I recall that in 08/09 playoffs, Kobe Bryant was by far less efficient against the Rockets and against the Magic than he was against either Denver or Utah. It seems that Battier and Lee probably were doing something right.
I think this is something that is being overlooked on the Ariza trade. With him on the starting lineup, we knew we had someone that had the size and length to defend the Kobe, lebron, etc. Then having a fresh Battier to come in and provide extra defensive help was a luxury few teams had. Now, Battier is starting and Lee is only 6'5". Like some posters have noted, absent another trade, we likelly got worse with this trade.
That hand in the face defense means nothing for Kobe. He might put 40 points on Battier and somebody here will say the latter did a good job. Lol.
You guys need to remember that Ariza can shut down kobe if you guys remember when Ariza was matched up with kobe he didn't do jack. But battiers hand in the face doesn't work on kobe. My point is that people don't give Ariza as much credit as he deserves on the defensive side. But Arizas offense is just horrible and I'm actually glad they traded him away he was gonna take shots away from brooks and Martin so I'm glad they shipped his ass to the NO
Exactly. The hand-in-the-face defense worked the first 1-2 times against Kobe, but then he got used to it and eventually it made no difference in his shotmaking ability. Kobe's offense evolved; Shane's defense didn't. Besides, the hand in the face only works when it gets up there early enough. If the shot is already set and the shooter has already made eye contact with the rim, the hand will do little to distract him. It's very hard to time the hand in the face at the right time. Shane has a lost a step (or two), and the hand-in-the-face tactic is one time when it's not better late than never.
IMHO Kelly Dwyer just doesn't know Ariza's game. Yes, Ariza doesn't have good handles or slick post moves. Yes, he has only 2 weapons offensively-dunk and spot-up shooting. However let's not forget that part of his struggles came as a result of our PG being Brooks (who isn't really that good at creating for others), and the lack of good 3rd options in the beginning of the season. As DCkid keeps pointing out, Ariza's performance improved markedly when he was bumped down to the 4rth option on the floor after Scola, Brooks and Martin. That's because with the opponent preoccupied with the other scorers, Ariza can do what he's meant for: relegated to spot-up shooting and garbage buckets. The way Dwyer talks about him, you'd think he was the offensive equivalent of Jared Jeffries, which is simply not true. IMHO Ariza is most similar to Shawn Marion-good athlete with minimal skills, which is why he needs a superstar PG who can create his shots for him. Look for Ariza to blossom under CP3, and I definitely wish him the best of luck in his new home.
Well, I think he could be useful as a defensive specialist you could have put in in certain situations. But yeah, I pretty much agree. Bud would have been ahead of Battier in the rotation this season if we had kept Ariza. I mean, when Trevor goes out who do you wanted playing with our running second unit? Chase or Shane. The trade moved Shane from third string to first string, because you don't want to have the worst starting wing defense in the league with Chase starting next to Martin.
he only started in the finals and in his first two years in the league .. clearly that means he is not a starter .. he also only hit 40 percent from 3s his rookie year .. clearly that means he can only hit the 3 from time to time..
Does Fisher's lack of offensive skills make it easier for the opposing D to play 5 on 4 for the Lakers? What about Rondo's lack of a jumper, or the Superfriend's complete lack of a frontcourt? Yet they have done well, or are expected to do well Getting five complete offensive and defensive players is inherently impossible. Battier can play good enough offense that you can't leave him alone at the three point line or whatever, and that's all you need when you already have four accomplished players. You go all out with getting offensive players, you're the Warriors.
ONLY? You really mean ONLY? It's like saying a baseball player's batting average is ONLY .300, and that means he can ONLY make a hit from time to time.
