MWPeace Discussion: amnesty? (pg. 203)

Ariza3 wrote:MWP is gunna be a boss. I want Indiana Artest defense and a 3 point shot you dont have to cringe everytime he shoots it...i want to know its going in like i felt towards the end of the season when he was balling. during that time, i knew his shot was going in for some reason...you could just tell. i cant be the only one who felt that

nthydro wrote:

therealdeal wrote:

karacha wrote:I think so too. Realistically, everything over 35% would be really good for this team. He's going to be open more then usual. He better hit some threes when playing with Nash/Kobe/Gasol/Dwight. Man, that starting 4 is absurd. I expect to see Metta waiting in the corner a lot.

I mean damn, when your 5th guy is Metta World Peace, the defensive game changer and big shot hitter... that team is just absolutely built. Just insane.

That D12 trade really made you happy didn't it?

Mark Medina of the LA Times wrote:Whenever the Lakers don't win a championship, change takes place.

The front office makes trades. Fans assign blame to whoever they deem responsible. The cycle continues until the Lakers hoist another Larry O'Brien trophy.

The Lakers and their fans aren't worried about that now. They're too excited about having Dwight Howard, Steve Nashand a reasonable bench. Oh yeah, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol too. But should the team fail to collect its 17th NBAchampionship in the 2012-13 season, the general public will find a scapegoat. And Metta World Peace says he wants the fingers pointed directly at him.

"If we don't win, kick me in the L4 or L5 nerve. That's right below your buttocks," World Peace said at the Voice Awards Wednesday night at Paramount Studios where he was honored for his work with mental health charities. "You ever been kicked hard in the buttocks? Kick me right there."

It's unlikely anyone would literally accept that invitation. Many still remember when World Peace lost his cool last season and gave Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden a concussion with one elbow swing. There's no telling how World Peace would react if someone actually kicked him.

But MWP's general point seems well taken. The Lakers boast a star-studded lineup in Howard, Nash, Bryant and Gasol. That could leave World Peace with wide-open three-pointers, unless there just aren't enough shots to go around on this team. Considering World Peace recorded a career-low 7.7 points on 39.4% shooting, it's possible those numbers could plummet even more.

This isn't the first time World Peace asked for public scrutiny if L.A. didn't win a championship. Months after joining the Lakers with a five-year, $33-million deal, World Peace (then as Ron Artest) said at an appearance in San Diego that fans should blame him if the Lakers fail to win a second consecutive championship.

"They won last year, and I'm the new addition," World Peace said at the time. "The fans expect to repeat. Everybody in L.A. expects a second ring. And if we don't, then yeah, they should point it right at me, throwing tomatoes and everything."

That didn't happen. Instead, Laker fans wildly cheered him. World Peace's 20 points on seven-of-18 shooting and five steals played a large part in the Lakers winning Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Afterward, World Peace publicly thanked his psychologist.

That came full circle in a way on Wednesday considering his award for mental health charities partly stemmed from his Game 7 performance. Calling out his psychologist paved the way for World Peace to visit schools and hospitals, shoot various public service announcements and raffle off his championship ring to help the charities.

It remains to be seen whether MWP putting pressure on himself again could yield to the same breakout performance in the playoffs. Yet, it appears he's taking the right steps toward doing that.

On July 18, I viewed one of his private workouts at UCLA where he looked in great shape performing various conditioning drills. At his appearance at the Voice Awards, World Peace's face looked much thinner. He said he weighed 255 pounds, down markedly from the 268 pounds he weighed to open last year's training camp. World Peace also credited the Lakers' training staff for treating a nerve issue in his back, something that he believes attributed to his averaging 14.07 points per game in April.

"I'm ready to be a part of something special, definitely ready to play good ball," World Peace said. "It's not going to take me until April to be at that elite level."

Aside from his customary role of defending the opposing team's top player, it remains to be seen how World Peace will fit with the Lakers' starting lineup of All-Stars. Nonetheless, MWP pegged the Lakers' title hopes on a different variable.

"We can if we play together," World Peace said. "We can have that many All-Stars.

If that doesn't happen, blame World Peace. He'd want it that way.

Mark Medina of the LA Times wrote:Once the applause calmed down, Metta World Peace cut through the crowd of onlookers.

