Shane Battier lavished with praise

[Orange&BlackSheep]

in this article about Wilson Chandler.

I know it is a strange time to post a random article on the NBA ... but some may be interested.


Grantland on how Wilson Chandler is Denver's Shane Battier

[SeattleIrish]

I found the article short on lavishment. And short on Shane.

s.i.

[brevity]

The writer is trying to work his way inside the game, beyond the stats, and a Shane Battier comparison is the easiest way to do that. Enough people have read what Michael Lewis wrote about Shane Battier to appreciate the need to emulate either one of them. (Aside: every writer wants to be Michael Lewis: he's written two NON-FICTION books that became Best Picture nominees at the Oscars. He fits in with the sports crowd, the economics crowd, and the Dad crowd. His wife was on MTV News and a Beastie Boys video. What's not to like?)

Anyway, the comparison between Wilson Chandler and Shane Battier doesn't work, and the writer falls under the weight of his own analysis. But if using Shane Battier has become industry code for being the glue guy/facilitator/catalyst/whatever, then hey, that's a good thing.

[UrinalCake]

Shane showing his worth yet again at the end of the Miami-Boston game. Down by 2 with 10 seconds left, Boston decides to drive right at Battier... and Jeff Green gets stuffed. Not only that but Shane manages to tip the ball off of Green's hands before falling out of bounds. The refs, apparently in a fit of madness, award the ball back to Boston despite consulting the video replay which was clear as day.

Fast forward a few seconds and Shane is inbounding the ball, still up 2 and with a second left on the clock. He bounces the ball off the back of a Celtic and then dribbles out the clock. Beautiful.

[moonpie23]

\ He bounces the ball off the back of Paul Pearce, an old Celtic and then dribbles out the clock. Beautiful.

fixed it for you...

[subzero02]

Shane makes winning plays... It's his thing

[Billy Dat]

Shane showing his worth yet again at the end of the Miami-Boston game. Down by 2 with 10 seconds left, Boston decides to drive right at Battier... and Jeff Green gets stuffed. Not only that but Shane manages to tip the ball off of Green's hands before falling out of bounds. The refs, apparently in a fit of madness, award the ball back to Boston despite consulting the video replay which was clear as day.

Fast forward a few seconds and Shane is inbounding the ball, still up 2 and with a second left on the clock. He bounces the ball off the back of a Celtic and then dribbles out the clock. Beautiful.

It was tremendous - he hadn't played the whole 4th quarter and popped up off the bench and made that defensive play on Green. The bounce off Pierce's back was an awesome FU in this ongoing heated rivalry.

[tbyers11]

It was tremendous - he hadn't played the whole 4th quarter and popped up off the bench and made that defensive play on Green. The bounce off Pierce's back was an awesome FU in this ongoing heated rivalry.

I watched the last 5 minutes of this game. Agree that Shane made two tremendous plays after sitting on the bench for the most of the 4th quarter. The defense on Green was great. He actually got a hand on the ball and then blocked it again after Green powered through.

When he threw the ball off of Pierce's back, I love that waited until he was sure that he had both feet established inbounds before grabbing the ball. Then he dribbled to the corner and put up a shot before anyone had a chance to foul him. A REALLY smart heady play to win the game. Gotta love Shane

[nmduke2001]

Shane Battier has won 23 straight games with the Miami Heat (second most in league history)
He won 22 straight with Houston (second most in league history until last night)
He won 32 straight with Duke in 1998-1999.

Shane is absolutely a winner.

[Lauderdevil]

Shane Battier has won 23 straight games with the Miami Heat (second most in league history)
He won 22 straight with Houston (second most in league history until last night)
He won 32 straight with Duke in 1998-1999.

Shane is absolutely a winner.

And while the box score of last night's game will show Shane had just six points and four rebounds, anyone watching the game will understand that his defense and final-seconds shot-block, followed by his heads-up inbound off Paul Pierce's back, clinched the 23rd victory. And history will record that it was his speech to the team on Super Bowl Sunday that launched the streak.

[MulletMan]

Dear DBRers,

Please note that the Shane Battier and The Heat threads have been merged into one thread. Consider this thread a catch-all for Shane-related lovey-dovey-ness. At this time of year, the ratio of signal to noise on the board decreases significantly, so your faithful mods will be trying to consolidate threads that are related to make board reading easier for all.

Please use these threads when possible to post thoughts, links, videos and general love for Shane's play with the Heat.

Thanks, guys and gals! And Happy March!

[JasonEvans]

When he threw the ball off of Pierce's back, I love that waited until he was sure that he had both feet established inbounds before grabbing the ball. Then he dribbled to the corner and put up a shot before anyone had a chance to foul him. A REALLY smart heady play to win the game. Gotta love Shane

[moonpie23]

lol@pierce...

[vick]

From an article about the adoption of video-based analytical tools in the NBA, apparently the Heat's wing defenders come closest to their ideal "ghost," in no small part due to Battier:

it's not a coincidence that the only team that consistently mirrors the help defense of its ghosts is Miami, Rucker says. The Heat have three of the best wing defenders in the league in Shane Battier, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade, and the latter two are among the NBA's most gifted pure athletes.

[Starter]

You want praise lavished on Battier? Try this piece from a few months back at The Classical.

(Note: I might be a little biased, since I wrote it.)

[brevity]

You want praise lavished on Battier? Try this piece from a few months back at The Classical.

(Note: I might be a little biased, since I wrote it.)

We'll forgive this and any future self-promotion, given the subject matter. Good article, and thanks for sharing for unique perspective. Nate Silver's tweet alone is worth the visit; I also like the accompanying illustration. Cosbyesque.

[weezie]

I just hope Shane isn't bummed that he's so far off the ping on the most-hated player meter. I mean that has to sting a bit.

[UrinalCake]

What is awesome is that he did almost the exact same thing to Pierce a year ago. Someone needs to use a meme generator to create a poster of the play from yesterday with an arrow pointing to Shane that says "COACHED BY K" and an arrow pointing to Pierce that says "COACHED BY ROY."

[Starter]

We'll forgive this and any future self-promotion, given the subject matter. Good article, and thanks for sharing for unique perspective. Nate Silver's tweet alone is worth the visit; I also like the accompanying illustration. Cosbyesque.

Haha, thanks man! The artwork was some other guy, but I agree, it came out well. And I promise, no more self-promotion. (Just figured for once, I could add something non-tangential to a thread!)

[duke96]

What is awesome is that he did almost the exact same thing to Pierce a year ago. Someone needs to use a meme generator to create a poster of the play from yesterday with an arrow pointing to Shane that says "COACHED BY K" and an arrow pointing to Pierce that says "COACHED BY ROY."

Awesome.