Are we OK to talk about Battle now?

[OttoinGrotto]

Was Battle OK last night?

It looked like he didn't want the ball on most possessions. It was weird.

 

[Orangezoo]

To me it looked like he really wanted to defer to his teammates to get them going. He has had a tendency to be too aggressive with his outside shot and gotten us into trouble that way. Also, both he and Oshae had two guys shadowing them nearly the whole game. I think he recognized this and also was working to draw defenders away for better spacing.

Despite our guard play being bad, that spacing led to better movement and a ton of open real estate for Marek. This was Dolezajs game to take and he went for it. It should make for an interesting chess match with Izzo. Dolezaj is quick enough to get around MSU's burly forwards.

 

[Cusefan0307]

He was off. Couldn’t break down his man consistently. Doubled every possession. Played great defense. Hope he rebounds against MSU.

 

[Henny & Coke]

Kid shot 3-12 from floor & 1-6 from 3. I'd say he was exactly right to be passing & deferring more to teammates.

Unfortunately, with such a short bench, we don't have luxury of sitting anyone having a 1-off crap game

 

[Caboose]

Battle is showing why he isn't even close to being NBA-ready. That disgusting crossover move followed by a 3 to go up 55-52 against ASU tells me otherwise, but there is much more evidence pointing to his needing another year in Orange. Don't be a wise guy and tell me the Phoenix Suns could draft him .

 

[007]

Was Battle OK last night?

It looked like he didn't want the ball on most possessions. It was weird.

I'm guessing that was because he was frustrated. It looked like he was the primary focus of the D. They tried to deny passing lanes and shaded him (the man guarding him did not rotate away to provide help when TB did not have the ball). There were physical with him off down screens attempts. Whenever he tried to dribble penetrate, they collapsed weak side help to the lane and/or looked to take charges.