The Spurs have 3 other proven scorers. The Rockets only have two and then a large dropoff. Bonzi is coming on as a scorer, but he's more of an x-factor due to his inconsistency. As others have mentioned (in another thread I believe), Shane Battier is not a luxury this team can afford. The Rockets need a consistent 3rd scorer and a good outside shooter (preferably all in one player) more than they need what Battier brings. He's NOT a glue guy. He's a good team defender. He's not very athletic. He has a limited offensive game outside of the corner three and cannot create at all. He does hustle and give 100%, and is a very smart player. He's definitely lost a step since coming out of Duke. I've come to the conclusion that he needs to be traded.
An offensively inept Chuck Hayes at the PF spot is a bigger luxury we cannot afford. An offensively poor Rafer Alston at the PG spot is a bigger luxury we cannot afford. Why not try to upgrade these 2 spots rather than seeking to trade your main perimeter defender? And anyway, if your main perimeter defender is traded, who is going to take up the defensive hole? Tracy McGrady?
I totally agree that Adelman needs to recognise that Hayes and Battier are not starter material. It's midway through the season, it's time that Adelman shake things up!
Trading S.Batt will net zero improvement He brings the extra tools to the rockets tables that we sorely need He is just not starter material is all...
Bowen has much quicker feet and can lock down any shooting guard. Battier is slow and TRIES to lock down shooting guards.
I love what this guy wrote in 2006 when he heard we were getting Battier: "Battier is a disaster-nonathletic and overrated as a defender because he never plays when it is important and is far too slow to play the athletic, cat quick 2's and 3's of today's game. He is great to date your sister but in the new quickness oriented NBA, he is a stupid ,stupid acquisition."
i think he's a good player focused more on the defensive end than on the offensive end. he's shown that he can score if he looks for his shots, driving, being aggressive and what not, but when he only takes what's there so far its been a slow start for him. hopefully he'll pick it up and start to shoot better. i think i've seen him driving since tracy's been out and it hasn't been that bad. remember it could be worse...
Well, at least you tried to be fair and even-handed in your analysis by going as deeply into his positives as you did his perceived negatives...
This is kind of funny. You really think Adelman loves Hayes or Battier so much. Adelman just doesnt have better alternatives. The Rockets have very little tradeable assests and no roster spot, and are into luxury tax. I dont expect any major trade happens in this season, maybe a minor trade. BTW, when u look at a player's value, u need to look at the "bang for a buck". You can frustrate about some role players' deficiencies, like Alston, Hayes, Battier, and Head. But At the end of day, they all give you a good "bang for a buck". If those role players dont have some of their deficiencies, you are probably looking at some 8-10 mils per season players.
I don't think Battier has "regressed." His shooting has been inconsistent (ice cold to start, heated up significantly later, but cold last couple of games)... but a 4% decrease (mostly due to a 4% decrease in 3pt %) rather than uniformly bad. This kind of variation is kinda to be expected for a guy who doesn't take that many shots and more half of whose shots are 3s. It's more of a fluctuation than a true regression. He looks like pretty much the same offensive player to me. I would have expected him to get more easy baskets out of Adelman's offense (open layups, etc) but I think that will come later-- as the whole team gets more and more used to the offense each player will get more out of it.
Lebron James had one good game and one bad one against Houston last season. In one game, he shot 12 for 24. In the other he shot 7 for 21. Considering how good the guy is, Battier did a very good job on him. In any case, it's unreasonable to deny that Battier does a great job on defense. Yes, he may not be the most explosive guy out there, but he has very good lateral quickness, nice size for a wing, great techniquies and instincts in knowing where to be. In fact "explosiveness" often have nothing to do with defense. Jason Richardson is as explosive as they come, but his D is subpar due to his lack of lateral quickness. It's kinda interesting, actually, how forward movement and lateral movement are not neccesarily 100% related.
Shane might not be the scorer or rebounder everyone wants him to be, but a smart basketball guy he is. IMO though, is that he is a good fit for this basketball team. Defense and shooter, and a vet with high B.Ball - I.Q. It is hard to over come two or even three non scorers in the lineup. Rafer has picked it up, so let's hope he can sustain it, other wise Brooks, Head and Francis are waiting. Chuck Hayes for all he brings, can't score in a position (PF) that need someone who can put the ball in the hole. So if someone needs to be analyzed it's Chuck.
I think our strongest lineup would be Alston (or hopefully soon Brooks) - T-Mac - Battier - Scola - Yao. 3 guys who can score against any defense, the defense needs to pick its poison - plus two guys who can hit open threes.
These posts are so senseless. Bruce Bowen averages 3 rebounds and 6 points a game. He cant dribble, or create a shot either. Yet he plays over 30 mins a game and has started all 32 games for the Spurs this season. You criticize Battier's rebounding, but he spends almost his entire time on the court guarding perimeter players. That means as they take a shot he is either away from the basket, or chasing them on a drive. Either way that leaves him in poor rebounding position. No, Im not saying he is a great rebounder, but what he is asked to do puts him in poor positions to rebound. Again, same reason Bowen's numbers are so low. I dont see how you think his reaction time is slow. He is by far the best help defender we have. He recognizes rotations very quickly and is in the right spot more often then not. As for creating his own shot, that isnt part of his game. You cant expect every player on a team to be able to create a shot for himself. With Yao, Tmac, Bonzi, and now even Alston, we dont need Battier to create opportunities. We need him to hit open shots, which he has struggled with this year, but has been able to do in the past. What i dont most is how people here bash him as a scrub with no talent, but then expect us to trade him and land players like Maggette or Artest. If you think he really is that bad, how do you expect to get any value in return?
And why is he guilty of Houston don't having a 3rd score like SA, then tell Yao and T-Mac to make less money to make it work. And Bonzi is getting pretty consistent now. If you want a 3rd score then get rid of James, Steve and Snyder that are doing nothing for this team, Battier is a piece not the answer. Trading battier will not get T-Mac to stop getting hurt, Trading battier will not get Yao to start getting calls. Remember how we (I'm include) want rafer out to give Mike and Steve room to start, now we all looking pretty dumb. And is funny once Battier left Memphis that team became a joke, and yes Gasol was hurt but when he got back and Fratello was still the coach the team keep sucking bad, so bad that cost Fratello his job. We got a piece, let T-Mac get back and you will see with a better Rafer like we seen and a improve offense with a new addition of Brooks, a consistence Bonzi and Scola how we do, before start gambling with trades. BTW Spurs have 3 proven score but they don't start all of them, Manu come from the bench.
