If I am not mistaken, Artest is a two-time defensive player, and Battier is no one. So as an individual defender, Artest is better, but Battier is just working harder, never quit as a defensive player.
battier is a great defender if he guards great wing scorers where they get the ball a lot. artest can guard ANYONE basically. i feel artest would have owned AK47 or hapring the past 2 playoffs. unfortunately, they've owned battier.
artest. I think shane leads in this poll because fans haven't seen enough of ron. all the things shane does, ron does with the added bonus of being 260 lbs and feared. additionally, ron tires his man out on the offensive end. shane is a great agile defender that parks in the corner on offense. artest is an elite physical defender that punishes his opponent on both sides of the court. laterally, they are about equal. shane uses his intelligence to anticipate the next move. ron has incredible reflexes and is built like a damn tank. hand quickness goes to ron easily. the only area I see shane being clearly better at is taking charges, which many attribute as "team defense". that's fine. I'm glad we have him. that said if we have to put a defender on an island against a 2, 3, or 4, I take ron's lateral quickness, hand speed, physical play, and intimidation over shane. I have never in my life seen a perimeter defender like ron and - if he's focused - rox fans will see it this year, too.
One area you didn't mention where I think Battier is much better than Artest is transition defense. It's easy to overlook, but just getting back quickly to stop a transition basket for the opposing team is hugely important to your defense. We gave up a lot of fast break baskets during the preseason without Shane, and I think that will be an issue for until he returns.
Battier is probably better as a perimeter defender. Artest would be more useful if you want someone to guard a PF. The actual best defender on the team, however, is neither one of these two.
durvasa, you're right about transition D, though ron's affinity for rebounding mitigates that somewhat. and rebounding is a part of defense, as well.
If we need someone to stop a player one on one with the ball at the top of the key for the NBA Championship and it's LeBron James or Kobe. We all know that Ron Ron is the man. Shane is an awesome defender and usually makes you take a tough jumper. However, both Lebron, Paul Pierce, and Kobe can get by him, requiring help. Ron has the strength to get into their bodies and make them go wide.
artest is a better perimeter AND post defender. that's no knock on shane. as for chuck...no. he's a better post defender vs 4s, yes, but he'd get roasted against the kobes, wades, melos. there's a reason battier drew that assignment over hayes.
imo i think shane b is a better team defender while artest is more of a one on one defender since he never really had much of a team where they really based their team on defence
It really just depends on the matchup and how the other team is playing you. They are both excellent defenders but are better than each other in different situations. I look forward to having both this year, perimeter scorers have something else coming to them.
I'll go with Ron just becasue I think he can take it to the next level. And I believe hes stronger so thats why he can guard some PFs.
Like others have mentioned, Battier is a better team defender. Also, he is the defensive leader when he's on the floor. I'd say Ron is the more skilled & physical defender, but Shane is the smarter defender. I can't wait to see the two of them wreaking havoc on the opposition.
I'm waiting to see Artest in the regular season with the Rockets before deciding. Battier uses his teammates for defense and does a great job of shielding the eyes of the offensive player on jumpers. Artest is more aggressive in his defense and visible, but Battier's man tends to just have bad shooting nights way too often.
So close... Battier up by 2. I voted for Battier. Why? He's all about the fundamentals. His defense is text book. He might not get the most steals/block but he's always there to contest. He seems to move his feet better than Ron. Ron Artest is more aggressive therefore gets more steals/block. However sometime going for those steals, he end up letting the player get by him. He seems (so far in preseason) to have a hard time getting around picks. Fundamentals > Aggression. Of course this is all my opinion.
They defend differently... Battier sticks to his man and helps very well, plays solid. Artest makes big plays and more open court steals, meaning he's better at picking off passes Iverson style, has a nose for the ball, as well as bodies-up his man, and bigger players, and is fearless in the paint.
