Yeah, some feel as if Battier deserves the spot due to seniority and because he has been with the Rockets for so many years. What I meant was, if he doesn't have the ball in his hands it seems like he is not trying on offense. Rather than cutting to the basket and trying to get open, he just camps at the three point line the entire time. Give him the ball and then he tries to contribute offensively. Ariza needs to do what he is good at and that is attacking the basket, making cuts off of a simple give and go, and spotting up for threes. Over the season I expect a certain amount of shots for each player and that is the average. If Ariza starts he should average around 9 shots per game. Budinger needs more minutes and the Rockets should think about starting him if he improves his defense. I don't know where Battier will get his minutes, but he could be useful next season if he doesn't mind being second/third string.
If Battier is not significantly declining, then he is probably the best choice, with Budinger and Ariza off the bench. Yao needs a smart perimeter defender to force opponent to where Yao can play effective defense, not some gambling defender who may get Yao into foul trouble. Battier is the perfect complement for Yao because he knows how to defend with Yao as an anchor and he can spread the floor by spotting up behind the arch. That said, Battier is probably the most likely to be traded among those three guys, simply because of his age.
Chase is too small and I consider hima shooting Guard, Battier not sure if he willl still be on the team, Ariza might just be the right person to develop at this position.
I agree an oversimplified box score isnt the best way to gauge things. Its that most people HERE on this board will pull up an oversimplified box score in a minute to discredit someone. I dont even want to get into the "boneheaded" and "high IQ" discussion. Not saying the Denver Nuggets are a model to follow. Just they're doing okay with dunces over there. The best SF with YAO might indeed be Battier, with the reasons Easy mentioned. Adding Kevin Martin helps Battier as much as it can Ariza. Battier can do the half-court offense with Yao, Ariza can go with the more uptempo lineup which is usually the bench with Lowry.
Good point. I first chose Ariza but your logic makes sense. Especially since yao is familiar with shane's type of play.
Word. I'd guess that Yao and Battier will end up with the least number of minutes either has ever seen. Haha you've got a point. I guess Karl and his staff knows how to make that whole thing work.
