Battier is the canary in the coal mine, his shot attempts and points is an indicator of how well we are running the offense. If the offense is stagnant and the ball isn't moving, then he won't get many shots/points, if the ball is moving and the offense runs well, he gets a lot of opportunities.
And that is a direct reflection of whether Battier is making a conscious effort to be involved and take shots. Battier has always, always, always, even when he was at Duke, shunned taking shots and doing all the dirty work instead. Coach K had to get on his case about it and tell him to shoot the ball. He's still got the same stupid hangup. Now, I'm not saying he should go posting up in the paint. I'm saying he should let'er fly when he gets that corner 3-ball and when he is covered up, he should upfake, step in a couple steps and shoot the midrange J, until they are forced to defend him better.
Can't agree more.... The OP's post seems to suggest that we simply feed the ball to Battier all night long and we are more likely to win. However the stats he presented leads me to only one possible definitive statement: when Battier plays well we have won and when he doesn't play well we have lost (regardless of the reason). Maybe Battier took and made more shots because he was open more in those games. If we tell him to shoot regardless if he is open, he is likely to be a lot less efficient. Also, it could also indicate that Battier's inconsistency is costing the team. Also, statistically speaking you would need to do a logistic regression on the wins using Battier's stats but I am too lazy to do that for you and with the few number of games I am positive you want find anything significant.
It is defense that we needed. I still remember when we were contender, we used to win games despite shooting 38-40% from the field. We used to get 50+ rebounds on daily basis therefore we got many extra possesions than the oppo. We have a better offense but we need to improve our defense drastically if we want to contend this year. Maybe all the players should start taking night classes from both of our Captains 4 times a week
When your defensive studs hit shots, they are very useful basketball players. For a night at least, they become the two-way players we don't have enough of on this team. So when Battier and Lowry are hitting, you play them a ton that night and the team's gonna look good. When Ariza hit shots last year and went like 25-5-5, he looked like a star.
My problem with shane has always been involvement o the offensive end. I don't care what anyone says about his defense, you have to make the defender guard you. This offense is designed to get players involved and not just at the 3pt line. Scola is not athletic at all, but he runs the court after every rebound and get easy baskets. Shane can do the same, but instead he stops a nd shoots 3's. He just need to stay in the game offensively all the time. No one is saying just start firing shots all the time, but when he cuts and get into the lane, he should go up with that. He might draw a foul or get a layup, but don't dribble out and try to set someone up. The memphis battier would be about 13ppg right now.
We only have two good wins on the year and Battier has outplayed the two best wing players in the Western conference in those two wins, not a coincidence.
When Battier shoots, that means other teams are leaving him wide open, shutting down Kmart, Scola, and Brooks is opponets #1 mission, that means leave Battier open sinse he is the weakest link, the more Battier shoots, the better shots Rockets take as a team. Agreed Clutch City?
