maybe b/c he is the third most well known rocket (pre-francis) I only responded b/c the thread starter is called manbearpig great name To the poster above, SAR is out for the year and Bibby is damaged goods...moreso than TMac, surprisingly
Battier as the third man because during the offseason he was the best of the other players with Rafer having questions on whether he would be here. Bonzi being poor last year, Scola an unknown quantity, Head not being a starter, etc....
if you honestly think scola has given the rockets more on the floor than battier, i think you are a delusional poster with an awesome moniker. you could make a case for rafer, but then the clones would present a poor-worded 'skip sucks' counter-thread.
battier is more marketable! but i do believe he should step it up more offensively. In fact if he had a killer instinct appeal....which i know he can do cuz he is intelligent enough to pull it off...it might actually be one of the best things that could happen to the rockets! just imagine, battier bein an intimidating presence on the court.
he's doing the little things that can make a big differnce in a 48 min game. i think bonzi should be the 3rd man, cause he can score if he wants. he's extremely good down low for a guard, so we should count more on him.
Shane Battier is on your court, stealing your plays By Kelly Dwyer Wednesday, Jan 2, 2008 12:59 pm EST Guesting at TrueHoop, the Akron Beacon-Journal's Brian Windhorst put together a fantastic interview with advance scout Pat Zipfel, who works for the Houston Rockets. The entire piece is a must read, but we particularly loved this passage: "How important is getting the play calls and signals? For our team, Shane Battier is excellent at hearing opponents calls during the game and knowing what is going to happen before the opponent runs the play and letting our coaching staff know. That type of advantage could be the difference between 2-3 possessions a game and determine the outcome. There are lots of players who make it a priority. If you sat close enough to the court of a Dallas Mavericks game, Dirk Nowitzki does a great job of calling out the other teams plays to their bench, as does Jarrett Jack of the Portland Trail Blazers for his team. If Mike Dunleavy of the Pacers knows the play, he will call it out in his teams term just to get a small edge." Keep this in mind the next time anyone term the Shane Battier-for-Rudy Gay deal a one-sided affair. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/nb...-on-your-court-stealing-your-pl?urn=nba,59683 thought you all might want to read this By the way i am a fan of trading him for another scorer
To the OP, I've posted this so many times I should have a shortcut key for it: If you think Shane is average defensively, spend a few bucks, buy a ticket near the floor on one end of the court, and watch Shane Battier. What he does on defense is nothing short of spectacular. He has great anticipation, great nose for the game, incredible strength, and very good lateral quickness for his size. He is an elite perimeter defender. The last game I where I was able to do this was the Detroit game. I made a point also to watch Tayshaun Prince for a comparison. Well there is none. Battier is both stronger and quicker than Prince, and he seems to have a better sense for where the play is going. Detroit ran play after play trying to get Rip Hamilton open. They'd run Battier through 1, 2, or 3 screens, and as soon as Rip got the ball, Battier was right in his face. Rip didn't get an open shot all night. I wouldn't mind trading Battier for a better player, but saying that he's average defensively or "just a glue guy" is fallacious.
