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[SLAM Mag]The Stealth Rocket

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by The_Yoyo, Apr 14, 2007.

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The_Yoyo Contributing Member

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so there is no link for this or i couldnt find one on their website, its an article that is in the newest issue (with amare,nash,marion on cover)
So i am gonna type it I have some time to kill while my laundry finishes. Sorry for any typos.

The Sleath Rocket
by Russ Bengston

Tell the truth: You've never seen Shane Battier play an NBA game. Not a full one, anyway. Sure, you saw him at Duke (who didn't?-he was there for a well-publicized four years, and seemingly every game was on national TV), and it's possible you've seen the Rockets play this season. Maybe, if you had League Pass, you even caught a Grizzlies game in the past. But you still probably didn't see Battier much, if at all. He did have a big part on Inside The NBA one night this year-demonstrating how to take a charge. That stuff doesn't play on Sportscenter.

Not that he minds or anything. Shane's not out there for fame and fortune, to do commercials and all that stuff. It's unlikely he'll ever have to worry about any sort of video game jinx. Shane Battier isn't you average NBA player, isn't your average Olympian and sure as hell isn't your average former loterry pick. In fact, it's safe to say that Shane Battier isn't an average anything.

You know who he is, of course. Everyone who follows basketball knows Shane Battier. He's the quintessential Dookie, the one we can only assume spends his hours off the court helping old ladies across the street and getting cats out of trees. Well, the hours he's not spending watching tape, anyway. And he must spend an awful lot of time doing that.

Because, if you watch him play, Battier's in the right place at the right time far too often for it to be a coincidence. Watching him possession after possession, it's hard to believe anyone could be more in tune with the rhythms of the game. On offense, he unerringly finds the open man, only shooting when he has the best look. And on defnse, he does everything. He blocks shots, corrals loose balls, takes charges-whatever's necessary. Capable of guarding opposing 1s through 5s, he takes on both extremes and all in between. For example, during a game with the Knicks earlier this season, he guards both 5-9, 180-pound waterbug Nate Robinson and 6-11, 285-pound behemoth Eddy Curry.

"You have to think quick, and you have to understand what you're trying to do with each different guy," Battier says, when asked how he manages. "I gotta be on top of the game and know the game situations and fouls, and understand, are we tryin' to shed a guy a certain way? What's my pick-and-roll coverage? Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming, but I do my best."

Said like a true boy scout. Which is appropriate, of course. But that side of Shane-the Dudley Do-Right side=is always what comes up. How he plays the game the right way and all that Larry Brown stuff. What doesn't get talked about enough is how hard it is to do that. How much work goes into it. And, while the average fan may not be able to appreciate it, his coach sure does.

"I think everyone talks far too much about Shane's intangibles, which are well-documented," says Rocket coach Jeff Van Gundy, "and not enough about his tangibles, which are that he is a highly efficient shooter, low-turnover, seldom-makes-a-repeat-mistake-type of player, who comes to compete on every play every day. And you can't find-it's hard to find a star, star players in this league. It's just as hard to find players like Shane."

The thing is-and I'd been thinking abouth this from the moment I was assigned this story-you need guys like Shane as badly as you need superstars. In fact, to go a step further, if you have a superstar, you absolutely need a Shane Battier (which is why he was a no brainer addition to Team USA last summer). I bring this up to Van Gundy, and he laughs. "I'm not so sure you don't need a couple of 'em," he says. "But we couldn't be happier to have found one, because like I said, they are very difficult to find. Very difficult."

So difficult that the Rockets traded forward Stromile Swift along with the rights to Rudy Gay, the eighth pick in last year's Draft, to the Grizzlies for him. Battier didn't have gaudy numbers-his season averages this year are right around his career ones of 10.5 points and 4.7 boards per game-or All-Star appearances or anything like that. But they got exactly what they wanted.

"He's a big-play player in those areas that don't require a guy to create his own shot," Van Gundy says. "That's not his game. You're not gonna give him the ball and say 'go get us a shot' late. He can make shots like that that are created by others. But when he doesn't have the ball he's gonna make big plays-defensively, keeping the ball alive on the boards, loose ball, take a charge. Again, those guys are very difficult to find."

For four years, of course, Shane Battier was one of the easiest guys in the world to find. Turn on ESPN's college basketball coverage and there he was, Duke No. 31 (a number he chose not for entirely sefless reasons-"When I went into Cameron Indoor Stadium as a freashman, 32, 33 and 35 had all been retired, and I wanted to add mine") getting things done for the Blue Devils.

