I disagree with you on this one. I think Roy is too quick for Ron, I will not use Ron too much if I am the coach. If you do it, Roy can get hot very quickly, but one good thing for the rockets is that Roy likes to play one man game, and other players could become cold without seeing the ball for a while.
DD, I know it's common to complain about something even after a win, and, apparently, you've never been the hugest Artest fan - despite your 15 minutes of fame on Carmichael Dave's show - but how can you possibly complain about the teams defense on Roy last game? I mean, it makes no sense. Should the coaches continue looking at tape and see if there is room for improvement? Sure....but as a fan....c'mon. Roy was 10-23 for 43.5%. He's a 48% shooter on the season. He was 0-2 from three. He's 38% on the seasons. He got 2 rebounds, both defensive, despite averaging 4.7 for the season. He had 2 assists, despite averaging 5.1 for the season. And he's the catalyst for the entire Blazers offense...which as a team shot 42% and only scored 81 points. It was pretty much a defensive masterpiece. Chalk it up to nerves and the Blazers not shooting as badly next game? Maybe...it's hard to imagine they play worse...BUT it really was a thing of beauty. --------------------- As for flopping, I'd be glad to have players on our team on some sort of "list" if that meant flopping was really being looked at seriously. Unfortunately, I don't think it is. You still see it way too often. What's more, you see charges miscalled just as often (i.e. - Yao's attempted charge take during Game 1 - I don't care if Yao is 12 feet tall...he was in position, outside the circle, and took a charge). When you put the two together, you can see how difficult it is for players. Can you remember the last time you saw a charge called where the defender didn't fall down? Me neither...the onus is on the players to "sell" the play because the refs won't call it otherwise. Though I am glad he wasn't called for that offensive foul where Pryzbilla just fell down.
I wouldn't be surprised if Adelman went with Battier as Roy's primary defender this next game just to throw Roy off after a couple days of watching film on how Artest guarded him
I am not complaining about Ron's D, I am just saying he can not stay in front of the better 2 guards anymore. Roy did get some picks, but there were also others, where he simply juked Ron and went by him. I like Battier and Ron as options, I think Battier is quicker on the perimeter, and Ron is much stronger on the blocks. DD
Some other big name floppers: Manu Ginobili Anderson Varajao Derek Fisher Rajal Bell Paul Millsap Matt Harpring Bruce Bowen
Nope, That was Yao guarding the P&R. Ron did not get "blown" by very often. A P&R involving Yao is our greatest weakness on defense in my opinion. Portland needs to serve up alot more of that. More help from the weakside in those situations would help us out too. It also did not help that Yao stopped trying to alter shots after picking up those fouls. Ron's and Shane's defense slowly wore down Brandon Roy imo. If this series goes deep, he will be dead...
I like this. Ron and Shane need to go in "shifts" imo... 5 minutes of Ron, 5 minutes of Shane. Give BRoy a few different looks. Hell I would not mind trying Von on him a bit as well...
Shane played better D on Roy than Artest. You could say Roy worked Artest over somewhat. The combination is still good but Riy is too quick for Artest IMO.
This maybe the deal. Portland will plan for Artest on Roy .. .. BOOM Game Two Battier is on him may mess up their game plans Rocket River
Pryzbilla is not a good flopper, I wonder whether he has much success on selling flopping. His flopping sequence on Yao just look unnatural to me, he need eat his pride and fall really shamelessly.
Seconded big time! I was at a bar watching it on mute so I couldn't hear any whistles. I expected the whistle and was ready to go nuts. Luckily, the refs wisely recognized the flop and just let them play.
Others have covered it with P&R's...but anyway battier is not quicker than anybody on the perimeter - he himself would admit that. I know this is all part of your "trade ron start von" agenda but give it a rest - arguing against ron's defense is just going to make you look silly.
You don't think that's a useful part of his defense? The thing about Ron is that he's so laterally quick, he can afford to body up on guys when no one else can because he can stay in front of them still. Occasionally his man will completely blow by him, but as you said, over time there's a reason his man gets tired and whiny and just real pissed off--because no one else in the league can wear a guy out like that on defense. They just 1.) don't have the athletic ability that Ron has, and 2.) don't have the skills to avoid fouling/getting foul calls when trying it. And on a final note: PLZ someone get a restraining order on T-Mac if he tries to give his team a pep talk. Put an ankle bracelet on him or something.
I'd say Artest and Battier have about the same foot speed at this point. The difference is Artest usually plays right up on his man trying to body him up a little and frustrate him or get a hand on the ball. Artest does not have great lateral quickness as the previous poster suggested, especially after bulking up as much as he did for this season. He's also getting older and had ankle problems that are probably still present to some extent. Artest is clearly stronger but I can't recall the last time he was defending on the blocks. I'd actually say Battier is slightly better on the blocks because he'll hold his position without gambling for a steal and he's a better shotblocker. Artest has some of the best hands, defensively, in the league. There isn't anybody better at stripping balls from opponents. And because of his strength and aggressiveness, he can and does frustrate a lot of opposing players. Both of them are primarily perimeter defenders but with different approaches. Artest is more physical and gambles quite a bit while Battier is all about positioning and not gambling (getting out of position). Battier wouldn't be able to stay in front of Roy either if he got right up on him. He also wouldn't be as physical with Roy, which is important in the playoffs. My guess is Roy would prefer to be covered by Battier. And if I recall correctly, Battier did cover him in the past and got burned several times. Roy won't hesitate to pull up and shoot if you give him an inch of space and he did that to Battier on a number of occasions. Roy is too good of a mid-range shooter to give him that kind of space. Ron takes away the shot and goes for strips. Battier tries to take away the drive forcing a lower percentage shot. Since Artest plays risky defense, somebody has to be ready to meet Roy when he gets around a pick and force him to give the ball up. If he gets near the basket, our bigs need to make it harder for him to score.
DD: You're really not giving up on this "Ron is washed up" charade, are you? Ron, like Battier, funnel the offensive player into areas of the court where they inefficient and uncomfortable. Brandon Roy admitted as much; with Artest trailing, Yao in the middle, and the shooters covered up, Roy has to either jack up an mid-range shot or pull it back. That's real defense.
