Artest and Hamilton return
March 3, 2009 by James Edwards
Filed under Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, NBA Basketball, Rip Hamilton, Tracy McGrady
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
Houston has McGrady go down to injury.
Detroit has Iverson go down to injury.
Enter stage left…Ron Artest.
Enter stage right…Rip Hamilton.
It is the Rip and Ron show. Together they return. Separately they drive their teams to new heights.
Yes, Houston, we have a winner and it is delivered by Ron Artest.
Yes, Detroit, we can beat the Boston’s and Orlando’s as long as we have a big time performance from Rip Hamilton.
Ron Artest?
When the Houston Rockets acquired Ron Artest, you read in this space that he was brought in as a replacement for Tracy McGrady, not as a complementary piece. I wrote that at the time because I believed that Artest was the perfect fit for the Rick Adelman system – a fit that McGrady could never be. Adelman knew that, he communicated it, and GM Daryl Morey made it happen.
Rip Hamilton?
The Pistons are 2-0 since a back injury took Iverson out of the rotation, and those two wins came over two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference: Orlando and Boston. Hamilton recorded 31 points (11-18FG) and six assists against Orlando, followed by 25 points, nine assists, and six rebounds against Boston. The chemistry that’s been missing is back, and it’s no coincidence that it’s returned as Iverson sits.
Oh, by the way, the Nuggets came into Detroit tonight and Chauncey Billups put up plenty of daggers for 34 big ones, but Rip had 21 and the Pistons won the game.
As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.
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