If you watch this guy, on any given possession, you'll understand. Just take your eye off the ball...

If you watch this guy, on any given possession, you'll understand. Just take your eye off the ball and watch Battier work — the guy acts as if he's in his own reality show, as if the cameras were on him for the entire 24-second turn, even if his man never gets the ball, while appearing deathly allergic to letting people down. Battier just does everything right. It may not mean he'll get the rebound, block or steal — and his guy might still nail the shot — but I've never seen someone pitch as many perfect games defensively.

Dwyer on Shane's Defense

Ball Don't Lie: The top 10 best defenders of the last decade

6 months ago Cornholio 5 comments 0 recs |

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thats why d.m loves battier

i also love how 3 of the top 10 were on the rockets team last year

by AlDe2356 on Aug 28, 2009 3:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I miss Deke. But who doesn’t?

by DribbleHooper on Aug 28, 2009 5:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The thread on this over at CF is pretty entertaining.

In addition to the extra-stupid stuff from the BDL commenters (“Why isn’t Rodman on the list? Dwyer’s so fucking stupid!”), CFers have apparently decided that Battier is now “overrated.”

Yes, Battier really is that good on defense. He stays with his man (and yet always appears to be in a position to provide help defense) and just generally harasses him on each possession. There is a reason why Kobe got so visibly frustrated during Game 1 of the Lakers-Rockets series, and it’s the same reason he got so obnoxious during Game 2 – Battier made him work. The fact is that this is a rare quality in the NBA, and Battier combines this with a talent for predicting what his opponent will do next. Battier is the best wing defender in the NBA right now.

It would be interesting to see a list of players who would be in the Top 10 if they got more playing time. I feel confident in saying that Hayes is one of the best post defenders in the NBA, but he just doesn’t get that many minutes. One of my favorite moments of the last season came during the game in Boston. Garnett was absolutely tearing up the Rockets’ interior defense, so Adelman sends in the Chuckwagon. KG decides to take it right at Chuck on his first possession in the game, but Chuck completely shuts him down. It was pretty impressive to see 6’6" Chuck Hayes destroy one of the best PFs of all time for a few minutes.

Your friendly neighborhood Dream Shake mod.

by Only_A_Lad on Aug 29, 2009 10:56 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Look at this comment:

“Hey, did you notice who the best deffenders were garding? (Koby) and why isn’t Koby listedas a top deffender? "

Wow.

"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon.' Need I say more?"

-Chris Rock

by Big ZK on Aug 29, 2009 3:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Battier

Shane IS as good a defender as they say. It may be that an amazing player like Kobe can go off on him (particularly if he’s fed 30+ shots) but it takes a superstar performance to do it.

As for Kobe’s defense, well, it’s good when he tries. He’s also quick and smart enough to play decent defense without trying all that hard. Top 10? Why?

Also, this is “Of the decade”. Let’s repeat that “Of the decade”. Exactly what has Dennis Rodman done in this decade? He was essentially done after 1997, and his last year was 1999.

"So do you keep open 3pt FG percentage?"
"Yeah, we'd have everything you'd want, Bill."
"I hate you."
Bill Simmons/Daryl Morey Podcast 5/8/09

by Xiane on Aug 31, 2009 11:40 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs