Well I remember Kobe on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, saying that Bowen is currently the hardest defender for him to play against (believe it was like 3 years ago though)
I'd say Bowen, Artest, then Battier. Posey could be up there but his lateral quickness has declined sharply- still great in playoff series though. Also Stephen Jackson is very underrated.
Just as an example: Artest seems to struggle a bit against Kobe compared to his other two peers. Why exactly do you prefer him? Just want to know your thoughts.
Its kind of hard to really say. Certain players certainly do better against other players. When my W's play the Kings I was always worried going into it about Artest. Dude plays defense offensively- he attacks his man. Dudes just a mauler, tremendous hands and feet, gets a ton of steals and blocks, really just rapes the shit out of the W's swingmen. I can see how Kobe would do better against him though because Kobe has such a great handle along with great agility (not to mention the refs will favor him whereas against S-Jax and co. Artest gets away with murder). When I see Battier I see a guy who's a great man defender but I'm not too worried about him heading into a game. He'll do a great job on his man but he doesn't force TOs and you can work around him. Artest seems to be more active in help defense, rebounding, general physicality, etc. even on guys hes not guarding. Just my opinion. Its not like there's a big difference between them though.
Well Kobe does draw about the same amount of FTs on Battier and Ron (9 a game), it is simply a better matchup for Shane I suppose; I've also come to respect Shane because of this too. IIRC, Battier defends Wade more effectively but Artest does a slightly better job on LeBron. I agree though, I can not say with any confidence how to rank them.
I think Artest is more effective defending in the post and on switches. He's a lot more physical with his man than Battier, but Artest also gambles a lot reaching in, which gets him out of position. I noticed he's been doing it more the last few seasons, probably because of nagging injuries. I picked Battier because he makes it difficult for the offensive player to gain any seperation. The guy fights through screens, anticipates well, and has text book footwork on defense.
I've seen Artest hound guys on the perimeter and force them to turn it over way too many times to think he's just good in the post. I've not seen any one guy in the league able to quite do that like Artest does.
Bwahaha. OK, I'll play too ... LeBron! But seriously, I'll go with Bowen. I'd feel very comfortable putting him on a 1, 2, or 3. The PGs are little too quick for Battier and Artest.
i noticed that when watching him the other night......... with that being said I'll go with Battier or Bowen..............
Totally. Shape did nail it to about Artest being more of a gambler whereas Battier plays fundamental defense and doesn't gamble much. Usually I do prefer the latter but Artest is so godamn good at forcing TOs that it scares me when I see Stephen Jackson or someone trying to get by him.
I'll go with Battier. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Bowen. I think he's more of a dirty defender than a good defender.
So since kneeing Steve Nash in the testicles "gets the job done", it's ok? I'm sorry, kneeing someone in the nuts, doesn't make you a good defender, it makes you a dirty prick.
