http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6041665.html [rquoter] ... Artest took his turn defensively, then saw Aaron Brooks waiting on the other end. With the Rockets carrying an odd number of guards, there was no one to match up with one off the smallest, swiftest blurs in the league, so Artest took off in a sprint to the other end of the floor to put his nearly 270 pounds in front of Brooks. With Artest showing his willingness and some ability to defend even Brooks, a routine drill otherwise forgotten had shown much of what Artest plans to bring the Rockets — everything and anything. “He likes to beat anybody,” general manager Daryl Morey said. “He’s added a real presence.” There was a time when Artest thought of himself as a two-guard and objected to efforts to use him in other ways. Not anymore. The Rockets have played him in practices at shooting guard, small forward and power forward, guarding anyone shorter than 7-6. Asked his preferred and best position, Artest thought about it and said he liked playing all three. ... Versatility was a key to the Rockets’ decision to trade Donté Greene, Bobby Jackson and next season’s first-round pick to get Artest from Sacramento, a move that immediately added depth at three positions. The Rockets believe Artest is one of the few players who can defend all five positions, allowing him to play with many different combinations. “We feel that multiposition players are undervalued in the league, and we have the coaching staff who knows how to exploit the matchups,” Morey said. “He and Chuck (Hayes) are probably the only players in the league that have a shot at guarding one through five.” ... “He can play the two behind Tracy,” Adelman said. “He can play the three. He can play the four. That’s what I like about Tracy and Ron on the court together. If we’re playing (Artest) at the four, we can put those guys in the spots where they’re playmakers. It gives us a lot of ways to go. “He’s so strong, he can guard fours. He can box out. He can guard perimeters. The one thing about Ron that people don’t understand is he is a great team defender. It just comes natural to him. “I think the team with Shane out there will be the hardest for teams to guard. When we put Shane out there, we have good size all the way across, and we have shooters on the floor and guys they have to double.” ... [/rquoter] The one thing that stands out with Artest is his versatility, I think. On offense and defense. And Adelman seems particularly enthusiastic about a lineup consisting of T-Mac, Battier, and Artest. We'll see if that ends up being a popular combination.
I just like how fast Morey has rebuilt the team from a one dimensional squad to an extremely versatile and talented team in under 2 years. Morey has done an amazing job. DD
Morey has done a great job of changing this team around. Anyone having a problem viewing the sports section on the chronicle? For some reason, the internet is not loading the sports section. Probably because they suck but you know...
I havn't been around long enough to know so I'll ask: Was Caroll Dawson liked or hated on this board? If he was liked Morey is sure makin him look pretty bad right now.
I think it is safe to say it was mixed opinions through here. The guy is a legend in the organization, but he made some questionable draft decisions (Eddie Griffin) and gave out some terrible contracts (Kelvin Cato, Matt Maloney). Just my take.
Then he should start Tracy at the 1, Ron at 2, and Battier at the 3 and we wouldn't worry so much about back-up point guards anymore cause we would have Skip and Brooks to back up Tmac! That is a scary line-up eh?
Tracy at 1 at spot minutes may be okay, but asking him to take over the spot is too much. For a player that easily get tired at the end of tight games, you do not want to burden him with too much unnecessary plays.
Wasn't Adelman talking about putting Battier at the 4 last year too? I think that failed pretty hard. We'll have to wait and see.
Guarding Chris Paul is the easiest job in the world. You are doing no worse than anyone else because no one can guard him.
I think that was JVG. Shane was guarding Boozer in one of the first games of the season and got destroyed by Boozer. He never started at PF again. I could be wrong, though.
You are mistaken, Battier didn't guard Boozer in that game, which somehow was overlooked by many at the time. Yao guarded Boozer for the simple fact that JVG was unwilling to put him on Okur.
Asking mcgrady to play the on a fixed status with his fragile body is like a train wreck waiting to happen. not gonna happen.
Morey stated that Hayes can guard 1-5 as well. Simply put this guy is staying around especially with this cheap contract.
Versatility was a key to the Rockets’ decision to trade Donté Greene, Bobby Jackson and next season’s first-round pick to get Artest from Sacramento, a move that immediately added depth at three positions. The Rockets believe Artest is one of the few players who can defend all five positions, allowing him to play with many different combinations. Was it a first round pick or a 2nd round pick?
Not the same, but I remember they put Chuck on Durant last year on the final possesion of the game back in Jan. And he stripped the ball beautifully from him
