February 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Yes, the play has been somewhat ragged at times lately. And, yes, there are concerns at center, point guard and with Shane Battier. But does it really matter? At 18-6, the Heat are just about where you would have expected them. And while recent games have shown is that there are areas of concern, that concern likely is overstated. Why? Because the Heat do not use a center at the ends of games. Because they increasingly have been going without a true point guard at the finish. And because Shane Battier has been stepping aside with games in the balance."
December 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Shane Battier enjoys talking basketball. Discussing box scores? Not so much. "Yeah," the veteran Miami Heat forward said with a grin following Wednesday's victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, "if you look at them, you're going to think I'm the worst player in the NBA and I probably shouldn't be in the NBA." He's probably right. Wednesday, he missed both his shots against the Bobcats, grabbed two rebounds in his 20 minutes, and did not have an assist. It was typical of the statistical start he is experiencing since signing with the Heat as a free agent in the offseason. Through the Heat's 3-0 start, he is 1 for 5 from the field, with two rebounds and one assist, being outscored this season"
December 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Time waits for nobody, not even the Miami Heat. With the start of the regular season just a week away, the Heat will open up their shortened preseason schedule against the Orlando Magic on Sunday at the AmericanAirlines Arena. "It's different going from eight preseason games to two, so we're going to go out and work on stuff that we've been able to put in," forward LeBron James said. "We don't have everything in right now, but what we do have in, we'll go over." Adding to an already difficult situation is the fact that Miami will likely have to play without Shane Battier and Eddy Curry because of lingering injuries. The newcomers also missed Miami's training-camp scrimmage Thursday."
December 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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As the lone new face in the Miami Heat's primary rotation, Shane Battier is finding himself at ease with both the transition and the opens shots available when playing alongside LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. "There's only so many ways you can slice up the NBA," the 11th-year veteran said of the Heat's offense. "You just call it different things. I feel pretty comfortable. This is a very disciplined offensive team and the principles are fairly basic, it's simple. So for an old head like me, it comes pretty natural." To a degree, Battier feels like he's back with the Houston Rockets, during his days alongside Yao Ming, before the towering center was sidelined by a series of"
December 8
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Shane Battier is taking his talents to South Beach. The free agent forward, who helped the Memphis Grizzlies through a historic playoff run last season, used his Twitter account this morning to announce that he'll sign with the Miami Heat. Teams can begin to sign free agents at 1 p.m. Friday, which is also when training camps open. "Over the last week, I've played out every scenario in my head over and over. It always came back to one thing for me: a winning role," Battier wrote on Twitter. "I am appreciative of all the kind words and recruiting pitches over the last week, thank you!!" Battier later added: "Let's Go Heat.""
December 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The notifications came on Twitter shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday. They were from Shane Battier and simple and to the point. The upshot: The versatile veteran swingman at 2 p.m. Friday, the earliest free agents are allowed to sign, will become a member of the Miami Heat. From his timeline: -- "The Lockout gave me a lots of time to consider what was important to me at this stage of my life and career. Over the last week, I've played out every scenario in my head over and over. It always came back to one thing for me: a winning role. I am appreciative of all the kind words and recruiting pitches over the last week, thank you!!" -- "This was a exciting process and after much deliberation, I"
December 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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It once again is time for the bag of rings. Or perhaps the simple reality for the Miami Heat is that Free Agency 2011 does not rise to the level of Pat Riley breaking out the bag of championship rings that closed the team's 2010 deal with LeBron James. Starting Monday, teams can begin making direct, face-to-face pitches to free agents, after being limited to contact with player agents since Wednesday. The post-lockout starting point for free-agent signings remains Friday, which is also when training camps will open in advance of the lockout-shortened 66-game schedule that for the Heat opens Dec. 25 on the road against the Dallas Mavericks. According to Yahoo, the Heat's initial push will"
November 25
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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With the goal of trying to save an NBA season that would start on Christmas Day, representatives for the league and its locked-out players will meet today to resume negotiations that secretly began Monday. Whenever a deal is struck, Grizzlies free agent forward Shane Battier is convinced that both sides share blame for the league's work stoppage. "It's disappointing on all sides," Battier told USA Today this week. "When we look back at this, there's blood on everybody's hands. I don't think there's one group to blame. In the information age we live in, the communication is the issue which I think is ironic. "Communications between owners and players, players and players, owners and owners."
October 25
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Shane Battier has enjoyed the extra time spent with his wife, 3 1/2 -year-old son and 6-month-old daughter back in Michigan, courtesy of the NBA lockout. But after 10 years in the league, Battier was looking forward to experiencing his first opportunity as an unrestricted free agent. "Unfortunately, I'm not going to get the wine-and-dine period that usually accompanies free agency, into a routine," said Battier, who was in Memphis on Monday evening speaking at a fundraiser at Beth Sholom Men's Club benefiting the Battier Take Charge Foundation. Originally drafted by the Grizzlies in 2001, Battier was traded to Houston after six seasons in Memphis. Last February, he was traded back to the"
May 17
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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From the money man in Chicago to the people who made the Grizzlies' magical playoff run happen on the court, they were all in agreement on how to keep the good times rolling. Re-sign 7-foot center Marc Gasol and find a deft 3-pointer shooter or two. That, and welcome back injured forward Rudy Gay with his good arm reloaded. Griz owner Michael Heisley normally has his calendar cleared for a date with the NBA draft lottery, which unfolds tonight in Secaucus, N.J. But Heisley spent Monday basking in the reality that his Griz only need a minor tweak -- not a roster overhaul or lottery luck -- to improve on their historic season. The Griz, who won their first playoff games and series, became"
April 20
Memphis Commercial Appeal
columnist Geoff Calkins
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Shane Battier was still at his locker, still answering questions about the winning shot, when Rudy Gay interrupted. "You better check your phone, you're having a baby," he said. Battier laughed. Yeah, right. Teammates are hilarious. Always pulling pranks. Then Steve Novak, a good friend of Battier who plays for the Spurs, burst in the locker room. Novak's wife had been on the phone to Houston. Heidi Battier had been taken to the hospital for an emergency C-section."
