It's based solely on Artest. Just more "experts" picking the popular "Ron Artest is a crazy cancer" idea.
I read that earlier today. I loved Abbotts comment... Because the fact that they didn't want to defend their picks tells you that they know nothing about the Rockets.
Artest will have McGrady crying in the fetal position before training camp is over. Good for the team!
I don't see a danger. It takes multiple drama queens on a team to make a team even modestly dysfunctional. Knicks had a huge collection in Marbury, Isiah, Randolph, Dolan, and previously Larry Brown. Jail Blazers had multiple of Sheed, Bonzi, Randolph, Miles etc at any given time. Shaq+Kobe+Phil was successful, but had their issues and at times the penchant to air it publicly. The Rockets just don't have enough drama queens to cause a big stir. The critical mass on the squad are calm guys who get along with each other. Minor drama caused by a guy or two will do nothing to stop them. We had Spanoulis making the V-Span face. We had Bonzi vs. Gundy. We had Mike James and Steve Francis not exactly happy with not playing. I just don't see how Ron Artest's eccentricities will cause a bigger stir than Bonzi Wells' or Steve Francis'. If you think the team chemistry will fall apart, you'll have to believe Ron will do something that causes guys like Yao, Tracy, Adelman, Battier, Hayes and Alston to start sniping at each other. It'll basically take a fundamental shift in the personality of these guys. Ain't gonna happen. Can't imagine what Ron can do to make it happen.
Artest in a winning environment with a coach he likes during a contract year is not something i'm worried about. Not gonna lie, I would play the "Artest is crazy" card too if I wasn't a Rockets fan and I had to analyze the team. He's about as nuclear as they come but lucky for us due to the aforementioned reasons we should be fine! [KNOCK ON WOOD]
Yeah, I agree with this. I think there are too many factors working against a complete meltdown on his part, but if he was on the Mavericks or Spurs, we'd all be predicting and hoping for it!
I read that article earlier today too. I was thinking the same thing, how the hell are you going to talk smack, but not back it up. Artest will be fine. I just had a long basketball conversation w/ a hard core mav's fan in a coffee shop in Fort Worth. Basically, he stated with out reserve that the Rockets are last years Celtics and that they have a good chance of winning it all barring injuries. I don't see how professionally paid sports analyst refuse to realize that probability of Artest messing up the Rocket's franchise is extremely low while on the other hand a Mav's fan can.
Bill Simmons has opined on this time and time again. You can have ONE crazy person on your team making significant contributions and still win, you just can't have multiple crazies. One crazy helping a team: Dennis Rodman (on all his teams), Randy Moss on the Vikings and Pats, before him Corey Dillon on the Pats, Darryl Strawberry on the Yanks. Multiple crazies bringing a team down: Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley, and Artest on the Pacers; Chad Johnson, Chris Henry, and all the convicts on the Bengals; Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, A-Rod on the Yanks; Ruben Patterson, Damon Stoudemire, Scottie Pippen and later on Darius Miles and Zach Randolph of the Jailblazers (I can't even remember all those members, it felt like the whole team)... In any case, our locker room is one of the best in the country. Everyone gets along, we have high character role models in Battier and Yao, and anyone who falls out of line will be swiftly dealt a Dikembe elbow in the face. Ron Artest has all the makings of a major positive contributor to this team. We ain't got no Crazy #2.
People were saying tracy will be a cancer when we got him. they said he's selsish...look how that turned out. he's anything but. the media has to blow things out of porpotionsa to creat a headline.
The media distorts the truth in order to increase public image and ratings -- entirely true for this story, its so idiotic to predict us to blow up and then not give a reason? scared that artest will hunt them down more like
Don't forget Ron looked up to Rafer due to his streetball credit, and he respect Shane because he played defense even when he was a star in college basketball.
The turmoil is right here. Please stay home and not go out unless necessary.Staying home allows you more time to spend on our forum.
