NBA Playoffs update: Ron Artest’s suspension puts the Los Angeles Lakers in a quagmire
When the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Dallas Mavericks in the third game of the Western Conference semi-finals on Friday night, the biggest question bugging Phil Jackson and the Laker’s locker-room, will be to find an appropriate replacement for the Lakers forward Ron Artest. Artest was suspended for one game after he hit Dallas’s guard J.J. Barea in the face during the final seconds of Wednesday night’s game, which the Lakers lost by 93-81.
The Lakers are already two down in the series and will be playing without their regular small forward in a crucial game. Ron was a constant in the Lakers lineup and started all 82 games for them, this season. He is considered as one of the best defenders of the league and was named the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) ‘Defensive Player of the Year’ back in 2004.
Besides being a good defender, Artest connects well from beyond the arc as well and percentage wise he is better than Kobe Bryant. Another disadvantage of Ron’s suspension is that Dallas was the team against whom, he had always done well and has been a constant pain in their neck. His suspension at this crucial juncture of the series has left the Lakers in a rather tight spot.
This means that the Lakers need more minutes from their bench and up till now in this series the Lakers bench has stunk up the joint. In game-2, the Lakers’ bench contributed just 12 points and was not up to the mark defensively as well.
Now in the absence of Artest Lakers coach Phil Jackson has to come up with not just a new starting line-up, but he has to form a new rotation plan too. Some believe that it’s going to be Lamar Odom, since he has that versatility which led him to the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award this season. This option cannot be ruled out since Odom displayed a solid performance in game-1 as compared to the other reserves.
However the most likely player to replace Artest would be Matt Barnes. Although his role has been limited in the first two games and he logged just for 26 minutes in total, still he looks like Jackson’s answer off the bench. He scored four points in game-1 and failed to score even a single point in game-2.
Another option for Jackson is Luke Walton, who did not play in any of the eight games this postseason, but now could have some minutes during shuffle.
However, irrespective of what choice is made and who ultimately takes Artest’s place on the court, one thing is sure it’s not going to be easy in Dallas. The Lakers will have to produce some stunning performances and will have to do something out of the box if they are to bounce back in the series.
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