Is Shane Battier one of the best role players ever?

I dont know if he will go down in history just yet BUT he is a DAMN good role player!

 

Sorry to knock shane in a time of overall good fortune for the Rockets, but would we be having this conversation if the guy had not regressed so much offensively since college? I've got to admit I'm very disappointed by his lack of offense. I didn't expect him to score 20 ppg but around 12-14 ppg should have been doable, and he should be shooting much better, given his reluctance to shoot. 8 ppg is even worse than in Memphis. His milk carton performance on offense is what causes Rafer "Jack-em-up" Alston to go shot-crazy and I don't think that's a good idea.

Oh, and as for the subject matter - to be an all-time great role player, you should probably play on a team that did not hold the NBA record for playoff futility like Memphis and it's 0 for existence.

 

Just because Battier is the epitome of a role player does mean he is the greatest role player ever

 

I couldn't agree more about his lack of offense. I'm not sure if we don't run enough plays for him but having him camp out in the corner doesn't seem to be working out for him. His 3's aren't falling and he doesn't seem to be looking for his shot other than the occasional post up.

 

Among the "best ever" is a tall order. I think we can say he's among the very best in the league right now, though. He can have a 4 point game on 2 for 5 shooting and manage to look like the star of R2K's highlight video of the game.

Recently he's been having too many of those 2 for 5 nights, though.

 

I love how a guy can get lit up like a Christmas tree, offer next to nothing offensively, and proceed to snatch up a loose ball and have the masses slobber all over his nob as "the ultimate team player" and "the reason for winning." Only Shane Battier. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but don't you have to atleast offer something tangible for the intangibles to count for what they're worth? It's comical really. It's like never taking out the trash, neglecting the kids, abusing your wife, buying her a fine china set and getting a blowjob as reward for being a "great husband." It's comical, really. Only Shane Battier.

 

MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF REB APG SPG BPG PPG
In Games Won 36.9 .407 .242 .750 1.2 2.3 3.6 2.4 1.1 1.11 6.9
In Games Lost 4 4 37.3 .469 .476 .375 0.5 3.8 4.3 2.8 1.8 0.5 10.8

Some splits on Battier - while he's a high plus minus/roland rating player, I find it somewhat striking that he's much better in losses than in wins according to raw stats (though it's early of course). Very counterintuitive, though I haven't really thought it through. Probably due to the fact that when the big stars have big games, he just defers and defers and defers (though his FG% shouldn't go down)

So my question to our stat gurus (durvasa, tango, any others I may have missed) is this - is it possible (and I am not saying that I know this, just guessing) that Shane's +/- and all that stuff is just a coincidence of him playing lots of minutes and having poor backups? (does anybody know his WINVAL rating for this season and does it match the rest?)

 

I agree that the "greatest ever" would combine tangibles and intangibles. Dennis Rodman was a much greater role player then Shane Battier. He did intangibles defensively and had "tangible" numbers in rebounds etc....

Shane Battier is not top ten.

 

Rings make the legend.

 

CHUCK HAYES

 

robbert horry is the best role player ever.

 

smoothie i am with you, horry was my favorite player as a kid watching the rox. battier is a great role player (although struggling a bit right now) but in my book there is no question who the greatest role player of all time is, BIG SHOT ROB! no one steps up their game on the big stage as much and has made as many HUGE game shots. (not to mention the fistfull of championship rings, the most among active players i believe)

 

Yep!!

 

+1 ditto

 

Not yet. This discussion is a bit premature, don't you think. How about in a year or two. Most of the role players in the championship years are going to stand out in the minds of most fans. Battier's performance is not particularily memorable thus far. Hayes is really impressing me though.

 

just because a player doesn't put up stats doesn't make him a great role player.

dennis rodman was the best "role player" ever.

 

I'm a big fan of Battier, but best role player ever would be a dubious honor that doesn't seem appropriate to give to Battier or any other player for that matter.

 

Good point. Horry is a close 2nd but definately 2nd because Horry was useless in the regular season. Rodman came to play EVERY night.

 

As long as he's doing well defensively, it's acceptable. Otherwise, Yao won't be in the top 5 in the scoring.