Could Bonner guard Artest?

[mfanatic]

In all honesty, I was thinking about this the other day, the Lakers closing 5 always seems to be: Fischer, Kobe, Artest, Odom and Gasol, we all are aware of this, Artest, 30, 6'8, a former shell of his old self, why hasen't Pop ever tried playing Tony, Manu, Bonner, Duncan and Mcdyess? I know Bonner is not a 3 at all, BUT only in this given situation, do you think Bonner would be a good or bad fit? I mean Artest is probably the slowest "3" in the NBA, so do you think it could possibly work?

[portnoy1]

Yes he could artest, its actually been documented as a favorable matchup in Bonner's favor. However you have to think about what happens when theres a switch. Besides artest I dont want bonner guarding any of the Lakers closers. Would you?

[mfanatic]

Well honestly I wouldn't mind switching on everything except for Kobe, I DO NOT want to see Bonner on Kobe, but honestly Bonner has guarded Odom and Pau in the past, and fischer doesn't seem to be a threat to me off the dribble anyway. I mean this would be in spirts of maybe 3-4 minutes, but I just don't see why Pop has never tried.

[xellos88330]

There is a reason why it hasn't been done before. Bonner is used to drag out a big from the paint to make penetration into the oppositions paint area easier. It would only be useful on one side of the floor, but exploited at the other.

[tdunk21]

i dont think so....bonner is really a bad defender..on the other hand artest is athletic enough to cut to the basket if bonner is guarding him trying to draw a foul....

[GSH]

If Artest is off his meds, Hill could guard him. When he's on his game? We don't have anyone. I'm one of the relatively few Bonner fans here, but Artest is a damn bulldozer. He's just too strong for Bonner. The problem is he may shoot .600 for the night, or he may shoot .200. But in general, the Lakers don't get full value out of him in their offense.

[ALVAREZ6]

If we already have 2 bigs in the game....no thanks, Bonner does not belong on the floor, period. I'd rather have another guard or RJ in there, who can actually do some other thing except for solely making threes. Most of the players that fit this role can easily knock down wide open threes, and thus Bonner = no need in the game, as wide open threes are his only game.

[ElNono]

There is a reason why it hasn't been done before.

It has been done before and Bonner did do a good job. Ultimately though, I expect a coach like Jackson to adjust and make you pay for having a subpar defender out there. I'm talking playoffs here.

[Cane]

It was done before last season in one of the games against the Lakers and it worked well.

Bonner's size and strength affects Artest's advantages that he has over other Spurs guards/forwards (Artest was able to bully the Spurs in the paint for easy boards and points) and one of Bonner's main weaknesses, his lack of speed, doesn't matter against Ron since he's not quick enough to make that a problem.

It is a very small sample size but Ron seems to have continued to decline overall so Bonner should still be effective in this match-up. I also wonder if the refs are more willing to let Bonner play against Ron than Odom/Gasol/Bynum; Bonner seems to get a lot of ticky tacky defensive stuff called when he plays against big name players.

[JsnSA]

I laughed out loud when I read the title and got busted checking out the forum at work. Thanks a lot. And though Bonner might be able to hang in there situationally I do not believe there is any way he could really defend Artest. Artest is too quick and strong for Bonner. I also do not thing that Artest's play will continue to be so "average" as the season progresses.

[Blackjack]

You want Bonner closing games?

[Blackjack]

Oh, and you'd rather have the Lakers go through Kobe, Gasol, Odom or Bynum down the stretch rather than Artest?

[mathbzh]

I also do not thing that Artest's play will continue to be so "average" as the season progresses.
He was not much better last season (considering he played almost 7 more mpg). I see no reason why he would drastically improve.

[crc21209]

Bonner thread? :lol

[Waps1980]

Bonner closing games in a finals series wtf???

If I recall I think RJ has generally done a really good job on Artest.

[ohmwrecker]

Wnat about a cardboard cutout of Ron Artest?

[wontstartdumbthreads]

What is the best kind of bear?

[HarlemHeat37]

:lol have some of you guys not watched Artest the last 2 seasons, particularly this season?..anybody can guard him..if the Lakers are running plays for him, you accept it, he's a very mediocre offensive player..he has no post moves, he has no ball handling ability, he's extremely slow, and he's an inconsistent and erratic shooter..

He's still a good defender that gets away with a lot of physicality due to reputation, that's his only strength as a player..

[UnWantedTheory]

The Bon could guard all of the Artest's of the world with their arms tied behind their back. Thats a fact Jack!!!!

[FkLA]

Of course he can.


There is rarely a doubt that San Antonio will get the ball to the open man on offense and not leave an opponent open for long on defense. This is the signature style of the Gregg Popovich/Tim Duncan era and the dedication to fundamentals hasn't changed with the more up-tempo style, the aging of the stars or the personnel turnover of the second unit. Last week's Dallas game was inconclusive because of the injury to Dirk Nowitzki, but the Spurs simply took the starch out of the Lakers and Thunder, in a manner that can't be rationalized away. This was their "show-me" week after a relatively soft schedule, and the hosannas are rolling in. To avoid repetition, let me nominate Matt Bonner as this year's quintessential Spur. He knows his role -- space the floor by knocking down three-pointers -- and performs it expertly, yet also is an excellent team and individual defender despite his physical limitations, with good judgment and excellent hands. And he wouldn't be nearly as good on any other team.

[silverblk mystix]

Last season the spurs blew out the lakers in l.a.


bonner handled Artest-believe it or not...

and RJ manhandled Odumb...

spurs won by 20 or so...

[J_Paco]

No way is Bonner an excellent individual defender. He does well at times on team defense, but he's at a disadvantage against most PF's.

Like other people have mentioned, Bonner has and can defend the unathletic, aging Ron Artest. I wouldn't be surprised if Pop does it in stretches again if these two teams meet in the playoffs.

[wunderkindepiphany]

lol no, but he has stepped his D up a bit lately

[easy7]

Unless proven otherwise, Bonner and playoffs don't mix.

[Dex]

What is the best kind of bear?

Well, there are two schools of thought on the subject...