Same ol' **** said by Kobe,if he got shut down on the offensive end last night,he wouldn't have say that word,oh wait,he might walk away off the reporters like he did after the loss to the Portland Trailblazers.After a victory,he came out of nowhere and crapped on somebody,he's totes a punk.
Artest looked like he was about to go buckwild at any moment while Kobe looked casual and collective, it was funny in a way. Kobe sure spanked that booty last night
The bits I've seen it looks like they're having fun so at what point was this so serious that Artest started to "loose it" ? It's not like Ron went NO LAYUPS Vernon Maxwell on him, he was just thrash talking so how come he played so terrible, 0-8 from three, did he rush them all up or what ? If Artest plays this bad when he's just thrashtalking, how bad is he going to be when he's going to throw elbows on the Spurs / Jazz or whoever in the playoffs ? I do not mind him being physical, even dirty but this is just stupid. At least be serious about it and not joke around when you're losing like this. Ron did not seem to care, a bit like Tracy when we're losing, which I do not want to see ever again. He can laugh when we win, but he should be pissed when we're down.
After watching the game last night I don't really think there was much else Artest/Adelman could have done. It seemed to me that Artest was playing very good D on him (with the exception of the late game steal attempt with 2 seconds left that ended up with kobe bombing a shot clock beating 3). Problem is Kobe, when motivated, cannot be stopped and unfortunately Artests physical d motivated him. It looked to me that Ron was never even remotely out of control, he didn't back down when kobe flung his elbow at him and he didn't stop trash talking. I have no problem with either of these and just think we got beat by the best player on the planet, and very nearly GOAT.
Even if Kobe goes off on Ron, we should have dominated the paint with Yao. In the old days, it never mattered what Jordan did or didn't do to Maxwell, cause we all know what Dream did to the Bulls. Yao needs to have a better performance regardless of the double teams. Its Gasol out there, not Bill Russell.
Kobe might have gotten the best of Artest tonight... Artest wasn't having a good game offensively, and after a while, it took it's toll. We still have problems coming up with a set offense when teams find a way to wear down our ability to score through Yao. They adjusted in the second half, and we looked lost after that. Once our offense suffered, they were able to focus on scoring and we were left wondering "What's wrong, and who's going to take up the slack?" I lay part of it on the team's lack of time together, and part of it on RA not being able to counter Phil's adjustments enough. All that said, it was a close one, and we could have won, so it wasn't embarrassing, it just showed we have some work to do playing as a team, and building our confidence. We will improve, and this game should make us better, if we learn from it.
People who are saying Artest shouldn't have pissed off Kobe are nuts. That kind of passive attitude will not win anything. Artest (and any Rocket defending Kobe) should be up in Kobe's grill at all times. Some nights he's going to get beat and some nights Kobe is going to get frustrated and rattled. But the odds are better with aggressive defense.
Maybe he could have if Ron would have given up the ball at the end of the game. I'm being facetious but Ron lost it. The thing with Max was that most of the time he wouldn't just start hogging the ball when he was off, and kill the flow of the game because he was getting into the trash game with someone. Von Wafer was hot, Kyle Lowery always has the ability to penetrate and create something. Those would have been better options, than a cold Artest forcing the action and getting TO's or bad shots time and time again when the game was on the line.
I love Kobe so much, but why did he say that. It confused me a lot. Does this words really come from Kobe's mouth? From now on, I think I sort of hate Kobe. I think that is the worst thing Kobe's done I have ever seen. Go Artest. Lose only one game is not the end of the world. I know you're a STRONG man. I trust you. But I have to say, rocket is a team. You fight with others. They are your parters. So, I hope you can use it next time.
Artest physically trash talked Kobe throughout the game. Those 2 always go crazy whenever they meet. I wouldnt take anything they say about the game seriously.
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LOL, I never knew that's what Ron said although that is quite expected since He does say things that scratch your head. Kobe would def. say something like that though.
Bingo! Artest needs to elbow Kobe in the face a couple of times. Now that I think about it, NBA players don't do that after the 1989-1991 Pistons and the 1992-1995 Knicks. If Kobe had to go through that layer of manhood just to get a layup like MJ did, he would go home with his panties in his mouth. Greatness is greatness, no doubt. Kobe is great. But compared to 15 years ago when hand checking, pulling of the shorts, strong picks, etc were allowed?...he would average barely 20pts per. Thats why I love JVG. He is of that mindset. No easy fouls. Slam a guy to the floor on the DL to make him think twice about coming in the paint.
What did I tell you...Artest's three's did not go in, and then you saw how BEAUTIFULLY he fitted in the system. We gave up a close game in the final minutes. He had 2 turnovers in the last 4 minutes. But most importantly he kept jacking up missed threes. When was the last time in the NBA you saw someone jackup 8 (EIGHT) threes and miss all of them. Even Yao could've done better than that. As his threes stopped dropping, he had no penetration, no post up, no nothing. Thats Artest for you. TMAC is far better as a player, and in the system. He could've atleast given Kobe something to play defense against in the ending minutes of the game. Heck he could've even outperformed Kobe. But artest...
Thank you DD, at some point Rick has to wake up from his dreams of playing Kobe one on one and offer help. Kobe gives Lebron fits. PLEASE FORCE SOMEONE ELSE TO SHOOT WHO HASN'T SHOT IN OVER 10 MINUTES BECAUSE KOBE HAS GONE ON A RAMPAGE. AB IS QUICK ENOUGH TO RECOVER FROM A DOUBLE ON DEFENSE.
I respect Artest's manliness. Of that there can be no doubt. He's as tough as nails, but as others have stated: he has to know his limitations. He got destroyed on defense out there and really disrupted the flow on the other end. And while he's doing all that, he's firing up the greatest offensive force in the game today. Was that a good idea, Ron? Clearly it wasn't.
