Artest is TIRED

by portlandpete on Apr 30, 2009 10:12 AM PDT Comment 27 comments

There has been some talk about how Roy needs to get rest during the game from guarding Ron Artest so he can have enough energy to perform on offense. This is usually brought up in regards to him defending Ron Artest who is extremely strong and physical on offense and defense. However, I think a large point that is being missed is that Artest is usually (with some brief spells of Battier) the one guarding Roy and I think it is severely affecting his offensive game.

Roy stepped his physical game last year and this year. He invites the contact and has gotten strong enough to get the finish plus the hope of the +1. Even on his jab step jumpers, he'll occassionally body his defender to create a little more space before he back steps and jumpshoots. Combine that with the number of picks that Roy runs his defender through, picks that usually include someone like, Oden, Pryzbilla or Aldridge, and you have an extremely physically punishing assignment outside of just having to chase around a guy who's averaged 21 shots per game this series and is usually the offensive focus of the team (outside of when the team feeds Aldridge).

Artest was the second leading scorer for this team this season. Some stats:

Regular Season

35.5min 17.1ppg .401avg

This Series

36.4min 13.4ppg .377avg

Obviously we're dealing with a far smaller sample size here. Let's include some regular season matchups in which he's guarding other allstar type players, including Roy.

Players - Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Roy (9 regular season games total)

38.2min 14.9ppg .350avg

So now we have 14 total games to look at. Still not a great sample size, but a significant enough one to make my point. Of course, part of the reason may be that he being guarded by some exceptional defenders when this happens, though I can't say for sure without having seen all these games.

Artest is obviously ridiculously strong, but guarding the preeminent offensive players in the league (and the world) has got to be taxing. To have done it for 5 straight games now, against someone who accepts the contact, who even initiates that contact has got to be tiring. Maybe a lot of it is Ron being Ron and his shot selection, but I think it has a lot to do with guarding Roy. And so Roy is not only being a beast on the offensive end, as a direct result he's helping to nullify the second biggest offensive threat.

Basically, Roy is awesomeness all over. But we knew that already.

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In the words of my favorite Blazer

“we just play our game”

-sophia

Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. - William Shakespeare

Roses are red
violets in bloom
Sophia’s in love
with Nicholas Batum
-Bow4Meow

by BlazerFan1 on Apr 30, 2009 9:12 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Batum said that?

"It's not who jumps the highest -- it's who wants it the most" Buck Williams

"and if EVERYONE confronted with a tough, disgusting situation pulled out, I don't think I would have been born." Mortimer

by Fund A Mental on Apr 30, 2009 9:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think he actually said...

“ehh, you zee ah,we joost play zee game”

Traaaviiiis Outlaw!=Leerooooy JENKINS of basketball.

by DaNoose on Apr 30, 2009 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Last night Ron Artest said...

“Brandon Roy is the best player I’ve ever guarded”.

by rpresto2 on Apr 30, 2009 9:14 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

really? where'd he say that. That's awesome.

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by hobobob on Apr 30, 2009 9:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

on an interview on tnt at the end of the show

"We really don't reference the rulebook." ~Joe Borgia, NBA VP of referee operations, to Henry Abbot regarding the calling (or lack thereof) of traveling.

by postup on Apr 30, 2009 9:29 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Even said it on national TV?!

Terrific! Brandon is a great player and deserves to be recognized across the country. I have a little more love in my heart now for Artest for making a statement like that. I’m sure he has guarded Kobe, Lebron and Wade so it’s an eye opener for many I’m sure.

Reverse psychology? I doubt it as it wouldn’t likely have an affect. Maybe he wants to be a Blazer?

Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave

Also: COMCAST SUCKS!

by TwoDeep on Apr 30, 2009 9:50 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He can only be a Blazer if he understands that he isn't allowed to shoot

by Zaig on Apr 30, 2009 10:19 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Reverse psychology

I believe is was Johnny that once lost a Set in tennis. He told his opponent that he was playing better than he’d ever seen him play. The opponent ended up losing the match and good old Johnny thinks that he made him think twice about how “good” he really was playing, screwing him up.

This is similar to how you’re not supposed to mention to a guy when he’s on pace for a No-no or a 300.

by Zaig on Apr 30, 2009 9:28 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think we post this quote on Brandon's locker...

B-Roy, you gonna take that from Artest. You better show him different!

Traaaviiiis Outlaw!=Leerooooy JENKINS of basketball.

by DaNoose on Apr 30, 2009 10:31 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It shouldn’t really be surprising that Artest is worse offensively when he has to expend more energy defensively.

by inroywetrust on Apr 30, 2009 9:18 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess that's my point

It’s almost never brought up with regards to Artest. Maybe because he has that defensive stopper reputation people forget that he’s a key component of the Houston offense. His lack of scoring has been a big key to why Portland was in games 3 and 4 and why they won game 5. I hope it’s a big component in the game tonight.

by portlandpete on Apr 30, 2009 9:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ron Is Tired

Roy is tired.

Ron is tired.

Roy is tired.

Yao is tired.

Yao: tired.

Ron: tired.

Roy: tired.

Frankly, all rotation players on both teams are tired enough for their tiredness to affect their play. The Blazers are younger so maybe all this tiredness will work in their favor. And maybe you are right in focussing on Ron and his tiredness instead of Roy’s. Yao is the one whose tiredness would have the greatest effect, however. And I saw an article that said he is tired for sure.

