Even on his best behavior, Ron Artest is an awkward fit with Lakers

[j.dizzle]

Bottom line is that Ariza was super-athletic, and he made the Lakers one of the more athletic teams in the league, in addition to being the longest team in the league.

He had an uncanny ability to make steals and create breakaway dunks, which broke the backs of opponents and kill runs. He was able to gamble in the passing lanes because of all the length underneath.

On the offensive side, he was great at moving the ball and could hit spot-up threes consistently. Yet he didn't look for his shot, so he didn't take anything away from the offense - he merely added to it.

When the Lakers let him go, I was ecstatic. I knew they would miss him terribly. And they do.

Ariza has some of the worst ball handling skills & isnt good at passing or throwing the ball into the post. Ron doesnt look for his offense at all, dude is too scared to shoot wide open three's. Phil & Kobe will make sure he doesnt think twice about shooting when hes wide open in the playoffs. Ppl seem to forget LA was twice as hungry last season & look like they dont give a damn at the moment..Odom even admitted last week that they werent trying that hard right now. Honestly the only times ive seen them play hard this season was when Kobe was out,in the 2nd half in the last game vs Denver & earlier in the season when they held Utah to 6 pts in the 4th quarter.

[Native American]

How about another rap?

Laker fan gots suck Ron off like every hour
WTF would they say if he had them cornered in the shower?
Their desperate need for affection, they'd even swallow his
Go starve yourselves to death, maybe then he'll call you his "dogs"

Perfect fit with the Lakers? Injun please, don't be so sure
But he does worship that Kobe, so I guess that makes him their Tru Warier
Wait til the playoffs, these Laker clones will start hating him
This fake tough guy's a bigger than Kloe Kardashian

"Ron's great" just more Laker logic. What will they say next?
Can it top the gem: "Isn't it great how Magic got AIDs from gay sex?"
But they're loyal, they love their team, dumb logic, their moms, and one another
By that I mean lakaluva sure is one stupid mother er

[djohn2oo8]

Laker fan gots suck Ron off like every hour
WTF would they say if he had them cornered in the shower?
Their desperate need for affection, they'd even swallow his
Go starve yourselves to death, maybe then he'll call you his "dogs"

Perfect fit with the Lakers? Injun please, don't be so sure
But he does worship that Kobe, so I guess that makes him their Tru Warier
Wait til the playoffs, these Laker clones will start hating him
This fake tough guy's a bigger than Kloe Kardashian

"Ron's great" just more Laker logic. What will they say next?
Can it top the gem: "Isn't it great how Magic got AIDs from gay sex?"
But they're loyal, they love their team, dumb logic, their moms, and one another
By that I mean lakaluva sure is one stupid mother er

Sig Worthy

[ChrisRichards]

Laker fan gots suck Ron off like every hour
WTF would they say if he had them cornered in the shower?
Their desperate need for affection, they'd even swallow his
Go starve yourselves to death, maybe then he'll call you his "dogs"

Perfect fit with the Lakers? Injun please, don't be so sure
But he does worship that Kobe, so I guess that makes him their Tru Warier
Wait til the playoffs, these Laker clones will start hating him
This fake tough guy's a bigger than Kloe Kardashian

"Ron's great" just more Laker logic. What will they say next?
Can it top the gem: "Isn't it great how Magic got AIDs from gay sex?"
But they're loyal, they love their team, dumb logic, their moms, and one another
By that I mean lakaluva sure is one stupid mother er

[ChrisRichards]

Ariza has some of the worst ball handling skills & isnt good at passing or throwing the ball into the post. Ron doesnt look for his offense at all, dude is too scared to shoot wide open three's. Phil & Kobe will make sure he doesnt think twice about shooting when hes wide open in the playoffs. Ppl seem to forget LA was twice as hungry last season & look like they dont give a damn at the moment..Odom even admitted last week that they werent trying that hard right now. Honestly the only times ive seen them play hard this season was when Kobe was out,in the 2nd half in the last game vs Denver & earlier in the season when they held Utah to 6 pts in the 4th quarter.

He said Ariza was great at MOVING THE BALL, not to be mistaken with BALL HANDLING. Sheesh.

[JamStone]

Wait til the playoffs, these Laker clones will start hating him
This fake tough guy's a bigger than Kloe Kardashian

[himat]

Sig Worthy

[cheguevara]

Laker fan gots suck Ron off like every hour
WTF would they say if he had them cornered in the shower?
Their desperate need for affection, they'd even swallow his
Go starve yourselves to death, maybe then he'll call you his "dogs"

Perfect fit with the Lakers? Injun please, don't be so sure
But he does worship that Kobe, so I guess that makes him their Tru Warier
Wait til the playoffs, these Laker clones will start hating him
This fake tough guy's a bigger than Kloe Kardashian

"Ron's great" just more Laker logic. What will they say next?
Can it top the gem: "Isn't it great how Magic got AIDs from gay sex?"
But they're loyal, they love their team, dumb logic, their moms, and one another
By that I mean lakaluva sure is one stupid mother er

oh . Lakerfan just got owned

[Killakobe81]

This was funny especially after Ron went psycho on the Spurs ...

