Artest: "[Ariza's] a better player"

[tiredandhungry67]

Did anyone happen to catch this article in yesterday's issue of the LA Times?

"He's a better player," Artest repeated emphatically. "He's won a ring, I haven't. I can't even compare to him. He's a better player."

Artest also agrees, incidentally, with the part about Ariza being a better fit.

"He probably is," Artest said. "He's a role player, a great role player. I haven't been a role player. Many times I've had to carry the load, this is a different look for me."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-lakers-20100324,0,1475112.column

Does anyone agree with this? After doubting Ariza could carry a team or even create for himself in Houston, he proved me wrong. I know that if Artest turns it on in the playoffs, he will erase all doubt. But the role Artest plays is a role player, a role that Ariza was accustomed to and excelled in. Does anyone else feel we should have kept Ariza over Artest, or was Artest the right decision? Or is it too early to decide?

[DubaLakers]

Artest shouts what I've been shouting since day 1, man it's the weirdest thing Trevor was like LAL family to me, I miss that guy all the time when i'm watching games, he was such a perfect piece; I truly get sad. I liked him so much that when the LAL had to make a decision, him or LO was going to stay, I wanted Trevor, now that I admit I was wrong ther,e LO is having a career year (most improved LAL imo), but at the time I was on board.

Eventhough I'm not a GM I think GM's make that mistake often. The measured effort and the defensive/rebounding efforts aren't appreiated like offense is coveted.

I think Artest is doing a good job though, they are just different players. Artest uses handles/strength/leverage when playing, Trevor uses jump length and athletisism to score. Trevor is all upside, Artest is on the plateau of his career, before he starts to decline.

Come back Trevor!

[Slava]

Ron is being humble. I'd still take what Ron gives us over Ariza.

[what would jack bauer do?]

Yeah J-far said it, ron is just being humble. The healthy lighter Ron we've had in the 2nd half of the season brings a whole new element of defensive toughness to this team. Even when he had plantar in both feet he was still great value for his price tag, we would be screwed without his on the ball ability with all the injuries kobe has been fighting through.

Having Ron is kind of a curse cause I think he puts us over the top to the point of we all know we're a playoff team and we can take nights off... which we've been doing for games at a time. I just can't wait to see the fire that ronron and kobe are going to bring defensively in the playoffs.

[KOBE_PAUER]

Ron's the best player. I dont know if the best fit, but the best player he is. If he wins the ring with us, we can say he fits the triangle.

[oaktownwarriors87]

I'm not trying to troll, but I completely agree with what Ron said. I know he didn't REALLY mean it, but it's true. Ariza is younger, a better fit and a better player. I always thought Ariza was going to improve as Kobe declined to help keep things balanced... I really thought that the Lakers were going to four-pete... but with Ron in place of Ariza they wont come even close.

Trevor was hitting threes, playing D, rebounding, finishing at the basket and he rarely made a mistake. It's to bad the Lakers went with the bigger name over the better player. I sincerely mean that.

[The Skyhook]

wait till the playoffs when Ron Ron and Lamar become our enforcers then we'll see who is better

[KOBE_PAUER]

I'm not trying to troll, but I completely agree with what Ron said. I know he didn't REALLY mean it, but it's true. Ariza is younger, a better fit and a better player. I always thought Ariza was going to improve as Kobe declined to help keep things balanced... I really thought that the Lakers were going to four-pete... but with Ron in place of Ariza they wont come even close.

Trevor was hitting threes, playing D, rebounding, finishing at the basket and he rarely made a mistake. It's to bad the Lakers went with the bigger name over the better player. I sincerely mean that.

I dont think so, Ariza did a bad season, but a great great post-season. And I remember Ron destroying us in Houston in Round 2.....Ron's is the best player today, the best fit, we will see.

[Dr Aki]

trevor was the perfect piece even when he wasnt hitting 3s

he gave us everything we wanted from our SF position that we ever wanted and needed. no one is ever going to forget his 2 steals against denver and his 3rd quarter against orlando in game 4 which is overshadowed by other reasons

but ron gives us everything trevor didnt, athelticism aside, ron gives us strong man defense, playmaking, more consistent shooting, post-play (as if we needed more, but still nice). trevor deserves to still be on the roster and in a different economic environment, he would be

ron hasnt messed us the chemistry, instead hes become humble and reduced his role in order to win a ring. everything hes done all the right things, said all the right things... all without losing his character in LA. theres not a stred of ego you can point to that ron has put himself above the team in any way

[RocketPower23]

I'd like to hear it in context, it's more likely Ron was being sarcastic. People are really overrating Trevor, he was great for our team and was playing well for a stretch, but he wasn't a perfect fit.

[TommyTheCat]

props to ron for being humble and accepting his new role player gig. i was skeptical about him being able to accept that role and he's done wonderful so far.

[Edrees]

we have enough scoreres on this team, someone can pick up ariza's scoring slack...but

there's no way ariza could ever do what artest did for us tonight. defensively. i don't remember holding anyone to 80 points last year..

[kobesmyhomie]

Honestly the only reason I would take Ariza over Artest is because of the age difference. Ariza is a much younger athletic player and could have improved with age.

