Ball Don’t Lie has some choice words for Ron Artest after Houston’s loss last night to the Lakers.
Artest destroyed the Rockets offensively. He shot terrible perimeter looks from inside and outside the three-point arc despite any indication that he deserved those looks, or could hit them on an efficient or consistent basis. 11 points on 16 shots … do you know how bad that is? How much that hurts a team playing in what was essentially a one or two possession game the entire night?
We knew Artest’s ability to help or hurt the Rockets would not come in the form of some lame suspension or locker room issue, but in how he controlled his usage. And he, and Rick Adelman to a large extent, could not cage the pit bull on Wednesday. And it killed the team’s chances of winning.
(Note to Adelman and Daryl Morey … you get paid to cage the pit bull, so cage the pit bull. The overriding fear is that Artest will stop playing defense if he isn’t getting offensive looks, and that’s a reasonable fear, mainly because Ron has done it in the past. Doesn’t matter. He single-handedly lost a game for you tonight, on the defensive end as well. The difference between good and legendary coaches, guys like Phil Jackson and Coach Pop, is their ability to cage the pit bull.)
With Tracy McGrady out, Artest is the main wing threat for the Rockets, and if he can’t find a way to play efficiently offensively, Houston is in for another first round exit from the playoffs.
