[Who made you?] Shane Battier

aussiejack · Mar 14, 2008

Houston forward Shane Battier discusses his childhood and the roots of his basketball career.

http://nba-boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/tnt/misc/nba_whomade_battier_031308.asx

This is what every family should be like, encouraging but not overbearing. Very moving to see Shane always 'found a way'. Enjoy guys.

kwng · Mar 14, 2008

Impressive story. Shane is a good guy and it's great to have such hard working, determined and smart player on our team.

tracymingreedy · Mar 14, 2008

Of course his parents.

Pizza_Da_Hut · Mar 14, 2008

Shane is honestly my favorite player on the team.

Layupdrill · Mar 14, 2008

this may be old/already posted... but here is a link... Tim Legler on the Rox after dismantling NJ.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080311

The Houston Rockets' recent run has been nothing short of amazing. Nineteen straight wins with this particular roster? Even winning eight in a row is difficult in this league.

The Rockets are now sitting on the victorious 19th hole after their 91-73 win Monday night over the Nets, and have a very good chance of surpassing the second-longest win streak in NBA history, the 20 compiled by the Bucks in the 1970-71 season. The Rockets need a win over playoff-hungry Atlanta on the road Wednesday and then at home against the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. The record is 33 straight, set by the 1971-72 Lakers.

Right now, the Rockets have the Western Conference's No. 1 seed in their sights, sitting one game behind the Spurs and Lakers, who are tied for first. It's been a quick rise, using an NBA-best 28-4 mark since Jan. 1 to vault from out of the race to having a chance at the No. 1 seed in the competitive West.

Of greater significance, let's jump ahead to next week, putting aside what happens in the next two games. Starting Sunday, the road ahead will bring some challenges, with five games against the Lakers, Celtics, Hornets, Warriors and Suns approaching.

The Rockets might go 2-3 in those five games, and some might write them off as a fraud. But that judgment based on wins and losses would be wrong. You're going to drop some games in this league, even if you're a team as hot as the Rockets.

What's more important to me is how they compete, and if they are able to do the same things defensively. Even if they lost some games, I want to see if they make teams miserable with their defense. Stifling half-court defense is the name of the game in the playoffs.

This streak has shown us that the Houston style would be tough for many teams to deal with in the postseason.

This Houston team is a perfect storm of role players. Outside of Tracy McGrady, Bobby Jackson and perhaps Shane Battier, the Rockets consist of players who know they have to make a name for themselves in this league by hustling. Case in point: In the Rockets' win over the Nets, Chuck Hayes did not attempt a field goal, grabbed 10 rebounds and fouled out. As a role player in my playing days, I find this very refreshing to see.

I see fouls often as a sign a player is playing aggressively, committing himself completely to playing physical defense. You see some of the great scorers in this league play 44 minutes and commit only one foul. That's usually not a sign of a great commitment to defense.

There is also this matter of confidence. This streak shows the Rockets have a great deal of confidence in themselves and each other. Once you get to that level of belief, you're not going back. The hard part is getting there. Houston is there, with role players and a coaching staff that believes they can win.

So when Yao Ming went down after the 12th win of the streak, the roof wasn't going to fall in because this team was already at a high level of self-belief.

With Dikembe Mutombo in there, I think the Rockets are even better defensively than with Yao in the middle. Mutombo's focus on defense and rebounding makes him an anchor back there, allowing teammates to be more confident in taking chances defensively. He set the tone against the Nets, swatting five shots.

Yao has to be concerned with saving energy for the offensive end of the floor, since he's expected to carry much of the offensive weight. That's not an issue for Mutombo, who is counted on for the occasional dunk.

Toward the end of Houston's win over the Nets, we saw Mutombo and Jackson perched on the bench, two mounds of ice on their well-worn knees.

When you're icing the knees with more than four minutes to go, you know things are going well.

ESPN analyst Tim Legler is a regular contributor to the Daily Dime
Click to expand...

Hayesfan · Mar 14, 2008

What a smart Mom!

Thanks for the link!

kevC · Mar 14, 2008

Ahahahaha Shane Battier is the whitest player ever. His biggest tribulation in life was his dad putting the basket down hahaha.

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[Who made you?] Shane Battier

aussiejack Member

kwng Member

tracymingreedy Member

Pizza_Da_Hut I put on pants for this?

Layupdrill Member

Hayesfan Member

kevC Member

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