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

[cobbler]

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

Should we go back to the offseason posts? 90% of them were about how Artest is a cancer and would blow up the Lakers with his silliness.

[cobbler]

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..

You know Harlem, you from time to time make good posts. You obviously know a bit about the game. But comments like these. Your total Laker hatred. They are what make you look completely idiotic and in turn diminish any value there might be in your posts.

I could only wish to be the saint that you profess to be...

[IronMexican]

i'm derailing this thread with some van halen

[cobbler]

But, but, but


"38%>47%


Regular Season>Playoff stats"


Cobbler 03/12/2010

How come your quote supposedly from me, which in fact was a complete lie posted by you... has changed?

Go figure... Friggen moron lying piece of .

[cobbler]

People should remember that better player does not mean better chemistry. Artest is a better individual player but that does'nt necessarily mean he'll be a better fit than Ariza. They have 60+ games with Artest in the lineup in starter minutes and the dude still cant find his groove. Ariza was pretty much a third string back up logging less than 18 minutes before he was inserted in the starting line up and he fit right in no matter what. Jackson would plug him for 10 minutes and Ariza would make things happen for the Lakers. He would steal, deflect the ball from a passing lane, make that extra pass, finish in transition or hit a steady three pointer. Thats the beauty of Ariza with the Lakers.

You are correct. Artest is the better overall player. You are also correct that a better player doesn't mean better fit.

Now let's discuss the other points. Still can't find his groove? What groove is that? Offense? Defense? Locker room? He's been a model teammate. His numbers across the board for the season are equal or "above" his career numbers. Only difference is his points which went from a career avg of 15.6 to 11.3. Clearly this is becaue he's the 3rd or 4th option since his %'s are higher. Funny thing though, the Lakers didn't sign Ron for his offense at all. Any offense from him is icing. His defense has been gradually stepping up for the last 20 games. He lost weight and I am even surprised at the quickness he's showing of late. The Lakers are arguably a much better defensive team with Ron and the numbers show that as well. Does he look awkward at times in the offensive flow? Absolutely. Many do with the Lakers system and going from #1 or 2 option to 3 or 4 is a big change. I've seen nothing but steady improvement throughout the season. Again, that is not why the Lakers obtained him. Ron has surpassed every expectation I had for him. I can't imagine the Lakers being too upset he's putting up better than career avgs and the team is ranked higher defensively. That is after all, the reason they got him.

When the Lakers lost in 2008, what was the prevailing reason? What were all you haters singing? The Lakers got punked. The Lakers are soft. As soon as they played a tough team they folded etc etc. Last year, they win the le and we hear they got lucky. They only won because the tougher teams in Boston and Cleveland got hurt or didnt make it to the finals. Houston and Denver manhandled them and took them to 6 & 7 games. blah blah blah So they lost a valuable player in Ariza who wanted twice the money and replaced him with a better one on one defender who has improved the Lakers overall D and more importanty, toughness. Gosh, that really sucks to fill a need like that.

Ariza was never a 3rd string player on the Lakers unless you are talking about the times he was sitting on the end of the bench with his foot in the cast. He was backup to Luke last year and got a chance early in the season to start and shortly returned to the bench backing Walton because he struggled. He even asked to be put back on the 2nd string because he felt more comfortable in that role. Odd that you thought he fit in so seamlessly. He certainly didn't. But what would he know compared to you? It was only at Waltons personal request to PJ that Trevor was inserted in the starting role later in the season. His regular season numbers were the same as his career numbers and very much the same as this years. He had an unbelievable playoffs. He absolutely stepped up and made huge plays and shot and amazing %. He got hot. Never before or since has he shown that. Let's see if he steps up big this season. I am rooting for him. I wish he was still a Laker. Would I trade Ron back for him right now? Not a chance.

He steals, deflects the ball from a passing lane, guards the opposing teams best player making life on Kobe easier, makes the extra pass, is maybe the best post entry passer on the team, finishes in transition, hits a steady three pointer, makes the Lakers a MUCH tougher team, and is only going to get better as he gels more with the team and learns from the best. That's the beauty of Artest with the Lakers.

[TheManFromAcme]

@ cobbler

[HarlemHeat37]

I guarantee the Lakers aren't winning..I'll take your bet..

[JamStone]

Hey wassup guys!

[DJ Mbenga]

the lakers without bynum are good enough to beat a scrub team like the spurs but not against a young and team that plays hard like okc.

[mytespurs]

the lakers without bynum are good enough to beat a scrub team like the spurs but not against a young and team that plays hard like okc.

Your Lakers should not only be good enough to beat a "scrub team" like my Spurs but with your HOF coach, HOF player a la Kobe Bryant, your team's talent,and most important your team's pedigree, after a day off b/t games and the way your team manhandled the Spurs.....they should have more than enough left over to handle and young, up and coming, inexperienced team like OKC...after all, this is a team that the Lakers have beaten what..... xxx times in a row when they were the Seattle Supersonics & OKC combined......at home and on the road...but then again, there's a first time for everything isn't there?