... the saga continues. ***12/29 story: Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest missed the team's morning shootaround for Monday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies because he overslept, two nights after being benched during a loss to New Jersey. Artest was benched for the second half of Saturday night's loss to New Jersey for what coach Rick Carlisle called "conduct detrimental to winning." He called the team Monday morning to tell them he would be late, Carlisle said. Carlisle said he has scheduled a meeting with Artest for Monday afternoon to talk about the player's behavior and would start Al Harrington in his place against the Memphis Grizzlies. The coach and player have disagreed about Carlisle's methodical offensive system, which calls for set plays on most trips down the floor. Their differences came to a head against the Nets, when Artest took three 3-pointers out of the flow of the offense in the first quarter. Artest also gave a lackluster defensive effort and argued with Carlisle at halftime, prompting the coach to bench him for the entire second half. When asked if missing the shootaround will affect his playing time against the Grizzlies, Carlisle replied, "I would have to say yes, but we'll find out. We have to talk to him to reach a resolution. Does that mean he's not going to play at all? Not necessarily." Carlisle ripped Artest and the team after the loss to the Nets, saying Artest "compromised what the game is all about." The coach said he tried to contact Artest on Sunday, calling him on the phone and even stopping by his house and knocking on his door, but Artest was not home. The recent troubles have been the first for Artest this season after he was suspended for 12 games and fined $155,000 last year. His mature, well-rounded play has been one of the main reasons the Pacers (21-10) have spent the entire season in first place in the East. But things started to sour after a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 20, when Artest called Carlisle's offense "boring." His criticisms continued after losses to the Milwaukee Bucks and the New Jersey Nets. Carlisle said after the loss to the Nets that he had to make a stand and that "different agendas tend to rear their ugly heads from time to time." On Monday, he said the distraction is just part of what goes on during a long NBA season. "You're going to have some tough times," Carlisle said. "I don't mind, because getting through tough times is what makes a good team a better team, so I don't mind these types of challenges. The wrong kinds of distractions generally aren't good, but they're going to have to be overcome with any team at some point. I'd just as soon deal with it now, rather than later." Not coincidentally, the distraction comes at a time where the Pacers are struggling to get wins. After starting the season 14-2, they're 7-8 and have lost two in a row for the first time this year. *** 12/28 story: Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS -- Trouble is starting to swirl around the Indiana Pacers, and Ron Artest is right in the middle of it. The Pacers started the season 14-2, but Saturday night's loss to New Jersey dropped them to 7-8 in their last 15 games. That prompted coach Rick Carlisle to criticize Artest and the team, saying customers "got gypped" by the performance. Artest was benched the entire second half against the Nets after an uninspired first half and a halftime argument with Carlisle. Carlisle cited Artest for "conduct detrimental to winning." It was the first sign of dissent from Artest this season after he was suspended for 12 games and fined $155,000 last year. Artest has been frustrated with Carlisle's structured offense, which calls for set plays on most trips down the floor. Carlisle was ejected in the third quarter for arguing with the officials and delivered a stern message to Artest and the team after the game. "We've got some guys here who just don't get it," Carlisle said. "If nothing else, if we don't win a game, it's my job more than anything to make sure that they get it. And they're going to." Otherwise, he said, players will stay on the bench. The Pacers were off Sunday and unavailable for comment. A message left at team president Larry Bird's office was not immediately returned. Among the reasons for Artest's benching was his shot selection. He took three 3-pointers in the first quarter out of the flow of the offense, a move strongly discouraged in Carlisle's scheme. One of the league's top defenders, he also gave up back-to-back dunks to Kenyon Martin and several times allowed Richard Jefferson a clear path to the basket. When the Pacers came out for the second half, Artest walked on the floor but was told to sit. He remained on the bench, cheering his teammates, the rest of the game. Artest's strong, mature play has been one reason the Pacers have spent the entire season in first place in the Eastern Conference. Now he doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. "He thought something was wrong with me," Artest said. "There's nothing wrong with me. I took three bad shots. Everybody's not going to be perfect all the time. I don't see a problem." But Carlisle and other players do. Players embraced Carlisle's offense as the wins piled up early, but doubt has started to creep in. "The more we run sets, the more teams are scouting and pre-rotating and making it tough for us to score," forward Al Harrington said. "But I think at the end of the day, we're going to have to start playing (Carlisle's way)." Jermaine O'Neal refused to comment on Artest directly. "It's not about the X's and O's," O'Neal said. "It doesn't matter who's coaching, there's players out there not playing. Everybody has to be playing, be effective in some type. Everybody has to perform at a high level for us to win." Carlisle talked about sacrificing personal goals for the good of the team. "We're a team that, quite frankly, doesn't understand what the word sacrifice means because winning isn't easy," he said. "You've got to want it bad." Before Saturday night's game, Artest stayed in a private part of the locker room with rap music blasting. He looked uninterested for most of his 13 minutes on the floor. "We respect Coach," he said. "We respect everything he's done. We know he has had success in winning. We believe in his system, but at the same time, we believe in our abilities, that we can make good basketball plays without a set being called every time."