Battier grew up in Michigan and attended Detroit Country Day, the same school as Chris Webber. He ended his high school career as Michigan's Mr. Basketball, as well as the McDonald's Player of the Year and the winner of the McDonald's Game three-point shootout. He signed with Duke along with fellow McD's All-Americans Elton Brand and Chris Burgess and went to work. They went to the Elite Eight as freshman and los to the UConn Huskies in the '99 title game as sophomores (during which Battier broke Duke's career charge record). The team took a step backward in '00, finishing in the Sweet 16, but Battier contiuned to improve, leading the team in scoring with 17.4 ppg. He also took home his second straight NABC Defensive Player of the Year award and was anemd to the All-ACC first team. And despite a rush of players leaving school early-something that was still rare at Duke- Battier took one last step. In '01, his senior year, he took them home, leading the Devils to the NCAA title. He also added his third straight Defensive Player of the Year, his second First Team ALL-ACC and pretty much every Player of the Year award going. Oh yes, and his number was headed for the rafters.

"He might be the ultimate Duke guy," says the Bulls Chris Duhon who was a freshman on that '01 title squad. "He did it on and off the court. Even when he had bad games, you could always look up to him and he still had the same facial expressions, still was playing as hard, still was encouraging other guys to play hard, and he just did everything right. He was always in the right place at the right time."

And so his college career ended and his pro career began, as he joined the Memphis Grizzlies (their first year in Memphis) as the sixth overall pick of the '01 Draft. It was probably a case of like recognizing like-ultimate competitor Jerry West selecting someone who reminded him of himself. This wasn't going to be anything like Duke though. There would be no title that first year. "When I went there they were the worst team in pro sports," Battier says. "They had the lowest winning percentage out of baseball, football and hockey-and uh...so they were really bad. We were basically an expansion team. And I was able to come in and fly under the radar and play 40 minutes my rookie year, and I learned, you know what, I can survive in the League. And that was the most important thing for me."

He says this with a laugh, and part of the reason for that is probably because those days are over. He's in Houston now, matched with a coach with whom he sees eye to eye, and with a pair of superstars who let him play the game the only way he knows how. "I've always tried to be a guy that brings balance and stability to the floor," he says. "I consider myself a stabilizer, and when I'm out there I try to make things just run a little smoother, especially on the defensive end. And that's sort of my role on this team."

If anything, they'd like him to shoot more (through early March, Battier's shooting 45 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three). When I jokingly suggest to Van Gundy that Shane's probably not the kind of guy who comes in his office looking for more shots, he indicates that, in fact, the opposite is true. "Actually, we've talked to him about shooting more from the day he came here," JVG says. "We thought he was a little reluctant as a shooter, to shoot every time he was open. I think he underestimated himself what a fine shooter he is."

Bring the same thing up to Battier himself, and its clear that his shot numbers are the last thing on his mind. "I'm more than content to affect the game without taking shots," Battier says. "I know I don't have to score to positively affect the game. It's about winning-and that's been my M.O. for my entire career. I won three state titles in high school, ACC Championships and a National Title in college, and I had a 133-13 record in college, so that's what it's about-winning ball games. And when you win big, no one asks you how many points you scored. No one asks how many rebounds you had. They ask you, 'Are you a champion?' And that's all you should care about. That's the way I play."

And that, of course, is what annoyed opponents and Duke-haters alike during his time in Durham. He did the right thing all the time-and he won. Even years later, some people have trouble forgiving and forgetting. But others don't. Especially his teammates. Take Rockets reserve Scott Padgett who was at Kentucky when the Wildcats beat Battier and Duke in the 1998 Final Four. He's very complimentary of Battier, and I have to ask whether, now that he's played with him, he feels different about Duke players in general?

"Oh no. no," Padgett laughs. "I might think he's just an exception to the rule or something."
Click to expand...

#1 The_Yoyo, Apr 14, 2007
Last edited: Apr 14, 2007

demon77 Member

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then just link the website.

#2 demon77, Apr 14, 2007
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Bring the same thing up to Battier himself, and its clear that his shot numbers are the last thing on his mind. "I'm more than content to affect the game without taking shots," Battier says. "I know I don't have to score to positively affect the game. It's about winning-and that's been my M.O. for my entire career. I won three state titles in high school, ACC Championships and a National Title in college, and I had a 133-13 record in college, so that's what it's about-winning ball games. And when you win big, no one asks you how many points you scored. No one asks how many rebounds you had. They ask you, 'Are you a champion?' And that's all you should care about. That's the way I play."
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Vintage Battier. That's why the rockets are contending for the 4th best Western Conference record right now.

Rocket Zoom

#3 rocket_zoom, Apr 14, 2007
Northside Moss Member

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As much as I loved the article, spell check would've done wonderfully.

