After watching the games to start this season I have to say that Ron Artest does not look comfortable in this offense. Maybe time will fix things, but as of right now I just cringe when he gets the ball on offense...horrible shot selection and poor decision making. I have seen him pass up several open shooters (and Yao) to look for his own shot (often a 3 pointer) way too many times. There were times he would get into the lane and draw defenders (like McGrady), but force the shot rather than make a pass. Like I said, hopefully time will fix things...maybe we're just spoiled by McGrady's playmaking abilities...hopefully when T-Mac comes back at full strength Artest will find his niche in this offense and learn that we don't need him to shoot as often. Until then...get ready for Ron Artest taking a lot more shots and making a lot more decisions on offense.
i don't think he's selfish (he's been a great team player). he's a poor playmaker for various reasons: 1)i just think his bball IQ offensively is poor (he's 6'8 like tracy but his court vision is terrible). when he drives in, he either takes an awkward looking shot or make a pass where the recipient doesn't have a good shot. 2) his ballhandling is subpar. he bulldozes into the paint so thus he creates very little separation to make inside the paint passes. 3) he's a poor finisher. never mind, he's a ridiculously terrible finisher around the rim.
Have been pleased with Ron. People refer to his "Bulldozer" style like its a bad thing!! We have been crying out for someone who has the chops to put their head down and put the pressure on the D forever - now we have that guy and people talk about it like its a bad thing. Still early days - this group will only collectively gel more and more - and Artest will get better and better along with them.
Ron has some of the best passes in to Yao and his teammates. I don't think he's selfish at all. Ron is still finding his way with Yao on the court and getting used to scoring without the ball in his hands a lot. Honestly I feel like if everyone ever gets healthy that Ron will be the best match with "earth wind and fire". Plus he's struggling with his shot because he's not posting up as much, which makes him try too hard when he does get his hands on the ball. I agree your choices aren't very good as far as the poll, so I didn't vote
I agree 100%. There's one more thing: Artest is stepping into a leadership position and sometimes I get the feeling he's trying to do too much. Give him time to develop some chemistry with his teammates and become comfortable. Give him some time to work with Adelman, a coach he respects, and the system. Oh yeah, and how about all those steals he brings every night? And those poll choices are ridiculous.
I think he's actually been pretty good as a playmaker. I've been more disappointed with his shot selection and ability to finish at the basket.
Yeah I think I went a little overboard on the negativity with those choices...sorry guys. I agree with you guys, I think he just needs a little more time to develop some chemistry and then he will be able to tryst his teammates and their abilities more. Sorry again about the those poll choices.
when you add a player of artest's capabilities to a team with two stars already, it's foolish to expect them to come in and gel immediately. when one of those players is having a hard time coming back from surgery and you haven't completely set your roster (deke coming back next month hopefully), that makes the transition that much more questionable. remember t-mac's first year we didn't take off until a couple moves had been made. i fully expect that if artest stays healthy all year with one of yao or t-mac making it through the year, we'll look back on this thread and laugh.
just not his game, that's what tmac is supposed to do, slash and pass, artest's skill set doesn't include that.
Artest really just doesn't fit well so far, we really could have used a Mike Miller type player someone who can move off ball and shoot an excellent percentage. We already have a solid defender in Battier, Artest just seems really really slow and out of sync right now.
well.. he spent plenty of time with "earth, wind and fire" tonight.. with a good amount of post feeds.. and I am at a loss.. at the huge egg he laid on the court tonight..
I think he's playing selfish. He doesn't consistently show he knows the concept of moving the ball one more time. He want to be the hero. Someone show him videotapes of Bonzi. Bonzi may have been a horrible finisher but he was great playing off Yao and cutting to the basket. Artest has not once except to shoot wide open threes off of Yao's double teams played off Yao. He needs to do a better job of it because Bonzi showed the seams are there.
All I know is that the Rockets would have a won a few more games over the past years if Ron had EVER played this badly against us.
