[Chron] Using Battier at 4 gives Rox more flexibility

This isn't new for the Rockets, or the rest of the league for that matter.

When teams go small, they often use 4 perimeter players and 1 big. Actually, when we initially traded for Battier, the intention was to play him a lot at the 4. JVG often talked about the important of a "range-shooting 4". His brother has won a lot of games playing that kind of lineup. I think it words better if your big is a dominant defender/rebounder though.

 

We would get murdered on the boards. Not to mention teams would just play zone and force us into being a jump shooting team.

 

There are only a few matchups where Battier can survive at the 4....this was attempted several years back and was a big flop.

The fact is, we've been without a tolerable answer at center for two years straight and can't continue with smurf patrol.

We've got to upgrade the starters at C, SF, and PG (in that order) if we want to go anywhere.

 

Why not Zack and Aldridge. Battier is a better defender than Scola, much better.

 

When they do this, he goes from just being a liability on the offensive end to being one on the offensive and defensive end.

 

I researched this back when we first got Battier. He is a much better rebounder at the 4 then he was at the 3 when he was with Memphis. He won't get you Scola's numbers but it won't be that big a difference. ANd you get the extra block that Battier gives you. If we get Carmelo I would definitely run Battier a little more at the 4. Maybe that's why they're testing it.

 

You're mixing apples and oranges. Battier can play reasonably good perimeter team D. Watching film and mentally preparing to defind Kobe's pet moves (and steering him to where the help defenders are) doesn't equate to the raw power of Z-Bo. Or the face up and post up skills of Aldridge. Gary Payton was "the glove"...except for transition, you wouldn't guard Karl Malone or even Otis Thorpe with Gary Payton.

 

Well Zach Randolph would completely overpower Battier every single time.

He might have more success against Aldridge, but Chuck Hayes is definitely the better choice to guard him.

 

It would also be a waste of his defensive talents. The only reason the Rockets would try that matchup would be to boost the offense.

 

I've never liked Battier at the 4, especially when we already have so many power forwards, including one of the best defensive PF's in the NBA (Chuckwagon).

The real problem is still that we lack a true starting center which is forcing our plethora of forwards to play out of position.

 

As durvasa pointed out, the Rockets have employed "range shooting 4" to one degree or another in their lineups during the JVG/Adelman years, too. They just have not used it to the extent that the Orlando Magic did, but rather has done so only on occassion when the situation fits.

I think there are two conditions under which you can employ a full time "range 4" (or "range 5"). One is where you have a rebounding/defense monster like Dwight Howard making up for any lack of rebounding/post-D on the part of a "big" who is really more of a SF. (Theoretically, perhaps a PG/SG/SF can also help make up for rebounding, but there's only so much you can do when you are supposed to be also, for example, guarding the 3 pt line.) The other is when your "range 4/5" is actually a real big man who can do the real big man things (defend the post, rebounding) adequately on top of shooting 3 pointers. I am talking about guys like A. Jamison, Rasheed Wallace, Troy Murphy, etc. here. Now, there are few of them around, and a good portion of them have flaws (Jamison and Murphy are, for example, not so good on D despite having good size/bulk, Wallace is a range shooter, but often not a range maker, but he's probably the best overall player among them as far as I can remember).

In any case, the Rockets have had tweener specialists (Padgett, Novak) and moonlighting SFs (Battier, Artest, maybe Ariza?) in that role.

Right now, I see them being cautious employing one since the team already has defensive rebounding woes. Battier can rebound somewhat as a PF (better than he can at SF, being closer to the basket and all), but I think the numbers will still show that having him at the 4 still isn't ideal in that department and will likely adding to defensive rebounding issues.


Edit: One guy who may turn into a good range 4 is Patrick Patterson. He's got a good 15-18 foot J and hit 3s in college. For now, though, the team seems to prefer having him work on other aspects of the NBA game first before venturing outside the arc and turn into some sort of chucker.

 

When we first traded for Battier I remember there was talk about him playing at the 4 a lot.

 

that would work only if and only if we have a good C.. healthy Yao, Dwight, Shaq, Perkins..

 

Aldridge is damn near 7ft ....and you must have missed what Hayes said about defending Z-Bo....?!

Batt would get killed at the 4....on a nightly basis....IT IS WRITTEN.

 

when you're running out of legitimate options and still fail, what do you do? try some desperate moves.

this is how bad rox is right now.

 

It didn't work. JVG tried it at the very beginning.

 

Wasn't just talk, he was the starting 4 in the first game of the 06/07 season. Kirk Snyder started at the 2.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200611010UTA.html

Lost to Utah, then JVG decided to replace Snyder with Chuck Hayes and move Shane back to the 3. As Snyder faded out of the lineup (especially after Snyder's injury), the Rockets played more with Chuck and Juwan Howard at the 4 instead. Still played Shane at the 4 quite a bit that year, but not on a full time basis.

According to 82 games.com Battier played 58% of the teams minutes at the 3 and 16 % of their minutes at the 4. So, about a 4 to 1 ratio?

http://www.82games.com/0607/06HOU8C.HTM

 

It might happen, but reading this made me scream.