If Artest joins the Heat

[coachx]

If Artest joins the Heat in the East would it slide the scales of power back to the East or at least balace the scales between east and west ?

The East would have gained 5 potential all stars in 07-08: Garnett, Artest, Allen, Randolf, and Richardson.

All of these players came from teams who did not make the Western Playoffs last year. So the West is now, even more, top heavy with the bottom 1/2 of the west being extremely watered down due to the fire sale from lower ranking Western teams couple with the injury to Brand.

The East may not have quite the fire power at the top of the division as the West has with the: Suns, Mavericks, Spurs, and the blue collared Jazz. However, I think the East is now a stronger conference from top to bottom. There are no cup cakes in the East this year. Every game will be a hard fought battle while some of the western teams are drastically rebuilding b/c they realize they have no shot for another 2 or 3 years vs. the Suns and Spurs until Nash and Duncan show some age.

The depth of our roster will be vital this year. I expect for the East to be a long fought war, a long grind of a season. The parity of talent in the east will be sure of that.

[KB21]

New York also lacks defense. Randolph isn't going to provide them anymore interior defense than they already have. In fact, the combo of Randolph and Curry could be one of the worst defensive combos in the league.

Personally, I think it is a shame that guys like Randolph get a lot of publicity like he has gotten recently, yet you don't hear the media say anything about a much better player in Elton Brand. Brand just goes out, puts up his 22 and 10, plays elite defense, and doesn't get into any trouble off the court. The only pub he gets is when he blows out his achilles tendon.

[Packfill]

It is a real shame that Elton Brand got injured. Like JJ, he is all business on the court and a true professional off the court. I hope he makes a complete recovery.

[AHF]

I think Artest could be huge for Miami. Shaq is diminishing each season at this point in his career and the burden is too much for Wade alone. Throw in a productive Artest and the team moves from borderline playoff team to contender, IMO. Add in a self-destructing Artest and the team could implode. Very interesting either way.

[beav]

Certainly there will be an initial shift, but that is more attributed to Garnett and Allen than another psycho moving to south florida.

I think that it says more about MIA's desperation that they'd want him than anything else.

I wonder what the early over/under for games played on an artest meltdown would be?

[coachx]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

The East would have gained 5 potential all stars in 07-08: Garnett, Artest, Allen, Randolf, and Richardson.

---

Richardson and Randolph have never been all-stars while Artest has been an all-star once. In the West, they would never be all-stars but in the East they have a chance...that should tell you something about the quality.

---

That is why I uses the word POTENTIAL all stars.

Never be allstars is quite a strong statement from you. There was alot of speculation Richardson should have been an allstar in 05-06. Then he got hurt in 06-07. To say a 26 year old with his talent would never be an all star in the West is an over statement, especially the way the Warriors looked last playoffs.

Randolf put up 25 ppg and 11 rpg last year. Those are star #'s. If he were in the West this coming season I guarantee you he would occupy one of the spots opened by Garnett and Brand.

[shug94]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

New York also lacks defense. Randolph isn't going to provide them anymore interior defense than they already have. In fact, the combo of Randolph and Curry could be one of the worst defensive combos in the league.

---

That is true, but I don't think that will be the main issue. The big issue for me is rebounding. Which Zach will show up? The one who rebounded at 11.3 per40 or the one who rebounded at 9.3 per40 the year before? We know Curry is a horrid rebounder, so I think along with being the worst defensive 4/5 they are also the worst rebounding 4/5.

---

But don't forget that they do have David Lee. With no-one to compete with, that kid is gonna average 16 rebounds a game!

[KB21]

Yeah, but the thing is, Lee just lost a lot of playing time after the Randolph acquisition. Thomas is going to play Randolph 35+ minutes a night. David Lee's minutes may get cut in half.

[KB21]

Plus, Elton is one of the few that truly bring it on both ends of the court. That's probably the aspect that I respect the most about his game. He's a very good offensive player in the post with a pair of the softest hands you will find on a big man, but he also is a terrific defender...probably the 2nd best defender at the power forward position in the NBA to Tim Duncan. You can't put a stat on his defense, but he averages like 2.5 blocks per game, alters shots, and his size makes it tough for people to get position on him. His arms are long as well, so it is tough to shoot over him despite him being 6'8". I think he's one of the top 10 players in the league, and you don't hear anything about him because he isn't an "entertainer" on the floor.

[coachx]

Quote:

---

In the West, they would never be all-stars

---

You want to argue that you never said "never be allstars"? You want to argue the sky is blue or the grass green ?

Above is where you said it.

I quoted your whole post the 1st time. So this time I will just pull out the one sentence where you said NEVER BE ALLSTARS to refresh your own memory of what you said.

I simply disagree and think they both could be allstars in the West. They are both young and still improving, Richardson is 25 and Randolf 26 or 27.

Difference of opinions, big whoop. What else is new on a message board?

[coachx]

No sweat. I understand that thinking.