I've already had to erase Game 1 from my DVR. But if one of you guys has it and is willing to take the time, maybe you can verify this. My recollection is that Ron did more passing in that game than dribbling and shooting, and that his ball distribution was crucial to our success in that game. Does the video confirm that? We've managed to win two more games despite his subsequent dribbling and jacking. But to take Game 7 at their place, we need the unselfish Ron of Game 1. Move the ball, Ron. Please. It's the most important thing you can do to affect the outcome of this series.
I know Morey has some stat somewhere that shows when Artest takes more than 5 dribbles in a half court set, our offensive efficiency goes down the tubes. I think Artest feels he needs to be the man with Yao and Tracy out of the picture, but this team's best shot on any given offensive possession is to just run the offense and trust your teammates. Take the open shot when its there with confidence (Rockets have a tendency, sometimes, to overpass), but Artest needs to have better awareness of where the defense is coming from and who he can get the ball to.
Not only does he have to pass the ball but he has to take higher percentage shots,keep the turnovers down and play good defense. In Game 1,Yao was there now Ron feels that he needs to take over because of his absence but he needs to play smart.
i totally agree, artest is so much more effective when passing. I like it when he attacks and shoots the elbow jumper. He should use it more often.
I still have it recorded and just turned it on. All I can say is, I miss seeing Yao on the floor. Glad they are winning without him though. The quick drive and dunk by Artest was sick to take the early lead back. Artest did have 7 assists in that game.
Am I alone in seeing that when Artest shoots, often the ball will go into the hoop then come back out? He DOES take some crazy, unadvisable shots, but even those, going by memory, tend to not be too far off the mark. It gives me the impression that he is generally pretty close to hitting his shots but having the strength that he does perhaps means he just shoots with a little too much extra sometimes, and it rattles out. Accurate or no?
It's unrealistic to expect too many assists since our other scorers could be taken out on the road, but Ron does need to look to involve them and just as importantly stop taking bad shots. He will need to play closer to the basket in this pivotal game for sure.
So true. Putting aside another clunker in the shooting department, I would have said he'd had a pretty good game, but Ron can't seem to hold his tendency to do it all himself in check for an entire game. When we needed some buckets, he ignored a wide open Battier for the trey at least twice. We ended up with a missed shot and the Fakers having a chance at scoring on the other end. Having said that, Artest was possessed by his demons just a few times. Could have been worse. He has to find his shot Sunday. Winning's going to be hard enough as it is. Ron can be the difference.
He passed much more in Gm1 and in the "Mother's Day Miracle." And to add to what durvasa said about the dribble: When Artest has the ball he pulls defenders in, by the fourth dribble however, they know he's faking.
Ron is at his worst when the Rockets start getting behind. That's usually when he panics, and thats when he really starts trying to take over. From there, it just snowballs for the Rockets, because a panicking Ron means even more over-dribbling and horrible shot selection.
At least he still has a positive impact on the court, warts and all. Saw this great image in the Washington Post:
lmao....it looks like there is a tornado and Luke Walton is holding on to Ron for dear life. Artest actually started out pretty good in game 6 as far as passing is concerned. He seemed to want to take those ill advised shots but then passed it around. The result? A bad ass first half. However, he did go back to his old ways in the 2nd half. Someone already touched on it, but I think it really is related to him thinking he needs to take over on offense. Hopefully he continues to improve his shot selection.
He thinks much too highly of his own ball handling skills. I'm fine with Ron dribbling as long as it comes while he's backing down Ariza or Shannon Brown. That's where he helps our offense. Their defense converges on him and it creates open buckets for our other players. But, yes, if he is out past the arc (or near it) he needs to pass the ball or shoot a set shot.
Ron was very calculated and smart last night. He KNOWS we can't win when he's dribbling for 10 seconds and hoisting up an off-balance jumper. Last night you could tell he was concentrating on doing the right thing, starting right off the bat when he faked the three and took it inside. I think I can only recall 2 possessions where he had to take a low percentage shot.
yup. as much as i like ron, the baskets he made in the last game were mostly horrible shots, and he will have less chances of making them in LA.
How about if we also keep him from guarding Kobe? Whatever happened to Artest guarding top offensive people one on one? Kobe goes right by him!
