Proven at what. If Swift is an underachiever at 10 and 5 for his career and 20 minutes a game, how is Battier proven with the same numbers with starters minutes. They didn't need his scoring in memphis with all those dominant offensive players he had to defer to. Proves he can be a good sidekick and we paid tooooo much for a sidekick.
I can not watch the video fo Guy, it makes me heart broken. All fans go to the season openning game should carry and wave a white flag.
I love threads where people overexaggerate everything. Gotta love reading those classic moments at the bottom of the page. I wish we could see more of those.
All this talk about Rudy not being able to contribute right away, along with the talk about the chances of him being a bust are kind of pointless. I say that after Rudy being in the league for five years you look at his career stats and if they look even close to Battier's career stats then he will be considered a marginal bust. That is basicly the worst case scenario right there. If he is half they player they say he is capable of becoming, he will be better than Battier. And with all this talk about Battier being smart is overrated. That is something you say to players when there is not much else to talk about in terms of their on court skills. The way I see it, if Rudy and Shane were to have a contest to where they both take the SAT and Shane beats Rudy's score. Then afterwards they play a game of one on one and Rudy proceeds to dunking on Shane several times, I wonder who will feel like the smart one then....
You can view EVERY offensive/defensive possession for a team in a given game by clicking Video Game Grid. You can see for your self how Battier defends on each possession. You can specifically select to view possessions in which the opposing small forward tried to score and thus evaluate his individual defense. You can view all the possessions in which Battier attempted to score to guage his offensive skills. It's really an invaluable resource, and it's actually used by NBA teams. Free trial right now.
and swift don't even think at that rate.. imagine if we could get a coach who has the patience to truly teach swift..
Could we get Iverson and Battier out of all this mess? http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/14925179.htm
I really could see this deal as a potential part of an Iverson deal. We may end up getting something from sixers, perhaps Carney. I couldn't see them drafting Carney for any other reason other than trading him. What the hell would you do with Carney AND Igoudala? We'll see. BTW does Free agency start saturday?
Igoudala likes to drive and Carney likes to shoot. They can complement each other. I hope we can become a part of the deal to send Iverson to possibly Boston who wants him and get Gerald Green in the process. I know the possibility of that happening is almost zero.. We don't have tradable assets to be a partner in a major trade. Just old and slow players apart from Head who is a role player.
Look at all you guys here trying to rationalize this fiasco! "Now that I've had time to think, this might not be bad after all. Battier is a good fit, and a JVG type of guy!" I wholly agree that Battier is a nice addition to the Rockets. BUT WE PAID TOO HIGH A PRICE FOR HIM! GET IT IN YOUR HEADS! DON'T TRY TO RATIONALIZE AND PUT A POSITIVE SPIN ON SOMETHING AS NEGATIVE AS THIS! I'm not really complaining that we traded Gay or Swift. But we could have gotten more than just Battier!!! Maybe Dahntay Jones and the 24th pick! And to those saying "Well at least we got rid of Swift!". Is getting rid of Swift WORTH giving away Gay AND Swift for a roleplayer? If we traded away Swift for Battier straight up, I'd be happy! BUT NO.... We had to give them Gay FOR FREE!!!!! Picture this: 2002 Draft Rockets Pick: Yao Ming Rockets Trade: Yao Ming + Eddie Griffin to Lakers for Rick Fox Rationalization: We get "glue" guy who can defend, and we dump a headcase and our draft pick may be a bust anyway. Championships, here we come!!! That's what rationalization can do to you...
Really good points. "Smart" player is so overrated. As long as they're not known as "dumb", I'm okay with things. I agree that if Gay puts up Battier "10/5" numbers he'll be considered a marginal bust. With that said, I don't think he's going to be a bust, but even if he is that's basically what we're getting with Battier.
This right here is why so many people are skeptical of stat-based NBA analysis. Too many people read WAY too much into stats that actually convey little information about how good a player is. There are more robust, more accurate statistical measurements that demonstrate Battier's worth. It's a hell of a lot more than 10 points, 5 rebounds.
Stats don't tell the story, but I've never heard of a career 10/5 guy that wasn't on a championship contender that was so coveted. 10/5 is 10/5. He is better than the other 10/5 guys in the league, but what's that really saying?
You guys have to remember that Dawson landed us T-MAC. I think this will be another blockbuster trade. I won't be surprised if Iverson or Pierce ends up with either Houston or Memphis and Gay ends up in Boston or Philly.
There is no doubt that Battier is a "glue guy", every team needs them and they usually go unappreciated. But the way everything went down its basicly Gay for Battier, and whenever a player is looked at as a "glue guy" its because he cannot normally do the things that will be noticed by the average fan/spectator or make the sports center top ten. I have nothing against Battier as a player, but the way this deal was structured the comparisons to Gay are inevitable. Common attributes of a "glue guy" are: smart, will not lose any ball games for you, hustles, can knock down the wide open shot etc. All Im saying is Rudy Gay has the ability to become an all star. If he finishes his career with the term "glue guy" as an accurate description of his career he will be a player that did not live up to his potential while still being a productive player in the league. Battier is a "glue guy" in his 5th year with no real chance to ever become an all star.
It's saying he's a solid, NBA starter. If you can get that out of your 8th pick, historically, that's not bad. Would Rudy Gay be a quality NBA starter this year or next year? It's really iffy. And if we want to win NOW, that may not be a chance worth taking. I think you're really underestimating the extra value smart, experienced NBA players with strong fundamentals bring to the table. Even if Battier and Gay end up with similar conventional stats, Battier would still be a much better player because of all the other positive things he does simply because of his experience and understanding of the game.
we also had assets to trade with (Francis, Mobley). outside of T-Mac and Yao we don't have much to work with this time.
I'm saying that if Rudy Gay has a career like Shane Battier, he'll be considered a marginal bust. I do think there is value to smart, experienced players but I feel we're in dire need of much more than that now. I also believe that Gay can be a quality NBA starter by next year. He's athletic, fundamentally sound and has a beautiful jumper. Not to mention that the 7 Lottery Picks from Uconn have all played very well and played major minutes in their rookie seasons.
