2-4 is wat he can do. 5 if we play vs a small team. wat better way to end a game then w/ a lineup of tmac shane ron scola yao or rafer tmac shane ron yao
here's the question: there's 5 seconds left, Rockets lead by 1 point, the ball's in the hands of Kobe OR Wade OR Lebron OR Manu ... who should guard them? Artest or Battier?
The labels are really irrelevant. Being a wing player almost implies versatility/interchangeability. T-Mac is never going to take the more difficult 2/3 assignment so that will always be Battier or Artest's job. Everybody knows T-Mac, Artest and Battier can all play on the perimeter so offensively it doesn't matter who you label the SG or SF. Defensively, as long as Artest/Batter are capable of guarding the Kobe's of the world it's never really going to matter what you label them since there will be a lot of cross-matching involved.
Ron could play the 2, but so could Battier. And if you are talking about both of them being on the floor at the same time, its really a wash on who is actually playing the 2. Both of them will probably be guarding the 2-3 duo. The stronger defender would probably be on Artest.
We have been needed someone with BALLS and confidence like this for a long time. No more "punk-me" Rockets!
If the other teams guard him with a '2', imagine what he will do to SG's on the low block. Holy crap.....
Maybe. People overrate Deron's athleticism and quickness, although its pretty good for a point guard. But Deron's strongpoint has always been his ball handling, strength, and IQ. I'm Artest could guard him for a while when we decide to go big (Tmac as the Point Forward of course ) I'm sure Artest can definitely play some good minutes at the 2, depending on the matchup and lineup. He also played a lot of minutes at the 2 back in Sacramento anyways. He has amazingly quick feet for his size that can only be utilized on defense, but on offense too. But its his bull dozing strength that is his biggest advantage, especially when he plays the 2.
I think Ron would chew those 3 up. I also wonder if Ron is the best guy we have versus Boozer. He might be, I am not sure if Boozer can push him around. (I think the short but powerfull Hayes was a decent defensive match-up on Boozer, just can't get you anything on the other end unlike Ron) Off hand the power forwards I don't like Ron against would be Duncan and Amare. Guys with lots of length and high % spots. I also think it would be interesting to see if Ron might draw some time against Deron Williams or other physical PGs. On offense I would think Ron is best suited as a 2 or 3, though he can post up too (they way Bonzi does, but better). Defensively to some degree he can play the 1-4 pending match-ups and scheme.
Until we play 20 or so games, we don't know what our chemistry will be like and how Adelman is going to substitute who and when. All I do know is that we will be able to play some serious defense down the stretch of games if need be.
I've been wondering this also. I think Artest could shut him down but the only problem is due to the intense, physical nature of that type of match up (two bulldogs) one or both of those guys will end up in foul trouble. Plus, truth-be-told Scola did a pretty good job against Boozer last year. Granted, the 06/07 Boozer that killed Yao looked nothing like the soft and disinterested 07/08 Boozer but still. I like Scola's snappiness against him. Artest + Scola could handle Boozer, IMO. Add in Landry and Hayes into the mix, I don't think throwing adequate defenders at him will be the problem. Of course, having those guys on Boozer then creates the problem of Yao vs. Okur, which we cannot allow. PG Alston vs. Deron SG T-Mac vs. Brewer SF Battier vs. Okur? PF Artest/Scola vs. Boozer C Yao vs. Kirilenko? It's an idea. Probably wouldn't work with Kirilenko's mid-range game. I'm just trying to come up with scenarios that would allow Yao to have to guard neither Boozer or Okur which is tough to do.
With Yao in teh lineup you just HAVE TO put him on Boozer because it is the only guy Yao can at least try to guard. Okur can easily outplay him by playing on the perimeter But Artest, yes I think he could guard Boozer. Maybe Carlos has the high adventage but Artest is strong enough toi handle him. BTW, Deke did pretty great job on Boozer previous year. I'd try to put Artest on Williams. He was our killer last year. He wouldn't shoot over ron with ease and he can make him work to score points.
I think the ONLY solution to this problem is that you have to play Yao on the low block as a 1 zone man defender and teach him to stay out of the lane for a 3 second violation, but to protect the paint. All of their bigs can play on the perimeter and Yao can't guard out there, period. But I think with our larger lineup at the end of the game with Tmac on Brewer, Battier on Deron, Artest on Kirilenko and Scola on Boozer, with them switching all pick and rolls, etc. and guarding the perimeter; then I think we would cause them fits and shut them down. No late game wins for them against us! Because that lineup would not only cause them fits defensively, but they could not stop that lineup offensively as well once we get the ball past half court.
I think Battier and Artest are two different kind of defenders. Battier's style of defense involves him constantly staying close and bothering you and getting a hand in the shooter's face. Artest on the other hand plays more of a physical style of defense. He will use pure force to fight for position, loose balls, and body checks to wear the opposing players down to where they settle for bad or contested shots.
