Artests Impact... On Bibby?

[SacKings384]

Has Artest's incoming affected Bibby? Since he's arrived besides Toronto Bibby has been awful... I don't think he's jealous of the praise that Ron is getting nor do I think he's jealous of Ron taking over the team and getting more shots... But is the offense just something Bibby isn't fitting into or is he just not in a groove? Perhaps he's tired? Any thoughts?

 

[BMiller52]

He had that stretch where he was playing great, then he kind of dropped off. I'm guessing part of it is that he's been getting so many minutes it's hard on him, I don't really know though. He played GREAT when SAR, Bonzi, and Peja were out. He was basically free to do whatever he wanted?

 

[jon e]

i heard that mike was pissed in phoenix and was having an attitude which along with his poor play got him benched in the 4th

 

[hoops4kings]

Artest is a great player like Webber, and Bibby will adjust and do just fine.

 

[Bricklayer]

I don't really know though. He played GREAT when SAR, Bonzi, and Peja were out. He was basically free to do whatever he wanted?

I think that right there was a lot of it. He was able to play at his pace because there were no competing interests to wrestle with.

Now...well, going to take soem time to adjust hopefully.

 

[ParniValjak]

Lets just hope its a bit of a slump Mike is going through. He will need time to adjust.

He has carried and enourmous load on his shoulders this year so that might be catching up with him.

I think he will adjust in the not too distant future.

 

[BawLa]

I can see Brad and Ron setting pics for Bibby on the perimeter while KT/K-mart or SAR/Bonzi crash the boards.

We can have a couple key practices during the all-star break and then I think he will be clicking just fine after that.

 

[chelle]

I don't think that he has played horribly. His scoring has dropped because the NEED for him to score 30 for us to win has dropped. He doesn't look angry on the court, so I do not think that we should strat reading too much into it. I think that he is adjusting his play accordingly. Look at last nights game. He had 7 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds at the half. His assists could be higher, but those are not HORRIBLE numbers at the half. To his credit, I do not know how he played as well as he did for so long. He has NO back up for half the season.
We are playing like a TEAM again. That makes me happy.

 

[BonzZzaoua ®]

Leadership problem ?

 

[playmaker0017]

If everyone remembers - Bibby was dreadful when Reef first got here too - and was assuming par tof the "leadership" at the beginning when no one else stood up.

I think it does have an effect on Bibby ... but he better get over it.

 

[SacKings384]

I don't think that he has played horribly. His scoring has dropped because the NEED for him to score 30 for us to win has dropped. He doesn't look angry on the court, so I do not think that we should strat reading too much into it. I think that he is adjusting his play accordingly. Look at last nights game. He had 7 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds at the half. His assists could be higher, but those are not HORRIBLE numbers at the half. To his credit, I do not know how he played as well as he did for so long. He has NO back up for half the season.
We are playing like a TEAM again. That makes me happy.

Regaurdless of him taking less shots, 30% is not going to cut it if the Kings want to make this playoff push...

 

[sono]

He had that stretch where he was playing great, then he kind of dropped off. I'm guessing part of it is that he's been getting so many minutes it's hard on him, I don't really know though. He played GREAT when SAR, Bonzi, and Peja were out. He was basically free to do whatever he wanted?

You're right. Ron is taking a lot of pressure from the rest of the players. The minutes he's getting finally wearing him down, we need a solid backup PG. If you noticed he would let Garcia or Martin to handle the ball taking SG position rather than PG ocationally.

 

[nbrans]

The thing is, Artest should really be the best thing that happened to Bibby in a long time. Artest is a good passer and good in the post, so he should open up open outside shots for Bibby. Artest is a good defender, so he should help mask some of Bibby's liabilities. But Bibby has looked completely dead since the trade.

There are a variety of possibilities, and it's difficult to know exactly what is going on. Bibby could be exhausted from carrying the load all season, his nose could be out of joint from his lack of success at being "the man" and now the sudden Artest-rlated resurgence, or he could be a Peja-esque player who has to have exactly the right conditions in order to succeed.

Whatever the cause, the Kings aren't going to reach their potential and seriously challenge for a playoff spot unless Bibby is giving them consistent showings on both ends of the floor. None of this great one game terrible the next stuff, or rather, consistently mediocre as has been the case for the last 10 games.

 

[playmaker0017]

The thing is, Artest should really be the best thing that happened to Bibby in a long time. Artest is a good passer and good in the post, so he should open up open outside shots for Bibby.

One would have thought the same with Reef, who is a superior post player in comparison to Artest. But, instead, it made Bibby shrivel into a dead leaf.

