Guest Need4Sheed Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Regime Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 (edited) Chris Mannix: You can't judge the Artest-Ariza question until June, because if the Lakers don't win the whole shebang, then yes, they screwed up. No one has ever questioned whether Artest was a better player than Ariza -- just whether he was a better fit as a role player on a stocked squad. If L.A. wins, it worked out. If it doesn't, let the second-guessing begin. That's kinda my feeling to, I'm not going to jump to conclusions until this season is over. But I do think that Artest will take a lot of pressure off Kobe come playoff time which should translate into wins. As far as our team underperforming this season it's not only because of Artest, it's a combination of a whole bunch of things. It just sucks that Artest gets so much of the blame at times. Edited March 31, 2010 by Confidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren2ThaG Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Nobody knows, in the end we'll know. Plus I'd rather have Artest vs the Cavs then Ariza. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Artest was got for the playoffs, not for the regular season. If he performs in the playoffs be giving stars like Melo a fight for every point then is this no way a mistake. Also so far Artest has never won a ring so when the playoff come around I am sure he will bring his best game to the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted March 31, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 How many people have actually watched him this season? He's been an absolute monster on defense, probably top three defensive player in the league. Just because he's not fitting in offensively doesn't mean he's not giving us production. We'll adjust in May/June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 The thing is you guys should not even need offensive production out of him with Kobe, Gasol, Odom, and Bynum. All he should be asked to do is hit open shots, take advantage of mismatches and play defense. Nothing more should be asked or expected of him when he is surrounded with so much talent, people expecting him to score 15+ and shut down the opposing teams best player should not be something he should be expected to do. Right now he just seems to be an easy person to point at with the Lakers not playing their best ball. He was brought in to be a shutdown defender and for the most part he has done that this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted March 31, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Well, that was the entire point of bringing him in, nothing more. I don't think he, or anyone on the team, expected him to average over 12-13 PPG in our offense. However, we are currently in the middle of the NBA in offensive rankings, which is not good. Part of that has to do with us not knocking down threes, part of it our bench production (25th or worse in the league most of the season), and mainly only Bryant and Gasol showing the ability to put up the scoring to win games. Everyone else is inconsistent, can't knock down open shots, can't create for themselves, or are in and out of the lineup with injuries (Bynum, Walton). It'll have to all pull together soon. Second-best in the NBA doesn't mean anything right now, and it's looking more and more like we'll be relying on Bryant to close it out again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Wel see his real value in the playoffs. He will be locking up guys like Melo and Lebron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YugoRocketsFan Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Wel see his real value in the playoffs. He will be locking up guys like Melo and Lebron. Just like he would lock up Kevin Durant when Lakers played the Thunder, as you said? Artest cant lock down Melo or LeBron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Bosh for Artest/Bynum. get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Just like he would lock up Kevin Durant when Lakers played the Thunder, as you said? Artest cant lock down Melo or LeBron.Artest has locked up a lot of guys this year, and he shut down Durant in the 2 out of the 3 previous meetings, with one exception where he was playing with plantar in both feet. And he just locked up Melo a couple weeks ago. Over a 7 game series if you dont think Artest's defense will have a huge impact and potentially wear down guys like Melo or Lebron, your in even bigger denial then I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Artesticle Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Artest's defense has been amazing. His offense has been wildly inconsistent. But I love having his presence on the court, and with the amount of money we're paying him, I can't complain at all. Ron is the least of our worries at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YugoRocketsFan Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 (edited) Artest has locked up a lot of guys this year, and he shut down Durant in the 2 out of the 3 previous meetings, with one exception where he was playing with plantar in both feet. And he just locked up Melo a couple weeks ago. Over a 7 game series if you dont think Artest's defense will have a huge impact and potentially wear down guys like Melo or Lebron, your in even bigger denial then I thought. If hes shut down Durant so much, why is he averaging 26 ppg on 46% shooting vs the Lakers? I didnt say Artest wouldnt make an impact, I just said he cant shut down LeBron or Melo, he can only contain him, what a way to twist words to make you look like a genius who debates well. Nobody can shut down LeBron, you can only hope he plays bad. Edited April 1, 2010 by YugoRocketsFan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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