Honestly there isnt anyone in the league who can really guard one on one a determined Kobe. Artest does a good job as anyone. Between him and Shane its the best job anyone can expect.
LOL. The enigma of Artest. It is interesting to me that Morey tracks offensive efficiency regarding Artest's dribbles. I have been saying since midseason that it breaks down this way: 1. If Ron is on the perimeter spotting or facing up, he should take a maximum of 3-4 dribbles and either pass or drive to the basket. If he does not have an open look after 3-4 dribbles for his jumper, then he has to give it up. 2. If Ron is posting up in the block area with his back to the basket, he can take a few more dribbles while working his man as long as the double does not come. Ron has the advantage against most defenders in the league on the blocks. If he gets the ball on the block against a bigger, heavier, taller player, he is too quick to be stopped. As long as the double doesn't come, he should take the play and take as many dribbles as he needs to get the shot/foul. If he gets the ball, back to the basket, againt a smaller player, as long as the double doesn't come, he should work his defender over for the basket and/or foul. Ron's problem offensively is he has such a varied skill set that he tries to take the ball and dribble it into his scoring position. He KNOWS that if he can get himself into scoring position, he cannot be stopped. The problem with Ron is he doesn't realize that he cannot dribble himself into scoring position and he cannot shake smaller quicker defenders from the perimeter with his dribble to get into scoring position. I am really hoping that two things happen this offseason. 1. We re-sign Artest. He is worth it. 2. That someone from the Rox coaching staff sits down with Ron and game tape and shows him how to define his offensive game better. Damn, when that boy spots up from 3 and is open........it is freakn money. And when he gets on the block, back to the basket and gets the ball, it is freakn money...........as long as Ron can identify the double and makes the right decision with the ball. And when he gets the ball on the perimeter and is isolated on a bigger, slower player it is freakn money......as long as he goes to the rack hard. Or he takes the 1-2 dribbles he needs along with a fake to get open for his jumper. But that is all. If he cannot get open with a head fake and 1-2 dribbles from the perimeter and he does not have a lane to the basket, he needs to give up the ball immediately and CUT. Not continue to dribble. If he would simply learn to discipline himself this way, he would become an even bigger monster offensively because when he cuts and gets the ball back...........look out. Ron is limited by the tremendous variation of his own great skill set. He is limited by his brain telling him that if he can just get to a certain spot, then he will be deadly. What he has to reprogram is getting to that spot without the basketball. It is so obvious going forward with this Rox team that the ball has to be in the hands of Brooks and Lowry. After watching the first 6 games of this series, I am convinced that Brooks/Lowry are the ignitors, even when McGrady comes back. Those guys are all over the place and they can always get open. They need to be used up. That is how the game is going to get easier for Yao/McGrady/Artest. When all those superstars figure out that Brooks/Lowry are the ignitor and they freely give the ball up to those guys and look for places to go score, they keep making their cuts, they keep posting up and setting screens for each other, we are going to become deadly, deadly, deadly. When you have a PG that can flat out can jumpers from all over the place, and can flat out get anywhere on the floor he wants to get, squeeze in and out of traffic all day long, and can run all day and all night long like Brooks and Lowry can, you gotta use them up. They can make the game so much simpler for the big 3 if the big 3 will let them. Brooks and Lowry are growing UP this series. I can see it. Brooks' leadership skills are starting to come into play. And I am watching this team accept him more and more. If Artest would work within this framework and realize what his advantages are, if the Rox staff would sit down with him and run gametape and show him how to define his offensive game, Artest will become so much more difficult to deal with as will our whole offensive unit. Adelman's system is based on trust. We are getting more and more players that can drive, finish, and shoot the ball. That means we have guys on the floor constantly that can score the basketball. When/if McGrady recovers.......or even if we trade McGrady.......we are going to have more guys on the floor that can shoot/score the ball. It comes down to trust. If Artest recognizes this, and stamps into his mind how to discipline his offensive game, we are going to be great. Artest simply needs to define and discipline his offensive game with the help of our coaching staff.
If that's from my post in this thread, I was just speculating. Though its probably true, considering the Rockets track pretty much everything that can be tracked in a basketball game.
Kobe doesn't blow by Shane as easily as he has with Artest, though. Battier seems to move better, laterally. Artest relies on his hands more than his feet.
It should be tracked. Because it is dead on accurate. You probably already tracked it, you stat geek. Have you posted the results somewhere and I missed it? Man, I wish I had your puter skills.
