Ball or Nuthin' » Ron Artest

Los Angeles Lakers Battle Back to Win 2010 NBA Title

T Lamont — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:26:32 +0000

Oh, how things have changed for the Lakers.

On a night filled with shooting struggles, all Kobe Bryant could do was watch.

Ron Artest and Pau Gasol unquestionably scored the biggest baskets of their careers, contributing to the Lakers’ 83-79 win over the Boston Celtics to claim their second consecutive and 16th overall NBA title.

Gasol (19 points, 18 rebounds) converted a double-pump turnaround that gave the Los Angeles Lakers a six-point lead with 90 seconds remaining in regulation.

After a Boston score, Bryant was double-teamed immediately and gave the ball up to Artest on the wing. With a defender in his face, Artest (20 points, 5 steals) let a triple fly that hit nothing but the bottom of the net – upping the Laker lead to six points.

After a barrage of three-point field goals, L.A. was clinging to a 81-79 advantage. Another Laker not wearing #24 – Sasha Vujacic - buried two clutch free throws to put the game on ice, and give the game its final tally.

From the start of the game, Boston dictated that Game 7 of the Finals would be won playing their style of basketball. And it was evident that the referees were going to let the players determine the game’s outcome. In the early going, there was lots of pushing, shoving, bumping and grinding. The Celtics played great team defense – effectively stifling the home team in the first quarter. The Celtics ended the first with all of the momentum in their favor, and led 23-14.

The second quarter saw the Lakers dwindle down that nine-point advantage, with a big unexpected surge from forward Ron Artest. Artest scored 11 points in the period, keeping L.A. afloat. Also, the Lakers were mauling the Celtics on the offensive glass. Los Angeles was shooting terribly (in part to some tough Boston defense), but staying close by getting second – and third – and even fourth opportunities on the offensive end. But the game’s flow still benefited Boston, who were getting contributions from various players. The Lakers had effectively chipped into the visitors’ lead, and the team went into intermission with Boston leading 40-34.

Ron Artest saved the Lakers with his offense and defense tonight.

Los Angeles and Boston engaged in a back-and-forth exchange in the third period. At one juncture, the Celtics had extended to a 13-point lead. But Artest continued to make an impact for L.A. (offensively and defensively), coming to the aid of a struggling Kobe Bryant – who finished with 23 points on 6-24 from the field. Inch by inch, the Lakers were beginning to make things interesting, pulling closer and closer to the Celtics – ultimately ending the quarter trailing by only four points.

During the first half of the fourth quarter, the Lakers rode their momentum to transform the contest into a nail-biting affair. Their run was highlighted by two big plays – a Derek Fisher 3-pointer with 6:12 remaining to tie the game at 64, and moments later, a Kobe Bryant pull-up jumper to give the Lakers a four-point cushion, 68-64.

Then it was time for Bryant’s teammates – Gasol, Artest and Vujacic – to take center stage on the biggest night of the season. Although Bryant was clearly the best player in the series (and he won the NBA Finals MVP), Game 7 clearly demonstrated the value associated with team play. When Kobe’s cast played well, the Lakers won. When they didn’t, they lost no matter what Kobe did.

In the end, the Los Angeles Lakers stood tall as a team – and that made all of the difference.

Smothering Defense Leads L.A. Over Boston

T Lamont — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:03:49 +0000

Get Shareaholic

In Game 6, the Lakers didn’t even come close to breaking a sweat.

Los Angeles trounced the Boston Celtics, 89-67, to set up an epic Game 7 battle at the Staples Center on Thursday night.

Let’s take a look at why the Lakers won tonight, using T Lamont’s “Lakers Survival Guide” as a reference.

1. Put Bryant in a Bottle - The home team desperately needed to get some of Kobe’s teammates involved early and often, and they were able to do that in grand fashion. While the Boston bench has been applauded for its game-changing effect, it was L.A.’s reserve unit that pumped up the the atmosphere in Staples tonight. Eight points and ten boards for Lamar Odom. Eight points (including two three’s) for Sasha Vujacic. Four more points for Jordan Farmar. Four big points from Shannon Brown on two breathtaking, highlight-reel dunks.