April 18
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Before the chest-bumping, towel-waving, jump-for-joy celebration after the final buzzer sounded on the franchise's first NBA playoff victory, the Grizzlies stared into each other's eyes to see who was scared and ready to fold. None of them looked the part. The Griz had just lost a seven-point lead in the game's final four minutes. But it was the poise and courage the eighth-seeded Griz showed Sunday afternoon in the last 66 seconds that earned them a 101-98 victory over the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their best-of-seven, first-round series. Memphis ended a 0-for-12 postseason drought by scoring seven unanswered points to win the game. Shane Battier, the only player to"
April 5
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Shane Battier doesn't have to search for admirers and adulation in these parts. He instantly became a big shot off the court upon his return to Memphis. On the floor, Battier would like to move toward having a similar impact. The most challenging aspect of Battier's reunion with the Grizzlies has come on the offensive end of the court, where his productivity is noticeably less than what he provided to the Houston Rockets. In the 18 games since Battier joined the Griz at the February trade deadline, his scoring average, shooting percentages and shot attempts have dramatically decreased from his days in Houston. He's also playing nearly seven fewer minutes on average. But Battier prides"
February 27
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Ninety minutes before another Saturday night's work in his 10-year NBA career, Shane Battier pulled on his Houston Rockets red-and-gray colored Chinese-made Peak sneakers and laced 'em tight. He wasn't in the Rockets' Toyota Center, but instead sitting in front of his old Grizzlies' locker in FedExForum, two days after being traded from the Rockets where he had played the last 41/2 seasons. Hanging in the locker was the familiar Griz No. 31 white home jersey that Battier wore the first five years of his NBA career when Memphis advanced to three straight playoffs. Across the locker room, at his old locker next to the showers, was former Griz starting point guard Jason Williams, signed by"
February 26
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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As Ishmael Smith walked around downtown with Shane Battier on Friday afternoon, it didn't take him long to realize Battier's status in the Bluff City. "Shane is a superstar here," Smith said. "He's a rock star. Everywhere I've walked, people say, 'Hey Shane!' I've kind of been the second tier. 'Oh yeah, nice to meet you.' But he deserves every bit of it. I think he's excited to be back here." Battier is backMemphis Grizzlies Welcome Home, Shane Battier See all 36 photos at full sizeGrizzlies vs. KingsWhen, where: 7 p.m. today, FedExForum TV, radio: No TV, WRBO-FM 103.5 Battier and Smith were introduced as the newest members of the Grizzlies on Friday after being acquired from the"
February 25
Memphis Commercial Appeal
columnist Geoff Calkins
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Nearly five years ago, on the day after the Grizzlies traded Shane Battier to Houston, a boy named Austin Miller, 8, tried his best to reverse the deal. Miller was a camper at Battier's basketball camp at Memphis University School. He went home and rubbed his lucky rabbit's foot. "In hopes that Shane would come back," said Austin's mother, Kellie. Well, dang. Think maybe Austin could muster a rub or two for Pau Gasol? Or Derrick Rose, maybe? Or the No. 2 pick who became Hasheem Thabeet? Battier is on his way back to the city that never quite got over him. Can the playoffs be far behind? "I am excited to try to tackle the unfinished business I left in Memphis five years ago," Battier said."
February 25
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Shane Battier tried to ignore the flood of text messages and phone calls promoting a juicy trade rumor. But about 15 minutes before the NBA trade deadline Thursday afternoon, Battier's curiosity crossed over to his computer keyboard. "I got online and there was nothing," Battier said. Speculation about Battier re-uniting with the Grizzlies became reality right at the league's 2 p.m. deadline when the Houston Rockets agreed to send him along with guard Ish Smith to Memphis for Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll and a lottery-protected, future first-round draft pick. "It was shocking," Battier said. The trade might have been unforeseen but it was the Grizzlies' way of strengthening their"
February 24
Memphis Commercial Appeal
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With starting forward Rudy Gay out with a shoulder injury for at least three more weeks, the Grizzlies acquired forward Shane Battier from the Houston Rockets for 2009 No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet at the NBA trade deadline today. The Grizzlies thought they had a trade that would send O.J. Mayo to Indiana for power forward/center Josh McRoberts and a first-round draft pick. But the deal was never consummated because the teams missed the NBA’s 2 p.m. deadline. “Despite published reports, O.J. was not traded,” Griz general manager Chris Wallace said in a tweet. The Indianapolis Star reported, on a source basis, that the Grizzlies pulled out of the deal at the last minute. National NBA reporter"
February 9
Houston Chronicle
columnist Richard Justice
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If you like these Rockets, catch them while you can. Change is coming, possibly dramatic change. The Rockets aren't good enough as they're configured, so general manager Daryl Morey is working furiously to change the configuration. His team needs talent, size, defense and rebounding. Carmelo Anthony appears to be at the top of his wish list, and Morey would trade for him without any guarantee of signing him to a long-term contract. He knows Anthony wants to play for the Knicks, but at this point will take his chances. Morey also has asked about Chris Paul, Josh Smith, DeAndre Jordan, Anderson Varejao and a long list of others. Everyone on the Rockets' roster is available as the NBA's"