In defending Kobe, Shane and Ron shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence. Shane never gets beat by Kobe. All of his shots are either pull up jumpers right in his face or the few times he is able to drive, it's simply him using his greatness to invent something in the lane. Ron gets beat with ease. He reaches at anything. Pavlov would blush. If you notice, Kobe simply has to crossover and he's created separation. Shane never bites on the crossover. Even Kobe knows this as you never even see him trying to do it with Shane guarding him.
He should pass the ball in the flow of the offense, but he's terrible at passing the ball when the Lakers send a hard double team at him because of his over dribbling. It's almost always a TO when that happens. I can see it coming from a mile away when he gets in trouble he will just throw the ball into the middle and a Laker is waiting in the wings to jump into that lane and steal the pass.
Yeah, I'm bothered by Artest becoming a black hole on offense sometimes and having some terrible play, yet I like when things work out and he scores or he helps contribute to some points. LESS TURNOVERS and stupid plays What bothered me yesterday though was how he didn't really contest 3 point shooters as close as he could...he would stick his hand out yet not enough to really make a difference and actually challenge the shot, and Lakers players made several threes with Artest closing out on them.
There are times when a play breaks down, and I don't mind ARtest trying to create something in that case(as long as he doesn't make bad passes out of double teams). He can do that. As long as it doesn't lead to him getting tunnel vision, and thinking he has to carry the whole team every possession which sometimes happens. The cool thing is that Artest can have a poor shooting or low scoring night, but as long as he keeps the flow of the offense going, the Rockets can still win.
It's pretty obvious that Ron Artest can't guard Kobe for any significant length of time. Not only is he not quick enough laterally, but he gets too caught up in the "oh you scored on me so now I have to score on you," stuff. But back to the original topic, when Ron moves the ball the Rockets are SO much better. It gets so frustrating at times watching him jack up bad shots are try to drive into the paint vs 2 or 3 defenders and turn it over.
In his defense when he goes into the lane he hardly ever gets any calls. Look at the picture above and I would bet he didn't get that call on Walton holding on for dear life. He is determined, to say the least, once he gets into the lane he is going to force that ball up. The Lakers seem to know it. He has been blocked too many times under the basket. I wish he could use that, and have Landry or Scola drive into the lane for a passoff. When you have 3 bigs defending him there has to be some room for a dunk!! But, I totally agree with Will - passing, passing, passing. And Ron shoots a higher percentage when his feet are set anyway.
Ron has made Lamar Odom a complete non factor in this series (though the fall did help.) But offensively, he's far and away the most frustrating player I've ever seen in a Rockets uniform. This is a list that includes Vernon Maxwell, Steve Francis, and Cuttino Mobley. It's not even close. I don't know what put the idea in his head in the first place that he could create off the dribble. The funny thing is that everyone in the arena can see the trainwreck coming before it even develops. Even though it will be useless, Shane and Brent Barry need to sit him down before Game 7 and somehow communicate to him that that this team desperately needs him to stick to his strengths. Hit hard. Shoot spot up 3's. Get down in the block. Move the ball. Don't dribble to your right. Don't take shots going to your right. Don't shoot off one foot going to your right. Move the ball. Don't guard Kobe. For the love of God, even if it's for one play and Shane is on the bench with 5 fouls, don't guard Kobe. That we actually have a chance now is going to make him all the more frustrating to watch.
Ron is a great defender with a great ambotious determinination and efficient attacker. But we've witnessed too many times that he just went into 1 on 1 or 1 on x attack mode which lead to some key turnovers this season. Hopefully he could realize do more passing and high-low assists will help the team surpass LA. Anyway, he is a true warrior on the court. Go Ron, Go ROX!
I think Morey said that Ron leads the team in 'true assists'. Ron draws a lot attention from the defense when he makes a move. The problem is when he decides to shoot in the face of all that attention instead of finding the open guy.
I curse at my tv every time Ron is the one dribbling the ball up the court. That's the PG's duty! And when he dribbles it up for the final 15 secs or so in a quarter. ....
this has been a problem all year. it looks so bad b/c he can't really create for himself off the dribble so when he holds onto the ball, YOU know bad things are going to happen most of the time. we're so fortunate brooks and scola were great in the 2 wins without yao.
Shane's defense on Kobe is more about backing up and conceding a low percentage shot. Ron has always wanted to play smothering defense. Unfortunately, he has lost alot of athleticism since his DPOY days. If he would back up and play defense "Battier style" he could be just as effective. He's done it on a few plays and even a couple games in the regular season but it should be something he does consistently.
Team offense looks good when both Ron and AB pass the ball. AB has done better in that department recently. Either drive in or pass it.
