"Lies, Damned Lies, and Obama (response to Battier article)

You can't prove whether one person is the "most intelligent" in the NBA. I think if you threw Battier's name out there as a candidate, few would disagree with you. As for being a colossal bust compared to his draft status, I think that's a little harsh when you consider his draft class.

Yeah, six was too high for a player of his measurable abilities. His reputation obviously boosted him into the high lottery. But look at the rest of the first round. If you did this draft over again, Battier would go somewhere between 11 and 15.

http://www.nba.com/draft2001/draft_board.html?nav=TextNavBar

Again, as for the "streets" not liking him angle, remember it was Battier uttered those words. And his own teammate Rafer Alston agreed that he wouldn't last in that sub-culture of basketball. While you may have problems with some of Lewis' over-simplification and statistical cherry-picking, it was a great story.

 

Battier is a colossal disappointment in regards to his draft position? Really?
Think back to the 2001 draft:

1 -- Kwame Brown, major bust
2 -- Eddy Curry, head case
3 -- Pau Gasol, success
4 -- Tyson Chandler, solid contributor
5 -- Jason Richardson, success
6 -- Battier, excellent role player for playoff teams
7 -- Eddie Griffin, complete bust
8 -- DeSagana Diop, borderline role player
9 -- Rodney White, complete bust
10 -- Joe Johnson, star
11 -- Kedrick Brown, complete bust
12 -- Vladimir Radmanovic, role player for poor teams
13 -- Richard Jefferson, star

Nearly half the lottery that year was a complete bust. Battier can start for any team in the league depending on its personnel and needs. To say he's a colossal disappointment shows a lack of understanding of the 2001 draft and what makes a basketball team successful.

 

I think you're relating his 2001 position in the draft. Simply put, he was the #6 selection in the draft and will probably be playing for his third team.

He happens to play for playoff teams rather than him being the catalyst the turns them into playoff teams, like you and the article are implying.

 

Well, you can only be drafted in the year you were actually drafted, so in reality, he was a good pick.

Shaq's playing for his fourth team. For a top pick, that's pretty bad.

Basically you just don't believe a major premise of the story, that Battier doesn't simply "happen" to play for playoff teams, he helps (emphasis on help) teams succeed.

 

No, I don't, because when you look at the teams he's supposedly helped, there were other obvious and more glaring factors for their success than Shane Battier.

 

I'm not sure how you could read the story and still come away without knowing Lewis' answers to these questions.

He would say that West was wrong because he didn't recognize how important Battier's contributions are to winning, that his team tends to play better when he's on the floor and the opponent tends to play worse.

What evidence is there of Battier's intelligence? That's essentially what the whole article is about. Here's one piece of evidence from the story: Before the game, Battier was given his special package of information. “He’s the only player we give it to,” Morey says. “We can give him this fire hose of data and let him sift. Most players are like golfers. You don’t want them swinging while they’re thinking.”

Again, I can certainly understand people saying they just don't think Battier's a good player, regardless of what Lewis says. But I think he's made a reasoned, well-written argument for his position, even if you don't think he's right. When I read stuff like that link that called the story "a mess" I wonder, what the hell were they reading?

 

Honestly, he took a Kobe scouting chart and made it out to be a Shane Battier only attribute.

I'm certain Bruce Bowen and Paul Pierce have seen similar chart that was carved out by their scouts. I'm sorry, but that really isn't special.

 

Spurs got Tony Parker at 30.

 

Especially because Bowen and Pierce have, you know, actually won an NBA title.

 

So what

I guess that scouting report didn't fall into the hands of Raja Bell and Rueben Patterson since they haven't won a title yet.

I guess they had marginal success guarding someone else other than Kobe.

 

Well, since Ruben Patterson can't leave his state, let alone guard Kobe, he doesn't apply.

All I'm saying is, everyone is sucking Battier off and he hasn't won anything since he played for Duke. Maybe it's because he is just a good player, not a great one that can carry a team.

 

LOL!! I agree 100%.