NBA Top 50: Shane Battier (No. 42)

Posted Sep 02, 2008 10:30AM By Tom Ziller (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Rockets

FanHouse's Tom Ziller argues his ranking of the top 50 players in the NBA.

The case for Shane Battier was made quite recently on this blog. I'm not nearly conceited or drunk enough to quote myself, so a paraphrasal: Battier is among the best defenders in the league, he is quite an efficient offensive player, and he never misses games. He is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, and he deserves your baklava. (Come on, the dude's hungry. Hook him up.)

David Berri and I have had some fairly serious disagreements over recent times. However, I do respect Berri's system and what he does. One of my favorite Berri analyses came in his dissection of Battier. The piece focused on Battier's ability to limit mistakes and get a good number of steals. Well worth the read.

His unassailable defense is what really strikes me, though. His battle with Kobe Bryant on national TV during Houston's rollicking streak last season is the most notable recent explosion of rejection. He "face-checked" Kobe the entire afternoon, and wouldn't allow the MVP to get a single easy shot. Battier's defense is relentless: he never slacks off, never gives up on a play.

They say 90% of defense is effort. That's wrong: Al Jefferson plays his tail off, but he's just missing an understanding of the basic tenets of stout defense. (He'll get there.) Battier has the physical tools, of course: he was the best player in college basketball in 2000-01. But his instinctual ability to read the game, stay in front of his man, and recover when he's beat ... that's where he surpasses 98% of swingmen on the defensive end.

Of course, critics will note Battier doesn't score much, creates less, is not a great rebounder, has never been out of the first round, blah blah blah blah blah. Battier is better than much of the league. He's just different. Don't allow a failed understanding of why teams win to cloud your view of players like this.

NBA Top 50

No. 50, Andris Biedrins, Warriors

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-02-2008 @ 11:20AM

Ryne Nelson said...

I'm a huge Battier fan. He's one of the most intelligent players in the League - if not *the* most intelligent. I applaud this gutsy pick.

9-02-2008 @ 12:34PM

Mr.G said...

Nope,not hardly. Just re-read the first sentence in last paragraph for all the proof you need. How are you going to say "he's why teams win" and previously say "he's never been out of the first round"? IF,and that's a mighty big IF, but IF Battier was a great rebounder,I would give this one to you,but he is not.Therefore you have a big man that can't rebound,can't score and can't create his own shot,AND has never been out of the first round. Ridiculous.

9-02-2008 @ 6:04PM

JayQuo said...

This is ridiculous. I could see him at 50. Maybe. But in front of Artest and Redd? What?

9-02-2008 @ 9:04PM

jay said...

"Therefore you have a big man that can't rebound,can't score and can't create his own shot,AND has never been out of the first round. Ridiculous."

He doesn't get many rebounds because he is out by the three point line. He has the ability to rebound, but that isn't what the Rockets need from him. He also CAN create his own shot, when TMac and Yao were injured, he was very aggressive on the post and had nice moves. But again, that isn't what the rockets need from him so he doesn't get the chance to do that very often.

"This is ridiculous. I could see him at 50. Maybe. But in front of Artest and Redd? What?"

Yeah, I am a Battier fan but I don't see him ahead of Artest. You could make an argument against Redd because I don't think Redd's defense is anything special... or average.

9-03-2008 @ 2:34PM

Hi Jay: Don't you think Memphis wanted him to at least rebound or score?I'm not saying he doesn't have any skills at all,I'm just saying he doesn't deserve a top 50 based on this - 9ppg - 5 rpg - 2 apg -1 bpg and 1 spg. There is nothing top 50 about any of that.Some teams don't stress defense and some teams don't even practice defense,ala Phoenix and Milwaukee.Redd and Artest,or any other top 50 player, have skills that Battier can only dream of.1 block and 1 steal per game does not make him a great defensive player either.Playing with Yao and McGrady,shouldn't Battier at least have 4 or 5 Assists per game?There's just nothing here to suggest that Battier should even be remotely considered a top 50.

9-03-2008 @ 11:29PM

"I'm just saying he doesn't deserve a top 50 based on this - 9ppg - 5 rpg - 2 apg -1 bpg and 1 spg. There is nothing top 50 about any of that."

I think you can agree that there is more to basketball than the stats you just rolled off. Who keeps the stats of altered shots? Charges taken (without flopping)? Hustle? Battier got some credit for what he does on March 16th, 2008. Anyone happen to catch that game vrs the Lakers? The only reason Battier got any talk from it was because he was guarding Kobe. He did a pretty good job.

Shane is a great glue guy who will play defense and doesn't have an ego that you have to deal with. Think about getting a player that you only have to pay less than 6 million a year, who will be your best defensive player every game, doesn't miss a game, and who will do all the little things that need to be done that will not show up in the box score the next morning. Plus he is a threat from outside and that will help spread the defense. You can also add in that he doesn't have an ego that you need to feed/worry about.

9-04-2008 @ 1:22PM

So you're saying, just throw out his meager stats, and that Battier is an elite player based on taking charges,altered shots,hustle,1 game against Kobe,a small ego and a cheap contract? I think you can agree, it should take more than that to be considered an elite player.Battier may be an above average defender,but he's a tweener.That is,he is not big enough to play the 4,and he doesn't have the skills to play the 3.That makes him a role player,and not somebody you would build your team around, or ideally have in a starting role.I am not bashing on Battier,but the facts scream out loud,this guy is NOT a top 50 player.

9-04-2008 @ 2:56PM

By the way,the March16 game which you refer to was played without Gasol,which allowed the Rockets to clog the lane,so Battier got plenty of help guarding Kobe in that regard.Kobe still scored 24 points and expended a lot of energy guarding T-Mac,who he held to 11 points. The Rockets won the game because Alston hit 8 treys and scored 31,not because of anything magical on Battiers part.Battier was a 2nd team All Defensive Player last year,not a First Teamer,and thats the only year he has ever earned honors as a defensive player.Every team in the league has at least 2 or 3 players better than Battier,so he may not even deserve a top 75 ranking .

9-12-2008 @ 5:22PM

Robin said...

If they kept track of charges taken, Battier would lead the league. I know most people look at his man defense, but as a fan who's followed Houston closely, I see Battier as one of the best help defenders in the league. By his smarts and hustle, he protects the rim better than Marcus Camby.