The eccentric Lakers forward wanted to talk to former WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw. The two had just shared the stage Wednesday at the Voice Awards at Paramount Studios, where both talked about how they overcame mental health issues. But their bond went beyond addressing a cause they hold dear to them on behalf of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The two grew up together in the projects in Queensbridge, N.Y., and wanted to catch up. So among plenty of mental health experts and fans sharing well wishes, World Peace and Holdsclaw shared new phone numbers, rekindled old memories and then hugged goodbye.

As he took the lectern to accept an award in honor of his numerous work with mental health organizations, it's hardly a coincidence World Peace singled out his childhood friend.

"I definitely want to say how much I love Chamique Holdsclaw," he said.

That bond seems traceable along every step of their lives.

World Peace and Holdsclaw played on the same Boys and Girls Club team, where Holdsclaw started in front of him because she's two years older. Holdsclaw, who described the former Ron Artest as a "gentle giant," recalled how he often pushed opposing players who had tried to play too physical with her.

The friendship continued.

World Peace stormed out of St. John's after two seasons, became the Chicago Bulls' 16th pick in the 1999 NBA draft and quickly established himself as one of the league's best defensive players. Holdsclaw led Tennessee to three consecutive NCAA championships, became the Washington Mystics No. 1 draft choice in 1999 and then was selected the league's rookie of the year and won an Olympic gold medal in subsequent seasons.

They understood each other's struggles.

World Peace admitted he had been addicted to alcohol. World Peace sullied his reputation for his involvement in 2004 with the Palace Brawl, where the former Indiana Pacer drew an 86-game suspension for going into the Pistons crowd and punching a fan after a drink was thrown at him. World Peace's reputation also took a step back last season after earning a seven-game suspension for elbowing Oklahoma City guard James Harden and giving him a concussion.

"I wish I could be a more perfect person in accepting this award and more of a perfect role model," World Peace said. "But I'm definitely an example."

In 2002, Holdsclaw struggled with the passing of her grandmother June. After suffering through bouts of depression years later, Holdsclaw asked the Mystics to trade her to the Sparks in 2006. That same year, Holdsclaw drank heavily and nearly overdosed on depression medication. She retired before the 2007 season without much explanation.

"I wanted to do everything myself," Holdsclaw said. "I'm the strong person, this athlete and I don't need anybody else. I think it tore the relationship with my family apart."

World Peace and Holdsclaw appeared at the Voice awards showing how things have changed.

World Peace credited his psychologist, Santhi Periasamy, for talking him through his problems, thanking her after Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. He auctioned off his 2010 NBA ring for $651,006 to benefit mental health charities. He testified before Congress on behalf of the Mental Health in Schools Act, which would raise $200 million in grant funding to 200 schools. He appeared in public service announcements and billboards on behalf of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Because of those efforts, World Peace won the 2010-11 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.

"It's admirable, especially for a male athlete to come forth and say these are my struggles, I have to talk to a therapist and this is what I've done," Holdsclaw said about World Peace. "It's so hard for men to open up, especially when you have the stigma associated with it in sports."

It remained hard for Holdsclaw to open up too. But she expressed gratitude for former Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt constantly visiting her. Holdsclaw made a comeback with the Atlanta Dream in 2009 and San Antonio Silver Stars in 2010 before injuring her left Achilles tendon. She since devoted her time to an autobiography titled, "Breaking Through: Beating the Odds Shot After Shot," which details her struggles with depression.

"I knew she was going through a lot," World Peace said of Holdsclaw. "That's the situation where you show support to your peers instead of judging. You can help more that way."

All these years later, World Peace and Holdsclaw came out stronger because of that.
"If [Barack] Obama and Bill Clinton can recover from smoking weed," World Peace said, "we can recover from anything."

All these years later, World Peace and Holdsclaw came out stronger because of that.
"If [Barack] Obama and Bill Clinton can recover from smoking weed," World Peace said, "we can recover from anything."

Texas Lakers Fan wrote:

Unlike last year, I hear very good things about Metta World Peace. He's in shape, lost weight and...surprise!...working a lot on his shot.

XXIV wrote:Hopefully all this hard work translates onto the court and we see the MWP we saw towards the end of the season.

Metta Looking "Pacers Ron" At The Lakers Training Facility



You guess: which Lakers player paid the closest collective attention to his diet and work out habits last season?

Kobe Bryant … right?

Maybe not.

Now don’t get me wrong – Bryant absolutely keeps himself in fantastic shape and has changed his dietary habits in the last several years in particular after his absurd metabolism carried him through a pregame routine of burgers and fries earlier in his career. He’s just not our answer in this case.

