Who's missing Trevor now?

apparently you are.

Isn't it funny how Artest for Ariza always comes up for no reason at all? Artest is and proven himself to be a better defender than Ariza (the lakers defensive rating this year has gone up) but Artest does settle for toooooo many jumpers instead of playing in the post which is where he normally dominates the opposition. Artest has more experience as a defender, has quicker hands and can match the size and strength of other SF's in the league.

Despite the arguments, Artest has been the most consistent player on the lakers until proven otherwise.

Imagine if the lakers were to face the Cavs in the finals. Who would you honestly choose to guard Lebron James- Trevor Ariza or Ron Artest?

Ron Artest is the most feared defender in the NBA at 6'7" 260lbs while Lebron is the most feared offensive player in the NBA but is still smaller than Artest. Artest has a knack for tiring down players with suffocating defense and this hopefully relieves some pressure off of Bryant to perform better on the offensive end.

Fisher has been a great player but he's not coming close to slowing westbrook down, the truth is westbrook has been the best player in this series, would Ariza change the way this series has gone ...NO the fact is that if Kobe can't be Kobe and Gasol/Bynum can't control the paint then the Lakers will lose this series period, I didn't even mention the fact that Odom has gone AWOL again...and the rest of the bench is a joke...Ariza is a good young player but if he was on the Lakers it would still be 2-2 and Kobe would still be shooting 38% and Gasol/Bynum would still be soft....

the grass is always greener. ariza had his moments and he may have a bright future, the lakers brought in artest to win now, and his defense is going to help them do just that. you obviously have already forgotten about the beginning of the series. artest's stifling defense was the difference. you said yourself that bynum gasol and odom are getting out-rebounded, which is absolutely unacceptable. artest's lack of offensive production is part of the problem, but just a part. i don't think very many people actually believed artest was a better scorer than ariza like you say. he was brought in for his defense, plain and simple. there is no disputing ariza is quicker, younger, and more athletic, but artest is more consistent. know why? because you don't have to be in a groove or worry about on or off nights if your specialty is defense. he is a versatile defender who you will come to appreciate later down the line. can't blame him for fisher not being able to handle westbrook. artest can only guard one man, but when he does, he does it well.

not missing Trevor at all, since the Small-foward position is not what we're lacking right now.

You're crazy to think that Ariza is a better defender than Artest; let alone the toughness factor.

You could thank Jerry Buss for the demise of the Lakers, since he put so much trust into Derek Fisher's ancient legs. If we would have gotten Kirk Hinrich this season, we wouldn't be tied with an 8th seeded team who we should be sweeping.

edit: If the Lakers had a faster PG, we wouldnt need Ariza to be guarding the opposing team's PG. Artest blows Ariza out of the water in virtually every category, including Technical fouls.

I think the Lakers are. They may not admit it but it would have been better if they have both Artest and Ariza on their team. Really makes me sick to see Fluke Walton still playing for the Lakers. The SF position would have been deeper if Ariza still plays for them.

yes i wish they still had trevor ariza! ron is a good player and has been a good player throughout his career but he's not as good as he was and he doesn't fit in this team period! trevor ariza was a better fit would hit the jump shot consistently had athleticism something the lakers lack big time! Ron can barely jump for crying out loud. He was kinda like what james posey was for boston when they won it, then they lost him and it hurt them. trevor ariza was a much better fit than ron, ron doesn't fit in and has not played consistly well all season long, doesn't look like he's gonna get the ring he was hoping for when he signed. The lakers made a big mistake doing this swap and trust me its going to come back and bite them in the ***..

i miss trevor..

but the thing is this trevor find his offense in lakers..

ans learn the triangle for 2 1/2 years..

thats why dont put pressure on artest..

like what lamar odom said that the lakers have many talent in the locker room and its a team work..

its not like artest will defend all oklahoma city players..

its a team effort...

so after 86 games ron artest is still trying to find out the lakers offense?, i mean comeon they shouldve sorted that out in training camp

Not the Lakers...............