"Battier may be difference-maker"

[Newton_14]

Shane had two key rebound/tip-outs at crunch time tonight. Only watched the end of the game, but he made some key plays when it counted.

Yep. I was flipping back and forth between golf (Congrats to Webb Simpson!) and the game, but Shane played every minute I watched and played well. 2 wins away from the title!

[Greg_Newton]

Battier's been making his points count, too. Not just that had 4.5 PPS tonight, but that his 3 FTs were the beginning of a 13-2 run that turned a 65-56 deficit with 3:13 to go in the 3rd in a 69-67 lead by the end of the quarter. Seems like a few of his shots have been momentum turners.

Did anyone catch the shot of him walking down the tunnel post-game, arm around the sulking Chalmers, smiling and chatting away? He's so in his element right now it's not even funny.

[COYS]

Battier's been making his points count, too. Not just that had 4.5 PPS tonight, but that his 3 FTs were the beginning of a 13-2 run that turned a 65-56 deficit with 3:13 to go in the 3rd in a 69-67 lead by the end of the quarter. Seems like a few of his shots have been momentum turners.

Did anyone catch the shot of him walking down the tunnel post-game, arm around the sulking Chalmers, smiling and chatting away? He's so in his element right now it's not even funny.

Battier has flat out been the Heat's best player not named Lebron. Wade has been steadily mediocre. Bosh still isn't scoring like you'd like to see. Battier, on the other hand, has been playing great defense, knocking down his shots, and, as usual, doing the little things. Last night when Game 3 was starting to get away from the Heat, he uses his prescience to get in position and draw a charge on Westbrook in transition. This takes away 2 easy points for the Thunder and instead gives Westbrook a foul, a turnover, and a seat on the bench (where he would stay for 5 more minutes).

Then, Battier fouls Kendrick Perkins on what would have been an easy put-back. Battier gets a meaningless 3rd personal. However, he sends the inconsistent Perkins to the line to shoot 2. The result? Perkins clanks both free throws and the Heat start to chip away at the lead.

Finally, with Durant and Westbrook off the court, the Thunder are counting on Harden to run the offense. Battier intelligently doubles Harden on virtually every possession 30 feet from the basket, knowing that no one else on the Thunder have much of a chance of creating their own shot. The result? Harden has one assist (on the Fisher 4 point play), hits 2 free throws (on 2 of 4 shooting in the 3rd), and otherwise is unable to generate offense for himself or his team for the remainder of the 3rd quarter.

[sagegrouse]

Did anyone catch the shot of him walking down the tunnel post-game, arm around the sulking Chalmers, smiling and chatting away? He's so in his element right now it's not even funny.

My two favorite Battier anecdotes show his thoughtful maturity, even as a young player:

1. The opening game of his rookie season in Memphis, the franchise called on Shane to introduce the players at the opening game. A 22-YO rookie!

2. Several years later, when traded to Houston, his first act was to go to the basketball office and thank each personf there for his or her contribution to the team.

We should probably be collecting all these stories for his presidential biography.

sage

[hq2]

We should probably be collecting all these stories for his presidential biography.

sage

Wonder how the television spotlights will look reflecting off of his rings (one he's about to get) when
he does his swearing in!

[Duvall]

It's a good defensive move. The announcers said the other night that Durant said he hated it. All defensive specialists do something like that. Artest would get up under people so they come down on his shoulders/elbows and get banged up. Artest is built like a defensive end so that works for him. Bruce Bowen used to sweep the leg. Seriously, google "Bruce Bowen trip".

That being said, I'd have Perk regulate on Battier. Run Battier off screens and knock him into next Wednesday. Then explain to him why you did it. That's 1970s NBA ball for you.

One question, though. Who is this "Perk" and will he be making an appearance in this series?

[jipops]

Did anyone catch the shot of him walking down the tunnel post-game, arm around the sulking Chalmers, smiling and chatting away? He's so in his element right now it's not even funny.

And then Chalmers ends up with a huge game in #4. Correlation?

[Billy Dat]

One question, though. Who is this "Perk" and will he be making an appearance in this series?

Perk's been doing his best to beat Shane up...I sometimes fear for Shane's life as I think Perk might snap and simply pick him up and snap him in two. Perk two hand shoves and forearm shivers Shane whenever he gets a chance. Shane just stoically soldiers on, one game closer to the ring.

I also noticed that Fisher was guarding Shane really tight as Shane tried to come off an LBJ screen and Shane very cleverly shoved Fisher into LBJ resulting in a charge on Fisher. Fisher sat on the ground, smirking at Lebron, insinuating that LBJ had flopped, but also, I am sure, mad that no one caught Shane's assist in that charge. Classic stuff.

