Shane Battier is eternally linked with broadcaster Dick Vitale, who generally started screaming about Battier at tip-off, but even though Battier is similarly successful defensively with Houston as he was offensively at Duke, it’s hard to imagine Dickie V going: “Ohhhhhhh! Did you see that pass denial??? Sen-sa-tion-aaaaal, bay-bee!”
Yes, Battier now thrives because of the little things that don’t show up on stat sheets or pop veins in broadcasters’ foreheads. But in tonight’s Nuggets-Rockets game, look for Battier to spend some time trying to rattle Carmelo Anthony and other Denver scorers, which could alter the course of the game.
“Battier is a scary guy because he can take a Melo or a great player and, one-on-one, I’m not saying control the player, but his team doesn’t get dominated,” Nuggets coach George Karl said at this morning’s shootaround. “You don’t have to use as many team-oriented concepts, and you don’t have to put rotations in that weaken your rebounding or coverage of the 3-ball.”
Houston also has Trevor Ariza, fresh off a one-game suspension, and Ariza is also a pesky defender, who had some success defending Anthony during the course of the 2009 Western Conference Finals, when Ariza wore purple and gold.
“Offensively, Melo has tremendous individual skills,” Karl said. “It’s how we get him in the flow and rhythm and make him dominant. The big thing is — if they double-team him or tilt the floor, our offensive players can’t force it into the crowd. We have way too many games where we think we can play against two guys. Unfortunately, Melo and J.R. (Smith) can play against two guys some nights. But it’s not going to beat the first-class defensive teams.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