[namlook]

Damn, Artest looked really awkward tonight.

With Artest the Lakers are the best defensive team in basketball.

[SomeCallMeTim]

Damn, Artest looked really awkward tonight.

With Artest the Lakers are the best defensive team in basketball.

The Lakers have taken a step backward this year offensively. I think it's fair to say that can be tied in part to Artest. Kobe, Odom, and Fisher have been worse and missing Pau for a while all caused a slip too.

But they've also taken a step forward defensively and it seems clear that Artest's addition is the main reason. He's been even better defensively than I hoped. Didn't know he still had this in him.

So far, it's been something of a wash.... giving up offensively what they gained defensively. We'll see if "playoff basketball" and "defense wins championships" applies, where typically you'd trade some offensive firepower for awesome defense.

[JamStone]

Laker fans act like last night they beat the 2005 Spurs in the WCF.

[j.dizzle]

The offense isnt as efficient but when they clamp down on D its a beautiful thing..Kobe, Ron, & Lamar are extremely entertaining to watch when they play together.

[HarlemHeat37]

I never questioned how Artest would fit, it was obvious he would fit in..he's a woman beater and animal abuser..he joins a rapist, snitch and a racist..there's no team in the NBA that could give him a fit like that, it's a perfect match and a nice melange of antisocial humans that get a pass for playing basketball for a popular team..

[Killakobe81]

No i did not. I eXPECT to beat the spurs ...I wa smore encouraged by Kobe's patient dismantling and the havoc ron caused. We also got major contributions from a weak bench. Odom made up for Bynum Farmar actually kept Fish glued to the bench and Shannon actually helped erase a deficit ...when kobe sat.

Lakers IMHO are playing the course not the opponent. it's not about who we beat it's about HOW we play ...

i know tat comment wasnt directed at me ...but I think even with some of the more vocal brazen posters on here ...that is also why they are enthused. Plus Jamstone this is a SPURS board of course when anyone beats the Spurs (suns, Mavs hornets etc.) there will be some overthetop gloating.

I am in teh Spurs aRE NOT done camp. So to me it's a good win on the road ...but it's not like we beat the Cavs Mavs, nuggs Celts or Magic ...

[TheMACHINE]

Ron was horrible last night.

Ariza would have had more then 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block and woulda shot more then 45%fg. Damn Artest is a cancer!

[djohn2oo8]

Ron was horrible last night.

Ariza would have had more then 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block and woulda shot more then 45%fg. Damn Artest is a cancer!

No one said he'd be a cancer, we said LeBron would continue to bend him over everytime they played the Lakers. Same with the other quicker guards/forwards

[RedsLakers24]

[Banzai]

I'm derailing this thread with some Van Halen

[picc84]

I never questioned how Artest would fit, it was obvious he would fit in..he's a woman beater and animal abuser..he joins a rapist, snitch and a racist..there's no team in the NBA that could give him a fit like that, it's a perfect match and a nice melange of antisocial humans that get a pass for playing basketball for a popular team..

Gotta admit, after the first sentence that caught me off guard.

[jonnybravo]

Laker fans act like last night they beat the 2005 Spurs in the WCF.

Nah, but it's always good to celebrate the demise of a "rival".

[IronMexican]

No one said he'd be a cancer, we said LeBron would continue to bend him over everytime they played the Lakers. Same with the other quicker guards/forwards

No, a lot of people said he would be a cancer. That he would be a "ticking time bomb". We're waiting.

[HarlemHeat37]

I never said he would be a cancer, I actually argued with people that said he would..I just said I didn't believe he was that good of a player, especially defensively..he's proved me wrong from a defensive standpoint over the last 2 months or so, I'll say that..

It'll be very tough for him to match Ariza's production in last year's playoffs though, we'll see..Artest is a better player and it's arguable(most likely, actually) that Ariza's performance in last year's playoffs was an aberration, so it'll be tough IMO..

[djohn2oo8]

No, a lot of people said he would be a cancer. That he would be a "ticking time bomb". We're waiting.

Maybe they meant Bynum's knees

[HarlemHeat37]

Slow down HH. You are starting to sound more than stupid than usual my good friend. There were numerous threads making fun of us saying that Laker Ron would ruin the chemistry of our team. You all were so hyped from seeing Kobe and Laker Ron go at it in the playoffs, that you just ass-umed it will be a total collapse of the Lakeshow. Well, now what? It's not happening like you all thought it would so now you have to change up your story and start sucking our s.

You all also thought you were back in the seat of contention for our le, and you were wrong there as well, and quite stupid for thiking so. I'm going to enjoy ing you next week as well, an pray you don't see us in the first round good buddy.

LOL..I wasn't speaking for anybody but myself, and I said Artest wouldn't be a bad fit and his "antics" wouldn't be a big problem..I agree that a lot of people said he would be a bad fit though..Artest has to be on his best behavior, if he does anything wrong, you know Kobe's going to snitch, it's his M.O..

I'm not really hyping the Lakers, so stop imagining me sucking your ..I don't think the Lakers are that good, and they aren't going to win the le this season..if they win it, I won't post here from June until the regular season starts, barring a major injury to an important player on Cleveland or Orlando..