04-19-2004, 01:29 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Registered User
Location: Somewhere in Ohio
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Ron Artest: Defensive Player of the Year
LINKY
Quote:
Pacers F Artest named Defensive Player of Year, suspended
April 19, 2004
NEW YORK (Ticker) - Indiana Pacers temperamental forward Ron Artest has been recognized for the two things he seems to do best - play defense and get in trouble.
Artest was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, shortly after the league suspended him for leaving the vicinity of the bench during an altercation with the Boston Celtics on Saturday.
The 6-7 Artest was third in the NBA with 2.08 steals per game. He also shut down the men he guarded, holding them to 8.1 points per game and 42.6 percent shooting, according to the league.
Artest received 476 of 605 points, including 80 of a possible 121 first-place votes, from a panel of sportswriters and boradcasters throughout the United States and Canada.
Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace, who won the previous two awards, was second with 325 points. Portland Trail Blazers center Theo Ratliff was third with 90 points.
Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs received four first-place votes, two more than Andrei Kirlenko of the Utah Jazz.
Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Tim Duncan of the Spurs, Clifford Robinson of the Golden State Warriors, Kenyon Martin of the New Jersey Nets, James Posey and Earl Watsn of the Memphis Grizzlies, and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers also got votes.
Artest set career highs with 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists during the regular season, helping the Pacers to an NBA-best 61-21 mark. Their defense was third in the league at 85.6 points allowed per game.
Indiana won't have Artest on Tuesday night for Game Two of its Eastern Conference first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
The incident occurred early in the second quarter with Indiana in the midst of a game-breaking run as Celtics coach John Carroll inserted rookie bruiser Brandon Hunter, who baited Pacers star Jermaine O'Neal into a technical foul.
Artest was not on the floor at the time but got suspended for "leaving the immediate vicinity of the bench."
The Pacers won the series opener, 104-88.
It's just the latest in a long line of disciplinary actions taken against Artest, who has racked up suspensions for exceeding the NBA's flagrant foul points limit and breaking a camera.
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I think they got it right this year. Artest is a great defensive player, and he shuts his man down nearly every night. Plus, he's not a one dimensional player like Wallace so that makes him even better.
*waits for the Big Ben fan boys to start their crying*
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