What about the Boston bench you might ask? It didn’t score its first points until about nine minutes were left in regulation.

L.A. also got a couple of good performances from its starters not wearing #24 (Bryant finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds in a little over three quarters of action). Pau Gasol was near triple-double status with a line of 17-13-9 (and 3 swats). Ron Artest had eight first quarter points and finished with 15.

2. Dictate the Tempo- The Lakers ran at every opportunity that was presented to them. By pushing the ball, it helped them improve upon their miserable Game 5 shooting (39% on Sunday). Los Angeles also extended its defensive pressure to force the Celtics to pick up their pace. In doing so, the Lakers were able to tip many passes and generally disrupt the Celtic offense. L.A.’s defensive effort was exemplary, holding the visiting team to 67 points on 34% field goal shooting. The 67 points represents the second lowest team total in NBA Finals history.

3. Take Away Pierce’s Mid-Range Game - L.A. took away just about all of Paul Pierce’s game. Pierce went 6-14 for 13 points. He had zero free throw attempts. Pierce never found a rhythm, and neither did the Celtics.

4. Start “The Goods”- Jackson still gave the starting nod to Artest at the small forward spot, and Ron-Ron played a great game. Lamar played 28 productive minutes for Los Angeles. With Andrew Bynum’s exit from the contest, Odom naturally played more of his minutes alongside Gasol in the frontcourt and his boardwork reflected that. But with his finesse game, Odom can play big in the paint, and he even contributed two rejections on the night.

Artest and Odom provided Bryant with the support that he needed to give the Lakers a Game 6 win.

Despite the lopsided outcome of Game 6, a tough, physical Game 7 will be played in two nights. And even though the game is going to be held on the floor of the stadium with some of the most boisterous fans in the NBA, I’d have to say that Game 7 is a complete wash.

Two big obstacles stand in each team’s path. And when I say big, I mean Andrew Bynum and Kendrick Perkins. Both bigs left the game with injuries, and the Finals’ participants will hold their collective breaths to see if their team can come into the classic showdown with their full roster in tact.

On one hand, you have the Lakers – who always play like world champions on their home court. On the other hand, the Celtics have demonstrated that they can play with more focus on the road than at home.

So, both teams will be in comfortable situations.

One thing is for certain: Whichever team comes out of Game 7 victoriously will have earned it.

Celtics Win Game 2 Behind Allen and Rondo

T Lamont — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:03:07 +0000

Get Shareaholic

The Lakers claim to have the best closer in the NBA. But Rajon Rondo made the plays late in Game 2 of the NBA Finals to refute that claim.

Rondo added to his playoff resume with strong defensive plays - a blocked shot on Derek Fisher and a strip of Kobe Bryant – that sealed the Boston Celtics’ 103-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Celtics ended the game brilliantly. Over the last four and a half minutes of Game 2, the Boston Celtics outscored the Los Angeles Lakers 16-4.

Boston led comfortably in the second quarter, when sharpshooter Ray Allen was in the midst of an unyielding barrage of treys that gave the visiting team some serious swagger. Allen broke the Finals record for three-pointers made in a game, canning eight bombs from behind the arc.

The Lakers worked their way back into the game, and held the lead briefly in the third quarter. But Boston kept their focus and heightened the defensive intensity, enabling them to overcome some mediocre offense in the second half. In the end, their defense carried them to the win, even up the series at one game apiece.

What did their job? Who didn’t?

Let’s take a look at the guy who were the difference makers in tonight’s contest:

Boston Celtics:

Allen set the NBA Finals single-game record with eight three-pointers made.

Ray Allen: “Jesus Shuttleworth” came up big – particularly in the first half – against L.A. Allen, universally regarded as the best pure shooter in the league, came out on fire in this one. He hit seven first-half triples (eight total) to lead the game in scoring with 32 points. Ray connected on eight of his eleven three point attempts, and extinguished any doubt as to his ability to bounce back from his troubled performance in Game 1.

