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Mindful of the matchup, Adelman played Battier a season-high 46 minutes. "I told Shane you're gonna be there as long as Kobe is.""[Battier]'s a smart defender," said Bryant on Saturday at the Lakers' practice. "He's a position defender. He obviously does his homework. He's not going to go out there and rely on his athletic ability; he'll try to outthink his guys, see what spots they like on the floor and try to take them away."As Sunday showed, Battier is very, very good at doing just that. Yet unbelievably, he has never made the NBA's All-Defense team, a fact that had teammate Tracy McGrady up in arms after the game. "If Shane Battier is not on the All-Defense team, I'm protesting," McGrady said. "I'm boycotting the All-Defense team. Seriously, because this guy, he did a phenomenal job on the best scorer in our league. That's what he brings to us every night -- he guards the opponent's best player and he gives them hell."Said Battier: "I'm not going to campaign for myself; I think that's a little tacky. But I pride myself on my defense, [and] I prepare diligently whether I'm playing a Kobe Bryant or playing a guy who's a 10-point scorer."

Watching him in person three straight games has given me a new appreciation for just how effective Battier's technique is. He told me after the Atlanta game -- after he hounded Joe Johnson into a 9-for-25 nightmare -- that the key to playing any good scorer is to try to make him a 2-point jump shooter. The idea is to take away the high-efficiency chances -- layups, free throws and 3-pointers -- and then contest the long 2-pointers as hard as you can.On that last item, he's perhaps as good as any player in the league, because he has a very clever move he uses to contest jump shots. Nearly every other defensive player in the league reaches his hand up toward the ball's trajectory, hoping in vain to get a piece of the shot. Battier, in contrast, reaches his hand out -- right toward the opponent's head, or preferably to a spot just above it. He has almost no chance of blocking the shot this way, because a man shooting over or behind his head will get it over Battier's hand every time. But it's very difficult for the opponent to focus on the rim when there's a big paw blocking his line of sight."I was taught at a young age to contest every shot," Battier said. "If you can't block it, at least get a hand in the face or get your hand around the ball just to give the [shooter] something to think about. When I'm shooting, I know I don't like when the defender has a hand around my face or the ball, so I do what every elementary school coach tells you. ... I try to be a little annoying and get a hand in the face."And now, Battier awaits his next challenge, against Boston's Paul Pierce. It's a different type of assignment for Battier because Pierce is a much more physical player. Although, at 6-8, Battier is one of the league's bigger wings, Rockets insiders say the physical players actually give him more problems as a defender."[Pierce] presents different situations," Battier said. "You have to understand angles a little differently, you have to do your work a little earlier against the more physical guys. When I go to the gym, I'll go over my scouting plan and get my own little game plan formulated."Will Battier have a little extra motivation on Tuesday, to perhaps show Thibodeau some of the new tricks he's learned?"No, [he] has taught me a lot," Battier said. "I have nothing that man doesn't know already." Here's one thing we do know: The battle of the league's top two defenses won't be pretty. If you want that, check back in for the next Golden State-Phoenix game. Instead, expect it to be hard-fought -- nobody in the league has played more fiercely than these two teams. And expect it to be raucous -- nothing has been more refreshing than seeing Houston's normally tepid home crowd roar like crazy during this win streak. But above all, expect points to be very hard to come by. These two clubs wouldn't have it any other way.