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One thing that is overlooked is that Ron was huge in getting us past the first round. He gets a bad rap for being a ball-stopper on offense and shooting a bad percentage, but if you look at his game logs during the Rockets vs. Lakers series he was very productive while Yao was in the lineup during the first three games. Only when Yao was out, Ron played more erratically on offense and shot poorly from the field. He had a lot of respect for Yao and was willing to defer to him. And during the regular season, he was a guy who showed up to play hard and aggressively every night, especially on the defensive end. There are questions about his bad shot selection and quirky personality (which is probably the main reason the Rockets let him go), but at least you can't question his effort in the game and the many games that he helped us win. As for Ariza, I have question of whether he gave it his all every game.
I chose tie, but Ron Ron did get us to the 2nd round. Ariza probably did better individually, but Artest helped the team more. Crazy Ron's athleticism and physicality were so much more beneficial to the rockets, than Arizas occasional steal and dunk.
Ariza clearly had the better year, You guys have to consider that Yao being on the court changes the whole outlook of players performance. Now if Artest played with last years team, without Yao, he would of most definitely had a better year than Ariza, But under circumstances, No Yao, First full time starting position, Being forced a Go-To Guy, SF playing the Two Guard Role, and the exception of his improvement when K.Mart arrived. I would say he had the be
is it really necessary for you to bring up tmac in every thread? as for ariza and ron i think ron had the better year
I will always love Ron Artest after his stint with the Rockets. To me Ariza is just another guy. I feel kind of "meh" about him leaving.
Yup, this was the main reason why people were ragging on him and it dominated their minds for his entire Rockets tenure. This kind of reminds of how Ron Harper hand checked Kenny Smith to death and people completely forgot that playoff run Kenny Smith played great, ask Utah.
Same here. Yes, Ron had Yao, but his impact defensively was worlds better than Ariza's -- go look up his on/off court stats. Artest was capable of elevating team defense despite abhorring Battier's disciplined, methodical approach. Ariza on the other hand just created highlight reel breakaway dunks while causing team defensive ratings to plummet to around the bottom of the league. And let's not even get started on offense. I for one I'm not going to miss Trevor's newborn baby antelope dribbling skills.
Anybody remember Ron/Shane shutting down Lebron James? the hatred for his shooting in the Laker series shouldn't erase that memory.
Is this even debatable? The year we had Ron, as much of a liability he is on offense... (black hole, etc.) We still went to a second round. Ariza? Same black hole offense, a lot worse result.
Artest made the Rockets tougher. No one was afraid and no one would back down cause they knew Ron-Ron had their back. They both shot the ball pretty badly, but I think Ron-Ron had those moments that Ariza didn't. Like that game against the Jazz earlier in the season on a hurt ankle, that game was epic.
Seems like a no brainer that Artest had the better one year stint with the Rockets. He had a significant role to get us to the second round..
people hold a grudge against Ron for choosing the Lakers when he was free agent over the Rockets, knowing that Yao would be hurt last year. He did it for himself, knowing his opportunity to win a title was not in Houston (with Yao out). also they hold a grudge for his bad shooting when Yao was out against the Lakers in the playoffs, since there was no McGrady/Yao, he was forced into a scoring role. How easily people forget.
