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Gotta be the shoes: Phil Jackson blames Peak for Artest's slump

Tuesday, 26th January 2010 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

The question has crossed my mind more than once after watching a commercial featuring an NBA player pitching Chinese-made basketball shoes: How often does he really wear them? Are they hurting his performance?

Now Phil Jackson is asking that question, too. Well, he's not asking it so much as answering it. Jackson recently spoke to the LA Times about Ron Artest, who wears Peak brand basketball shoes, and suggested that Peak may be to blame for the small forward's recent aches and pains:
"I've called his shoes concrete boots for about the last month," Jackson said. "Those shoes look like they are made for the Hudson River. But he stays with them and he gets his feet worked on. But he does not move really quickly. He looks like he's clogging around out there."

Shane Battier (Houston Rockets) and Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) also wear Peak. Here's a commercial they did together and one featuring Battier alone. I've never tried Peaks, but my personal experience with another Chinese basketball shoe had me running back to Nike with aching knees.

Tags: Jason Kidd, NBA, Peak, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, sports marketing