You know why? Because I have been playing, referee-ing, watching & Cheering for basketball for about 34+ of my nearly 42 years of life, and I know EXACTLY how important the competent role player is to a team's success. And Shane Battier will not only improve the Rockets, he will make the entire team better. Rudy Gay may become a very good player, but right now....as a TEAM player in the NBA he pales in comparison to Battier. And we need team players to win....... DD
yes, those Battier 10/5 stats don't mean much. he brings so many intangibles. heard that how many times now.
Stromile Swift = 10/5 Shane Battier = 10/5 And we throw in the 8th pick, which makes the equation: The 8th pick = Battier's intangibles The gist of this trade is not about Rudy Gay or Shane Battier's respective careers or who is better for the Rockets long term or short term. It is the Rockets idiots trading an lottery pick for Shane Battier's so called intangibles that blows.
Stromile Swift = mostly dunks with a hit or miss 15 footer and a good shotblocker when he cares enough to try. Shane Battier = consistent shooter with 3 pt range and top notch perimeter defender. Just because they averaged the same number of points and rebounds does not mean that they are making equal contributions.
Yes, that is absolutely correct. When a player brings certain "intangibles" like Battier can it really shows not in the box score per se but it will equate to more WIN's. I liken the acquisition of Battier to that of Jon Barry in 04-05. Guys that don't put up monster numbers by any means but they have the knowledge and understand the game and know what it takes to win. From the moment we acquired Barry it seemed like we were a completely different team for the better and we went on some very impressive streaks not because of Barry's whopping 7ppg but because of those "intangibles" he was able to provide which I firmly believe Battier will provide. Which in turn will equal more wins for us. And when we are successful and we are winning games I gaurantee nobody is going to give a **** if Battier puts up 10 and 5.
Yao Ming last year 22 and 10, Mehmet Okur last year 18 and 9, are the difference between them only 4 pts and 1 reb? Stats don't till everything.
No question on Battier brings more to the table in intangibles than SS does. It's whether his intangibles are so good to exchange the 8th pick for. I have a hard time to believe that the 8th pick is worth only the intangible things of a 10/5 role player. Neither Battier's past record and performance nor the front office apologists makes a strong case to make me believe otherwise. I like Battier and I wish him the best as a Rocket, but this deal is lopsided in favor of Memphis.
You made a good point on the intangible impact a player may bring. In response it's easy to see that Yao Ming is just not Shane Battier in terms of impact. Yao plays defense by standing there with his arms up. Can Battier do that? I will leave it at there... One good thing is Battier have good +/- and PER allowed ratings, however, Memphis still didn't win a single playoff game with Mr. Intangible. Is he that much of a difference maker?
Defense and shooting are not really intangibles. Intangibles are things like leadership, being a good teammates, "clutchness", diving for loose balls, etc. Now Shane is known for those intangibles, but there are measurable things that he also does better than Stro. If those measurables in combination with the aforementioned intangibles are worth the #8 pick is up to each person to decide for themselves. The Rockets apparently thought they were.
Which is also why JVG is in love of no talent hack like Ryan Bowen? I really want to drink some of the stuff they are drinking.
Battier maybe does a lot of little things try to help his team win, but he is not Mr. Intangible. Just like Ryan Bowen does a lot of little things but he is not Mr. Intangible either. Battier is nothing but another nice guy who is willing to do the dirty work. He is more skillful than Bowen though. A solid role player. But he is not worth the price Rox paid for him. After all, Memphis hasn't won a single playoffs game yet even they had "Mr. Intangible" before.
Nothing against Rudy Gay, I hope he has a great career. But everyone does know that the Long Beach Summer League is the third summer league in terms of talent, right? A couple of teams who have Vegas Summer League teams send their second summer league teams to Long Beach. Long Beach Summer League is closer to NBDL than it is the NBA. I would say that the only thing that you can gather from Rudy Gay's performance is that he really does belong in the NBA.
True, but even before the playoffs started, I completely discounted the Grizz because they are nothing but a poor man's Mavs. A collection of average to above-average talent who cannot play well at the next level. They don't have anyone on their team as good as Yao or Tracy. Pau is a softy who either cannot or has yet to raise his game up when it counts.
Plus, lest we forget, the Rockets lost the season series last year against Memphis 0-4, and both McGrady & Yao played in 2 of those losses.