"You have to think quick, and you have to understand what you're trying to do with each different guy," Gattier says, when asked how he manages.
Click to expand...

#4 Northside Moss, Apr 14, 2007
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Northside Moss said:

As much as I loved the article, spell check would've done wonderfully.
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he took the time to type this up, no need to be a jerk. thanks, great article man

#5 thatboyz, Apr 14, 2007
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thatboyz said:

he took the time to type this up, no need to be a jerk. thanks, great article man
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Well...its Slam magazine that published that, not your average internet blog, I mean that's pro writing. Once you're at that stage...eh.

Still liked the article, but could've used some check-ups.

#6 Northside Moss, Apr 14, 2007
demon77 Member

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Northside Moss said:

Well...its Slam magazine that published that, not your average internet blog, I mean that's pro writing. Once you're at that stage...eh.

Still liked the article, but could've used some check-ups.
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pro writing?

If he mistype 1 every 4 words then yeah...., but thats just a minor typo.

#7 demon77, Apr 14, 2007

Northside Moss Member

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demon77 said:

pro writing?

If he mistype 1 every 4 words then yeah...., but thats just a minor typo.
Click to expand...

Well...

Wells, the hours he's not spending watching tape, anyway.
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any sort of video game jix.
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so they wer ereally bad
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Battier didn't have guady numbers
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as a freashman
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...They do add up, and they do kinda detract from the article.

#8 Northside Moss, Apr 14, 2007
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Great read. Thanks for the effort.

#9 lunaticrocket, Apr 14, 2007
XxShadyPinkxX Contributing Member

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Thanks for takin the time to type it all up. Great read.

Edit: Ignore the weirdo asking for perfect typing.

#10 XxShadyPinkxX, Apr 14, 2007
The_Yoyo Contributing Member

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i didnt cut and paste this i typed it from the magazine itself since i couldnt find it online on their website. its not easy looking down at a magazine article and trying to type word for word without looking at the screen. I was trying to get through as fast as I could since it was a fairly decent sized article. I knew i probably missed a few things but I wasn't going to go through the entire thing and polish it up after I had just typed it up. i probably should have typed it in word and then pasted it in here but i didnt.

#11 The_Yoyo, Apr 14, 2007
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Northside Moss said:

...They do add up, and they do kinda detract from the article.
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Maybe you misunderstood? The original poster took some of his own time to transcribe an entire magazine (not online) article for fellow members to read. Thus the typos. And since we're being picky, kinda is not a word.

#12 professorjay, Apr 14, 2007
bobrek Politics belong in the D & D

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Northside Moss said:

Well...its Slam magazine that published that, not your average internet blog, I mean that's pro writing. Once you're at that stage...eh.

Still liked the article, but could've used some check-ups.
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What you're missing is that the original poster was the one who took the time to RETYPE the entire article in this thread.

#13 bobrek, Apr 14, 2007

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professorjay said:

Maybe you misunderstood? The original poster took some of his own time to transcribe an entire magazine (not online) article for fellow members to read. Thus the typos. And since we're being picky, kinda is not a word.
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Oh whoops, my bad then.

Thought it was typed up on Slam, then C and Ped.

Thanks dude, that's a whole lot of effort, I just misunderstood. Props.

#14 Northside Moss, Apr 14, 2007
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good read

they had a great article about Spanoullis a few months back

#15 rhino17, Apr 14, 2007
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Northside Moss said:

Well...its Slam magazine that published that, not your average internet blog, I mean that's pro writing. Once you're at that stage...eh.

Still liked the article, but could've used some check-ups.
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Dong Dong Dong!!!............!!! Please pay attention now:

The thread starter (The_Yoyo) retyped the whole article by himself while looking at his real paper magazine. This is NOT a copy-and-paste job from an online version of the article, because he couldn't find one.

Anyway, thanks for the effort Yoyo.

#16 zhaozhilong, Apr 14, 2007
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Oops haha my post above is a little late......

#17 zhaozhilong, Apr 14, 2007
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wow northside, talk about being very picky. this person TOOK the time to type this up. please dont give him any negative feedback. very good article and was worth reading. o yeah the poster did say he might have had some spelling errors.. and your going "OMG I CAN'T FULLY ENJOY THIS ARTICLE BECAUSE HE CALLED BATTIER GATTIER?!!?? stfu, it bugs me when people are jerks.

#18 c1utchfan925, Apr 14, 2007

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Northside Moss said:

Well...

...They do add up, and they do kinda detract from the article.
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Get a hobby or career. Please.

#19 sohrab, Apr 14, 2007
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i see you apologized .. disregard

#20 sohrab, Apr 14, 2007

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