Good thing ESPN did the right thing of putting LA over SA, Damn, all these rankings just makes me more impatient with the coming season. I can't wait anymore!
It's really hard to top Battier as a defender though. Honestly, who do you see today that is a better perimeter defender than Battier? I don't exactly see Ron as an "elite" defender due to the loss of quickness, but he is still very good.
that's not the point. I don't think there are two elite defenders on the same team in this league. thats what I was trying to say this whole time.
It's possible. Last year's Rockets got the closest thing to having two elite defenders on the same team IMO. But, anyway, the term elite is very objective though, so it pretty much depends on how a person perceives an elite defender.
It's possible. Last year's Rockets got the closest thing to having two elite defenders on the same team IMO. But, anyway, the term elite is very objective though, so it pretty much depends on how a person perceives an elite defender.
I still consider Artest an elite defender in the league. He can defend out on the perimeter, he can defend in the post, and he's a good help defender. He makes the offensive player work for open looks and can still beat his man to the spot. He might not be as quick anymore, but he never relied on quickness to be an elite defender. He's always relied on his toughness, strength, intimidation, and a physical nature to bully his opponent and make it harder to score on him.
Battier was 2nd team all defense too. You are saying that Artest is not an elite defender because Battier is one? That doesnt make sense to me. when you have 2 players that make 2nd team all defense in the same year, then you have 2 elite defenders on the same team. I dont understand why they have to exclude each other.
Ron's defense has fallen off since his Pacer days. But he's still one of the top defenders in the game. Next year he should be even better since he won't have any pressure offensively (unlike Sacramento and Houston).
He has a lot of relapses on D nowadays. He's still a good defender, but I just don't believe he's elite. By my standards, Battier or even Kobe = Elite P Defender Artest = Good Defender Relax, it's not as if he's gone into complete abatement on D.
I guess it just comes down to a question of what you consider an "elite" defender. I think Artest easily a top 10 perimeter defender in the league, and arguably top 5.
Artest seems to do well against LeBron and those bigger bodies. I'm not sure there are enough defensively minded perimeter players in the league to make me say Ron's not elite.
