Its a simple as this. A healthy TMac creating shots for him. I don't know why anyone has pieced this together yet. This being TMacs worst year when he was in games relinquished Battier to next to nothing status. TMac, the distributor and facilitator being out, has exposed Battier for what he is. A stand at the three point line, allowing his man to constantly cheat on Yao, unable to get his shot off, one dimensional player. Come to think of this, it is truely amazing that a team that started Chuck Hayes, Battier, and Rafer Alston sniffed 50 wins. So know what is the solution? Id say its time for Battier to either start woking on some kind of post game, or start moving around more on offense to a place that doesn't include sliding around the three point line. I consider Battier to be more quick, more athletic than Scola, and around the same age. If Scola can find the holes in the Defense then surely Battier can too. Solutions?
Heck, I still blame McGrady for single handedly being responsible for Chuck Hayes getting an NBA contract.
Battier's had plenty of open looks and was a good outside shooter when he played in Memphis without McGrady. I'd attritube the slump to his ankle and him missing a lot of time this season. He's robot-like in everything he does and that probably includes preparation for both individual games and the season, as a whole. He probably also still feels a little out of sync with the pace of the game even though he's been back for a while. Regardless, I don't think it has anything to do with McGrady.
Battier can't develop a post up game but he can cut near the basket when Yao or Luis/Landry are in the high post. In fact Ron should get on the low block more often as well instead of staying outside while Yao is being fronted.
He seems to have no intentions of changing how he is playing. He came back injured and a step slow and was forgotten in the offense. I'm sure knowing that Yao, Tracy and Ron would all be on the team did little to make him think he needed to score this year. Now that he seems healthy I think he is in a "rhythm" of not shooting or even looking for his shot. Worse than before if that is possible. I don't expect him to change this season but maybe, must maybe he will start off next season with a different perspective.
hopefully not. we'll trade tracy then hopefully, use that to get a decent perimeter player. wafer backs him up. and shane just picks up whatever minutes is left.
Shane needs to slash to the basket more when his man cheats off of him to double team. He is playing the role of a spot of shooter but he is shooting terribly on 37.9 % overall and 35.2% on 3s.
Anyone thinking maybe his bum ankle might be attributed to his atrocious play? I mean, the only time he has looked good this yr was right after the all-star break. I repeat, not after he got a tan, but after he actually got some serious R&R. Am I the only one who thinks Battier should sit out a couple of more games? Or at least sit out the last two weeks of the season?
All Shane needs is SURGERY! This guy is playing hurt all season like T-mac so you can't really blame him for his lackluster performance.
Battier had a bad game last night on both ends of the court but do you really value those numbers over his career numbers. Battier is a far better outside shooter than what we've seen the past several weeks. I don't agree with all these people saying Battier needs to slash and cut more. He already looks for that once or twice a game and that's enough. We just need Battier to get his stroke back and do what he's always done which is spread the floor for Yao. Battier should be used on offense in the exact same way that Bowen was used in SA: Stay on the perimeter 95% of the time and be ready to take the open shot.
I thought about that since the only part of his game that hasn't suffered at all and actually improved is his free throw shooting. Thats the only time he's standing still. However, i think he would have sat out by now if it was really bothering him in order to be read for the playoffs. He actually looks back to normal as far as movements goes, he's running well, he's staying in front of guys and chasing fast breaks full speed without any apparent problem. I havent been paying a lot of attention to his shot mechanics, but i thought i saw him release the ball too far in front a couple times in Denver. I'd like to see clips of his shots missed the last few games to see if this is common know, but I think he'd notice that. Let me check his shot chart for the year, it could just be what someone else mentioned, that he's struggling with shooting more shots from the top.
There's no doubt his shooting is down from everywhere, but looking at the hot spots prior to this season he was shooting most of his shots from the corners or to the top right of the key, these were his hot spots. He shot few shots from the top and top left, his cold spots. This year the attempts for his cold spots are almost even with the hotspots. So if he would have distributed his shot attempts like in previous years he would be shooting a higher percentage, he'd still be below normal, but not as bad as he's been.
for the love of .. all his shots were wipe open. his teammates already create easy shot for him. he just couldn't hit any at the moment.
