Are you serious? If you saw how Ariza played for LA last year he was highly efficient. He would not be jacking up shots and doing nothing. He would actually gaurd Pierce better than Artest and actually hit the spot up 3 at a higher % than Artest I guarantee you that. You cant compare Ariza's role on the Rockets to what his role would be on the Lakers playing with Kobe.
Pierce has played 1 good game this series it's not like he's went off for the whole series. Even last night the shots he were taking were contested. It's not like he was getting easy baskets last night. Ariza would probably play better offensively than Artest but I don't get all of the Lakers would win in 6 if they had Ariza talk. Lamar Odom played good in last years playoffs and he's been non-existent in these Finals. It would take more than Ariza replacing Artest for the Lakers to beat the Celtics.
That's BS. Ariza knew his role and played it well. He got open and hit spot up 3's. He played with energy and hustle. He wouldn't dribble around the court and jack up a shot because he'd get the ball to Kobe. You must have missed last years playoffs you fool.
You are definitely right I didnt mean to take anything away from how Ron is playing defense because the first round he controlled Durant and now he is on Peirce. Im just saying Ariza played his role well in LA (what Reeko said) and would not be a complete flop.
How often has Artest dribbled around the court and jacked up a shot? He's done it once or twice this whole playoffs. His biggest problem is he isn't hitting his open shots and he is very hesitant to shoot when he is open because he's not shooting well. He is not playing the way he was playing in Houston,which was dribble dribble and take an off balanced contested shot.
I understand what you're saying. I agree Ariza can't possibly be worse than Ron has been in this series and he would give them a better chance. With him I still don't think they could beat Boston because Lamar Odom has been very inconsistent I feel like he's the x-factor to the Lakers success. Also Bynum knee has been a big reason the Lakers are struggling. The guy that said Ariza would be jacking up bricks in this series is most likely wrong, I agree with you two on that.
And not rebounding and not taking care of the ball and not getting to the rim aggressively here are some stats of Artest's games in Boston 6ppg, 4rpg, 30% FGs, 25% 3pt. FGs, and 40% FTs That's total suckatude with no excuse.
Yeah Bynum has surprised me on how efficient his play is as well. One thing Yao can learn from Bynum is keep the damn ball high. If you notice, every time Bynum catches the ball the ball doesn not go below his shoulders.
I said Artest has been horrible in this series. That is nothing to debate and there is no excuse for it. I just disagreed with you saying Artest has been dribbling the ball all over the court and not getting the ball to Kobe.
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Are you guys serious? Did you see Ariza play last year other than in the playoffs? He got hot in the playoffs. That doesn't change the fact that he had never been a good shooter before that and hasn't been one so far in Houston. There is no good reason to assume that Ariza would be hitting 40+% on three's again in the playoffs this year. And Artest's defense against Pierce was very good last night. Pierce was just zoned in. There is nothing you can do against him when he's hitting mid range jumpers with a hand in the face all night.
I saw them. I saw Ron step into McGrady's scoring option, play hella-defense, get us to the second round and almost take out the Lakers. How far did relying on Ariza get us this year? Save the Yao was out excuse because even then, Ariza is no #2 option. LOL!!! Ariza his spot up 3's....that a freaking joke. The guy shot 33% from behind the arc this year and 32% last year. Ron hit 36% this year and 40% last year. You must have missed the entire season with Ariza in the fold.
Did the lakers play the celtics in the playoffs last year? No! Then trevors stats against a jello soft Orlando are irrelevent, they both suck as far as I am concerned. DD
Nto only that, but a point guard-less Orlando team with a less experienced Dwight Howard is much easier to beat then a deep and versatile Celtics team.
Ron Arest's slow break layup and the 2 missed free-throws were pathetic but I can't take anything away from what he did for us last year and nobody should for that matter. We had an incredible run last year and he was a big part of it. You can hate him all you want now but saying he wasn't a big part of us last year is utter BS and flat out absurd.
