Friday, June 18, 2010

Call me crazy but Artest may have been Lakers' MVP

I know there will be millions calling me crazy,but Ron Artest may have been the true Finals MVP for the Lakers.It may not show in the offensive statistics, but you can't deny the job he did on Boston's Paul Pierce.Pierce who was the Finals MVP two years ago against these same Lakers, was locked up by Artest.Pierce,the self proclaimed best player in the world, really never got it going offensively in this years finals.Lacking a scorer and one on one option in the halfcourt,kinda doomed the Celtics.Kevin Garnett was a shell of himself and Ray Allen was hot for only one game.They needed Pierce to step up and Artest didn't allow him to do so,save for game 5.Besides the defensive job he did on Pierce, he also stepped up with a timely shot or two. "Crazy" Ron will never be known as an offensive force, or even a dependable option,but he showed that he can step up in the face of pressure and is a teammate that can be counted on, on both ends of the court. Kobe Bryant will always be number one in Lakerland while he's there,but at least Kobe knows Ron has his back.

Iverson wants back in

According to reports and his manager, Allen Iverson is eyeing a comeback. I say good for him. He also needs to get a clue. He clearly isn't the player he once was and doesn't have the star power he once had. I've always said that ther is a role for him in the league. That would be as a gunner off the bench,that can also finish off a game, or spell an injured starter. He's no longer a 30-40 minutes per game player. He can still play and I think he should have a better swan song than being a borderline quitter.He'll never be an all star player again,but I've been wrong before.I never bought the "retirement" talk he gave last season.Fans and opposing players as well as Iverson himself knows he still has more game than a lot of the players in the league today.