Guest Need4Sheed Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Ron Artest is no Trevor Ariza. Though a bigger name and known for his defense, Artest has lagged behind his predecessor. on Artest is barely raising an eyebrow. He hasn't figured out the flow of the Lakers offense this season, he has sometimes seemed a step slow on defense, and he's made little impact on the team's toughness. In a move engineered by the Buss family last summer, Artest was signed here from the Houston Rockets to replace Ariza, who then signed with Houston, after balking at the Lakers' contract offer. It is a move that some Lakers folks would now take back. It was a move that many of us thought should never have happened in the first place. http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/172051-artest-a-big-disappointment-in-la Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamerGuy Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 A big disappointment? Ha. He's been one our most consistent players this season. Yes, he's still not 100% comfortable in the offense, but if you look at how he plays now compared to the beginning of the season, it's black and white. He's been very good for us defensively, and he's lost some weight during the course of the season to help improve his defense. There have been times where he had trouble guarding LeBron James, but come on, who doesn't? He's done everything we've asked and more. I'd hardly call that a big disappointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poe Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 I was waiting for a LA fan to reply before saying anything. It hasn't seemed to me like Artest has been an issue the whole year, and has actually shown some considerable improvement since first joining the team. If there are any problems the Lakers are facing, it's ball movement, and having Bynum and Gasol co-existing in the offense. Personally, I think Odom should start to help balance out the amount of scorers and ball-movers in the starting line up. Fisher, Artest, and Odom look to distribute while Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum want their shot attempts. If Bynum was to come off the bench, that would leave more room for Gasol and Kobe to get their shots early in the game, and Bynum to get his with the second unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted March 24, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 What the hell? Artest is a big reason why we have been ranked 1st through 5th, defensively, the entire season. Granted he's not knocking down the wide-open shots Ariza did, BUT he's also a better three-point shooter (shooting 38%, while Ariza was giving us 32%). He also does more on the floor, and we can stick Ron in the post if we needed to. We couldn't do that with Trevor. And Trevor is doing better than Ron this season? Well, if you take a look at his shooting stats, you'll find that he was shooting 46% for us last season, 39% for Houston this season. Turnovers doubled, three-point percentage didn't change much, free throw percentage is down quite a bit. Question is, were the Lakers a better fit for Trevor? Yes, indeed. Was Houston a better fit for Ron Artest? We'll see in May and June, around the time Trevor was getting lit up by both Carmelo and Turkoglu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 The only way Artest could have been a disappointment is if you thought he was a good spot up shooter, or a good shooter at all. He is shooting almost identical to his career .422 mark, which is pretty sad to begin with but you shouldn't be 'surprised'. I haven't really watched him this year, but aren't both his feet messed up? That would explain any sort of defensive deficiencies he might be having this year. The best part about the Lakers getting Artest, isn't the fact he is on the Lakers, it is the fact he ISN'T on a team they play in the post season, also Kobe can defend the worse of the SG/SF's in the playoffs if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Artesticle Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Hilarious Artest has been one of the very few bright spots for the team this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted March 25, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 I haven't really watched him this year, but aren't both his feet messed up? That would explain any sort of defensive deficiencies he might be having this year. The best part about the Lakers getting Artest, isn't the fact he is on the Lakers, it is the fact he ISN'T on a team they play in the post season, also Kobe can defend the worse of the SG/SF's in the playoffs if needed.He's got plantar fasciitis in both feet, but he's losing weight so he can still play (with less pain) and while keeping his strength, he's also a bit faster. One of the best defenders in the league, really. I just prefer Kobe defending LeBron over Artest because, well, Kobe is the smarter defensive player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted March 25, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 ...LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Artesticle Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 ...LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Regime Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Looks like Artest saw this topic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Need4Sheed Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 how you figure? ^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted March 25, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 how you figure? ^...Ron, stop playing, man. You can finally tell everyone you've been using Paul's account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.