Physical Traits

These are some random observations of some of our guys......

ARTEST:

Clearly a wonderful defender. If there is another guy in the league who can take Payton one night, Nowitzki another, and then McDyess when he is healthy, then I don't know who that guy is.

That said, Artest has always struck me as a terribly awkward offensive player. It really pains me to watch him dribble. He has a very high dribble and just slams the ball into the floor. I suppose he doesn't lead the team in turnovers simply because he doesn't handle the ball that much. His jump shot has improved this season and I will grant you that he is scoring well since he came back from injury but I have no confidence in his offensive game at all.

I am further bothered by the fact that I think he bears a striking resemblance to a character in a Tony Morrison novel named Soap-Creek Church.

FIZER

God Im mad at him. Im not the first to say this but Fizer is a small guy in a big body. He is soft for his size. I've felt that even his gait when running looks like a smaller man but that doesn't then translate into a small man's athleticism. Far from it. Fizer is Anthony Mason on a bad night.

CARTWRIGHT

The thought of his jump shot still makes my elbows ache. That aside....

I hate to harp about something like this but I still believe his voice is an issue. It is far less gravel-ey than it used to be and he is more easily understood in interviews but I don't think he can get any volume out of it and when your team is on the far side of the court in the fourth quarter and you are and calling out a play then I have to think that is an issue, even if you are whispering it to Meyers who then calls it out that is just more time off the clock. Yes we are a long way away from that being our worst problem but it just makes me question what Bill's long term coaching viability really is.

BAGARIC

Okay. Im stepping out here.......

The guy cannot play a lick. But when you watch him run I can kind of understand why he got drafted. The guy runs like a gazelle. His motion is fluid and his gait is easy. Lots of big guys really look like mopes when it comes to running. They over exaggerate the pumping motion of the arms, the knees come up waaayyyyy high. Not him. He is the very picture of fluidity. If he could only use his powers for good......

The good thing is all the talk about Hassell replacing Artest is gone.

I've actually always admired his goofy style of shooting and dribbling, and his shots arc like hell. And so far this season it has resulted in 10/19 3p shooting and 50% from the field, so it would be something if those numbers stick.

I watched him in college and he basically bulldozed through everyone he could. He would post up forwards and centers using power and quickness and get great positioning, and I think once he entered the NBA he developed a finesse game (argh) for reasons probably due to the fact that his college moves won't work against the pro's and he could not adjust immediately. Maybe when they moved him to small forward it screwed up his mentality.

He had many surgeries related to his speech, and given the vast improvement over the past couple of months it will probably continue to do so. But I can see why it might lead to problems if Cartwright is unable to raise his voice. Not about players not hearing instruction, but the mentality of a player knowing his coach is forcibly passive due to health.

I can understand drafting him, but it still beats me why the Bulls didn't keep him in Europe longer. They were already piled high with no-talent centers, so why bring in another even bigger, stiffer, lane-clogging tall guy? Maybe he would have a better chance of surviving in the NBA if he could remain in Croatia where he would be the man for 2 or 3 years. But at the time I am sure everyone knew he would not be contributing at all in 2000-1.

I love Artest... Having a guy like that who can shut down the high scoring 2 or 3 spot is priceless in this league... Even if he comes off the bench Eventually. He would be an awesome reserve if we eventually get a better player for his position...

LET ME ADD - HASSELL

This kid looks really good. IMO, On an admitedly poor offensive team, Hassell looks to be on of our best players, takes good shots, shoots a high percentage, and although not as good as Artest, This kid plays D. And he is a young rookie, so he will improve. I think he is a Keeper!

You are right... Unless this man finds a game somewhere we should get rid of him. I have watched a number of Bulls games lately and this guy has no Idea what to do when he gets the ball in an offensive position! His only move is to bulldoze accross the lane until he runs into the nearest defender, then simply chuck the ball over his sholder towards the hoop. It's pathetic. I have seen more impressive moves watching my 8 year old nefew (and he still has trouble throwing the ball up 10'.

That being said, he has potential. He has had some great games but he really needs to work on his stuff...

I love Bill, the players respect him... So the listen. Don't pick at the mans voice. If he needs to yell, he can... If he needs to yell loud, that is what assistant coaches are for.

The only player on the team with less game that Feizer is this guy... Another shining example of how anyone who is 7' tall and has some interest in Basketball can get into the NBA. Why, oh why wasn't I born 7' tall...

I lost an entire post due to NewsWatcher quitting. Weep.

Oh, just you wait. 'Trenton Hassell is about 75% as good as Ron Artest, at about 25% of the salary. So getting rid of Ron Artest is a Big Win for the 'organization'.'

I think you've got to consider anything Artest scores as a bonus. On a real team, he could maybe start (I can imagine him starting on last year's Sixers team), if they had enough firepower at the other positions. He's good in transition (with that little pop jump shot from midrange). But there's no way he should be higher than the #4 option on the floor, no matter who he's playing with.

I think Ron could be an irreplacable part of a championship team. He could also get lost in a situation where he's not fighting for minutes. I think at this point, in his third season, if he were going to start putting together an offensive game and develop better ballhandling abilities (both of which are pretty key if you're going to start at the 2 or 3), he probably would have by now.

Now we're seeing what happens when a guy shorter than most other power forwards plays 'smaller' than his size. His footwork in the paint is horrible

I'm not sure how you came up with 75% since Artest is currently better than Hassell in every way you can imagine. And if we are talking about potential, keep in mind that while Hassell is a rookie, he is 7 months older than Artest, so there is plenty of room for improvement for both players.

[snip]

Chandler and Curry will lead the team in blocks by default. I don't find it fair to blame Cartwright for the fact that Oakley, Miller, and Fizer all have the mobility and vertical leap of cattle. Oakley and Miller have always played below the rim, and Fizer was outblocked by his point guard (Tinsley) in his final college year.

Note the quotes. I was just hurling Krause-esque Mind Control Media Spin around, I have no idea if his salary is 25% either.

I just can't see remaining satisified with Artest as a 3 without a lot more firepower on the team. And I *like* him better than anyone else on the team. As for potential, I don't want to work verbal voodoo on him, but I can't think of too many guys who have suddenly put it all together with so few hints of brilliance on the offensive end.

What about footwork, which Fizer has no clue about? No, I don't like hanging other people's faults on Bill, or Tim for that matter. But all of this talk about how guys will play harder for Bill, will start throwing their weight around... they had a lot of time to learn from Big Bill's undivided attention, and didn't. With less time to show Marcus how not to be shoved out of the lane by a hip check from Christian Laettner, I'm skeptical they'll improve.

As for the mobility of Oakley, he was leading the team in steals before he got 'hurt' while playing only 26 minutes a game. At this point he's getting by on guile (when he feels roused to make the effort).