How about Steve Nash? He’s extremely well known around the league for keeping a strict diet and putting himself in the best possible shape to maintain his elite level of play after all these NBA seasons.

But it’s not the Canadian MVP, who has yet to sit down with the team’s training staff.

The answer is: Metta World Peace. Don’t look so surprised.

According to Lakers strength and conditioning coach Tim DiFrancesco, MWP is absolutely the man.

“Metta was extremely helpful for me last year because he does a great job with his nutrition and recovery habits,” DiFrancesco detailed. “He takes that stuff very seriously, and younger guys in our locker room started to see that.

“He takes it to a whole different level; he’s really in tune with a lot of high level nutrition approaches. He doesn’t just want to know what a good peanut butter is made of, but where it was made, what’s in it and how he can get a better one. He wants to really put the nutrition program together like an actual nutritionist might.”

In fact, World Peace makes a point of traveling with the right types of food that he knows fuel his body most efficiently during the season when the team is out of town. And he’s just as serious about his work outs.

“He cares about the ‘why,’ DiFrancesco continued. “Metta wants to know why we’re doing each exercise. On multiple occasions, he and I would stay after games lifting into the late hours of the night, and he’s always willing to go the extra mile. He’s very, very easy to work with.”

World Peace came into camp last season noticeably out of shape – just ask coach Mike Brown, or MWP himself – but for a reason. He’d carried some injuries out of the 2010-11 campaign, and with the lockout starting in July, was unable to work with the team’s training staff to address those problems.

Issues with his back and Achilles made it difficult for World Peace to work out as he normally does through the summer and fall, and when the season suddenly started – as a surprise to many players – in December, he wasn’t close to being ready.



“It was a product of the lockout,” said DiFrancesco. “But once he flipped the switch and got healthy, he put it all together with lifting, working out, nutrition and everything. It wasn’t rocket science, he just ate clean, worked out hard and consistently and recovered and slept the right way.”

After shooting 34 percent prior the to All-Star break, World Peace shot 43 percent afterwards, and discovered the kind of lock down 1-on-1 perimeter defending that has been the hallmark of his career.

If you’ve seen him around the team’s training facility this summer (OK, there’s no way most of you could have), you’ve noticed that he’s in fantastic shape.

“Compared to last year at this time, it’s not even close,” concluded the strength coach. “Metta told me he’s feeling on the court like he felt when he was playing for the Pacers, when he was at the top of his game athletically. It’s because he’s put his time in.

“He decided he needed to stay focused on this track and not take much if any time off. You saw it last year from a production standpoint on the court around the All Star break last year, and he’s at that level now coming in. The last thing he wanted was to come in anywhere near where he was lats year, and he’s far, far from that.”

nthydro wrote:When was the last time two teammates were DPOY candidates? Would be great to see. Even though Metta would be a long shot it'd still be nice to see him in the convo.

KB24 wrote:Does that mean Artest can finally jump higher than his usual 10 inch vertical?

therealdeal wrote:

nthydro wrote:When was the last time two teammates were DPOY candidates? Would be great to see. Even though Metta would be a long shot it'd still be nice to see him in the convo.

I think he deserves a little more recognition than he gets defensively. I mean last season he guarded positions 1-4 when we needed him to. He guarded CP3 a couple games late in the 4th. That's hard to do. He could also guard some of the smaller 4s if we called for it.

He definitely deserves more recognition for his defensive efforts. Hopefully having Dwight will really show people that Artest's on ball defense is fantastic.

Finwë wrote:

therealdeal wrote:

nthydro wrote:When was the last time two teammates were DPOY candidates? Would be great to see. Even though Metta would be a long shot it'd still be nice to see him in the convo.

I think he deserves a little more recognition than he gets defensively. I mean last season he guarded positions 1-4 when we needed him to. He guarded CP3 a couple games late in the 4th. That's hard to do. He could also guard some of the smaller 4s if we called for it.

He definitely deserves more recognition for his defensive efforts. Hopefully having Dwight will really show people that Artest's on ball defense is fantastic.

Everyone's always saying that LeBron's the only player that can guard 1 through 5 in the L.. I think they are forgetting about MWP.
In the same 4th quarter against the Clippers he stopped Blake Griffin on the post (who has a similar body -and is waaay more athletic- as many centers in the league) and then he checked CP3 -and STRIPPED him in a key possession- in the last few minutes of the game.