Ever since he's joined the Heat. Battier's turned into a punk, and his influence of flop over his teammates, has been too strong.
You can define what kinda player your gonna be early on in your career...if ur a strong physical force in the paint, you should use that to your advantage...When Yao was here, everyone clamored for him to attack the rim...the season he did...he was unstoppable...When brute strength is combined with shooting talents...its really hard to guard a person like that... Karl Malone had the ability to punish dudes on the low block, hit that sweet mid range jumper, and yes had a HOF PG with all those assists...Their formula was simple...but it really was predicated on dominate post play...Same with Kareem...Same with Wilt, Shaq, Olajuwon, Duncan...These guys were really strong in their prime...That gave them a unique advantage and disadvantage...They could punish smaller players, but on the same token, other NBA players would hit them harder for any fouls to be called...But the story is quite simple..The bigger, and stronger you are the more impactful you have to be... Lebron doesnt get to the line bc he plays soft, he dishes out punishment and gets reward with that whistle...Ask the players that have to guard Lebron how the feel after the game...Thats what i mean that Roy has to do...Same with West...You have to be physically imposing, or it doesnt matter...The two games Roy played that way resulted in wins...if he does so...it may make them more likely to win yet again...
Battier has seemed a lot dirtier to me since he joined the Heat. Maybe that's just me taking my homer glasses off, but I don't think so. He used to walk a fine line between getting in guy's heads and making actual dirty plays... he wouldn't do anything to actually get anybody injured, but he would piss guys off with the way he played defense. With the Heat I've noticed he's started to make more dirty plays like grabbing guys arms when they're trying to come down from a layup or putting his feet under somebody jumping when he tries to take a charge.
Battier wasn't as dirty with us because he didn't need to be. He had the athleticism to play defense normally, albeit in a cheap way that takes advantage of NBA rules. But since his injury and resulting decline in ability, he's basically been making it up by being a dirtier player. If you think about it, it's natural progression for a smart defender. You try to get any edge you can find. Unless the NBA changes their rules, smart defenders will alway take advantage of the rules
I dont think there are ppl here are blind to the flopping and cheap shots. I hate it whether it's done by a rocket or not
Battier ain't that bad. Back in my day, dirty players would do ninja-style flying kicks to the face! Spoiler
