thank you for making my point. it's not some perception over extending contracts, it's because our marquee player is an injury prone oaf. i win the internetz.... geez i'm worthless. arguing on the web.
Because Battier is playing as bad of defense as Taylor would be playing if he were out there. Seriously... I'm waisting my time trying to get you to understand that Battier is playing BAD.
It is both....there is not one thing Stud, there are multiple things, players see it when teams are willing to spend $$$$ and be over the lux tax line, the Rockets have NEVER EVER EVER done that....they may this year, or they may sneak under it later on in the year (they have done this every year).... I believe we are perceived as a cheap franchise....one that squeezes every nickel.... It is more than just Yao, that may be the main reason, but it is not the ONLY reason. DD
I'm wasting my time, but I'll try again. If he is playing BAD, why would Morey say "Battier is STILL our best perimeter defender," implying that he is STILL defending well, which means that he isn't playing bad on the defensive end.
I can understand his frustration,but he is acting in a unprofessional manner. If DM can't trade him soon, then he needs to be cut very quickly. He needs to be sent home immediately.
That just means we have ****ty perimeter defenders. You're relying on what Morey's saying which is based on Shane's resume of being a lock down perimeter defender. Is there anyone on this team that has reputable perimeter defense as a wing? NO. Brooks? Martin? Lee? Budinger? Lowry? NO. I can easily say that even Battier's ****ty defense is better than any of those players' defense.
Probably why he is acting out, sometimes players see that complaining is their best option to move on. Nature of the beast, and JT should do whatever he thinks is right for his OWN career, regardless of what the organization thinks. DD
Taylor tweeted again: 412 is obviously a code. In fact, it's the area code of Allegeny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. So he's going to the Sixers or the Cavs, I think these are the two closes teams to the 412 area code. He's no longer rolling on 44s.
And I said that where? I didn't say "bench Battier to improve our defense", I said bench Battier to have some change in this rotation because our defense isn't improving (and that's pretty much all Battier is good for, defense). I'm not saying Taylor has to come in and help on defense... actually he'd be better off helping on offense off the bench. Regardless, it doesn't hurt our perimeter defense because frankly we don't really have good defense on the perimeter to begin with.
Don't you think asking Scola to stay on his man would help the D significantly? If 4 men are trying to guard their man and are just having trouble, while the 5th one is leaving theirs open, then i'm going to fix that first before making changes to the 4 other guys.
how so? Because he's done his best to limit staff cuts while ticket sales declined as his superstars were injured? Because his gm does his best to help the company bottom line and trades fringe rotation players to save money? Because he listened to RA and agreed to pay whatever it was needed to sign Miller? Because he allows his GM to gauge how much a player is worth and let's him ride out a players agreed contract ride out before negotiating a new one? Because he allowed Morey to sign Lowry and Scola for whatever was necessary in effort to keep this team together? Ariza wasn't going to accept playing less minutes here and they felt Lee was going to be productive in his minutes off the bench... Because from New Zealand, you know he treats his season ticket holders to numerous events throughout the season out of his pocket in effort to make it seem you are paying for more than just tickets to every game? Just curious why you like to call him cheap.
This is the point I start understanding how Lebron felt like during the whole decision drama. How do you respect something that doesnt respect you? Fans and franchises treat their players like private properties, they do whatever they want and say all those nasty things about the players despite the fact that those players are friggin human beings, they have feelings for gods sake. Its not all about money, guys like JT are talented, they have pride and they are ambitious when it comes to their career --- if you believe you are capable of being a NBA starter, why waste your time on a so-called "deep" 0-4 team? **** the franchise, **** the fans, they dont care about the players so the players wont give a **** about them either. Its that simple
Why would JT have to "act out" to "move on"? This is not ****ing Trailblazers and Rudy F., where the player is begging out and the team is refusing to trade the guy (except for a deal which they are looking for but can't find for months). The Rockets want Dampier, need the roster spot soon, said (or at least told Feigan) they are looking to trade JT. They'll have to make the deal one way or another. JT has no clear reason to be desperate to leave the team to go back to Spain (for a bigger contract or be close to his family) or to anywhere else. He wants to know, for sure, but so do the Rockets. They need to get something done to get Dampier on the roster. It's gonna happen and it's gonna happen soon. Don't know why it's such an affront to some people that he has to wait a little bit.
First of all, he should keep his mouth shut. The last thing he needs is to start to look like a trouble-maker. He is barely hanging on in the NBA; he should look like the best possible team-mate, the best possible locker-room presence. Second, I'm not going to feel sorry for the guy at all. After all, guys that were 95% as good as him are flipping burgers, or maybe playing in China or Greece. Even then, their careers will probably be over in ten years, and if they didn't have the good sense to save or invest their money, they will be broke by the time they're forty. They're wishing they had the chance JT has had. JT needs to work hard, be smart with his money, maybe take some courses in the off-season, and he can have a wonderful life. I wish I had it so easy. I have to rely on my good looks.
That's not the issue with Battier. He can't stay in front of his man.... he's getting blown by at times... I'm not referring at all to our defense as a whole. I'm talking about defense individually... which is what Battier is known for. He's not getting it done... so it wouldn't hurt to have someone in the rotation (who isn't noted to have great defense) that can contribute in other ways.... offensively perhaps, which we need off the bench. Bench scoring is significantly down from last season.
If we make a move, it should be to improve our defense, and should involve promoting a better defender to the starting lineup.