Rajon Rondo: The former Kentucky Wildcat showed everyone what we have been accustomed to seeing from him in the playoffs. Rondo delivered his all-around game tonight, finishing with a triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists). The 6’3″ guard dominated in the fourth period, controlling the game by grabbing offensive rebounds (he had four in the game), scoring and making timely defensive plays. Tonight’s outcome proves that Boston needs a big-time performance from Rondo in order to win against L.A.

Nate Robinson: When Rondo goes to the bench, Doc Rivers has a natural right to be nervous. The truth is the he hasn’t known if or how his offense would be initiated. He also couldn’t count on it being effective or fluent. On a two different occasions in the last two playoff rounds, Nate Robinson has come off the bench to spark the Celtics. He did it again tonight, putting up seven points (2-2 FG, 1-1 3′s, 2-2 FT) in six minutes. Robinson’s production was great, and his control was even greater.

Los Angeles Lakers:

Laker Guards: Collectively, they allowed the league’s best shooter to hit several open looks from three-point land. To make matters worse, the culprits (Kobe Bryant, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown and Derek Fisher) combined to barely outscored Allen, 39-32.

Kobe Bryant didn't have an effective night against Boston on Sunday night.

“Home-Court” Officiating? – NOT: Lamar Odom (3 points in 14 minutes), Andrew Bynum (21 points, 7 blocks) and Kobe Bryant (21 points, 8-20 FG) all ended the contest with 5 fouls. Ron Artest (6 points, 1-10 FG) fouled out late in Game 2. The Lakers were held hostage by the officials’ whistles, and it affected their offensive rhythm. Foul trouble adversely affected the effectiveness of Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Ron Artest – all key contributors that Los Angeles needs if they want to win.

Kobe Bryant: Bryant is a leader. He likes to lead by example. There are times that he wants to play defense with the same intensity that he plays offense. There are times that he should think twice about that. The Lakers don’t need Bryant picking up fouls guarding Ray Allen 6 feet beyond the three-point line. Such a decision is what cost Bryant valuable floor time, and kept him from displaying his usual level of effectiveness. The Lakers need Bryant to score 30 to keep him able to be comfortably entrenched in the L.A. offensive flow. Then he would be ready to take over late in the game.

Ron Artest: Another hero from Game 1, Artest struggled mightily in Game 2. His offensive game was putrid tonight, making 1-10 shots and fouling out late in the game. Artest readily refers to himself as a former scorer. A 1-10 display makes me think otherwise. He’ll have to focus on the road in Boston for Game 3.

Lakers Beat Suns, Return to NBA Finals

T Lamont — Sun, 30 May 2010 05:09:06 +0000

Get Shareaholic

Prior to Saturday’s Game 6, Phoenix’s Steve Nash guaranteed a win by his team. But Nash made one critical mistake.

The team that he guaranteed a win against had Kobe Bryant on its roster.

The Lakers earned another trip to the NBA Finals by besting the Suns, 111-103.

Bryant went off again tonight, scoring 37 points on 12-25 shooting. Kobe did what he’s been known to do – hit big shots late in the fourth quarter. He nailed three tough shots during this period – including a free-throw line runner, and two deep fade-away jumpers from the wing.

After his much ballyhooed shot selection in Game 5, Artest proved that he is no stranger to putting the ball in the basket. Artest capitalized on Alvin Gentry’s gameplan (to yield open shots to him) to score 25 points, hitting four of his seven three point attempts. Los Angeles had minimal production from other team members, but they cleaned up on the boards (+10 advantage over Phoenix) which led to eight more field goal attempts than their opponents.

What a difference a year has made for Bryant and Artest.