I basically watch Shane on every play, doing so allows one to really see what the gameplan is, on both ends.

[CDu]

Perk's been doing his best to beat Shane up...I sometimes fear for Shane's life as I think Perk might snap and simply pick him up and snap him in two. Perk two hand shoves and forearm shivers Shane whenever he gets a chance. Shane just stoically soldiers on, one game closer to the ring.

I also noticed that Fisher was guarding Shane really tight as Shane tried to come off an LBJ screen and Shane very cleverly shoved Fisher into LBJ resulting in a charge on Fisher. Fisher sat on the ground, smirking at Lebron, insinuating that LBJ had flopped, but also, I am sure, mad that no one caught Shane's assist in that charge. Classic stuff.

I basically watch Shane on every play, doing so allows one to really see what the gameplan is, on both ends.

Battier seems to get away with a lot of shoves and moving screens. Several times on offense, he'd try to set a high screen on Westbrook. When Westbrook would try to run around the screen, Battier would then run in front of him again. He would basically spend a second or two setting a continuously moving screen. But the officials aren't calling it. And he's constantly running into or shoving players on both ends of the court. His defensive strategy to deny the ball to Durant is to grab/bump/hold/push him.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of this style of basketball. I give Battier kudos for his effort and smarts, but a lot of what he does should be called for fouls. I hate the idea that this style of basketball may wind up getting praise. I love his "hand in the face" defense on jumpshots and his constant willingness to help off the ball. But the other stuff isn't the way the game should be played, in my opinion.

I do love that he's making big shots (hate that it is for the Heat, but oh well) and being a good teammate and doing a lot of little things. I just hate that he's having to go the Bruce Bowen route on the chippy/illegal stuff as well.

[FerryFor50]

Battier seems to get away with a lot of shoves and moving screens. Several times on offense, he'd try to set a high screen on Westbrook. When Westbrook would try to run around the screen, Battier would then run in front of him again. He would basically spend a second or two setting a continuously moving screen. But the officials aren't calling it. And he's constantly running into or shoving players on both ends of the court. His defensive strategy to deny the ball to Durant is to grab/bump/hold/push him.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of this style of basketball. I give Battier kudos for his effort and smarts, but a lot of what he does should be called for fouls. I hate the idea that this style of basketball may wind up getting praise. I love his "hand in the face" defense on jumpshots and his constant willingness to help off the ball. But the other stuff isn't the way the game should be played, in my opinion.

I do love that he's making big shots (hate that it is for the Heat, but oh well) and being a good teammate and doing a lot of little things. I just hate that he's having to go the Bruce Bowen route on the chippy/illegal stuff as well.

Battier is not the only one setting moving screens. Every screen I see set in the NBA is moving for the most part. Lots of guys set a screen and then walk into the defender to complete the screen. I really wish they'd clamp down on it.

My biggest beef with Battier is the flops, but that seems to be everyone in the NBA these days.

[FerryFor50]

Perk's been doing his best to beat Shane up...I sometimes fear for Shane's life as I think Perk might snap and simply pick him up and snap him in two. Perk two hand shoves and forearm shivers Shane whenever he gets a chance. Shane just stoically soldiers on, one game closer to the ring.

I also noticed that Fisher was guarding Shane really tight as Shane tried to come off an LBJ screen and Shane very cleverly shoved Fisher into LBJ resulting in a charge on Fisher. Fisher sat on the ground, smirking at Lebron, insinuating that LBJ had flopped, but also, I am sure, mad that no one caught Shane's assist in that charge. Classic stuff.

I basically watch Shane on every play, doing so allows one to really see what the gameplan is, on both ends.

That made up for Fisher pushing Shane into Ibaka on a FT attempt, causing Shane to get called for a foul.

[dcdevil2009]

Battier is not the only one setting moving screens. Every screen I see set in the NBA is moving for the most part. Lots of guys set a screen and then walk into the defender to complete the screen. I really wish they'd clamp down on it.

Yeah, Van Gundy was talking about it in the Boston series, particularly with respect to Garnett. People have continued to push the envelope between what is and isn't a moving screen for the past few years and until the NBA makes it a point of emphasis, players are going to continue to do it because it's the smart thing to do. It seems like it's part of the NBA's tendency to favor offense over defense, but unlike the stricter hand check rules/enforcement, the 14 second shot clock reset instead of 24 for fouls and kicked balls, and the 8 second back court, the lax officiating on moving screens could actually result in someone getting hurt. I'm a fan of good offense, but like FerryFor50 and CDu, I wish they'd clamp down on it more. Great offense is fun to watch, but not as much when someone hits the deck every other play.

