Artest v. Ariza : Round I

November 4, 12:57 PMHouston Rockets ExaminerDavid Hartnett

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Ron who?

The “Tru Warrior” himself returns to the Toyota Center in a battle of one-loss teams tonight. Yet as the Lakers (3-1) and Rockets (3-1) conveniently find themselves with the same record, and as intriguing of an idea it is to discover if the Rockets can pose as many problems again this year they did to the reigning NBA champions last year; the top impending storyline has to be the battle between Artest and Ariza, and how well will the two players perform against their former squads.

For all intent and purpose, with each player joining the other’s former team — it was a trade. With both players signing identical contracts (five-years, $33 million), these two players — unfairly or not — were tied together for the next five years.

And considering both the Lakers and Rockets find themselves with the same record through four games, it’s remarkable how in this short amount of time each player has begun to fill a respective role on their teams.

For Ariza, during the Lakers’ title run last season, he was viewed as nothing more than a complimentary player. Alongside some of the top talent in the NBA, Ariza shot nearly 50% from the field, and almost 48% from the 3-point line. This effort moved Ariza’s name into the forefront of potential free agents.

Yet when he signed with the Rockets the idea that Trevor would be a go to guy within this new-look offense seemed ludicrous. It seemed with Artest’s departure, coupled with no Yao, and Tracy out for who knows how long, it would place a burden upon Ariza’s shoulders to put up some big numbers which throughout his career he has never shown the tendency to do so.

Yet so far he has delivered.

 One thing to note about the stats is while Ariza has become the focal point of the Rockets’ offense, Artest has assumed taken a step back, and watched Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant carry the offense while Pau Gasol remains out. Nevertheless, even with more shots, Ariza has shown better shot selection and better temperament (compared to Artest last year). While apparently he’s proven so far to be the better shooter.

But alas, before the season began the sentiment with this “trade” wasn’t that the victor wasn’t to be decided in the first year, let alone the first four games. But if you’re a Rockets fan you have to be satisfied with Ariza so far, and begin to ponder, "Ron who?"