Suns leader and two-time MVP Nash (21 points and 9 assists) extended his infamous streak of playoff appearances without making it to the Finals – it now stands at 118 games, which is the highest in NBA history. A notable fact about tonight’s contest was that Nash only played four minutes in the final quarter. The flow of the game seemed to fit into Goran Dragic’s style of play (he had made a couple of big plays to keep the Suns in the hunt), so he played for the majority of the quarter.

Amar’e Stoudamire struggled from the field, but made it to the line 15 times to push his point total up to 27 points. But as we’ve seen before in this series, Amar’e didn’t get the job done on the glass. Four rebounds in over forty-three minutes of action from a power forward is not going to cut it against the Lakers’ frontcourt.

The Suns had a few others who made significant contributions in Game 6, but the Lakers were simply able to build a good lead and do just enough down the stretch to keep the Suns at bay.

In the end, the Suns had too much to overcome to pull this series out. After the first two games, the Lakers had firmly established that it was going to be an uphill battle for Phoenix – and, indeed it was.

Lakers Win Crucial Game 5 on Ron Artest Putback

T Lamont — Fri, 28 May 2010 04:28:35 +0000

Get Shareaholic

Redemption was so sweet for Ron Artest.

The off-season acquisition has experienced many peaks and valleys throughout the season. And tonight’s events unfolded in a manner consistent with Artest’s Los Angeles tenure.

Steve Nash did all that he could to give the Suns a chance in Game 5.

Artest took an ill-advised, quick shot – when he could have took ample time off of the game clock – when the Lakers were attempting to hold onto a three-point advantage. But the defensively-skilled forward grabbed the offensive rebound from a badly-missed field goal attempt from Kobe Bryant, and used his upper-body strength to muscle it into the basket giving L.A. a 103-101 victory.

The Lakers, who at one time in the game led by 18 points, saw the Suns chip away at their lead throughout the fourth quarter. But it was Los Angeles who held on for a win in Game 5.

Tonight’s game was full of top-notch, star-level performances. Kobe Bryant filled the stat sheet with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Steve Nash led Phoenix with 29 points and 11 assists.

With different Lakers (Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom) making contributions late in the fourth quarter, it was Nash who was keeping the Suns afloat down the stretch. On a few occasions where the Lakers switched on pick-and-rolls, Nash went one-on-one against Gasol with great success. He was able to stick a few pull-up jumpers and dropped off an assist to Amar’e Stoudamire in the key late possessions.

In the process, Ron Artest took a long jumper with a minute left in regulation and missed. The rebound was long and came right back to him. But instead of using the opportunity to burn some time off of the clock (there were 56 seconds left in the game and 22 seconds left on the shot clock), Artest – who said he was ‘going for the back-breaker’ – launched a trey that was off the mark.

The misses set up a Phoenix possession which saw them attempt three triples. Steve Nash clanked a quick pull-up three; Jason Richardson bricked a wide-open three; and then, finally, J-Rich smashed a three off of the backboard that went in to tie the contest at 101 with 3.5 seconds remaining in regulation.

Of course, it was Kobe time. On the subsequent inbound play, Bryant received the ball deep on the wing and shot a fade-away triple with two defenders in his face. Kobe’s shot was horribly short, but Artest didn’t assume that the shot was going to go down.

Ron Artest always gives his best effort on both ends of the floor.

Artest then made the play that, perhaps, saved his face tonight.

The Lakers were able to get a couple of big contributions which made a huge impact on their ability to win tonight. Derek Fisher scored 22 points, and made many clutch shots late in the fourth. Lamar Odom was alive and active once again at Staples, putting up 17 points, 13 assists and 4 assists.

Give the Suns big-time credit for not throwing in the towel tonight. They had seven players score in double figures. Stoudamire had 19, and Channing Frye had a brilliant performance with 14 points (3 treys) and 10 boards off the bench.

Phoenix’s performance should have them encouraged for Game 6. But Alvin Gentry better make sure that the Suns don’t rest on what they did tonight, and go home to Phoenix expecting to win. Phoenix knows that L.A. is not a team to be taken lightly away from home.

Expect another tough battle on Saturday night.