Ted -
First off, about the age thing, you know and most everyone else knows that the only reason this keeps being thrown my way is because the art of debate is lost on those persons who actually think this is an insult. I earned my years and from this point in my life, it is nothing more then a sad joke on those who pretend otherwise. They can't get to me through legitimate arguement, so they try the personal attack. If I respond in kind, it just gets off the true topic, after a while. I like to play off with westkoast on this, because frankly it is about all he can handle, but with the rest of you I see no need. He hardly recognizes how often he acts and answers just like his so-called nemisis, Reality does, you would think he would figure that out. So let's just drop it between us, okay?
As for the real topic here, Ted, let me be upfront about why we are even in this discussion:
Artest is as much of a fighter as Melo is. He just screams and yells and plays physical, but when a guy with some balls faces him down, he backs away . . . or goes and lays down on the scorer's table where three of his teammates can guard him. I watched Ron Ron back down from Harping this year, and Harp is smaller. Artest is the master of the "c'mon bro hold me back hold me back or I'm gonna kill this guy okay bro he's getting closer pull me back a little faster" move. Whereas, Melo is the master of "dude's bros be holdin' him back, think I'll jack the sucka to show people how much of a bad ass I am what do you mean that makes me a punk bitch foo?" move.
Ron Artest is a chest-beating, taunt-screaming, fight-fearing punk. The fact that he can NOT get into another confrontation is moot (and his own fault by the way); he ran from both Boozer and Harpring on the same night. WUSS.
You are calling Artest a coward here, and a guy who backs off confrontation. He did not back down from either Harpring or Boozer in that game, which is quite obvious because HE was the one who got tossed from that game played in Salt Lake City. He will not be given the benefit of the doubt regardless. AND, most importantly, Sloan would take advantage of that, or you really do
NOT understand how Jerry views basketball strategy and how best his team can win games> It was
THIS slanted view of the events that brought out my response. How could you
NOT think I would have something to say about it based on how you worded your post?
You say Harpring is smaller, like being exacly the same height but 14 pounds ligher puts him into a completely different class, but then ignore the fact that Boozer
IS bigger then Artest, by two inches and twenty pounds, and you imply Artest "ran" from both, again ignoring the fact that, gee, two against one, as long as the two are Jazz players, makes this somehow a fair confrontation. THEN you get offended by this clearly being what it is, a strategical effort to confront Ron and mix it up with him, probably with the hope that Ron would regress to his previous antagonistic attitude. And to a point, this is what happened.
But to his credit, something that you later belittled, he did not do anything other then get tossed from the game. Something you say is moot, because, gee, YOUR guys got away with the same tactics, but that home court advantage sure kicked in, didn't it? BTW, Ron did not play Harpring or Boozer any differently from how he plays every night.
And, once
AWAY from the friendly confines, the Jazz played "tough" basketball at Arco like Develomental League bench players. Artest plays that way no matter if he is at Arco or Salt Lake City, even though he can not confront opponents who try to antagonize him, which clearly then ,
CAN NOT be a moot point. You can't even come
CLOSE to saying the same thing about Boozer or Harpring. So hold the Artest name-calling to what you know about him - he at least plays like a bastard against everyone no matter what arena he is in. Is it a "moot" point to mention your players back down away from home?
I like you, Ted, and always have. But do you honestly think the Jazz players were somehow justified just because it was Artest and not a true "runner", like a Ray Allen? Artest has his faults, but the one you place on him, implying he has fear of
ANYONE he plays against, is so blatantly wrong it defies logic.