Always love the insight of John Hollinger, and he offers his view on the upcoming Ron Artest trade. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...testdeal-080730 <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (John Hollinger)</div><div class='quotemain'>There were a lot of contending teams that Ron Artest could have helped. What's unique about the Houston Rockets, however, is that they're about the only ones he'll help more on offense than defense. For most contenders the lure of Artest was in his much-lauded defensive skill, while the concern was that he wouldn't tone it down on the offensive end and take a back seat to other star players who scored more easily. For the Rockets, however, getting Artest is mostly about offense. Houston already had the second-best defense in the league a year ago, and in Shane Battier has one of the league's premier wing defenders. My spies in Houston tell me the idea is to line up Artest at power forward, where he has the muscle to bang with 4s in the post, and then dare bigger opponents to match up with him at the other end. He was extremely effective doing this in Sacramento, and will have a lot more opportunity to do so in Houston since a big chunk of his minutes figure to come at the 4. And while the Rockets see him as their No. 3 offensive weapon behind Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, it's a strong third. Houston only ranked 17th in offensive efficiency last season, and McGrady sometimes broke down under the strain of having to create offense for everybody else -- most visibly in Game 2 of the Utah series this spring. Houston badly needed another perimeter player who can create his own shot, and Artest fills that hole. ...</div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing @ Jul 30 2008, 12:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I rank them anywhere from 2nd to 4th. Definitely a contender.</div> 2nd to 4th? Behind who? Theres no way those teams are better than us come playoff time. The Lakers can't match up with Yao or Artest.
I'd probably put them at 4th until I see them during the season. 1st. Celtics 2nd. Lakers 3rd. Spurs (if Ginobili is healthy) 4th. Rockets Pistons and Hornets on the outside.
