official’s name before he steps on the floor; I know because it is the unofficial job of the broadcasters to make sure that Shane has this information close at hand prior to tipoff. And in the offseason, knowing that teams were playing him defensively on his right hand, Battier developed a repertoire of lefty shots, so that defenses can’t simply play him for one move. As a result, Shane continues to hone and refine his game and the Grizzlies are the beneficiaries. After all, what do you prepare for if you’re an opposing coach? Play his three point shot and he’ll put it on the deck and drive to the rim. Play him for the drive and he’ll sneak into the corner and launch a three. Forget to account for him defensively and he’ll deflect a shot, steal a pass, dig out a loose ball or do whatever it takes for his team to win. But he’s not on the All Star Ballot. Amazing but true. So write him in (you can write in your vote online here). Wouldn’t that be something – a write-in starter in the NBA All-Star Game?
