It would do Battier no good to cut to the rim when the Lakers have 3 defenders (Yao's man, the PF's man, and Battier's man) already in the paint. If there's a particular possession in which Battier had a free lane right to the basket that he didn't take, please point it out. I was looking for it, and I don't remember seeing it. And what I described is Battier's job. Everybody's got a certain role, and that's his based on what he, the coaches, and the staff have said in interviews. Players have to be productive within their roles.
I didn't know being athletic = being dumb and smoking weed. Tell lebron,kg,kobe,dream,robinson,jordan and all the other great athletes that.
Believe me, they would KILL to have Battier. You know, some GMs actually understand the game a little bit and appreciate what Shane brings to the table. If Lakers management is as bright as you suggested, they would recognize that. And who's "they"? Jerry West? Mitch Kupchak? Jerry Buss? Different people there. One might be smarter than the other.
my faith in battier is starting to shake a bit... but sitting him down isn't fair. ab didn't sit down when he was having an equally terrible shooting slump. and i don't get it either why adelman refuses to play barry.
Durvasa, there are shallow cuts that can be used. What about dumping to yao and cut hard enough to make kobe look, then when he digs, u reverse back for a midrange jumper?
All those guys you named are intelligent, hard working competitors on the court and leaders off the court. I'm just saying veteran leadership, locker room harmony, mental toughness, fundamentals, understanding of the game and a great character come before athleticism and scoring ability. All NBA players are good athletes, some are better than the others. But only a small fraction is the kind of consummate professional that you would want to be your teammate. Shane is exactly that. P.S. Ever heard of a guy called Gerald Green? We use to love him. How about Josh Howard? J.R. Smith?
If Battier is on the opposite side, what good would a shallow cut do? If Yao doesn't have the angle to get Battier the ball in the corner, would he be able to find him on the opposite baseline? And the Lakers will be more willing to play off him if he's hanging around the baseline than in the corner 3. It's easier for them to run out and contest a midrange jumper then get all the way to the three point line, and its generally a less efficient shot. That's why spacing the floor is such a big deal to coaches. Maybe I'm wrong. I'd like someone, you or Kwame or whoever, to point out at least one or two specific possessions where Battier didn't cut when he should have. Then I can go back, take a look, and the discussion can continue.
I'm glad all these traits allowed us to "win now" after the trade. Hey, add offensive aptitude and you might have someone who should play 30-35 mins on a quality NBA team.
That's ridiculous, that's the kind of stuff middle school coaches tell their team because it sounds good.......in the real world talent/skills wins.
Kobe isn't the average player. He's not going to chase battier, maybe part of the reason why is because he doesnt think battier is a huge threat, but mainly because Kobe believes he's good enough to just go and strip Yao everytime. He's too sure of his abilities to second guess himself by running at yao, then saying "uh-oh there goes shane better cover him instead", once he make a move to drop to Yao, he's not coming back unless Yao makes his move or passes. In this specific case, it's more about Yao's problems holding on to the ball and keeping an eye on the weakside.
Durvasa, you're a smart person. I can tell from just the responses you give and the thoughts you put into it. Just from my experience playing on a division 1 level, coaching, and scouting the game, shane doesn't do enough to warrant his minutes. Now I know adelman doesn't really have good depth behind him and that's why he's playing so much, but its very obvious. The patter was the same when Shane was the post passer. Kobe would stay at his landmark, allow yao to start his move, the come and try to dig the ball out. If shane, who is a smart guy also, would cut hard to the rim as soon as kobe turns his head, now kobe has to commit fully to the double. If yao doesn't hit him for the cut and layup, a man would replace the cutting battier on that same strong side. That cut by battier can also be adjusted with a plant and peel back cut. That would put shane right back in yao's sight at about 15 ft. I can watch and notation all that and people will still find a excuse why he's scoring so poorly.