I think the issue is that Bibby is best when he can dribble and run off of picks. He seemed to play his best basketball when he dominates the basketball, rather than playing off it and getting his shots within the offense.

 

[Ryle]

I can see Brad and Ron setting pics for Bibby on the perimeter while KT/K-mart or SAR/Bonzi crash the boards.

We can have a couple key practices during the all-star break and then I think he will be clicking just fine after that.

The team isn't allowed to practice during the all star break...it's a league rule. Anyway, it just seems to me that Bibby is in one of his slumps and he will get through it.

 

[Variant]

I think the really important question here is, which of our two "leaders" is a worse interview?

 

[Nazman]

Leadership problem ?

I think everybody is now realizing that Bibby was unable to carry or lead this team. That may be unfortunate in some manner of speaking but never became obvious until Ron Artest arrived.

How you lead is by effort. And of course it helps to have a certain kind of personality. Neither of which could have ever been attributed to Mike Bibby.

Nonetheless, along w/ everybody else, for lack of anything better, Bibby was handed the mantle.

It never seemed right.

Now things are clearly changing. The best thing Mike had going was his great playing dynamics w/ Brad Miller. Oddly enough Brad has significant history w/ Ron Artest.

Things are changing. But that's not what's important. What's important is that we are running out of time and it's gonna take improved play from everybody.

All i'm saying is that Mike Bibby could be a valuable part of the equation. In fact, the critical part of the equation. That's my concern. There are weaknesses on this team and ironically Ron Artest is exposing one of the glaring ones.

I'd like to see Mike Bibby rise to the occasion.

He can be a force.

And oddly enough, the key...

 

[playmaker0017]

I'd like to see Mike Bibby rise to the occasion.

He can be a force.

And oddly enough, the key...

I'm not sure about that.

I think Bibby as a SG is a dominating force, I just don't see him able to handle being a PG on a team like this anymore.

The lineup that seems to have the most success is the lineup of Reef, Thomas, Artest, Garcia and Martin. The second most successful lineup is Reef, Miller, Artest, Garcia, Martin. Why? Defense and movement. Garcia makes an effort to try to break his man down and get in a good pass. He made one last night and was pumping his fist! I loved it. Bibby never seems to get that excited after an assist ... but gets that smile after he scores. Garcia also makes a HUGE impact defesively.

We NEED a longterm solution at PG and it needs to be a shooter. It'd be nice for Bibby to step up and assume the mantle, but I'm just not sure it's his game anymore.

 

[SacKings384]

I'm not sure about that.

I think Bibby as a SG is a dominating force, I just don't see him able to handle being a PG on a team like this anymore.

The lineup that seems to have the most success is the lineup of Reef, Thomas, Artest, Garcia and Martin. The second most successful lineup is Reef, Miller, Artest, Garcia, Martin. Why? Defense and movement. Garcia makes an effort to try to break his man down and get in a good pass. He made one last night and was pumping his fist! I loved it. Bibby never seems to get that excited after an assist ... but gets that smile after he scores. Garcia also makes a HUGE impact defesively.

We NEED a longterm solution at PG and it needs to be a shooter. It'd be nice for Bibby to step up and assume the mantle, but I'm just not sure it's his game anymore.

I beg to differ. When Bibby is hitting at his regular percentage there is nobody (besides maybe Artest) that I'd rather see on the court... When he's on the court everything runs soooo much smoother. Cisco may be able to run the point, but not to the tune of Bibby. Some people don't seem to understand that these guys are rookies/sophmores. Sure they look solid at home, and against worse teams, and play well when they are in the lead, and that's what role players do... Guys like Bibby, Artest, Miller, are guys that need to be there to make plays down the stretch, and need to be calm and collected on the road (even though so far they haven't been). For right now, Martin and Cisco don't have that in them.

And back to the point about Bibby... I don't understand if he's got a problem with not being the main man... He's NEVER been the main man... He's always been the number 2 option... But you can't even argue that he got a taste of what it was like to be the man and wants it to remain that way because he's been through alot of team injuries, and stretches of 15-20 games or even a whole season where he's been the main man, but never had a problem reverting back to his 15 ppg instead of his 22... I personally think (and hope) that it's simply a lapse in his game and he'll get back on track. The shots are there, they just don't seem to fall...

 

[Nazman]

I'm not sure about that.

I think Bibby as a SG is a dominating force, I just don't see him able to handle being a PG on a team like this anymore.

