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Hey Rockets fans.

My name is Morten and I come from Denmark.

I recently got a writing gig at the website of the TV station that shows NBA games here. I was asked to make an article about the Rockets, or rather, how Ron Artest has been received and also how the Tracy McGrady injury affects the season.

Despite a good amount of research, I really haven't been able to establish what Rockets fans in general feel about Ron Artest. I can imagine the McGrady injury being a huge blow to this team, as it looked like you guys finally have a recipe for a championship season.

So in your words, what are your analysis on the Rockets season and Ron Artest?

Every reply will be deeply appreciated.

Thank you

- MJ

Well, Ron Artest has more or so done what hes been expected too. Play good defense, bring all the intangibles, and despite his poor FG%, his 3PT shooting has been great so far. As far as the season is concerned, they start out slow every year, its nothing new this year. Its usually the 2nd half of the season where they pick it up and really start to play well and get comfortable with the offensive scheme. Most of the players have been very inconsistent with their play, McGrady's impact on the team is huge (30% winning percentage without T-Mac), but it happens every year with McGrady, and the Rockets feel that they would rather have him out now then later on in the season. So overall, not the start we were hoping for, the injuries have taken their effect, but it happens every year, they usually do a good job of bouncing back later on (2005: 51wins, 2007: 52 wins, 2008: 55 wins).

I seriously don't get how Tyrus Thomas makes it into anyone's sig, but if you're wanting to base your article off opinions on this board, there's quite a bit of opinion in the backlog if you just do more reading.

Thank you so far. I'm definitely going to use the tidbit about the Rockets starting slow and then tuning up. I think I might throw the 22-gamer in there somewhere, too. Appreciate it Baller.

Well moofs, call it laziness on my behalf. Tyrus right now is not deserving of a sig. When I find something I like, I'll change it immediately. I promise

I actually did go through threads here. But I found the general opinion of Artest to be inconsistent. So I decided to make this thread instead. Also, there's the factor of preference. Some posters always enjoy player X more than should be legally allowed and some posters dislike player Y to the point where their observations become downright false and inaccurate. I hope having this thread makes it easier for me to target the objective fans.

Here's my opinion about Artest and the season so far.

First of all, let me preface by saying that I didn't really want him on the team because I thought that he would ruin the team's chemistry and I didn't want to give up any of the pieces I thought that we'd have to lose in acquiring him. When we got him for a contract, Greene, and a pick, I was initially excited (despite my earlier reservations) at the prospects. Adding a talent like Artest to this team gave us added depth and the "third scorer" that many of us have wanted for a while. The bonus: we didn't lose Battier.

Almost immediately, most of us started debating where he would play. Would he start or come off the bench behind Battier and T-Mac? Some of us wanted to start him at power forward (!), even though we already had Scola, Landry, and Hayes at the 4. As fate would have it, Battier started the season recovering from surgery - temporarily settling the question.

Even though we're leading the division, most Rocket fans are disappointed in our play. Sure, we haven't yet had our entire team together. Ron, Yao, and T-Mac have already missed a combined 24 games. Still, there's no reason to lose to the Grizzlies, the Pacers, or the Spurs without Parker and Ginobili.

Personally, I don't think that Ron understands the offense - hence his poor shooting percentage. He's not letting the game come to him; he's trying to do too much and force the action. Sometimes forcing the play will get him to the line, but most of the time it leads to a bad shot or a turnover. I appreciate Ron's tenacity, but the guy needs to settle down sometimes and trust in his team. I hope that once we have the entire team healthy, we can bring him off the bench as a scorer with the second unit. Artest, Aaron Brooks, and Carl Landry leading the charge would (could?) be unbelievable.

Ron was brought in to anchor the second unit and share the burden when Yao and McGrady missed games. Due to Yao's slow start and McGrady's knee problem Ron had to assume the primary role.
Early on he was superb and won several games for the Rockets. As time went on we've seen his weaknesses as well.
If I may be a bit presumptious,I'd say most Rockets fans are glad he's a Rocket,like what he brings to the team,but wishes he had a little bit better shot selection and overall a better shooting %.

I think Ron understands the offense, its just that when he attacks and drives to the hole, he usually can't finish like hes suppose to because the paint is soo clogged with Yao in the middle. Just creates a huge marsh-pit (check Indiana game) Hes a good defender, but we need to find a better way to execute on the offensive end.

Btw, Morten are you by any chance the Danish athlete? lol because there is a Morten Jensen that's from Denmark and is a big athlete there for running or something..

Baller 24 wrote:I think Ron understands the offense, its just that when he attacks and drives to the hole, he usually can't finish like hes suppose to because the paint is soo clogged with Yao in the middle. Just creates a huge marsh-pit (check Indiana game) Hes a good defender, but we need to find a better way to execute on the offensive end.

I can't remember what game it was, but there was a situation near the end of the quarter when Adelman called a timeout and drew up a play. When the ball was inbounded, Artest got the ball and drove like a madman into 3 defenders. Of course, he didn't make the shot and the ball went out of bounds off of his own leg.

Adelman screamed from the bench, "We JUST went over the play!"

Apparently, Artest ignored what Adelman said and did whatever he felt like.

So Artest either doesn't understand the offense or he doesn't care to do what coach wants. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt (for chemistry's sake) and just saying that he didn't understand what was asked of him, because he does this WAY too much.

Baller 24 wrote:Btw, Morten are you by any chance the Danish athlete? lol because there is a Morten Jensen that's from Denmark and is a big athlete there for running or something..

Oh man, I wish

Morten Jensen is a very common Danish name. I'm as average as they come.

Thank you so far to everyone. This is definitely something I can and will use. I really enjoy the insights. I had no idea Ron was brought in to lead the second unit. At the time of the trade, I expected Battier to get moved and kept wondering what he was still doing on the roster. But this explains it.

Well...is that "Ron's gonna anchor the 2nd unit legit or just speculation?" In theory it sounds very good b/c Ron would benefit greatly in a smaller, quicker lineup. Ron was brought in to get us a championship, period! He also came at a good price/low risk.

Now, what I think of Ron...he's been great so far. I think the "hype" of a championship and the pressure put on him to deliver is the reason he's forcing so many bad shots (leading to the bad FG%). Once he understands his role (and he might never) I think this team will really take off. I think having battier helps b/c Shane is a great role model and together the two can share opinions and learn off each other. T-mac teaches nobody anything and with Yao there's always that language/cultural barrier.

T-mac just is not a good leader and to win anything, you need a good leader (a la Duncan, Garnett, etc). That's my only real knock on him and you can't prevent injuries. Yao's been disadvantaged paired with t-mac, but I think the acquistition of Battier helped yao develop a lot better by observing Shane's hard play/effort.