Why does everyone believe Ron Artest has good defense (now)?

Sorry, but repeating your baseless claim with assertive rhetoric doesn't make it any more substantiated the second time around.

 

According to his opponent's production, he was the best defender on the team last year. He was followed very closely by Battier, who himself was significantly better than the 3rd best player.

http://www.82games.com/0809/0809HOU.HTM

 

When Artest first came to houston, he said that he was exited to focus on defense because of T-Mac and Yao. That of course didn't happen because of injuries, but in LA Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, and Odom are all more efficient scorers than Artest. With Artest not being a big part of the offense in LA, you will see Artest pour all of his energy and effort to defense. Also keep in mind that Artest is no longer playing for a contract, so getting his wont be as important.

 

I honestly do not understand how anyone who knows basketball can say Artest is not a good defender He plays with desire, is fundamentally sound, physical, and get's under his opponents' skin. Artest does go for the steal when the opportunity presents itself, nothing any other player in the NBA wouldn't do. But not many other players in the NBA consistently harass you on defense like Artest does. I read a post about Artest being a liability on the pick and roll... Actually, other teams picked and rolled off of Yao since Yao can't (be asked to) step up to the perimeter. Yes Artest has lost a step, but playing defense is about matchups, desire, awareness and athleticism in desending order. Of course great defenders (Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen) has all of these attributes. But there are a lot of guys who can jump out of the gym and get gold medals in running between cones who don't have the mental or intestinal fortitude to defend. Two qualities Artest doesn't lack. Having said that, I'm glad he is gone. I hate his poor shooting decisions and the way he holds on to the ball and stalls the offense. But I certainly appreciated his hard-nosed defensive play. Just my 2 cents

 

Battier = Trent Dilfer [game manager]
Artest = Brett Farve [a gun slinger]

Rocket River

 

I think his ankle problems last season made him look less mobile than he actually is; I still remember how Ronny Brewer absolutely took him apart in one game vs. the Jazz. He may not be quick as Ariza, but when healthy, he can still defend quicker and smaller players really well for short periods. More importantly he can match up against the larger and/or more physical guards/small forwards, such as Roy, Turkoglu, Anthony, James, Wade, etc., basically the top scorers for many of the contenders.

Plus, as others have pointed out, he's a versatile defender, being able to guard almost all positions, and I think he's very useful in pick 'n roll situations because he can switch from big to small. We didn't see this much because we had Hayes, one of the finest PnR defenders in the business.

And as others have pointed out, Artest plays physical on the defensive side, and that is something that's going to help the Lakers greatly in the coming seasons.

Definite upgrade for LA, at least for the short term.

 

Good god most of you are so bitter and ridiculous.

Yes he's not that great an on the ball defender anymore but guess what how many people in the league can stay in front of Brandon Roy and Kobe Bryant? It's like people complaining how terrible Yao can be because we were blessed with Hakeem for so many years.

Put things in ****ing perspective for a change. He is what he is. He's a slightly above average on the ball defender and a very good post defender. (which would be great for the Lakers because unlike Ariza he can shut down Carmelo) He also has strong and quick hands and is just aggressive in general.

He's way above average in terms of defense, so quit pretending the guy is a scrub. We were blessed to have him and Battier on our team and both have different strengths that play to guarding different players. Battier probably was better when it came to guarding Kobe but that doesnt mean Ron Artest is suddenly someone who deserves to sit on the bench of the Memphis Grizzlies.

I'm pissed he plays for the Lakers but you cant tell me he wasnt important in our run and that despite his faults (lateral quickness, chucking up bad shots) he wasnt a net positive to this team

 

remember LeBron's 0 assists in Houston.

 

Everyone in this thread.

 

ROFLMAO,

you are equating Lakers' winning the ring to Rox advancing past the first round ?​

 

Others have explained before why the roland rating isn't an entirely reliable indicator. Utilizing this same metric, Chuck Hayes was the 3rd worst defender on the team and substantially worse than Carl Landry. We of course know that that wasn't the case. This also doesn't account for the fact that Artest routinely guarded the lesser wing on each team (with Shane guarding the better one) which is in most cases, the 4th or 5th option on the floor. Few teams have two legit wing scoring options.

 

Just to further elaborate on this point, using this metric, Ron is also more defensively productive than Dwight Howard. Perhaps that wouldn't come as a surprise to those who subscribe to the notion that Ron is still an elite defender. I will then need to point out that Marcin Gortat is cited as significantly more effective than either than them.

 

I don't believe that there's any stat that is perfect. Not in the sense that it paints the entire picture for you.

But if you don't compare numbers across teams (for relevancy's sake) and only look at players that got significant minutes in the rotation, is it or is it not fairly accurate for the Rockets?

Artest
Battier
Alston
Yao/Lowry
Wafer
Landry
Scola/Brooks

To me, that pretty much breaks down as you'd expect. A couple of excellent defenders at the top, then a group of good defenders (Alston/Yao/Lowry), followed by a group of guys that aren't known as strong defenders. Frankly, the only thing surprising or out of place is that Wafer is fairly high.

Of course, just because a statistic supports perception, it doesn't mean it's accurate. I just thought I'd add it to the discussion.

 

Ariza is a fast 3 who's good to defend 2s, but he's not very good at defending strong 3s. Melo gave him tons of trouble in Lakers-Nuggets series. Artest is just the opposite.

Artest is a better man defender, Ariza is better in passing lane.

 

At this point in their careers, Ariza > Artest.

Ariza has just begun to tap his potential. And given an opportunity to start with 35 MPG, he'll flourish. We need to acquire 1 young superstar (Chris Bosh would be my 1st choice), and we'll be one of the best YOUNG teams in the NBA!

 

Hell yeah.

 

If and when Artest shuts down the Rocket he is guarding, these idiots here will be making more excuses. Artest is no longer a DPOY but he's definitely still "elite" on defense, especially on 1 on 1. He has long and quick arms, huge shoulders, and can tire out his opponent using his chest.

I don't understand why people can say Battier is still a great defender (OMG WTF HE'S NOT ON 1ST TEAM) and then go on to say that Artest is "average". Let's hear the reasoning. Let's see the statistic evidence. Or is it just "omg hand in the face again!"?

Ron Artest is a nightmare to match up against in the playoffs. That's the bottom line. It's a good thing the Rockets aren't heading into the playoffs this year.

 

Nah, all defensive team is voted by coaches.

 

If you look at the Boston numbers here: http://www.82games.com/0708/0708BOS.HTM

Ray Allen is shown to be a much better defender than James Posey. Perception? These numbers shows the combination of the defensive ability of the player AND the offensive ability of the players he guards.

 

I can't believe how many ignorant posters are trolling Artest because he's gone. Without Artest Houston wouldn't have won a playoff series first time in 12 years.

Artest is a 3, he's forced to start at 2 in Rox and chased the opposition 2s all year long, of course he looked slow.

Playing In Lakers, he had Kobe, a first team defender who can contain SGs pretty well. He can just focus on SF. He only needs to shoot 3, do some cuts on offensive side, and focus on defensive side. Lakers have Melo, PP, LBJ in minds that's too big and strong for either Ariza or Kobe to guard. Right now all these mismatches are gone.

True, Artest cannot guard Roy, but Kobe can. And Roy cannot switch to 3 on defensive side 'coz Artest will back him down. And who can school Kobe 1on1 on both sides of floor?

Lakers just get a more complete defensive line up. Their only weakness is at PG now.