The lineup that seems to have the most success is the lineup of Reef, Thomas, Artest, Garcia and Martin. The second most successful lineup is Reef, Miller, Artest, Garcia, Martin. Why? Defense and movement. Garcia makes an effort to try to break his man down and get in a good pass. He made one last night and was pumping his fist! I loved it. Bibby never seems to get that excited after an assist ... but gets that smile after he scores. Garcia also makes a HUGE impact defesively.

We NEED a longterm solution at PG and it needs to be a shooter. It'd be nice for Bibby to step up and assume the mantle, but I'm just not sure it's his game anymore.

I notice the same things and would concur. But Mike Bibby is the nest egg, my friend. And he has some ability, as we all know, to contribute. But i don't notice him getting better and we need him to add more. Why is it always the rookies that are expected to improve and not to veterans. Every once in awhile you will see an athlete take stock of a difficult scenario and accept responsibility. I am not saying that Mike is the only problem. I'm just saying that he WILL be on the court much of the time and if he had some fire in his game, on both ends of the court he could make a huge difference...

 

[bigbadred00]

We're still playing well without his needed contributions. Hopefully he'll bounce back and get back to normal. He's played well all year long, just needs the confidence back. When he's hot, he's really hot, and vice-versa. We need Bibby to be our big game shooter. He's usually good for that role.

 

[Nazman]

We're still playing well without his needed contributions. Hopefully he'll bounce back and get back to normal. He's played well all year long, just needs the confidence back. When he's hot, he's really hot, and vice-versa. We need Bibby to be our big game shooter. He's usually good for that role.

That's it in a nutshell. Everybody recognizes his shooting ability and his big game history w/ buzzer beaters but what is clearly lacking is what is most signicant and that is his lackadaisical effort on the defensive end as well as his ability to lead the offense on the road. That's what could significantly alter the course we're on.

Maybe it's too late to pull this season out. Maybe we're just preparing for the immediate future. Things are looking a lot more promising. But, as usual, the ongoing task is to meld this team into a cohesive unit. I like our chances given everybody commiting to the standard...

 

[playmaker0017]

That's it in a nutshell. Everybody recognizes his shooting ability and his big game history w/ buzzer beaters but what is clearly lacking is what is most signicant and that is his lackadaisical effort on the defensive end as well as his ability to lead the offense on the road. That's what could significantly alter the course we're on.

I agree completely - and truth be told - we don't need him scoring NEARLY as much as we need him contributing defensively.

We're loaded with guys that can put the ball in the basket. Reef, Martin, Miller, Artest, Thomas, Bonzi are all guys that can score. Reef, Miller, Artest, Bonzi have shown they can do so at a VERY high and a pretty consistant basis. With Reef and Artest, you've got two 20 PPG guys that shoot high percentages.

We don't need Bibby to fill it up. If he takes few shots, but makes them ... that's going to be huge.

But, what we DEFINITELY need is for Bibby to at least TRY to play defense. Lollygagging back on the defensive end - quite often the last guy back on defese - is just not going to cut it.

 

[Nazman]

Not only that but i really appreciate when he is energizing play on the offensive end, especially on the road. That's his leadership ticket. Playmaking. Helping getting the ball to the cutters. Penetrating and scoring or dishing off. Just basically invigorating play on the road. We do need this guy if he's gonna stay on the roster. We just need him to adjust and maybe that includes something of the mental. Maybe he needs to adjust his attitude or perspective. It's for the best...

 

[AleksandarN]

I think Bibby will turn out fine with Artest. There will always be a adjustment period when a player like Artest comes to a team. Point guard position is the most important position in the offensive end and Bibby is just trying to feel out what Artest brings to the table. He will be fine.

 

[playmaker0017]

I think Bibby will turn out fine with Artest.

But will Artest turn out fine with Bibby?

How many times is Artest going to have to cover for Bibby's mistakes before he finally has his fill? How many times watching Bibby rush up court on offense only to lollygag back on defense before he has his fill?

I'm not worried about Bibby offensively. He can shoot.

But, defensively, he really isn't going to pair up with what we are trying to do. I can't think of better options, but I just wonder if it isn't something that needs to be addressed.

 

[PFFFT!!]

I've always favored trading Bibby and Corliss for a better more consistent player.

 

[LilMissDiva]

I've always favored trading Bibby and Corliss for a better more consistent player.

I've been hearing this for some time, trade Bibby for someone better... but who? How can we make this assumption/statement without any better option scenarios?

 

[Bricklayer]

Cool -- a Bibby's struggling let's trade him thread!!

 

[Evenstar]

I've always favored trading Bibby and Corliss for a better more consistent player.

unless someone like chanuncy billups is available PG wise, i'd rather stick with mike.