Shane Battier On Benching: “Turd Sandwich”
After a successful regular season, Shane Battier has slumped through the NBA Playoffs, and did not play a single minute in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers. How did it feel? Well, Shane has a very interesting take on it all.
Battier on his benching: "Sometimes you've got to eat a turd sandwich. Makes the ribeye taste better next time."
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 5, 2013
Yummy, right? The always well-spoken Battier delivers another quote for the ages. The ribeye Shane is referring to is supposedly the NBA Finals, in which he hopes to see more minutes. But will he?
Battier had Erik Spoelstra’s confidence going into the postseason, and the Heat head coach didn’t cut down on Battier’s minutes ultil the last three games against the Pacers. Shane played eight, four and zero minutes in games five through seven.
It’s understandable that Battier got benched — after shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc in the regular season, he has only connected on 23 percent of his long-range attempts in the postseason.
Still, Battier should see more minutes and be back in the rotation against the San Antonio Spurs, who don’t quite have the size advantage Indiana did.