His contract year is over. His effort and behavior won't be any better than when he was with us. The Ron Artest in Houston is what the Lakers will have to hope for at this stage. That being said the Ron Artest in Houston is not exactly a passer, nor an "elite" defender. Either way, Laker problem now. Their chemistry is not exactly stable with the amount of up and down players they've got (Bynum, Vujacic etc.) The addition of Ron Artest only makes it that much more difficult for Coach KFC.
it's amazing to me how many people have turned on ron artest so quickly and now hate him. do you people not realize that he was a major part of the reason we made it out of the first round? that was our first playoff series victory in 12 years. you people are so ungrateful.
I don't have a grudge against him. But it would be sweet if Ariza turns in a much better season. Nothing again Ron -- its more about sticking it to the Lakers.
you do realize the so called "cancer" you speak of was a large part of the reason we got out of the 1st round last year, right? you do realize it was our first playoff victory in 12 years, right? i didn't know people could be so moronic.
I'm not sure that everyone has turned on him. I wasn't a fan of his while he was here, I just wasn't vocal about it. Also, I don't worship him for getting out of the first round for the same reason I didn't hate Yao or Tracy for not getting out of it before. It's just the first round. Getting out of the first round shows progress, but only if you build on it. Also, we're neglecting that Ron actually had a negative impact on the more important round 2, against what would have been our toughest foe of the playoffs.
Exactly my thought too. I am not so sure about that. I think Artest was grossly overrated, offensively obviously, and even defensively. If we had Ariza instead of Artest last season, I am not sure if we couldn't have got out of the first round also.
I don't have anything against him, I just don't think he's very good anymore. If you rank all the starting wings in the league he'd be around the middle at best. For us he was an extremely inefficient offensive player who only scored through taking a lot of shots. Even a non Nba talent like Von Wafer would score more than Artest if given the same amount of possessions. Scola and brooks had a lot more to do with beating the blazers than Yao did. Heck, right now we're 1-1 against them minus Artest and Yao.
"Scola and brooks had a lot more to do with beating the blazers than Yao did. " Yao should be Artest.
It's a bit early to tell I hope U didnt Jinks Ariza, ron will get better with time and i wish all the luck he had a great year here and gave everything on the court, we really shouldnt be hatin on him.
i will agree that artest isn't the best player in the world and i don't mean to imply that he is even an elite player. i'm not trying to say how awesome artest is. all i'm saying is that he was a large part of the reason we got out of the first round and people don't seem to be grateful or appreciate him for that. he played hard for us (not always smart) and he had so much pride when he was on our team. he got a rockets tattoo on his head and he stood up to kobe in the playoffs. i have to give him a lot of respect for that.
Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola are the main reasons we beat the blazers. Ron was a part of it but he didnt contribute anything to what yall are making it out to be. You saw his true colors against the lakers horrible FG %, horrible attempts, getting kicked out of games for stupid reasons, basically the ron artest experience. Have fun LA
I can't stand him as a player. He took terrible shots, never even made an effort to fit in our offense, and was extremely overrated as a defender. He played the passing lanes well, but he couldn't stay in front of him man nor did he play team defense. Not to mention he was huge cancer off the court. He was undependable and the Rockets were happy to be rid of him. I felt his skill set was in the decline when he got here. I didn't mind us taking the risk, but I think we would have made it just as far with an average guy at the 2. We would have been better with Mike Miller in my opinion. I actually thought he looked lighter in the preseason then he did when he was here. I never considered Artest elite. He was a good player with the Pacers. He was great defensively and solid on offense. He actually played smarter back then then he does today. He used his body around the basket and his decision making was much better. The only way I can see him fitting into a championship team is rededicating himself to defense and taking 8 shots per game all within the flow of the offense. He's just not good anymore. Obviously saying he "sucks" was taking it to the extreme, but he's nothing more then a role player who thinks he's a superstar. Not somebody you want on your team.
Just read everything that came out after he left the team. The Rockets had no interest in resigning the guy who supposedly "was a large part of the reason we got out of the first round last year." I disagree with that, but that's my opinion and you're entitled to yours. To call me moronic because I disagree with your opinion speaks for itself.
Now he has "champion LA" haircut on his head while hugging Kobe. He sure knows how to kiss up to the fans no matter where he goes.
i apologize for calling you moronic. i just don't understand why you are surprised that artest still has fans here in houston. do we have any reason to not remain a fan of his?
Seriously what is the average age for people on here.. 2 games and there is a Ron Artest is not doing well thread. LOL 2 GAMES!!!!!! SMH I wonder sometimes.
Yeah smart guy, is that what you processed through my statement? Looks at his numbers during the lakers series, theyre horrible. Not only that, but he wasnt even guarding Kobe the majority of the time, Battier was. I blame the Rockets losing to the lakers on Yao's injury, if not for that I think we wouldve beaten the lakers
Apology accepted. To me, Artest was extremely fake here. He talked a big game, but it never really translated onto the court. All the problems off the court that came out after the season made me dislike him even more. Some people might find it amusing that he had to board the last bus (containing nothing but upper level team personel) in his boxers in our most important game of the season amusing, I didn't. His unhealthy Kobe obssesion, his terrible shot selection, him completely free lancing on offense, ect....just all rubbed me the wrong way. I realize he did win games for us, but I think he lost us just as many. He was pretty good in the Blazers series, but he was horrid against LA. I don't think he was playing with the team, but rather caught up in his own personal battle with Kobe. That hurt us in my opinion. I don't think he really had anything to do with holding Kobe in check. That was all battier in my opinion. Lots of people dislike Battier on this board, I think he's a great piece on a championship team. I think Artest is better suited for teams like Sacramento (it's no coincidence he had his best times there), where he can freelance, get his numbers and win 20 games. Just my opinion on the guy though.