Injuries...did they never happen? I get fans being down on shane in regards to his play this year, but why the past playoff failures are seen as shan'es problem is beyond me. 06 playoffs, not gonna happen when your two best players miss a total of 70 games. 07 playoffs games lost: Game 3- shane was 4 of 10, 0 turnovers, 1 stl, 2 blocks, 5 rebs, but luther was 0 for 5, Howard was 0 for 5. chuck was 0 for 2. That's 0 for 12 for 3 players, none being shane. Rockets had 19 turnovers, shane 0, yao 8, tracy 4, rafer 5. Game 4- shane 4 of 8, 5 asst, 1 turnover. Yao 5 turnovers. Luther 3 of 7. Juwan 2 of 7. Rafer 5 of 14 (2 of 7 on 3s). Game 6- Only game shane played badly. 1 of 5 and 3 turnovers, but yao 8 turnovers, tmac 5 turnovers, tmac 1 of 6 on 3s, rafer AGAIN 5 of 14. Game 7- shane 4 of 7 (all 3s), 4 of 4 FT, 3 asst, 3stls, 2 blks, 1 turnover. Yao 4 turnovers. RAFER 3 OF 11. Boozer and Okur grab 25 boards, i'm pretty Shane wasn't on themm..... 08 playoffs: I guess a small forward role player is suppose to replace a 7'6 center who's out for the playoffs? Want to blame Shane for tonight loss? Every loss this season? fine, at least he's playing badly, but to blame him for past playoff failures and not winning "now" after the trade? PLAIN STUPID.
I respect that you have all that experience, but you have ever played or coached a 7'6 stiff center who has trouble holding on to the ball? I dont think anyone can understand why Adelman or JVg did what they did or do unless they've dealt with Yao. As for tonight, i'd agree with you any other night, but Kobe is Kobe. There's no one else as sure of his abilities like him. He knows Yao will caugh up the ball if challenged, why would he worry about shane, oy anyone, if he knows he can drop down and strip the ball in like 3 seconds? Also. He said after the game that Yao is big, and they didn't want him to get in rythm because one he gets going he'll tear you up. Their plan was not let Yao get his usual movement rythm on his moves, which works because half the time Yao is going to pass off and the other half of the time he's going to jst hold on to the ball until he either travels with it or they strip it. The problem was shane didnt hit his shots, cutting inside just puts him close the defenders who'll just crash down on him and he's stuck there. I dont remember there being a lot of space in there, the defenders were all sagging down a bit.
i forgot to add in the first part of my post that aside from the intangibles, defense, and all that's usually said about Battier, there has to be something JVG and Shane are seeing that benefits Yao. Maybe it's how the defense reacts, maybe it's how Yao plays. All i know is they have access to more stats/video/etc than anyone here and analyze it in much more greater detail as well, so there must be something they are seeing for it to go on this long (shane playing so much). and to add to the second part of my post, Kobe was more worried about Yao than what shane was doing because the game plan was to bother Yao so he wouldnt get going. He wasn't going to go anywhere even if shane cut, danced, or slept with his wife. They were willing to sacrifice everything else because Yao's efficiency is our biggest weapon. That's why we're practicaly undefeated when Yao scores like 20+, or something like that. The more he shoots, the bigger the chunk is of the team's total shots that belong to him, which means the more efficient the team is overall since he shoots so well.
The lakers management in general would have never traded a lotto pick for shane. They got rick fox for nothing. Same type of intangible player. The got ariza for cook. The lakers have been one of the most successful franchises in sports because they make smart moves. They have swindled people time and time again. If you don't believe me, go research and find out how they wound up with Magic. Go google and find out how they got the #1 draft pick a year going to the conf finals. How did they get a former mvp to come off the bench after being called selfish on another team. They know when to make trades, what players to get and they usaually always win in every trade minus the shaq deal. Theve won a ring in the 70's,80's,90's, and 2000. They're on their way to winning one this decade also. That's not luck either.
I can guarantee that if shane had injected himself into scoring positions and gotten some easy buckets, kobe would have worried about yao. I can also tell you that cutting, moving, and making meaningful moves toward the basket makes it harder for defenders to focus on "landmarks". Those "landmarks" are staitionary targets which makes it easier to find after the double. Kobe had it easy tonight, that's why he was fresh. Ariza handled artest, and he rested on defense. That's why he struggled against boston last year and detroit in the finals.He either had to guard 2 motion players like rip and allen or a bonifide scorer like pierce or a multi facet long player like prince. If kobe can chill and roam on defense, he's going to to be fresh when it counts.
