With Fran Vazquez staying in Spain, I'm expecting the Magic to start Dwight Howard at the power forward and either start Tony Battie or Kelvin Cato at center. Each are good players and bring different qualities to the starting lineup and in this thread I will breakdown each player and explain the positive and negatives of having them as the starter. [IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/tony_battie.jpg[/IMGL]Tony Battie | 6'11" | 240 lbs. | 4.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.00 BPG, .460 FG%, 23.4 MPG Tony Battie started 32 games after Kelvin Cato went down with an injury. Last season was his first year in Orlando and he played well when the team needed him. He showed good defense in the paint and was a better rebounder then his stats suggest since he came off the bench for more then half of the season. I wouldn't mind seeing Battie as the starting because he did a nice job last season. Positives: Tony Battie brings hustle and energy to the court and he shows that in his rebounding and defense. He may not be the best scorer but he can make a difference in the paint with his shot blocking. He is also very unselfish and does whatever he can to help the team. Shooting about 46% from the field is pretty good and with a permanent starting role those numbers could increase. Tony is also 2 years younger then Kelvin which helps his chances. Battie didn't have any problems starting last year and I would like to see him either start or get a lot of minutes off the bench this year. Negatives: The main problem with Tony is his offense. In the last month of the season, he only scored 10+ points twice. He doesn't have to score much since he is the last option on offense but it would be nice to see a little more production out of him. Another problem with Tony Battie is his consistency. Some nights he can score 10 points and grab 11 rebounds and then next night he might score 4 points and only have 5 rebounds. If he can become more consistent I think he would get the starting job over the veteran Kelvin Cato. [IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/kelvin_cato.jpg[/IMGL] Kelvin Cato | 6'11" | 275 lbs. | 7.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.32 BPG, .538 FG%, 24.6 MPG Kelvin Cato is a good player who played limited minutes due to an injury that took him out for most of the season. When he was starting last season, he showed good chemistry with Steve Francis since they played together in Houston and was a force on defense. Him and Dwight Howard were dominating the paint and throwing a block party every night. Cato might be a good starting center but will his age, contract or injury slow him down? Positives: Kelvin Cato is a great defender and a better scorer then Tony Battie. Shooting 54% from the field and averaging 2 more points per game then Battie, he was a solid player on both sides of the court. He can contribute where he is needed like Battie. Cato also has more experience as a starter since he was one in Houston for several years. His chemistry with Steve Francis showed early in the season as the pair were pulling off alley-oops and give and go's left and right. Cato and Battie are similar interior defenders who team up with Dwight Howard and clog the paint efficiently. Negatives: Unfortunately, there is a long list of negatives that come with Kelvin Cato. First off, his age is a big question. He is entering his ninth season and is almost 32 years old. Who knows if his body can still hold up for an entire season as a starter? Another bad thing with Kelvin Cato is obviously his health. After missing 20 games last season it will be hard to say whether or not he can still be a productive starter. Last but not least, there is his expiring contract. Since this is the last year of his contract, expect him to be shipped around by the Magic front office. He is valuable to another team because after this season his contract will be removed from the salary cap giving the team money to spend on free agents. I think Cato and Doug Christie will both be on the block and could be shipped out before the trade deadline since both players are veterens and will be free agents after this season. Cato might not be the most dependable player and that might be the thing that costs him the starting job. Both players are good and have a lot to offer but since Cato has so many question marks surrounding him, I think Tony Battie would be the safer of the two and that is who I would want as the starter. Who do you guys think should be the starter based on your own opinions?
I would take Battie I remember seeing him play with the Celtics he was great, Battie and Howard in the paint is pretty good, then off the bench Cato can still help.
Last year at this time I was saying start Cato over Battie,but now Im going to switch and say start Battie over Cato he is the better player and your supposed to start the best player.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TwinTowers:</div><div class="quote_post">Last year at this time I was saying start Cato over Battie,but now Im going to switch and say start Battie over Cato he is the better player and your supposed to start the best player.</div> How do you figure? They averaged around the same amount of minutes last season, and Cato out performed him in every category that is displayed in this thread. Battie has always been a good backup, and locker room influence, but Cato is without a doubt the more valuable player/starter in my opinion. A lot of people are forgetting how good we were early last season. When Cato was playing well he really had emerged as a double double thread a lot of nights before he got injured. He was having one of his best seasons he has had the past three seasons in my opinion. Battie is not that young himself. Since Cato does have an expiring contract coming up as well why not start him build his value sow e can trade him for a good player before the trade deadline. We need a deeper front court so I doubt they will just let him hit free agency simply for the cap.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Best Kept Secret:</div><div class="quote_post">How do you figure? They averaged around the same amount of minutes last season, and Cato out performed him in every category that is displayed in this thread. Battie has always been a good backup, and locker room influence, but Cato is without a doubt the more valuable player/starter in my opinion. A lot of people are forgetting how good we were early last season. When Cato was playing well he really had emerged as a double double thread a lot of nights before he got injured. He was having one of his best seasons he has had the past three seasons in my opinion. Battie is not that young himself. Since Cato does have an expiring contract coming up as well why not start him build his value sow e can trade him for a good player before the trade deadline. We need a deeper front court so I doubt they will just let him hit free agency simply for the cap.</div> I think the players are equal but I would start Battie since he isn't going to be used as trade bait and doesn't have the injury problems that Cato has. The reason I wouldn't start Cato to increase his value is because most teams don't want him for his abilities. They would want him because he will free up cap space at the end of the season and will let them sign a talented free agent.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Best Kept Secret:</div><div class="quote_post">How do you figure? They averaged around the same amount of minutes last season, and Cato out performed him in every category that is displayed in this thread. Battie has always been a good backup, and locker room influence, but Cato is without a doubt the more valuable player/starter in my opinion. A lot of people are forgetting how good we were early last season. When Cato was playing well he really had emerged as a double double thread a lot of nights before he got injured. He was having one of his best seasons he has had the past three seasons in my opinion. Battie is not that young himself. Since Cato does have an expiring contract coming up as well why not start him build his value sow e can trade him for a good player before the trade deadline. We need a deeper front court so I doubt they will just let him hit free agency simply for the cap.</div> I wouldn't base my reasons on the stats in this case but apart from them, I completely agree with you. I expect that we sign one front court player this off season which would make Cato superfluous and we could trade him before the trading deadline, maybe in a package together with DC.
