I've said this for years as well. Since from the beginning of his pro career he's ostensibly made the decision to never work on his game since he entered the league (he's regressed every year he's been in the nba and never improved), which is why playing him 30 mpg has always and will continue to be a huge liability. I can't believe the Heat gave him a 3 year deal, smh.
he doesn't hit his shots... clearly not getting it done anymore... love the guy but it's time to call it.
He had declined offensively almost every year of his career, he has turned into a corner three point specialist... and a rather mediocre one at that.
Man, I sure am glad to be rid of him. So that Battier isn't here this year to choke away the conference finals for the Rockets.
I'm bringing this back to the Utah series that we lost. Shane couldn't guard ak47 or matt harpring to save his life. I don't know what he gives all the coaches he played for that they worship the ground he walks on, but he's a "losing" type of player. You must make plays to win, and he's a player that rarely does that on a consistent basis.
Battier has always been overrated defensively around here. He didnt lock down or contain anyone. All the scorers lit him up. His team defense was good and his ability to draw charges. That doesnt make him an elite defender, and i remember some wanted him on the all defensive team and to get the dpoy. Offensively he is an inconsistent three point shooter. He should have been over 43% every season considering he only took open threes when the defense cheated and doubled off him. He has slowed down considerably in the last 2-3 year and still doesnt deserve his contract.
1. Do you mean when Kirilenko averaged 9.3 ppg in the 08 playoffs or when he averaged 5.8 ppg in the 07 playoffs? Harpring's average were 10.7 and 5.5 ppg in 07 and 08, respectively. I recall Harpring had some of his better performances being guarded by your boy McGrady. A bit silly to re-litigate 2007 and 2008 because of a game that happened a season and a half after Battier was traded, no? Isn't it kind of like starting a thread about Patrick Ewing being inferior to Hakeem based on his performance for the Seattle Sonics? And, btw, the series isn't over yet. Battier had some games against the Pacers when he looked old and got overpowered playing PF, and was pretty decent in other games. 2. Remember that Battier was, in fact, a key player on the 08/09 team that went to the 2nd round and took the Lakers to game 7 when Yao went down? Remember that your boy McGrady was not on that team? Battier also played significant minutes on the only 2nd round team in Grizzlies history. He's a shell of his former self now, but Rick Adelman, Lionel Hollins, Jeff Van Gundy, Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello and Erik Spoelstra are not all crazy people.
Not to mention whoever he was feebly attempting to lock down or contain would be able to either rest on defense when guarding him or wreak havoc by ignoring him or both! The no-stats scrub is a perfect example of the triumph of public relations and propaganda over facts, talent, and ability.
Battier never stopped anybody. Name me a game where Battier completely erased a player as a member of the Rockets. Or in his career. This "perception" that he's a great defender is ludicrous. We needed him to "erase" his guy in the Utah series, and he didn't. AK47/Harpring did indeed have some big games where they had no business having big games b/c they were guarded by our "defensive stopper." Defensive stoppers shouldn't allow role players to make an impact on a game. TMAC guarded Fisher/Giricek for the most part b/c JVG wanted to save his energy for offense; he was a roamer. And seriously, Battier was brought into the Rockets organization to be our 3rd best player, not this role player that plays hard and takes charges. But yet, his ppg DECREASED after his first year. His fg% DECREASED every year. But yet somehow, even now, he's absolved from all blame. This is a guy who basically has 2 responsibilities everytime he steps onto the court for basically his entire career. TWO: 1) Make wide open 3s (so wide open you can 5 bean burritos, get diarrhea, go to the bathroom for 30 minutes, and drink Gatorade to rehydrate yourself) 2) Defend You would think for the type of "hype" he gets for a role player, he would master the things he is supposed to do on a nightly basis. But yet, he's about the "intangibles"--things you don't see in the boxscore. Spoesltra says the same thing about Joel Anthony.
I agree with most your points... and i am a heavy critic of Mac... but McGrady was on the playoff teams where Ryan Bowen was the starting PF, and another where Luther Head was the 6th man
Spot on...Iirc Kobe's ppg average actually increased once the no-stats scrub arrived in Houston, but his blind supporters will always find an excuse to absolve him of blame and claim that he made Bryant "work hard" for those "inefficient" 40 pts. Then they would just remain silent when second tier wings like John Salmons abused him. That's because from the moment he came into this league he never improved and never worked on his game. He was satisfied with being a mediocre player who had an image as some sort of amazing role player due to propaganda. All in all, this type of mentality is not something you associate with winning. It's actually the exact opposite: The mentality of a loser, which is exactly what he is. Whether or not he rides the big 3's coattails to a championship as a ring chaser, nothing will change the above-mentioned reality. Exactly... when his teams win, he gets credit, but when they lose, he never gets any blame. Has any analyst or commentator even come close to remotely criticizing him for his 0-7, 1-7, etc.. performances this post-season? Of course not. He's never held accountable. What a great situation!
People saying lebron and miami need help need to stop. All the criticism mac received and he had half a yao and he didnt even have a chalmers. Miami has three stars. Do they need that many? No, but they got greedy and now they are down 3-2 against the celtics. Alston, mcgrady, battier, howard, and yao.....good times and something tells me that team is the best in the league this year.
He's arguably the most "hyped" role player of this generation. I can't think of another "role player" that is as adored as Battier is. Coaches/commentators/analysts jock him like he's the next coming of Robert Horry, who actually took and made big shots, in big games, besides the big rebounds/charges/defense...
Seems he only practices flopping and doesn't shoot in workouts anymore at this stage of his career. Miami is handicapped giving him bitg minutes, Spoelstra should clearly see this.
I think yao would dominate Perkins, and mcgrady always got his in the playoffs. But how much better does this team look than the current thunder Mcgrady / fisher Harden / sefalosha Sefalosha / green Ibaka / green Yao / collison The thunder are way too stacked and too young. The heat are too star stacked. Can you imagine mcgrady, bosh, and yao together? Battier was the rockets bosh/harden on a miami like team. How these teams arent sweeping everyone doesnt make sense. Oh and the only person to ever call out battier publicly was wade during the game he went 0 for 7 so he started jacking up threes.
Come on guys. Battier is declining fast, but he is still a decent defender. He has played some good d in patches this series. His face guard never seems to work but.
Shane battier is/was one of the most overrated players. If you dont believe me, just go back and look what the Rockets got for him in return when they traded him out.
