If Artest, Scola & Battier would all be in Rockets in the new season, one of them must be on bench, who would be the guy?
Sorry for some weird reason it was posted multiple times, please remove the redundant ones clutch crew.
Since Scola is a true PF and Artest is more a natural SF I think Battier sits. Scola's scoring and rebounding are needed and Artest will D up the opposition. This way you have a fresh defensive player to throw at the other team.
Scola will be the 6th man. However I don't think Battier is a good legit starter with his offensive limitations. Therefore I think he is very much a team man and should come off the bench. Scola will be the 6th man.
I think Shane would do this at the drop of a hat with no problems at all. I mean Ron-Ron said he wouldn't mind the pine, and Scola just wants to win like every one else on the squad...i would just hate to think of feel like there's some hidden undertone or resintment towards Rick or the team for certain descions made(which i highly doubt would happen). I think its intially going to be up to the players : how fit the come into pre-season, how hard the work in practice, and how Rick see's these factors playing into the grand scheme of things.
Ron Artest should be coming off the bench for this Rockets team. The truth is that the Rockets' starting lineup of Rafer, T-Mac, Battier, Scola and Yao is among the best in the league. Also, Shane Battier is more effective as a starter than as a sub. There is no need to have an embarrassment of riches in the starting lineup. Shane is a much better option as the fourth or fifth starter offensively than he would be as a sixth man. Artest, on the other hand, is the most likely to be able to be the focal point of the offense for the second unit. Keep the starting lineup the same. Bring Artest in as the sixth man.
Artest would be the best to come off the bench because of his ability to play multi positions and energize the team. It's the coaches call and I doubt he's made a decision yet.
One thing is for sure: Scola will be starting. You can put that in the bank. The real debate is Ron Ron vs. Shane. One could argue Shane is the incumbent and it's on Ron Ron to supplant him. On the other hand, Ron Ron is a much more talented player. It's not even close. Plus, I think Shane would be the ideal 6th man; the best in the NBA. He could come in with 3-4 mins left in the 1st quarter to relieve Artest and then Artest would sub for Tracy during the 2nd quarter. Tracy would replace Shane with 3-4 mins left in the half. However it goes exactly, all 3 guys will average 30-35 mins/game. I could see it going either way but I'm gonna guess Artest will earn the starting SF spot during camp & pre-season and Shane will come off the bench. To think Scola won't start and Artest will be a full-time PF is ludicrous IMO.
I think this really is a non-issue. First of all what's important is who finishes the game and not really who starts. Second, none the 3 guys Scola, Battier, Artest have big ego's. You could argue that Artest does but I really think he will stay true to his word about winning and doing whatever Adelman wants him to do as well as listening to Mac & Yao. Finally, take a look at the winners from the last 5 years for 6th man of the year. 2004 Antawn Jamison 2005 Ben Gordon 2006 Mike Miller 2007 Leando Barbosa 2008 Manu Ginobolli Quite the impressive list of players coming off the bench if you ask me.
Battier. Artest is just as good defensively and has offense that consists more of then just the corner 3 pointer. Teams didn't guard chuck hayes for his no offense and it was almost as bad with battier when you knew all he would shoot is just the corner 3.
Why is this even a question? Artest and scola are 3 and 4. Battier is a bench player which is where he should be. Gimme a break.
You don't know much about Artest if you think he doesn't have a big ego. He is NOTHING like Shane or Scola in that department. The very fact he was so disruptive of the Kings offense and hogged the ball instead of running their plays was because of his huge ego. And if you think Ron Ron is a "true to his word" kind of guy, us Pacers fans can educate you. There will be major bumps with Ron Ron next season, it's just a matter of how much they disrupt the team.
Just read your post. I agree completely. Battier would still be seeing starting minutes, so his production won't go down too much. I like it.
Ron is a better starter than Shane, but I like that idea that Ron is coming off the bench, because he has much better offensive skills, can be the man off the bench, and put lots of point on the broad. On other hand, he will have a limited touch on the ball if he is a starter because of Yao and TMac. But Ron is going to a better starter than Shane if we are going to play small ball when Ron can play as PF.