[FerryFor50]

Yeah, Van Gundy was talking about it in the Boston series, particularly with respect to Garnett. People have continued to push the envelope between what is and isn't a moving screen for the past few years and until the NBA makes it a point of emphasis, players are going to continue to do it because it's the smart thing to do. It seems like it's part of the NBA's tendency to favor offense over defense, but unlike the stricter hand check rules/enforcement, the 14 second shot clock reset instead of 24 for fouls and kicked balls, and the 8 second back court, the lax officiating on moving screens could actually result in someone getting hurt. I'm a fan of good offense, but like FerryFor50 and CDu, I wish they'd clamp down on it more. Great offense is fun to watch, but not as much when someone hits the deck every other play.

What's more maddening is when they finally DO call it. Then you're like, what about the other 800 moving screens I saw before and will see after that aren't called?

Must be really frustrating for it to be called so inconsistently and seemingly randomly...

[CDu]

Battier is not the only one setting moving screens. Every screen I see set in the NBA is moving for the most part. Lots of guys set a screen and then walk into the defender to complete the screen. I really wish they'd clamp down on it.

My biggest beef with Battier is the flops, but that seems to be everyone in the NBA these days.

I agree that Battier isn't alone in doing it. My beef is the extent to which he is doing it. It's one thing to edge out a little something extra on a screen. It's another thing to literally chase the defender around for a few seconds attempting to set the screen.

And this was not meant to be a bash of Battier. It's a bash of the officiating for allowing it to happen.

Totally agree on the flops though.

[-jk]

I agree that Battier isn't alone in doing it. My beef is the extent to which he is doing it. It's one thing to edge out a little something extra on a screen. It's another thing to literally chase the defender around for a few seconds attempting to set the screen.

And this was not meant to be a bash of Battier. It's a bash of the officiating for allowing it to happen.

Totally agree on the flops though.

I haven't been watching the games, but feel the need to point out that moving in front of a defender isn't a moving screen until there is foul-worthy contact.

So long as the defender is trying to get around a moving screen, rather than through it, there just isn't a foul to call. Play on.

If you're a defender and think there's a moving screen, plow through it to make the ref call it. And hope the ref saw it your way, of course.

-jk

[crimsonandblue]

I agree that Battier isn't alone in doing it. My beef is the extent to which he is doing it. It's one thing to edge out a little something extra on a screen. It's another thing to literally chase the defender around for a few seconds attempting to set the screen.

And this was not meant to be a bash of Battier. It's a bash of the officiating for allowing it to happen.

Totally agree on the flops though.

Collison basically does the same stuff for OKC as Battier does for the Heat. They know their roles and play them well. They're just not attractive roles. It's called "dirty" work for a reason in this case. Battier does some more clutching and grabbing, but he's on the perimeter. Collison meanwhile lines guys up for massive elbows in getting into blockout positions for rebounds. Battier flops more, but again, I think that's due to being stuck on the perimeter and needing to use something against quicker guys. At least Battier shoots the three. Collison's contribution is basically the occasional dunk off guard penetration or tap outs.

Two guys who in college were tough, gritty and artful players are relegated in the NBA to being tougher and grittier.

[crimsonandblue]

I haven't been watching the games, but feel the need to point out that moving in front of a defender isn't a moving screen until there is foul-worthy contact.

So long as the defender is trying to get around a moving screen, rather than through it, there just isn't a foul to call. Play on.

If you're a defender and think there's a moving screen, plow through it to make the ref call it. And hope the ref saw it your way, of course.

-jk

These guys engage more and hold their blocks better than most NFL linemen. It's everywhere, but most of the screens CDu is discussing could draw a flag in football. Hands outside the shoulders; feet shuffling as the defender tries to get by; walking the defender from the top of the key to the elbow. It's pretty blatantly bad.

[CDu]

I haven't been watching the games, but feel the need to point out that moving in front of a defender isn't a moving screen until there is foul-worthy contact.

Moving in front but not making contact is legal. What Battier is doing is staying in constant contact while chasing the defender around. That's not legal. It is the very definition of a moving screen because he's very rarely ever stationary during the screen.

[Duvall]

Moving in front but not making contact is legal. What Battier is doing is staying in constant contact while chasing the defender around. That's not legal. It is the very definition of a moving screen because he's very rarely ever stationary during the screen.

Seems to me that what's illegal is what the referees call illegal, which doesn't seem to include these screens.

[CDu]

Seems to me that what's illegal is what the referees call illegal, which doesn't seem to include these screens.

Nitpick noted. According to the rules it's illegal. The refs unwillingness to call it is what makes me unhappy (again - this isn't a criticism of Battier), because I don't care for that style of basketball.