Not a good idea because Kobe can create for others and having a short player on him is too easy for Kobe to survey the court and attack accordingly.
i'm in the minority here, but i voted for artest. he'll take the match up personally, but i'd rather have ron on lamar now that i think about it.
This is THE INSIGHT of the night imho. I totally 100% wholeheartedly agree! All too often, Kobe gets matched up with an impotent opponent who may play D but never scores. Kobe gets to expend energy only on the offensive side of the equation and may even get to poach around for steals on the other. Get an opponent who will make Kobe work on both ends, and yeah, I think our odds of getting a great outcome go up dramatically. For this reason, I too believe Artest is the way to go... ESP. IN THE EARLY PART OF THE GAME Bring Battier in later for the fourth. But the first and third should be Artest imho. theSAGE
Artest basically challenge Kobe with what he said about Roy being the best he's guarded. Kobe isn't gonna want to score 40 on Artest, he'll want to score 50. And he'll want that if Artest is guarding him or not. So its Artests job now.
honestly, when kobe goes on fire, he scores the most riduculous shots regardless of whos guarding him. he proved that game 5 vs Utah. Its really about shutting the rest of the lakers squad down when kobes on a roll. personally i want battier on him, just cuz hes faster than artest
At first i thought i want Artest, but after watching him defend Roy, I want Battier. Battier is just more fundamental and he doesn't take chance and get burned. On the other hand, I feel Artest is more intimidating because of his size and because he gamble a bit. That's why sometimes he got drove by easily than Battier. But you know what, if Battier ain't working, then I want RICK to put Artest on Kobe. I remember in that one game, Battier got killed and Rick didn't change up and put Artest on him earlier. Artest would have intimidate him a bit. So my guy to guard Kobe is probably Artest just because Shane got killed by Kobe's shot last time. Either one is fine...actually. If one is struggle, then put the other one on Kobe.
Shane Battier, and it's not even close. I like Ron, I really do, but he is not that good defensively against Kobe. If this were LeBron, I would choose Ron, but this is Kobe. He has a phenomenal all-around game. He can do just about anything he wants offensively, and that isn't Ron's style. Shane stands the best chance at guarding him. 1. Shane is one of the smartest defenders in the game today. He just knows where to force players to make them uncomfortable... It may not be as effective on Kobe as it is on other players, but I'll take it any day of the week. 2. We don't rely on Shane as much offensively. He's the glue of the offense, not the scorer. Shane can focus most of his effort to defense... I can't say the same about Ron.
Battier should gaurd KB... even though Ron can do a good job on him... Ron and Kobe matchup will become really physical/emotional and when Ron starts riding on his emotions..I don't like how he preforms on either end of the court... so Battier it is.. IMO..
What? You don't always match up with the same player on both ends. If Ron guards Kobe on defense, that doesn't mean Kobe will be guarding Ron on the other end...
Artest is simply too stupid to guard Kobe. I mean, who talks to trash to Kobe Bryant? Really? He will dominate regardless but you are simply adding extra motivation. That and Artest is too slow to guard Kobe. Battier easily. And this coming from a laker fan.
Who talks trash to Kobe? Artest does. My question to you is who talks trash to Artest? There is a difference between joking with a guy about his hair like charles did and just straight up talking ****. Ever notice Kobe always has a smile on his face when he is yapping back at Artest? Kobe knows if he don't smile then he might very well be handed his @ss on the court and I'm not talking in the basketball sense. Artest is sometimes like playing with a box of old dynamite, if you drop it possibly nothing happens or it could just blow your damn leg off.
Let Battier do this, because we need Artest pay more attention in the offensive end than when we are against Portland.
in a perfect scenario we have battier locking down kobe, while artest can conserve some energy for offense that is going to be much needed.
