you ever noticed when he does start and when he starts with a steal it seems to get everyone playing harder defense?
because a lot of people are treating this season as if Artest is our donkey doo. finding reasons and such why would you have to ask
If you see someone walking in the game, you might kill him However, he did not, Ron just hopes he can change
At this point start him over Battier......why not? But if he doesn't run the offense take him out...until he does. All this is fixed by a strong coach. DD
I have said from the outset that RonRon and Tracy won't fit on the same roster, because their games don't mesh. Moreover, the Adelman offense is completely enemic to McGrady's game, and we all know from the past that McGrady is most useful an is at his best when he is the initiator of the offense, he is not and never will be good enough of a shooter to come off screens and turn into the next Peja/Reggie Miller/Rip Hamilton. I really do think much of the blame has be misplaced on the players this year, I just think the explanation is rather simple: the pieces don't fit. There is not and will not be any real 'chemistry' developed because these guys don't know how to play with one another any longer because Adelman's sets don't fit their strengths/who they are. The onus is on the coach and management (Adelman and Morey, to be precise): they will have to trade some major pieces away from this team and bring in players that 1) fit the system Adelman would like to run, and 2) fit Yao's game). It's as simple as that, and if we stand pat without making any real gutsy move before the deadline then ourproblems will only continue to get worse, not better. You can quote me on this and remember it for future reference.
I agree on Adelman. He is the worst possible coach for this group. I would kill to have JVG back with this group. Hell, Ray Lewis is a FA. Hire him to coach this team. I bet TMac and Artest play every single game for the rest of the year, and the team starts playing hard on defense. If not, he'll kill them. It's a win-win
We are 11W-6L without Tmac this season, 6W-3L this year. 19W-14L with Tmac, 3W-5L this year. In contrats, we are 6W-7L without Artest, 24W-13L with him. However, we can't let Tmac go, so trade Artest with someone who can fit with Tmac, like M.Miller, is our only solution.
Before you stated the facts is what I'm referring to...it's as if you want them to start instigating things. Addition: I am certainly not implying things are fine. I just know that wondering why some player isn't calling out another one won't make it better. At least not with the personalities involved here. It could be worse, at least we are in the playoff hunt with how underachieving this group has been thus far. I guess I'm just a glass half full type person.
Thanks. As I always said, this is Tmac's team, on the court, off the court. We paid him more than 1/4 team salary to watch him walking on the court, shooting the ball, losing the game, but still have to pray for him, kick out player better than him and find player that may fit with him. Tmac=Rockets, in all means
It took over 50 games to figure this out, after cramming in the video booth for hours?!?!?!?!?! My God, I could see that after watching Artest for a couple games. It's real simple. If Artest is not attacking the rim with the basketball, he shouldn't shoot it at all, except if he is open on the spot up. When he is open spotting up, he should shoot the ball.......period. When he is not open spotting up, he should either 1) immediately pass the ball and move; or 2) dribble drive to the rim and either shoot or pass. The other part of Artest' game that HAS NOT been exploited appropriately is his post up game. When Artest is going against a defender that is either his height or smaller, he should be in the post and he should receive the basketball. He is too good in the post against smaller players or even against taller unathletic players. Artest gives us tremendous advantage in the post because of his ability to draw fouls. But too often he is running around the perimeter trying to shoot the J over the smaller defender instead of cramming it down their throat in the post. This team is whack. There are too many good players and Adelman is too good a coach for them to be having these types of problems. There is a chemistry/ego issue going on. And it centers around McGrady, Adelman, and Artest.
http://www.82games.com/0809/08HOU8.HTM You have no idea what you are talking about. Artest shot 45.6% eFG jump shot, the best among 5 starters. It's his 44.4% eFG inside shot hurts his OFF.
How effective has Artest been in the post this year? The numbers say he's shot 34% when going off the dribble. Well, generally, that's the type of shot he'll get when he's playing in the post (he's certainly not shooting off a screen or off a basket cut).
This stuff is crazy because we have all the pieces right now. Adelman is realizing right now that DEFENSE is what won 22 games last season. This season the focus has been on OFFENSE. Adelman has over emphasized OFFENSE ball movement and hasn't had the squad focusing on their calling card which is DEFENSE. We don't have any balance. Defensively we are starting off games playing 2 on 5. Tracy is playing defensive matador. Luis is a defensive matador in the paint,Yao isn't being held accountable for protecting the paint so he has become a matador as well. The only guy's that make any effort on D are rafer and shane but then on offense you lose those two guy's because of their offensive ineptitude and we end up playing 3 on 5 on the offensive end. We lack balance right now. The parts are not being out in the right places
Watch the game durvasa. Yes, he is shooting horrid off the dribble. The reason is that 90% of his shots off the dribble are face up shots where he is fading to the side, not shots in the post where he is dribbling down with his back to the basket. Just watch his game. When he takes the ball from the perimeter and then dribbles it a few times and goes left typically to take his shot, he is off balance, and not squared, and his percentage goes into the toilet. When he is operating in the post against a smaller defender, it is a total mismatch. Problem is, he doesn't go down there and do it. He keeps trying to operate from the perimeter which is fine as long as he doesn't shoot on the move. He's got to spot up from the perimeter. And he he can't get the shot off the spot up, he's got to pass or drive the ball to the basket. Artest's WORST shot is his jump shot moving laterally off the dribble. He should NEVER take that shot. His next worst shot is when he wants to go down in the post against a long, lanky, rangy, athletic big man. That don't work either. He tries to draw the foul and winds up eating the basketball. Artest's most efficient shot is the spot up open 3 ball. He will hit that shot at a 50% clip. Notice I said the spot up open 3 ball, not a forced shot, or a shot where he pump fakes, dribbles left then shoots. Just the wide open spot up 3, where he is set, he can catch, and fire. A close second in efficiency is Artest's post up game. Artest should be posting up anybody that is his height or less. When Artest is on the floor and his defender is smaller, we should clear out everybody and get him the ball in the post and force the defense to adjust. He'll get 2, 3, or 4 fouls in a row on his defender if the defense does not adjust and that immediately edges us into the penalty early in the quarter. It is a HUGE ADVANTAGE to be playing offense in the penalty because the defense either has to foul and give up free throws, or they have to back off from challenging so hard. Artest is expert at picking up those fouls and getting the defense in trouble. When Artest gets outside of this role, his efficiency goes in the toilet.
Watching the game, I've observed that when Artest is in the post he rarely backs his man down. He generally faces up, attempts to drives hard in to the lane and throws up either an off balance jumper or off balance layup. At his most effective, against Utah back in December, that's how he was getting his shots. It worked for him in that game. But more generally, it has not.