[LAKESHOW]

"It is a move that some Lakers folks would now take back. It was a move that many of us thought should never have happened in the first place."

"the Buss family suddenly acquired Artest and dumped Ariza"

WRONG ON BOTH ACCOUNTS!

first of all, IT WAS ARIZA who did not want to stay here, lets make that clear. blame his agent or whatever, but hes gotta step up to the plate and let his agent know of ultimately staying.

secondly, he got relatively THE SAME MONEY HERE AS HE GOT IN HOUSTON!(some may correct me on this)

third, ariza shot himself inthe foot, and did not realize that when you are home, when you are a champion, when you are with a class organization . . . you stay home and take what they offer. thats right, you take it! this aint the nets or clippers, we will pay you fair value and you wont get the championship opportunities with the rockets like you will with this franchise.

ARIZA F'd UP, not the organization. and better or not, we must move on. plaschke however, is just trying to create something that is not there. like blame the franchise, organization and artest . . . instead of stating the facts. ariza made a bone headed move and a BIG TIME mistake.

[crazyeights]

we have enough scoreres on this team, someone can pick up ariza's scoring slack...but

there's no way ariza could ever do what artest did for us tonight. defensively. i don't remember holding anyone to 80 points last year..

Couldn't agree more. I've never seen a player defend with his hands so effectively. It's insane.

I haven't seen a perimeter player affect a game on the defensive end like this in a while....As a Laker fan you always would hear of "Kobe stoppers" but really we'd see Kobe light all these guys up for 30-40 points, so I never really believed that.

Artest is a game-changer on defense.

Saying that, offensively, Ron has been money when he bullies people inside. People don't realize Ariza shot 31% last season from 3. Where as Ron is shooting 38% from behind the arc this year--which by the way is what Ariza is shooting from the field!

So I completely disagree with whoever it was who said he can carry a team...sure he's on a **** team, but he's horribly inefficient and he only averages 15 points in 37 min.

To me, sure, I miss Trevor. But when PJ said he wasn't a 35 mpg player, I get that. He was more a great energy guy you'd want to put in the game to change things.

I think we can rely on Artest.

[chefy]

wait till the playoffs when Ron Ron and Lamar become our enforcers then we'll see who is better

this

can't wait to see ron in the playoffs

[semi-sentient]

wait till the playoffs when Ron Ron and Lamar become our enforcers then we'll see who is better

Yep. Everyone seems to forget how Ariza was being pushed around by Melo (to a point where we had to switch Kobe on him) in the post-season. We'll likely be seeing Melo again (or Butler), and if we expect to win a title then we'll be going up against LeBron as well. In the post-season, where more physical play is allowed, Artest brings far more value to us defensively. As good as he's been for us I'd imagine he'll be even more effective once he's healthy? We're talking about a guy who is a legit DPOY runner-up (lol... sorry no one is overtaking D12), and we haven't even seen his best!

Oh, and he's a way better 3-point shooter (leads the team as far as regular rotation players are concerned), better free throw shooter (that's saying something), passer, and definitely a better post player. Ariza is good in transition and got occasional hustle points, but he doesn't give us much in terms of helping to space the floor by being a consistent outside threat (although he shot lights out in the post-season, which was uncharacteristic). Ariza was a better finisher as well. With the decline of Fisher and his apparently lost shooting touch, our offense would likely look even more atrocious with Trevor this year.

IMO, Ron has done a great job of playing his role. He hasn't gone berserk and cost us any games this year (by jacking bad shots I mean) which is the only real thing that concerned me after we signed him. He seems to have accepted that he's not one of our main scoring options and focuses completely on defense which is exactly what I hoped for.

[Mamba Venom]

Dont get it twisted we are very fortunate to have Artest

Artest and LO make only a little more than AMMO and Sasha.

Ariza wanted a pay day. Thats what happened he left and we are probably better for it. Artest is a play-off player.

If we overpaid for Ariza we probably would have lost LO. I remember listening to all the crazy love LA was giving Ariza and thinking oh man we are going to lose Odom. Ariza wont take a fair offer. I am SO thankful the Mitch didnt put up w/ Arizas agent and that things went the way they did.

Kobe and Artest is 2nd best defensive wing combination in the history of the game. If we add a defensice stopper at the combo guard this offseason we will have one of the best defenses and offenses in history. I was surprised we turned down the Hinrich deal because it would have been the best backcourt/wing defense combo in league history. The front court would also have been one of the best ever w/ Bynum/Gasol/LO.

[ahwi_quacoe]

am I the only one who rememembers Ariza getting lit up by Superstar Players.......
The guy is a great help defender but he isn't very good defending his own man.. Especially guys who are bigger and stronger ..... Carmelo took him to school and forced Kobe to guard him instead. Paul Pierce also.....
I watched Artest against San Antonio and man that guys defense is phenomenal... that is Playoff defense... tough and aggressive..... This is the kind of defense I remember seeing nightly in the NBA in the 90's.......

Artest rids us of that soft label completely.....

[dockingsched]

when it comes down to it, artest is shooting WAY better than trevor did from 3, and ron does a much better job at guarding the sf on elite teams (melo, james, butler, pierce). nothing else really matters.