I should clarify, those are the only 10 players in NBA history who have this in common. And it's not "they all suck just like battier lol" or anything like that. It's something specific and tangible. And besides, I think there are at least a couple decent players on that list. It's not like they're all complete and utter scrubs.
Alright, they're the only 10 players in NBA history to play 246 minutes in a postseason, and record a total of 3 assists or fewer. I don't know, I found that kind of interesting. Jason Collins did it twice btw.
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Who are ten people that have never been in my kitchen. REP points for the first 3 to figure it out. DD
Shane Battier Jason Collins Gene Conley DeSagana Diop Marcin Gortat Carl Herrera Zaza Pachulia Tree Rollins Felton Spencer Peja Stojakovic ?????
It is sort of interesting. Particularly when Yao is not on the floor, Battier tends to not be a high assist guy for the Rockets. He's mostly stationed on the corner. And that's especially true when the Rockets offense is mostly high pick and roll, as it was in those playoffs without Yao and with McGrady being the primary facilitator. Usually when Battier gets a touch in the corner, he's going to be shooting it. Off the dribble from the corner, Battier can't create very well at all. With Yao on the floor, Battier's role expands to being an entry passer. In the offense this year, there should be a little more motion, more guys touching it on each possession, so I'd expect his assist opportunities to increase a bit.
On a serious note, after reading durvasa's post, I am wondering if there is a worse wing player in the league off the dribble. By "off the dribble," I mean dribbling, passing and shooting. Can anybody think of a worse wing player at those particular skills?
Here's some perspective: In the history of the NBA, there have been 2,433 instances of a player playing 246 minutes in a postseason. So in 2422 of those 2433 instances, or 99.5%, the player recorded more than 3 assists.
For some reason, I didn't even of think of that but Ariza most definitely struggles in that department, too. He's certainly on the lower end of the spectrum along with Battier as far as wing players. Despite having more agility/athleticism and slightly better handles, Ariza gets out of control quite a bit, makes some horrendous passes and just looks completely uncomfortable shooting off the dribble.
Yeah, but in about 99.9% of those cases, the players played more than 246 minutes which likely meant more possessions in which to get assists. A more telling sample would be all the instances in which a player played between 230 and 260 minutes and had more than 3 assists. 312 such player postseasons, 303 of which the player had more than 3 assists (about 97%).
