You realize it isn't his 0-12 playoff record. Battier has been and always will be a very solid ROLE PLAYER. Meaning that what happens to his team will cause him very rarely any thanks or any blame. This record goes to a Grizzlies Team that Jerry West had made to MAKE the playoff and not do well in it. They have no dominant force, no fantastic clutch shooter, and no big man they can rely on downlow (Gasol is developing into a very good one, but hasn't made it yet.) I say getting rid of Gay will ONLY be bad if it turns out TMac's back has alot more trouble and can't play much, because Gay could have become TMac's later roll taker, but for now and if TMac stays healthy Gay will be nothing more than a bench warmer for years because he doesnt fit in any position but SF (as I believe TMac only fits in SF too, he isn't quick enough to stay with the 2s).
hey i guess we see what battier will be able to do on defense vs. the top forwards of the leage im sure he'll guard nowitzki for atleast a lil while...should be interesting im thinking while he guards him, dirk gets 2 pts on 1-9 shooting, with 5 turnovers.
thats the whole point. He isn't an impact player. Houston traded away a lottery pick that they painfully earned and their frist big off the bench for a player who wont be the reason you win or lose. I say wait until January. By then the love affair of watching Battier for the first time in a Rockets' uniform will have worn off. By this time teams will have a real understanding of what kind of team they have and what holes they need to fill. Cause right now people are painting Battier as the Shaq of roll players but by then people will realize how many needs and holes he doesn't fill. He just isn't that good but cause he's such a nice guy people have convinced themselves that it'll all work out. I truely believe that if Shane Battier was an ******* off the court and had a terrible personality people would literally protest this trade cause his talent just doesn't match up with the hoopla.
While I agree that Shane alone wont fill all of our needs, but to say Shane wont be a reason why you win or lose is wrong. Superduper Stars set the stage but its often you see role players making big play that make the difference in a game. Shane seems to be that sort of player to be there for that loose ball, the defensive stop or being open for that wide open three. need examples? see: Horry, Robert; Maxwell, Vernon; Smith, Kenny; Cassell, Sam; Elie, Mario
Nobody said he is an impact player. All he is, a good role player capable of starting for Rockets which was truly missed last season. I agree, the reason Rockets win or lose won't be Battier but our dynamic duo. Your prediction is as good as those who have love affair of watching Battier for the first time in a Rockets' uniform. Hey, you can't deny there is chances that Battier will be a factor for Rockets, next season. As you said, wait until January. How do you know that ppl convinced themselves that it'll all work out because Battier is such a nice guy? Maybe ppl are convinced through his play in WC eventhough it is not NBA. All you are saying is just your opinion, it may not turn out to be right. I believe it can turn out in either 'side of the coin'. Nobody will know and don't be too sure of yourself. Just wait till the season commence. BTW, Yao is a nice guy too. Why did some of us bash him if not most?
You don't need to get huge players or all that many draft picks for building the tomorrow's team, in an exchange. If you put into account that JVG is not great with developing talent into players(as people say here), the Rockets did the proper thing, getting a made player than a future possible prospect(and have in mind there were many number 1 choices even that proved to be a bust, you just cannot know with rookies) and getting rid of a player they didn't want. In truth Rockets don't need a star Forward, they need someone that can team well with Yao is a good character(so as not to spoil the team spirit) can contribute a fair amount of offence(and be there to get assists from possible Yao or Tmac double teamed) and bond with their game style. Time only will reveal if Batman is such a player, but even if not, there's always the next year, getting good free agents, or spectacular rookies(in case Rockets will not do well). Being a contender is not really much, since you either win the championship or you don't(and I can't help to feel bad about Nowitzki who always manages to come up second to his opponents, I mean how much does this suck?) I don't really think that Houston is there anyway, as others said, they need 1 or two more players(and especially to find in their roster, or get a really good point not some superstar, but rather a hard worker and able of feeding their scorers)before they have a shot to the title.
I don't think that is what he was saying. I am more comfortable as Battier as a starting 4 than Snyder as a starting 2 or Alston as a starting 1. Backcourt is the major question. Battier/Howard/Hayes is a decent enough, and flexible, enough PF combination.
Has Battier defended 4s before? I can see him on faster 4s like dirk or marion, but how about KG, duncan, etc. Heck if tmac could stop dirk in the playoffs, battier can too, or at least pick up a thing or two.
KG is pretty fast himself. I would guess Battier or Tmac would be our best option to check him (both would need help, as does anyone else versus him 1 on 1), I don't want Tmac to have that extra burden (same with playing Dirk, Odom, Diaw, D. Howard, Bosh, Jamison, Murphy, etc.). The 4s that would completely overpower Battier due to length and lower body strength are Duncan, Brand, J. Oneal and Gasol. But except for Brand (or maybe Zach, not that Portland is a worry), those teams best line-ups have them at the 5, not 4. Again I like Battier/Howard/Hayes versus opponents 4s a lot better than Alston/VSpan/JL3/Head versus most 1s and Snyder/Head/VSpan/Abuz versus most 2s. Until our guards really step up and we get some major pleasant surprises, they are my biggest concerns.
Great Trade. Battier only turns 28 on Sept., and he has a wealth of knowledge of the game. He's a patient contributor with knowledge of the game. Might arguably be one of the smartest players on the court. In addition, with his solid range, he can spread defenses well between Yao down low and tmac out on the three or running all over the place. He's the type of player that is critical for any team to realize the goal of an NBA Championship. Any remaining doubts should be extinguished with his current spot on the USA team.
And let's not forget about the "Shaneism's" on his web site as a great testament to his character: http://www.shanebattier.com/shaneisms.php (press refresh for a new Shaneism)
Battier locked down nowitzki to only 15 points and 3 of 12 shooting and 5 turnovers. the more i see battier, the most i like him. perfect pick up. rudy who?
Great post I was about to say the same thing. Can you imagine if we had Shane during our Mavericks series. He could single handedly cover Dirk and lock him down almost as much as T-Mac did, while Tracy could focus on being the offensive juggernaut he is.
you can imagine it, he didn't stop dirk all year or in the playoffs. just look up the actual stats from their matchups against each other. and battier only played fifteen minutes in the wc game while dirk played 33. i tried to ignore the first post giving him credit for shutting down dirk, but I couldn't ignore the second.
He doesn't deserve full credit, but he deserves some credit. He did a fine job on Dirk yesterday and was part of a very solid US defensive effort against him.
well actually I'm sure he had a role in it, but the world championships are a different situation. so I think we should all refrain from taking what's happening over there to what's gonna happen here. according to that, carmelo is gonna be a top five player. for instance, battier had another poor shooting performance, but it doesn't matter because he's playing with a team of stars. I know rocket fans want to get behind battier and this trade, but I really don't agree he's having the positve (or a negative effect) on what's going on with team usa. the media has vested interest in pumping up battier's contributions because they have sold us this idea that he is important to team usa's success. its the same guys who told us that orlando would regret drafting howard over okafor. battier also went o for 3 on shooting, but it has no bearing on the outcome as much as we're sold that idea. the superstars on team usa are the players who are gonna make or break them.
