We HAD those type of players you clamor for, they just didn't fit in with the organization. One was shipped to NYC, and the other one was shipped to NO.
Hmm... The Lakers and Celtics definitely have barkers (Kobe and KG) that get onto their teammates when the coach is being passive. I don't know how much that contributes to wins and losses, though. To be honest I doubt Shane has been the biggest cause for our success or lack of success. He's a role player. Personally, I find the level of time/attention being used to argue in a positive or negative way towards Battier to be odd.
My guess is not that much. Winning is about whether you have the talent and skills, and know how to play winning basketball. Spurs didn't have a barker-- same names Avergy Johnson, but he was only on their first championship team. Orlando Magic got to the finals without much of a barker unless you count Rafer Alston, I guess. Stephen Jackson, according to some, is a barker, but that barking didn't prevent the Bobcats from being slaughtered in the playoffs. Get some talented guys out there who know how to play, and you'll win basketball games no matter what kind fo personality they have (unless they are all real asswipes who hate each other, that is). I agree he's not the biggest factor but he's improtant enough to the team since both Van Gundy and Adelman play him 30 mpg over the last 4 years. He wasn't going to drag the Rockets into contention by himself, but the coaches certainly seem to find him helpful (presumably, the coaches want to win games and won't play those who don't help them win games too many minutes) and the Rockets have stayed respectable even when some of their stars have been absent (remember Yao and McGrady didn't just start getting injured last year).
Well, Pop and Van Gundy aren't afraid to get in a player's face. Maybe someone needs to be able to do that, not necessarily a player. This is something you do tend to see on championship teams. It could be a coincidence. I see your point. Yet, Shane isn't the first good role player and he won't be the last but the discussion in these threads would suggest he determines the future of the Rockets. Shroopy had a nice post if you take out all the race crap and slang. Some people really like Battier, on a personal level. That is fact. It's very possible people hate him in the same way (but that's opening a whole other negative can of worms, so we'll leave that alone). You can almost see the emotion on a poster's face when you read through threads like this. People really seem too attached to him, one way or the other. In other words, everyone turns into DaDakota when Battier is being discussed. (no offense DD )
He's certainly not as important as Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, but lets not diminish the importance of a "good role player" or overstate the ease with which you cand find them. Think about Houston's recent trade partner New Orleans, how many guys have they tried to plug in at SF/SG to be a "good role player"? Mo Pete at the MLE, Posey at the MLE, now Ariza at the MLE (and at the cost of Collison), we'll see how this new one works out. Sometimes, you end up kissing a lot of frogs before finding a good role player. There are players out there who scores many more points than Battier and who contribute less to winning than Battier does.