The only good things happening on Wall Street are the dogs that piss on it daily.

by vavoom on Apr 30, 2009 9:21 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I put the focus on Ron

because I haven’t really seen it anywhere except for brief mention in the Canzano article today. Everyone has already been talking about Yao, what’s the point about talking more about it? Artest being shut down helps the Blazers too as it removes a big offensive threat. Not as big as Yao, but that’s being done at the expense of opening up Scola or Landry. This is being done as a benefit of Roy being awesome and I don’t think it’s been brought up yet.

by portlandpete on Apr 30, 2009 9:32 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope he's tired and he stays out on the perimeter

Because Ron-Ron around the basket is a beast, as we saw when he played for the Kings. Artest has scored down low on Batum and Roy in this series, but I don’t recall seeing him back down Outlaw. Perhaps Houston’s strategy is to keep the basket area “free” for Yao to operate, so that’s why Adelman hasn’t exploited the size matchup that Ron has enjoyed in the past?

Here’s hoping it stays that way from game 6

by two4larue on Apr 30, 2009 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is the same Artest of every playoff season, ever.

This has been Artest’s performance in every playoff series of his career. His performance declines in the playoffs, period. He’ll have a good game or two.

His playoff shooting percentages over his five playoff years have falled 16, 29, 43, 21 and 24 points below his regular season percentage. He had one six game series where his second best shooting game was .308.

If Houstons’ stats freaks were pushing for the Artest trade, it couldn’t have been for his offense in the playoffs. It had to be because they saw him as someone who could stop opposing two’s and three’s. But they had to hope that he’s eventually freak out over his own dismal shooting and simply become a stopper who took shots only when his odds were good (damned if you can tell what shot that might be.)

He’s been a dreadful offensive player in the playoffs period. If it’s because he’s tired, then he’s always been. We’re not seeing anything new.

Hulk (high school nickname; not the name you'd expect for a decent marathoner.)

by Hulk on Apr 30, 2009 9:22 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't understand your numbers

is that .16, .29 etc? Falling off 43 points means he had some seriously good regular seasons.

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by hobobob on Apr 30, 2009 9:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That would explain why his offense is slipping as the series moves along

and hopefully increases our chances of winning tonight. That also puts more pressure on Yao to get open, which should tire him, making rebounding easier and inside shots more available. He’s also likelier to foul when tired, and make it more obvious. If that happens, Scola, Brooks and Wafer become their best offensive weapons. If Yao’s tired, we can worry less about him and play better help D on these guys. Stopping the penetration of Brooks and closing out on wafer might become our key defensive tasks. That’s good news.

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on Apr 30, 2009 9:23 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Your first sentence

Is one of those meant to be Ron?

by rmcdougall on Apr 30, 2009 9:24 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

fixed.

by portlandpete on Apr 30, 2009 9:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

you tried to fix it but you didn't quite manage to do so. Try again

Goldman Sachs is the # 1 donor to $enator Evan Bayh, who serves on the $enate committee that overseas the Treasury Department. In a totally unrelated coincidence, after the Government enacted a bailout program that funnels huge amounts of taxpayer $$$$ to Goldman Sachs, this is what happened: Goldman Sachs earned $1.81 billion, or $3.39 a share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Goldman Sachs shares, which have surged more than 70% during the past month, continued rising late Monday, gaining about 4.7% for the day.

Nobody even tries to hide this any longer. The only way they could make it more blatant is if they hung a huge Goldman Sachs logo on the Capitol dome and then branded it onto the foreheads of leading members of Congress and executive branch officials.

by vavoom on Apr 30, 2009 10:05 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry

the strikethrough didn’t work for some reason, so I just had to delete it.

by portlandpete on Apr 30, 2009 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Reposting Artest's playoff history:

Here are Artest’s regular season shooting percentages, followed by his post season percentages, in his five playoff years:

.423 .407
.428 .389
.421 .378
.404 .383
.401 .377

Artest’s two good games/three bad fits a pattern, too. He shot .417 in his first two games of his last playoff series—not that far off his season mark of .404—and .355 over his next, and final, three.

In his playoff season prior. Artest had five .500 or better nights in his first nine games—then nose-dived in the finals against Boston, shooting .261, .238 and .267 in his last three games.

And the season before that, as you guessed: He opened 8-12 against Detroit, followed by 5-16, 6-18, 3-11, 7-15 and 6-18—27-78, or .340 for that stretch.

Hulk (high school nickname; not the name you'd expect for a decent marathoner.)

by Hulk on Apr 30, 2009 9:26 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the clarification

That’s great to see. I hope the trend continues. When was Artest in the finals against Boston? ECF?

I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich

by hobobob on Apr 30, 2009 10:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Artest is a streaky offensive player

His defense usually is there, his offense not so much…

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by skywaker9 on Apr 30, 2009 10:15 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Artest streaky

.410 shooters are likely to get called streaky because every so often, sheer randomness dictates that they go 6 for 8. Then they regress to the mean, and we call them streaky because their mean is 4 for 10.

So I disagree. He’s not streaky; I’m not confident that anyone is, by the way. He’s simply not a very good shooter, and not very good shooters tend to look streaky.

Hulk (high school nickname; not the name you'd expect for a decent marathoner.)

by Hulk on Apr 30, 2009 11:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs