Bill Simmons on Ron Artest...

[dawgstudent]

3. Some of the stuff that happens is good for a few people to know about, as opposed to, say ... a million people.</p>

To Artest. Here's a classic case of someone hoodwinking the American public with a 10-year pattern of bizarre behavior that eventually immunized them to all future crazy Ron Artest stories and anecdotes, such as the fact that he's wearing No. 37 to honor Michael Jackson because it's the same number of weeks that "Thriller" led the charts (um, what?), or his recent revelation that he had been pining to play for the Lakers for two solid years. Artest told reporters that he wandered into the Lakers' locker room to express that desire to a showering Kobe Bryant -- right after L.A.'s bitter Game 6 thrashing in Boston in the 2008 Finals, no less -- adding, "Yeah, I walked in the shower. I'm not a homosexual or nothing like that, but Kobe had no clothes on."</p> <div> <div>

These anecdotes just bounce off people now. Artest is a benevolent crazy. Or so we think. Being around this nuttiness every day is a little different from merely hearing about the nuttiness in secondhand anecdotes. I know for a fact he routinely broke plays on offense and is still a handful behind the scenes, and the Rockets buried every 2008-09 story that would have made this patently clear. For instance, Artest routinely walked around in his underwear in public places: the Rockets' team bus, hotels, you name it. People around the team barely flinched after a while. Before Game 7 of the Lakers series -- only the biggest game of the entire season -- they finally flinched.</p> </div> </div>

Here's what happened: Artest missed the first two team buses (the ones for players, coaches and team personnel) from Houston's hotel to the Staples Center and barely made the third and final bus, which was reserved for business staff, sponsors and friends of the team. These stunned people watched Artest sprint to the bus right before it left, jump on and take one of the remaining seats ... yes, wearing only his underwear. Owner Leslie Alexander happened to be sitting on the bus and witnessed the whole thing. And you wonder why the Houston Rockets didn't make any effort whatsoever to bring back Artest.</p>

(Note: If you want to make the "Kobe and Phil can keep him in check much like MJ and Phil kept Rodman in check" argument, just remember Rodman was still a world-class defender and rebounder when Chicago acquired him. Artest is neither. If anything, his athleticism is slipping and he can't defend quick small forwards anymore. So why even risk it? Wait, why am I complaining? Thank you for screwing up your title defense, Lakers!)</p>

 

[Chesusdog]

Love the movie too. Waiting for part two of the article to come out today. Simmons is spot on about Artest. His defensive skills are clearly diminishing and he's a pretty big distraction.

 

[jacksdawgs]

Artest is easily a Top 15 player if not Top 10 player in the NBA, that article was terrible, the Lakers will repeat next year with or without Odom. Mark it down.

 

[msudawg12]

but i think that is only evidenced during his "nutty spells." Ron Artest is still one of the top players in the league when he isn't going 17'n nutts. He's a defnite upgrade to a surprisingly inadequate defense in LA

 

[SoxFan343]

nm

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

he made the Rockets better either.

He's a very smart point guard and still plays very good defense. Probably the biggest benefit is that now Kobe will not be guarding the other team's best player, which means he may actually be fresh in the fourth quarter.

 

[msudawg12]

he made the Rockets better either.

He's a very smart point guard and still plays very good defense. Probably the biggest benefit is that now Kobe will not be guarding the other team's best player, which means he may actually be fresh in the fourth quarter.

Probably the main point in the whole deal in the minds of the administration.

 

[lawdawg02]

he did make the rockets better. and he can handle the ball. you don't, however, want him doing that, because he cannot run a team-oriented half-court offense. if he is running the offense, then you're in trouble, because there's no telling what he'll do. the off-balance fading away three is a favorite of his.

that said, he definitely made the rockets better and he had to carry them after yao went down. we all saw how inconsistent the entire team was when they were depending on him. but if he doesn't have to be the leader and isn't your best offensive weapon, he will be an amazing complementary player. i think that's what you'll see next year from the lakers.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

He's a very smart <span style="font-weight: bold;">point guard</span> and still plays very good defense.

??? He's less of a PG than even Jamont Gordon was......

 

[rebelrouseri]

Dallas).