Seems they shook hands on the matter. Doesn't mean anything in the long run. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Artest: Meeting Gets "Things Back in Order" By Conrad Brunner Indianapolis, Dec. 29, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After missing the morning shootaround, an action that will cost him his spot in the starting lineup tonight, Ron Artest met with Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle, President Larry Bird and CEO Donnie Walsh on Monday afternoon in a session the player said put “things back in order.” Artest accepted his benching for tonight’s game against Memphis without protest and re-affirmed his support for the team. Artest “There’s a couple of things they wanted to address (about) getting things back in order so we can start winning,” Artest said. “I’m going to support whatever decisions they make and get back to winning.” Artest called the incident “a minor situation,” and added, “I’m going to do whatever it takes to win.” After benching Artest for the second half of an 82-75 loss to New Jersey on Saturday night, Carlisle offered harsh criticism for his starting small forward’s recent performance and behavior, while also criticizing the team as a whole for its drop off in overall intensity, particularly on defense. On Sunday, Carlisle tried to reach Artest by phone and actually drove to his house hoping for a face-to-face talk, but the player was not home on any of the occasions. Monday morning, Carlisle said Artest called just before the morning shootaround to say he had overslept and would soon come to the arena for the meeting. Neither Walsh nor Bird would comment on the meeting, which took place in Carlisle’s office in the locker room. Carlisle addressed it beforehand. Carlisle “Anything can be fixed, if you have the right parts,” Carlisle said. “Chuck Daly used to say, ‘You know what I like about this job? I like the crisis management.’ You’re going to hit some tough times and I don’t mind because getting through tough times is what makes a good team a better team. I don’t mind these types of challenges. “The wrong types of distractions generally aren’t good. But they’re going to have to be overcome by any team at some point. I’d just as soon deal with it now as later.” Carlisle also reinforced his stance on the need for the team as a whole to renew its commitment to defense. During the team’s 14-2 start, the defense allowed averages of 80 points and 41 percent shooting, In the 15 games since, the team has gone 7-8, allowed averages of 89 points and 45 percent shooting. The offensive numbers have been relatively unchanged (88 points and 43 percent shooting in the first 16 games, 88 points and 42 percent shooting in the last 15). “I’m shocked we’ve won the number of games we have with that type of defensive performance,” Carlisle said. “The one thing I know is a strong, solid defense puts you in position to win. Offensively, I knew we'd be behind our defense but I also know we’ll figure those things out. The bottom line is, I think our team does understand who we have to be. We do need to get the ball up and down the court but we can’t do that unless we get stops and rebounds. It’s as simple as that.” Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Al Harrington – ironically, the team’s three top scorers – all have been quoted in various publications as being critical of the offense. But Harrington said that doesn’t necessarily reflect their true feelings. Harrington “The reason we talk about the offense is (the media) asks us about the offense,” he said. “If you ask about the defense, we’ll have comments about the defense. It’s not that we’re blaming the offense for why we’re losing. We’ve always been a defensive team. I’ve never thought any team we’ve had in the six years I’ve been here thought we were going to just out-score people. We’ve always focused on defense and we always have tried to play defense as a unit.” Harrington said the players took Carlisle’s criticism as “a challenge,” to the team. “At the end of the day, we’re 21-10 and at the top of the East,” he said. “I don’t feel there’s any reason to panic. But we’ve got to respond.”
Artest is going about this the wrong way but he has a point. His teams offense is BORING along with many other teams and thats the main reason why attendance is way down this year. People get tired of watching or attending games where teams struggle to score 70 points. Just my 0.02
Gawd, how I'd love to have Artest on this team. Indy has a trade exception from the Brad Miller trade, dammit: call them, CD, call them!
Artest looked like Kobe Bryant night. He is definately not happy. It was written all over his face. But our offense is no better. I think first and foremost the game has to be fun for the players. I'm not saying all the Pacers feel this way, but if the players aren't having fun they won't play as well. You've got to enjoy playing to play well in my opinion. And the coach needs to make sure that happens. The same goes for any job.
isn't it Eddie's HISTORY that we pissed at CD for not heeding but we willing to take a flyer on Artest I like Artest but folx are CRUCIFYING CD over Eddie and Artest has similar baggage [except the shooting thing] Rocket River
i can't understand why players...who make millions of dollars...can complain about making a living by playing a GAME and a game in which they are the best in their own conference. so what if you're offense is boring? you're the best team in the east. so what if the coach demands structure and discipline? you're a man so you sould demand that from your own life already. all in all, i know carlisle is a hard man to work with but he gets results.
This is why I hope Sacramento, Dallas or Minnesota win this year with an uptempo offense so next year all the coaches try to imitate them thus making the game less boring. Damn you Spurs for winning last year and making the game so BORING!!!
