<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For now, the Rockets have to be loving what they are seeing. When Battier took a charge from Yao Ming on Sunday, he showcased typical Battier, doing whatever is necessary to win the moment. In his first minute of Team USA's first exhibition game, Battier dove to a loose ball, punched it ahead to a teammate and saw the play end with a Dwyane Wade dunk. Battier was not credited for anything, but those are plays that win. Watch him closely in Japan the next few weeks, and it will be clear he does more than provide "intangibles" or the "little things," those clich?s for contributions not measured in agate type. His contributions are tangible, and they are not "little things." They are the things that win games. That's why Battier is playing for the national team. All that said, however, and even with the motivations for the deal now clear, the debate will not end no matter how the rest of the Worlds go. It probab- ly will not end with this season. The only way to know if the Rockets made the right move the night they stunned their fans will be to look back over many seasons. It won't even be enough to compare Battier to the player they could have added (Gay), considered drafting (Ronnie Brewer) or probably would have selected (Thabo Sefolosha) if they weren't going to make a trade. For that matter, someone else the Rockets could have had will likely excel beyond all expectations. Someone always does.</div> Source
So what he plays good d, and hustles, we have a whole roster of players like that. Battier will be solid, but the Rockets made a TERRIBLE mistake by not using they're midlevel to snatch up some more scoring. You guys will understand what I'm saying when we continue to lose by 20 to teams like Dallas, Phoenix, and San Antonio. This offseason has to be one of the most disappointing offseasons in Rockets history.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TmacGarnett:</div><div class="quote_post">Its been disappointing for many teams. There weren't many thing the Rockets could do.</div> That's not true. The Rockets had a draft, and a midlevel exception to get some youth (athleticism) and maybe a couple of solid role players. But going into training camp, we still have pretty much the same weaknesses. We're still among the slowest teams in the league, we don't have a legit 3rd scoring option, and our PF position is worse than it was last year. For example, why wasn't the midlevel exception used to chase Reggie Evans? That was a great opportunity we wasted because we weren't as aggressive. Other teams who don't even have as many needs we're more aggressive than we were.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post">That's not true. The Rockets had a draft, and a midlevel exception to get some youth (athleticism) and maybe a couple of solid role players. But going into training camp, we still have pretty much the same weaknesses. We're still among the slowest teams in the league, we don't have a legit 3rd scoring option, and our PF position is worse than it was last year. For example, why wasn't the midlevel exception used to chase Reggie Evans? That was a great opportunity we wasted because we weren't as aggressive. Other teams who don't even have as many needs we're more aggressive than we were.</div> I don't get how getting Reggie Evans would make us faster nor give us a legit third scoring option? He'd shore up the power forward position, but all it takes to do better than Swift is to know which "ball" to grab. Sorry, had to use that there, too funny not to.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't get how getting Reggie Evans would make us faster nor give us a legit third scoring option? He'd shore up the power forward position, but all it takes to do better than Swift is to know which "ball" to grab. Sorry, had to use that there, too funny not to.</div> It would have made us more athletic, and physical at our weakest position. Evans is a BANGER who does all the dirty work we know Yao doesn't wanna do plus, he knows how to finish above the rim and brings good energy. The better teams are gonna either run us up and down the court or kill us with second chance points and offensive rebounds. Tmac is gonna have to play 40mins a game because we STILL doesn't have a respectful back up. All we got from the draft was Novak, and he prolly won't be much of a factor until he starts movin his feet on defense.
The more reggie evans is in the paint that leaves more double teams for Yao. We need someone to clear the lane for him. Radman c9oould have done that, but we lost him early.
I think Battier should be fine playing PF for the Rockets this season... he was practically in Dirk's jersey in the Germany game. After watching the USA team play and seeing his impact on those games, it's clear his impact does not always show up in the stat sheet. At times he was the only one hustling hard.. I mean, diving for loose balls and really wanting to win bad. You throw him in there with another scrappy competitor in Spanoulis and perhaps if Sura comes back - the Rockets will be a much improved team. A lot of times last season the Rockets lacked that competitive fire, that should definitely change this season.
It amazes me that some people are actually mad about the Battier pick-up. The guy can legitimately play 3 positions, and did a great job on Dirk. What a steal.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting virve119:</div><div class="quote_post">It amazes me that some people are actually mad about the Battier pick-up. The guy can legitimately play 3 positions, and did a great job on Dirk. What a steal.</div> I don't think most fans are upset about picking up Battier to be a Rocket, they are upset with the cost. I don't want to make this a Battier vs. Gay argument, so think of the trade in this way: #8 pick and Stro for Battier. I like Battier, but he is nowhere near worth the value of a lottery pick <u>and</u> Stro. A defensive player like Battier is most valuable when he is surrounded by scorers to make up for his offensive deficiencies. Look at the Spurs as an example. Battier comparable to Bowen, defensive players who can make the open three. Unlike Battier, Bowen is surrounded by great offensive players like Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker. By plugging Battier onto the current Rockets team, where the only offensive threats are Yao and T-Mac, we will only be a little better than the Grizzlies, who were sweeped out of the first round. While on the subject of the Grizzlies and the playoffs, did you watch the games? I did not, but by looking at the stats I can't see why you think Battier did a good job on Nowitzki. Nowitzki averaged 31.3 ppg on over 50% shooting while Battier averaged 6 ppg. I think Ryan Bowen might have done as well of a job guarding Dirk. I am skeptical of whether having Battier is better than having Gay and Stro. Players like Battier need a good team around him to be truly successful, like Bowen. The Rockets does not have a quality roster like the Spurs. Too many young, unproven players. Lucas played well in the summer leagues, but it's going to be difficult to be productive in the real league. V-Span has shined in the WCG, but I also wonder how that will translate into the NBA. Look at Carlos Arroyo, he was one of the highest scorers, but he's had a career NBA averge of 6.8. I have said this before. Battier is the most overated underated player. All his intangibles and defense allowed Nowitzki to score 31 ppg. He would have to take 13 charges in order to make up the 25 point difference between him and Dirk. I believe we lost more in the #8 pick and Stro than we gained in acquiring Battier. With all that said, I believe the Rockets have a good chance of making the second round this coming year. But it does not have much to do with the addition of Battier.
^^ Agree on the trade part, but I wouldnt say Battier is that good defensively. He is a good defensive player, dont get me wrong, but he's not in Bowen's league. Bowen is much better defensively (example: block on Dirk to force a jump ball in playoffs). I do believe Battier will get and hit open shots. Yes, you do need good offensive threats, like Duncan, Manu and Parker, to free up the shot, but a dominate post such Duncan, or in our case Yao, is primarily what will free that open shot a majority of the time.
Actually, like a year ago Battier was rated as the number one defensive player in the league, after crunching a bunch of numbers and gathering all the statistics up. You can check it up for yourself- http://www.82games.com/rosenbaum3.htm