I would start Battie because you can count on him every night instead of wondering if Cato is going to play or not.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Coranor:</div><div class="quote_post">I wouldn't base my reasons on the stats in this case but apart from them, I completely agree with you. I expect that we sign one front court player this off season which would make Cato superfluous and we could trade him before the trading deadline, maybe in a package together with DC.</div> Maybe we could sign Tyson Chandler or Reggie Evans with the remaining MLE. Both of those players could make an impact and might even be able to start on our team. I would love to see us bring in one of those guys because Chandler is a good defender with loads of potential and Reggie Evans is a great rebounder who could help Dwight out in the paint.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">Maybe we could sign Tyson Chandler or Reggie Evans with the remaining MLE. Both of those players could make an impact and might even be able to start on our team. I would love to see us bring in one of those guys because Chandler is a good defender with loads of potential and Reggie Evans is a great rebounder who could help Dwight out in the paint.</div> We might be able to get Evans and that would be a good pick-up but Chandler would be a little out of our reach.
I would rather have Cato starting then Battie, he's more consistent than Battie, IMO. Cato is better all around, he has better defense and way better offense. One thing that's wrong with him though that you didn't mention is that he doesn't seem to care sometimes. Some games he looks like he just doesn't care out there, but when he's on top of his game, he is a solid starter and 5th option to have on your team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TwinTowers:</div><div class="quote_post">We might be able to get Evans and that would be a good pick-up but Chandler would be a little out of our reach.</div> Tyson Chandler hasn't been getting much interest from teams this offseason and the same goes for Reggie Evans. Tyson has been considered an underachiever by many people because he was a high draft pick and gets only 8 PPG and 9 RPG. The truth is, he is a great defender and is a solid rebounder and I would love to have him on our team. With him and Dwight both blocking shots, it would be pretty intimidating to our opponents. Another player we could look at is Calvin Booth. Sources say he will be dropped by the Bucks because of new "Allan Houston Rule." Here is the article. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Zach Eisendrath/RealGM - According to the reliable Gerry Woelfel, the Bucks have decided to release Calvin Booth. The Bucks will take advantage of the one-time ?Allan Houston Rule,? which allows teams to cut one player before August 15th without having to pay luxury tax on their salary. Hopefully this is a sign that the Bucks believe they can bring back Zaza Pachulia, however, don?t read too much into it. This is a great one-time offer to get rid of a horrible contract, and the Bucks want to benefit from it.</div> Source Just another option if we want a big man who can come off the bench so we can trade Kelvin.
i would love to see my boy chandler who came from my high school. but when it comes to battie or cato i would have to say that cato is probably my better choice. i like the chemistry that cato has with francis, and i feel like dwight seemed a lot more comfortable playing by the side of cato. swish made a lot of good points though, and i could see battie growing as a player if he started.
Kato to start, Battie off the bench. Simply beacuse Kato has more exp. and is a better chemistry w/ Francis. Battie is a spark off the bench if where having a tough time on defense or rebounds then put him in. Gators is right he seems to not care at the end of the season he didnt show up for the end of the season meating with the team. As for FAs Chandler would be nice to have but is impossible to get the Bulls can match. Evans would be nice to have but does he have an offensive game or is batties jump shot from the top of the key more suited? What about CLattner him and GHill back together?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting FlaBoy:</div><div class="quote_post">What about CLattner him and GHill back together?</div> I have never been a big Laettner fan so I wouldn't like to see us use money on him. He is almost 36 and would be a waste of money. I don't think he would be very productive and I would like us to spend our remaining MLE elsewhere.
I would start Cato and do what Pop does with the spurs, bring in a few guys in after 6 mins to keep them fresh. I love that about pop, regardless of how good manu is doing he brings in another player so he doesnt get drained. I think starting Cato and bringing in Battie and kusan is the best offensive and defensive set we could run.
