Isn't Artest just a rich man's Battier?

Question

Ok basically, I like the trade Houston pulled off with artest, but who do you start now? Artest or Battier?

Answer 1

yeee. battier is just not getting the media.

of course theyll start ronron

Answer 2

Battier is just now starting to play really good. He has improved his Defense tremendously and is now one of the best defenders in the league.  Artest has been that way for almost his whole career.  Also Artest has more offense game than battier.  Battier just spots up for 3 and thats basically it.

Answer 3

Artest is only making about 7 million a year, which is low in today's NBA standards.....You forget that Artest also is a better offensive player than Battier avg 20.5 points last year, and over 16 for his career, he is also a better defender, Artest and Bowen have been in a league of their own...

-But  Battier is a better role player, and plays better team basketball, and has a higher basketball IQ......

-You got to start Artest,but they might start Battier at the 4 over Scola..Battier can play powerfoward as well, and can defend most 4's, and is only 1in shorter than Scola, and 10 pounds lighter, so not much of a size difference

Answer 4

Artest. Battier and Artest offer the same level of defense, but Artest is an offensive threat. So Artest will get the start. Ideally, I'd imagine that in clutch situations, Adleman will move Artest to the 4 and put Battier in at 3. Artest is capable of guarding PF. This way, there'll be 3 offensive threats.

Battier is definitely a starting forward on any team in the league. The fact that he's been moved to a sixth man position means the Rockets bench will be tremendously deep (since Brent Barry is also there).

I don't see Alston losing his starting PG job because of his excellent ball movement skills. If you take Alston out, then McGrady will be their only player capable of setting up plays. Scola offers a better complement to Yao's post-up game than Artest does, so the only logical player to take out would be Battier. They're not losing anything, but gaining an additional offensive threat.

Answer 5

I agree with you that Artest is a Rich Mans Battier but Artest is the obvious starter.  Artest is stronger in the paint and a better mid range shooter.

Answer 6

They should start both and make McGrady their point gaurd. That would give them a really tall lineup including Luis Scola and Yao Ming.  They will have an elite defensive team.

-Mister J

Answer 7

Mister J is absolutely right. Pick him as best answer.

Answer 8

Yea Ron starts

Answer 9

Well Battier and Artest bring the same level of defensive prescense to the floor but artest is a more capable and able scorer than Battier. So Artest will get the start over Battier. And i thought about what Mister J said or whatever his name is, and the McGrady moving to PG so Battier and Artest could play wouldn't work because they need a passer out on the floor and McGrady is a good passer, but not good enough to play PG, and he will sometimes force turnovers.

Starting Lineup...

C- Yao Ming

PF- Luis Scola

SF-Artest

SG- Mcgrady

PG- Alston

6th- Shane Battier

7th- Brent Barry

Answer 10

In theory the better offensive threat (Artest) should be the starter, but Battier is a more consistent and dsiciplined defender. So Adelman will go to whatever starting lineup he likes without a lock on each position.

I agree thw view of moving T-Mac to PG in some sense not only because Alston appers to be the weakest link, but also T-Mac rationale of getting the others involved in offense. With the addition of Artest, T-Mac finds another good option to pass the ball and saves some energy, which is very important to protect him away from lingering injuries.

Yet Rockets have every reason to go for a so-called "small lineup" with Artest and Battier both play at Fs - when you have two marvelous SF who are capable to play PF it is always a big mismatch problem. That means Luis Scola's minutes may not be fully guaranteed. However, should Yao injures, Rockets can insert a Scola-Battier-Artest frontcourt - it looks a little small but it is probably the most effective small frontcourt in NBA by now.

My ultimate pick remains on Artest because Adelman should make sure the Tru Warrior to be fully committed, yet this is a luxury that the other 29 teams are jealous for.

Answer 11

no t-mac cant play pg he try to in the playoffs against the jazz and force some turnover and rafer is really the rockets playmaker like in the playoffs rockets didnt win until rafer came bacc and that in utah also nobody rarely win in utah except the rockets, laker and celtics

Answer 12

i dont really get this trade, houston already has battier who is a better spot up shooter than artest is and doesnt need a lot of looks.  artest comes in looking and will look for his shots on the offensive end.  plus, artest only has a year left, so i dont know if i want to risk him departing afterwards esepcially with greene being on your roster.  

then again, theyre probably trying to win now, but i dont see artest being the piece they need.  then again, with the way yao and tmac gets injured every season, having artest could provide them with offensive when one of them goes down.

i just dont like this trade too much becuase i think greene will be a solid player in the league.