Some people around here are always so blasted quick to point a finger of blame at someone if they have a couple of bad nights. Artest may have taken a lot of shots but it was ARTEST who kept us within range to even be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat in Chicago.
As far as Artest being fourth option behind SAR, I personally think that's silly.
It's not a couple of bad nights. This is a trend that has picked up since last season. He was abysmal from the field last year, but it was okay ... he was rusty. Give him the benefit of the doubt and move on.
I always felt he was never the offensive genius others did, but I was willing to eat crow on it. In fact, I'd love to.
But, this year it's worse than ever ... and it's only increasing.
SAR (or some post player or players) should be our second option (or even primary) right now. We're too perimeter oriented and teams can easily defend that. Our coach doesn't seem concerned with that, our fans don't seem concerned and our management doesn't seem concerned. But, we'll never get anywhere with jack-a-shot.
The person (or persons), whoever it is, in the post doesn't need the most shots. They need to have the offense roll through them for a good percentage of our sets. It opens things up on the perimeter. Guess what good perimeter shooting does for perimeter shooting? Nothing.
If Artest was taking 20 shots through the offense, I wouldn't care. It's that it isn't and the shots are forced. If Artest is that player in the post, than so be it. But, right now we're being exposed and our only true strengths lie in Bibby/Miller's OPEN shots, Martin's quick step and SAR/Test's low post abilities. The low post is the only thing that directly opens up the former two things.
No one on our team is a true playmaker for other players on the floor, in the traditional sense. Miller can make passes to cutters, but that's it. Bibby is usually looking for his own shot. Martin doesn't see the floor well. KT doesn't hold the ball well. Artest doesn't dribble well enough. SAR isn't a great passer.
So, using the post negates a lot of those issues. You put SAR/Artest on the post and they can score. From that, teams will double and then our inability to truly create will be less exposed.