I figured there might be talk about this former Rocket who lasted for 5 minutes with us.... Currently in the 3 OT game: 19 points 7 rebounds 1 steal 4 blocks 7-20 FG 1-1 3PT 4-4 FT
The 7 for 20 shooting isn't looking too good. Yeah, 7 rebounds, we could use that. 4 blocks, we could also use. I'd still rather have Battier after a game.
The box score is misleading, after a shaky start he has been much better and made several big plays in the 4th and in the OT periods. He looked very aggressive - and NOT passive at all which was the knock on him - and (though its early) looks to have a ceiling much higher than that of Battier, as we feared.
This guy made some huge plays. He hit some key shots and had some huge blocks. He looks like a star player in the future. Well, never mind, Rox trade him and Swift for Shane Battier, who is a super star ROLE player.
If Rudy Gay worked on his shot selection, he could be a scary player already...no scratch that, I think he is already pretty scary, with his athleticism, and passion to prove everyone wrong. His shooting %'s are crap though. Wonder if he was the best rookie tonight. Wonder what happened to Stromile Swift?
I was called out in the are you still unhappy with the Battier trade thread because I said the Rockets got owned big time in the deal. I was also called out in another thread when I say Gay had serious skills. Rockets fans are absolutely crazy if they have anything but disgust for a Swift/Gay trade for Battier. It is simply one of the most lopsided trades I can remember.
DISCLAIMER: I thought the gay trade was stupid. I watched most of the memphis game. Gay was definitly clutch tonight. However, 19 points is not extremely impressive in 3 OTs. He did seem to not try on most plays. His shot selection is questionable. And I saw him get owned a few times on defense. so tonight didnt increase my hate for this trade, its about the same as draft night
Screw Bob Woodward. He, along with Beinstein and a deep throat, brought down one of the best US Presidents in history with their sneaky journalism, among other trickeries. OTOH, his book "Bush at War" was used by Neocon's propaganda machine to pump up the fanaticism in foreign aggression. The guy is a tired old prick.
He is going to be a very, very good player real, real soon. It was foolish to trade him. So what if his team lost, did Shane turn the tide against the Jazz?
Battier turned the tide. He turned the tidal wave of rebounds over Boozer's way for him to get. Battier ONE board to Boozer's 19. Battier should have his good nights too though.... Is this gonna be Gay did __ and Battier did __ so Gay/Battier is the winner, EVERY game lol? Gay's 19 points in 3 overtimes isn't that impressive on 7-20 shooting. But, his potential was apparent and he was a big part of the crunchtime action making contributions (Where was Steve Novak tonight?) Kyle Lowry looking pretty decent out there too, geez.... Anways, just PLEASE beat Dallas next game, thats all I want. The heck with this stuff
I've been saying all along (after my initial sheer horror weeks after the trade) that the Wells signing justified the Battier trade because the former made us contenders which made Battier's immediate contributions more valuable than Gay's future potential. Unfortunately, this was with the understanding that Gay was atleast 2 or 3 years away from making any real contributions and was incapable of scoring more than 4 points in any game this season. Clearly he's ahead of that curve... I'm happy with Shane. I loved what I saw from him tonight. He knocks down big 3's and is just a smart player. He fits this team perfectly. But we were just absolutely robbed in this trade and there's no denying it now, especially since the only argument against Gay, that he couldn't immediately contribute, no longer has any veracity.
The words President and best don't have any business being mentioned for ANY president in recent history.
Gay's defense on Crawford at the end of regulation and his coast to coast behind the back drive were very good. I don't understand why so many people seem to think Battier should not be criticized. Sure he's a nice guy, model citizen, but ONE friggin rebound? I know lots of the posters on this BBS said he should primarily play PF, but there's no way with rebounding like that.
