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Abbott, lookin' in vain for a booger under the bed.
As a Laker, Ron Artest has been a delight. (Selfishly, I'm pleased, because at the time of his signing I said I thought it was the start of something special in L.A., even though people like David Thorpe had some doubts.)
He's big, he's strong, he gives great effort, he plays defense, and he has even been efficient as a spot-up shooter.
As long as that all remains true, the Artest signing will always be viewed as a success. He has contributed to wins everywhere he has ever played, and that's even truer in L.A.
But that doesn't mean he couldn't tweak his judgment to help his team even more -- his overall efficiency does not mean he's cured of his less efficient offensive habits.
You know how Kobe Bryant fans love to dig at LeBron James for his lack of offensive polish? Have you seen Ron Artest in isolation?
For someone who does all that Artest does, expecting him to create off the dribble, handle the ball through crowds, nail contested jumpers or have tremendous court vision might just be too much to ask. Apparently, it's also too much to ask that he just not do those things. He's not very good at them, and if you don't believe me, I invite you to get out your pencil and paper. Chart Ron Artest creating in isolation, and how many points per possession the Lakers end up with. So far this season, it's about as inefficient as that team gets.
It doesn't happen all that often -- thanks to Synergy Sports I just watched all 23 instances from the season's first eight games. It's ugly. Watch Ron ignore Bynum in the post, Kobe at the shoulder, and shooters on the wings to ... dribble into three defenders and turn the ball over. Watch Ron catch the ball at the elbow, blow off an easy swing pass to an open shooter and dribble three times in a power-hunch, then pull up for a contested 3. Watch Ron decide late into his drive that he'd like to pass, only to leave the ball a yard behind a cutting Derek Fisher.
When he plays defense, he's a force of nature built of size and strength. When he shoots open jumpers, he's a professional built on long hours of practice. When he is isolated on the perimeter, he's an adventurer built on hope.
Leading the break in the third quarter last night, Sasha Vujacic floated a pass to a cutting Artest that could have been a dunk. But the pass was high and wide -- Artest chased the ball down in the corner.
With the ball in his hands, Artest turned to face his defender, young Sun Jared Dudley.
This is how Artest's worst offensive moments begin, whether then end as contested jumpers or kamikaze drives. He holds the ball, looks at his defender, and you can almost see the thought bubble: Now, I will get my team a bucket. In this instant, the Lakers' offense morphs from a very high-percentage fast break, or a high-percentage half-court set, to a low-percentage Artest isolation.
Rather than running the offense, and expecting a pass, the rest of the Lakers looked on helpless -- a semi-circle of frozen teammates, dotted along the perimeter. With a hand firmly planted in his face, Artest shot the 3. It was a foot short, and clanged off the rim.
Someone once told me that every great artist needs to have someone in their life who'll tell them when to leave it alone. Artists get obsessive. They have a hard time deciding the painting is good enough to sell, or that the sculpture can't be improved anymore. They just want to keep on doing more and more and more, even after their best work is done. Someone has to tell them to stop.
Some artists need that. Maybe some Artests need that, too.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...ation#comments
No comment? Guess you gotta just take the good with the bad.
Abbott, lookin' in vain for a booger under the bed.
I think this is the most important part of the article.No comment? Guess you gotta just take the good with the bad.
Ron put up 6 shots last night. 2 were bad shots, the rest were fine. That's perfectly good for me.
The more important stats are on the defensive side. The Lakers are getting mentioned as a good defensive team this year...who would have believed that?
Lakers #5 in opponent FG%
Lakers #6 in opponent 3pt%
Lakers #3 in steals
For all of his strength, he has never been good in the post. It is not something the Lakers can really take advantage of. However, he is proving to be a very good passer down low.
This is bull . His facilitating from the post has been awesome and his drives usually draw fouls.
He has been ok down low because of his passing, but if you take that away, and leave him 1v1 down there, he is not effective. Sure, he is strong enough to bull-doze his way and get some fouls, but not at a serious rate. His passing and pretty much everyone's passing for the Lakers in tight quarters has been excellent.
Yeah, the problem is that 50% of them are offensive ones.
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